Retirement - First Imagining of What It Might Look Like

Ooooh boy, do I LOVE planning! Esp hypotheticals around living a life of leisure. 

In the past, "retirement" has been this very vague thing that would happen sometime *waves hands* in the future. However, recently, I received a notice in my email about my US Social Security, and it sparked a thought, which led to another thought, which made me open an Excel file and start doing some nitty-gritty planning. 

Here is my first draft of my retirement plan (lots 'o' controversial stuff in here, lemme tell ya):

2024 - 2038:

1. I currently don't qualify for SS - I have not had enough working years in the US yet. I need about 4 more working years in the US to qualify. 
2. Therefore, I need to move back to the US and get a job. This is great, actually! I intend on moving back after my PhD (if I get a job at my coveted dream job organisation) to be closer to my parents/sister and help out more at home. I'll be about 45 at that point. With a PhD, I *should* be making 2-3x my current salary, in US dollars, and will be able to contribute to my 401K and other US retirement accounts again. I also want to buy a townhouse or similar in the US to get on the property ladder.
   
3. I'll keep my NZ retirement funds intact in NZ. They'll sit there and grow. I don't think I'll be able to contribute to it from the US, but that's OK.

2038 - 2040:

1. If I'm lucky, I can retire at 59.5 years of age, in 2038. I am exhausted and tired from working and ready for retirement NOW. But I need to last until then - that is the age I can start drawing down on my retirement accounts. I'll need about $60K to fund a $3K/mo lifestyle (I currently live on about 2/3 of that figure and still manage to save a little each month) to last 2.5 years, until the next step. 
2. Move back to NZ at 59.5 years of age. I am looking at Northland very fondly...Whangārei or Bay of Islands? I fully expect (sadly) that my immediate family will have all passed by then. None of them are in good health today, and I definitely do not expect them to live until 2038. NZ offers a MUCH better lifestyle, especially healthcare system, etc. for old age compared to the US. I'll maybe rent out my US townhouse, gaining some passive income, or sell, depending on the market.
3. Live wholly off of my US Roth IRA and US investments until I start qualifying for government pension schemes (SS and NZ Super).

By 2042:

1. Transfer/cash out all but $50K NZD's worth (at investment time) of my US retirement funds to NZD during the first 4 years of living in NZ again. I will be a "transitional" tax resident for this time period, so won't have to pay NZ taxes on my US investments for that duration. After 4 years, I'd have to pay a huge amount on NZ taxes on my US retirement investments each year under current rules.
2. Because NZ doesn't have a capital gains tax, potentially use the cash to buy a condo/townhome in NZ. Or at least use it as a downpayment.

2042 - 2045:

1. At 62, I'll qualify for SS from the US. I'll elect to start it as soon as I'm eligible (rather than waiting until full retirement age at 67) for many many reasons: 
• I want to *enjoy* my life as much as possible, as early as possible. I may elect to still work part-time in some way, but I'm keen to get that $$ ASAP.
  
• I already know I can live on very little income easily. Even $3K is luxurious by my current standards.
  
• The earlier you start drawing SS, the more $$ you get over your lifetime (vs waiting til you are 70). Life/living til 70+ isn't guaranteed! I'd lose out on $60K between ages 62 and 67, for example. You can of course delay the gratification and wait til full retirement age or until age 70 to get more per month, but you have to figure in the cost of the $$ you lose by waiting, plus the opportunity cost of getting that income in your "good years" of early retirement and health, when you can enjoy yourself more and travel, etc.
  
• To get NZ Super (their version of SS) at 65, I HAVE to have already applied for any other retirement schemes I'm eligible for, in this case, US SS. This means I would have to apply for SS before full retirement age at 67 anyway, in order to qualify for NZ Super at 65. It therefore makes zero sense to wait.
  
2. By current estimates, SS will provide me with approximately $1K USD (~$1.5K NZD) per month. The other ~$1.5K/mo (about $54K more between 2042 - 2045) will be sourced from my rented or sold US house and/or cashed out Roth, Traditional IRAs, 401K, and other US investments.
3. I'll still have some US funds, the $50K NZD's-worth of investments. The golden thing here is that they only count the value of the investment at the time it was bought, not the CURRENT value, so that $50K NZD of initial investments could be worth hundreds of thousands of USD by then - post coming on that soon, as I plan to max that out NOW, keep those investments as long as possible to give them the chance to grow, and reap the rewards in 20 years.
4. In total, I need at least $60K (to cover years 2038 til 2040) + 54K (to cover shortfall between 2040 and 2045) = $114K in my US retirement and investment funds to retire at age 59.5 and live a lavish (to me) $3K/mo lifestyle. Currently, I have ~$40K USD in investments and plan on contributing at least $1K/mo when I have a good paying job in the US again. Using a conservative 6% return rate over just 13 years of growth with a $12K per year contribution, I hit that target very easily, with a lot leftover ($311,903).
5. The above does not factor in the cash I have on hand currently, either. I have about $90K in savings or my lending investments that I can pull out relatively quickly. Most of this is earmarked towards specific goals, like travel, however over a half of it ($50K) is earmarked for a house down payment. That needs to be re-homed ASAP. (And I know JUST the place for it!!)
   

 2045 and beyond:

• At age 65, I'll be eligible for NZ Super and to start drawing down on my Kiwisaver. By current rates, NZ Super is worth ~$2100 NZD per month, minus the value of the US SS income. 
• To live off of $3K/mo, I'll need to make up the $900/mo shortfall using my investments. Following the 4% drawdown rule and assuming I am solely pulling funds from my Kiwisaver, I'll need ~$270K in my Kiwisaver by 2045. It currently is valued at $72K. If I never put in another dime and it hits a 6% return rate over the next 23 years, I'll hit that $270K target.
• If need be, I can live off of the $2100/mo. It'd be tight, but doable.
  

So, there ya have it! All of this comes with a HUGE caveat, of course. It is based on current rates, investments, medical health and well-being, politics, climate, etc. To be honest, I look at the years involved: late 2030's, 2040's and I just think...there's no way we'll make it til then, society will have for sure collapsed, the SS and Super will have run out, etc. But just in case -- I think I have started figuring out my financial plan for retirement!

Making Goals: Staying Alive Until 2023

Sure, everything is still a mess, but let's pull together a few goals, with the main one just being surviving until 2023 😂 Just surviving has been my goal for the past few years, honestly.

First up, Health:

1. Make a plan to exercise remotely every day, with the goal of it actually happening at least 3x a week.
2. Plan meals weekly, grocery shop, and cook for the week.
3. Dr appointments -
   
1. Physio: 
1. shoulder
2. posture
3. weekly massage
   
2. 2022 Optometry appt - reading glasses prescription, dry eyes treatment
1. order new glasses
   
3. 2022 Flu shot
4. 2022 women's health check up
5. Blood test every 3 months for hypothyroid:
1. May 2022
   
2. August 2022
   
3. November 2022
6. 2022 Dentist
   
1. May check up
2. Nov check up
   
3. Floss every day
4. Use new electronic toothbrush every day
7. ADHD/Therapy
1. Psychiatrist appt: July 2022
2. Therapy: every 4 weeks
8. Go to dermatologist.
1. Mole map, treat anything suspicious
   
2. Treat eczema 
9. Try to meditate to fall asleep every day, with the goal of it actually happening at least 3x a week.

 Finances

1. Keep track of spending.
1. Update net worth every month
2. Track peer to peer lending.
   
3. Finish saving $10K for post-PhD fund. 
   
4. File US taxes.
5. File state taxes.
6. File FBAR.
7. File/check NZ taxes (June).
8. When I am in the US in Sept, check Experian and Equifax credit reports from the US. 
1. Continue to check in on my scores quarterly via CreditKarma. (Note for future years: Equifax made me call in: 877-322-8228 to order my report--they refused me online.)
9. Renew 2022 renter's insurance.
   
10. Keep track of airpoints for travel.
    
11. Apply for cc's strategically: see here.
12. Stay out of debt.

Career/Productivity

1. Make time to organise my meals, social, work, exercise, and mental health every weekend.
2. Make one small step towards PhD every workday - try to keep to the PhD planning schedule that my supervisor and I drew up.
   
3.  Notice when I am being exceptionally harsh on myself and use my compassionate, kind voice instead of my self-critical voice.
4. Try new productivity techniques as recommended by my therapist:
1. break down daily to-dos and big projects into very tiny steps. Practice getting things done & noticing when I'm starting to get off-track.
2. Relate my actions to my stated values.
   
3. Investigate break reminders and how to get myself to take breaks and go back to work afterward.
4. Celebrate tiny 'wins.'
5. Track progress to be held accountable. 
   

Travel/Experiences/Social

1. See friends at least once a week.
2. Talk to family once a week. 
3. Travel to US in August 2022. Make plans to see family & friends: 
1. B
2. H
   
3. N/J/A?
4. local aunt and cousins
5. mom's side of family in northern California for wedding:
1. decide timing with family and book flights
2. book house
3. book car
4. Research/fantasize about future trips when I need a pick me up: e.g. Cook Islands, Hawaii, Iceland, England, river cruise through Europe with my mom and aunt.
5. Find something fun and social to do for Xmas 2022 and New Year's Eve 2022-3. Northland trip/break? 

Other

1. Back up personal laptop computer several times a year: January/June/December.
2. Back up personal laptop when at home in September.
   
3. Move all work files to DropBox.
4. Get new desktop computer at work. Update April 2022: on back order.
   
5. Make automated ISO of work HD twice a year (March, November).

Is This Pandemic PTSD?

Heyo, anyone who still checks in on this blog! Who else is feeling like they may have developed some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder during this pandemic? Raise your hand...

Well, you are not alone. According to the Mayo Clinic, PTSD can cause: 

• problems socially, mentally, and in your relationships
• inability to do normal daily tasks
• stressful dreams or nightmares, and intense reactions to normal situations that trigger you
• avoidance of certain situations or places
• negative thoughts about yourself, other people, or the world
• hopelessness about the future
• memory issues, detachment from family and friends
• lack of interest in old hobbies
• difficulty in feeling positive emotions
• emotional numbness
• feelings of being 'on guard' or easily frightened
• trouble sleeping and concentrating
• and more
  

If a pandemic wasn't tailor-made to cause PTSD, I don't know what would!! Honestly, every single symptom of PTSD is something we've had to purposely inflict on ourselves, try to process, and make 'normal' to us, down to avoiding our loved ones and being 'on guard for danger' all of the time. And that doesn't even count the scourge of dealing with Q-Anon anti-vaxxers... I am getting teary-eyed for the whole world just thinking about everything we've gone through. I'm so sorry.

Between living in NZ, being relatively healthy and young-ish, and being able to keep my job, work from home, I've had a somewhat 'cushy' version of the pandemic life. And even then, I'm a total mess. For goodness' sake, I still have my 2020 goals list up on the right side bar -->

I wrote that at the end of 2019, when covid was but a whisper, at least outside of China. Now, over two years later, I feel utterly destroyed, but can more plainly see the waste that the pandemic has made to my health, life, and the world. I know it's not even over yet, but somehow, with my flatmate getting covid (oh yeah -- that happened!), my sister getting covid (that *also* happened), and having 5 days off for Easter (yay!), I think I am starting to think about life beyond the here and now. For so long, I feel like our lives have revolved around reacting to immediate things happening to us in the present, and my brain has started -- juuuust started -- to adjust to that reality, and make it normal. To make that unpredictability normal, we have all been through so much stress, worry, strife, death, and other horrible things. I really believe we are all traumatized, and that this experience will change most of us forever, in ways we don't even realize yet. I was joking with a friend that we're going to be similar to our grannies and grandpas who lived through the war and do things like save and wash aluminum foil and plastic baggies -- instead, we are going to be obsessed with hand sanitizer, freak out internally and move away from anyone who sneezes or coughs near us, and always keep a spare pack of toilet paper in the cupboards. Or is that just me??? 😂

Anyway, my point is that I think I have started to come to a place where I can think about the future and start to get back to taking care of my long-term health. In the past 4 months, I've:

• gotten minor surgery to assess/remove some dermatological issues (benign!)
• gone to a psychiatrist to get assessed for ADHD (I have it)
• started taking ADHD medication (it's helping!)
  
• gotten my normal gyno check up (clear!)
  

In the last 2 weeks I've:

• started going to a therapist for my ADHD issues
• paid for a remote gym membership - I'm not ready for in-person yet...
• started putting virtual workout classes up on my TV and following along 
• started going to the physio and getting short back massages again (masked)
• started seeing friends in person (at my house or other people's houses, or outside only)
• gathered people from more than one household at my house for a social activity
  
  

We'll see how I go, but that is a LOT more than I've done for my health in the past 2 years...maybe I'll do a goal update if I keep feeling more capable of *life.* 

I wonder how you think the pandemic has affected you, and if you think you have started to adjust to this new way of living, where everything is constantly changing and new challenges keep getting thrown at us??

NZ Credit Scores - WTF?

I haven't done this in a very long while, but I recently looked into my credit scores and reports in NZ. I check my US reports and scores every year, as well as keeping up with them on Credit Karma, but have neglected my NZ ones. 

I find it quite odd that while my US credit scores are roughly similar, my NZ scores are very, very different. Check it out:

 

Illium:

 

 

Centrix:

 

 

 Equifax:

 

 

I wonder what is causing these differences? And which would be used if I applied for, say, a home loan?