Well, here we are – it’s time for another retirement update where I share what it’s like in the retired world of ESI!
My last official update was Retirement Update: 7.25 Years. You’ll want to read that one to catch up if you missed it.
With that said, let’s get started…
Life
It’s never a boring life in retirement (at least for us!) so lots has happened over the course of three months. Here are the highlights of general “life” activity:
- We were social butterflies this past quarter starting with attending three parties (which is three more than I’d attend in a year in Colorado): a house party (band in garage and people gather outside in street to listen and chat), Christmas party (about 150 people from our village met to celebrate in a big recreation center), and a New Year’s Eve party at a friend’s house where we ate pancakes and bacon to ring in the New Year (and I was actually able to stay awake until midnight!) My wife would like to go to more parties (and she does go to some without me) but this is all the socializing of this sort I can handle (I prefer pickleball court socializing. Hahahaha.)
- But that’s not all! We had several get-togethers with members of the Millionaire Money Mentors (MMM). I had lunch with a couple guys (one who lives here, one from out of town), coffee with another couple (one who lives here, one from out of town), a Japanese steakhouse lunch with 10 or so (all from Florida), and met a couple at Epcot in January (they live near Orlando) for a few hours of food and fellowship (since we’re annual pass members, we can go whenever we want to at no extra charge.) I prefer these more intimate get-togethers over big parties. Plus, everyone at these are “my people.” Hahahaha.
- But that’s still not all!!! We saw several friends and family this quarter including a friend (former co-worker) and his wife who we met at Disney Springs for lunch, my wife’s oldest sister and her husband who visited us overnight in January, my wife’s middle sister and her husband who visited for a couple nights a week later (and who will be here again next week), and friends from California who visited in January (we met for lunch at the Lighthouse Point Bar and Grille in Lake Sumter and gave them a quick tour of the square and a recreation center.) Everyone loves Florida in the winter!!!! FYI, our kids came down too, but I’m saving that for it’s own section (below). That said, they are coming again in March (hopefully.)
- My wife went down to see her middle sister at their vacation spot a hour or so south of us. She spent the night with them and then they drove an hour or so to see their aunt. Meanwhile at home, I ate all the Publix fried chicken and Taco Bell I could squeeze into 24 hours! LOL!
- My dad and I only saw one movie this quarter – Napoleon. We loved it! The Old Mill Playhouse (which lives up to the word “old”) theater in Lake Sumter Landing is now being managed by Epic Theaters, a chain well-known in Florida. Some changes are taking place (like an expanded food menu and options) but I think they’ll be working on some remodeling changes soon as well. I hard some terrible news (from a friend here) – that the Barnstorm Theater in Brownwood – which was killed by Covid and has never re-opened and which we have never seen the inside of – had nice, lounge chair seating. You know, like every good theater in the world. But no, we’re stuck with the Old Mill and the same chairs I sat in during my high school years!
- I have really enjoyed football season and especially the NFL package on YouTube TV. Our team (Michigan) won the college national championship and the NFL playoffs have been fun to watch. I’ll be sad when it’s all over as it’s a long wait until September for someone who’s not really a basketball or baseball fan.
- I had my class in the Enrichment Academy described as follows: “Coffee Home Roasting and Tasting — A presentation of coffee history, principal world growing regions, the top rated single origin coffees and a discussion of coffee roasting with a full roast demonstration. Participants will be able to taste fresh roasted and brewed coffee from seven major growing regions of the world.” It was pretty informative and the coffee was so tasty that no milk, sugar, or sweetener was needed to make it taste amazing. However, it’s a TON of work to get it to that point. I don’t see myself adding hours to the process of making coffee when a k-cup gets me 50%+ of the taste in about 10% of the time.
- After we had our house inspected (a month before our one-year warranty expired) we had an army of people here doing this touch up and that touch up. We’re all set now and on our own!
- My dad still comes over (almost) every Saturday for a cookout (he had some health issues that threw off the schedule a bit – see below for more). After we eat, we watch The Golden Bachelor, Shark Tank, or a football game. It makes for a nice weekend event every week.
- Christmas was pretty low key here as it was just us and my dad. My wife and I drove around and saw some lights the week before to get in the mood for the season. On Christmas Day my dad came over for dinner with us but that’s about it. It’s strange celebrating Christmas when it’s warm outside and our kids aren’t here.
- FWIW, I have to mention that people in Florida hold Publix and Wawa in very high regard. I’m in Publix at least once a week and IMO, it’s nothing special (I have had much better grocery stores in my life.) It’s generally very overpriced unless you buy on their B1G1 deals. I did try their popular sub sandwiches and they are quite good – though the wait can sometimes be way too long (I’ve abandoned buying twice before because the line was taking so long). Wawa is building a new store near us soon, so I’ll be checking that out for myself.
Kids’ Visit
Our kids (daughter and son-in-law) came down for several weeks from mid-November through the first week in December. Here are a few things we did on their trip:
- My son-in-law and I went to the PPA tour pickleball tournament in Daytona to see the pros play. (The ladies went to a polo match in The Villages that day.) We saw all the big names and had great seats. It was fun for sure, but not something that I’ll need to do again. We stopped at the outlet mall on the way home and picked up a few things too, and that’s always a good time. LOL!
- All of us and my dad hit the Kennedy Space Center a couple days before Thanksgiving. It was really interesting and I’m glad we went, but again it’s not something I would want to do a second time – just not that much that I personally found that interesting. It was good to go when we did as the crowds were light.
- We ate out a ton – several times a week. And, of course, we visited the Russell Stover store for treats.
- We watched a good amount of TV at night including the entire Wheel of Times series season 2 and the start of Fargo season 5 (which just ended in January). We made a compromise for our pre-Christmas viewing and watched both It’s a Wonderful Life (my wife’s favorite) and Christmas Vacation (everyone else’s favorite.)
- My dad came over for Thanksgiving and we pigged out (as usual). There was football involved as well.
- At the end of November the kids and I drove up to Raleigh, NC for a few days. They are thinking of going to school/working in that area, so we went for them to check it out. It was a fun trip (with a Buc-ee’s stop both going and coming back) and they liked the area. Any moves/details are highly TBD.
- I have always wanted to go to Disney World at Christmas as I’m a fan of both (Disney and Christmas) and that’s what we did December 5th through 7th. We drove down on the 5th, went to Epcot, stayed at a two-bedroom condo at the Contemporary Resort’s Bay Lake Tower (very swanky – we could see fireworks from our room and it was a 10-minute walk to the Magic Kingdom), saw Magic Kingdom the next day, and went to Hollywood Studios the last day. We did everything we wanted to do and had a GREAT time!!! It wasn’t as Christmasy as I had expected it to be (Disney is usually over-the-top when they do something), but it was “fine” on that measure.
- We dropped the kids off at a hotel near the Orlando airport on December 7th, said our goodbyes, and drove home. They flew to Colorado the next day and picked up their new car – a Kia Sportage they had ordered a month or so earlier. It was just in time for the rough Colorado winter!
As I said in my last update, missing seeing our kids every week (we used to do Saturday grill-outs with them) and having them around has by-far been the hardest part of our move here.
Health
As you know, I prioritize being healthy in retirement. Here’s how I did this past quarter in this area:
- I am still dealing with a muscle strain/back tightness I got when I over did it this summer (I had moved to playing pickleball five times a week plus exercise plus walking.) I have been seeing a chiropractor about it and I’m improving, but I’m still probably only 60% or so. I’ve cut back on pickleball to once a week (after taking two months off) and still workout 6 times a week (3 cardio and 3 weights).
- I ended 2023 averaging almost 16k steps per day and I’m well ahead of that pace in 2024 already. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed walking (which picked up once I stopped playing pickleball so much) but I am back into it big time and loving it. I re-joined Audible, listen when I walk, and am moving through audio books like crazy! Hahaha.
- By the way, we have seen a TON of pickleball injuries down here. The worst I saw was in mid-December when a lady was going back to hit a ball and fell backwards. She just kind of “sat down” in slow motion and didn’t hit her head, so it didn’t look bad. But she was in pain, we called the ambulance, and they picked her up. She ended up having a broken femur, had surgery, and is in rehab now for two months. She was supposed to go home (New York) the next week but obviously can’t now. She’s 74. Ugh. Another friend broke a tooth and cracked some ribs. Double ugh!
- Also to note: on Thursday, February 1 I had TWO golden pickles on our local courts. That’s more of a reflection of snowbirds who play limited pickleball being down here now versus my skill level increasing dramatically. LOL.
A Tale of Two Dads
As I’ve noted in the past, my biological dad (BD) has pancreatic cancer. This is not my dad that lives in The Villages (who is actually my step-dad), but BD lives in Des Moines, Iowa with his wife.
BD made it through chemo and had surgery in early January. It looks like they got it all and it hasn’t spread, which is a miracle for one of the worst forms of cancer. He’s on the mend now.
That said, my dad down here has had some issues recently with his stomach. No one seems to know what caused it but he was weak and sickly for about two weeks (he even went to the emergency room at the end of December). He’s getting better now and appears to be coming out of it. FYI, he had no respiratory issues, just stomach aches and pains.
My wife is helping my dad get a handle on his medical care and especially his medicine. He was on an almost unbelievable assortment of drugs that looks like one doctor after another added on his list. Anyway, the sickness took him off them all for several days and his issues (blood sugar and pressure IMPROVED dramatically). Who would have thought that? So my wife is joining him for meetings with various doctors to get things sorted out.
Financial Update
Here’s a brief update of our financial matters for the last quarter:
- Our finances have been up and down the past several months, moving in lock step with the market. We ended December with the highest net worth we’ve seen to date. For January, we ended even higher (by a bit) with a net worth of $6.76 million.
- Our finances are mostly on auto-pilot. I updated my syndication progress on ESI Money recently and since it appears interest rates have stabilized, the investments that were questionable seem to be limited to a few (time will tell what actually happens). I had one deal go full cycle (as projected and performing as promised) in December and another is set to end in March.
- ESI Money is doing well. I now have 400 millionaire interviews completed and set to go. Number 400 will post sometime in early summer. If anyone wants to start the march towards #500, drop me a line and I’ll send details. Just remember that if you do an interview and agree to some minimal participation guidelines then you get a free membership into MMM for your contribution (once your interview is published – so it’s worth it to complete the interview asap.)
- The Retirement Interviews are humming along as well, but not at the pace of the millionaire ones. If anyone out there has been retired for at least six months and wants to do an interview, please email me. Your story will help demystify retirement as well as give suggestions that will help others have a better, more successful retirement. Here’s one example of that – a quote from someone in the Millionaire Money Mentors forums: “All of those ESI ‘Retirement Interviews’ as well as your breakdown of books on the matter have me feeling like I’ve gained an MBA in early retirement.” That’s what I’m trying to do! If you can help, let me know.
- The Millionaire Money Mentors are planning for our second annual conference this April, so if you’re a member and want to attend, be sure to sign up asap as the slots are almost all taken (they may be completely full by the time this is posted). It was a blast last year and this year will be even better (since we know what we’re doing this year – lol!!!)
Thoughts on The Villages
I always like to include a few facts about The Villages on these updates – if for no other reason than to educate folks on the place.
This time I want to do an update of the post I wrote titled Facts About The Villages Florida.
The information comes from The Daily Sun’s 2023 Year-End Recap. Here’s the information along with my comments:
151,000 – the number of residents in the Lake, Marion, and Sumter counties sections of the villages.
Up several thousand in a year. Things are still popping here!
15% – Percentage of veterans in The Villages MSA, the highest count in any metropolitan area not next to a military installation.
It was 16.3% last year. More non-veterans moving in I guess.
68.3 – The median age of those in The Villages MSA, the highest of any U.S. metro area.
It was 68.4 last year – we’re bringing down the average! LOL!!!!
276 – Number of performances staged at the studio theater Tierra Del Sol and the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center this year.
We saw Terry Fator and Jay Leno last year. We have tickets for Fiddler on the Roof in March.
249 – Number of students who graduated in May from The Villages High School.
38 – Students who earned an associate degree through dual enrollment.
As I said above, the schools are REALLY state-of-the-art now. The new schools in the southern part of The Villages are AMAZING! Better than many small college campuses.
3,432,646 – number of rounds of golf played on courses in The Villages.
57 – Number of golf courses in The Villages (13 Championship, 41 executive, and three pitch-and-putt).
3,032 – Holes-in-one made by golfers in The Villages.
It’s a golfer’s paradise, that’s for sure…
8 – Total number of dog parks, more per capita than all but 3 of the 100 largest cities in the U.S.
We have one near us at the Richmond Recreation Center and it’s usually pretty busy.
757 – The number of volunteers who are part of the UF Health The Villages Hospital Auxiliary Foundation. Volunteers work in more than 40 departments, from the greeter desk to driving the golf cart shuttle in a parking lot.
86,000 – Meals provided by the Wildwood Soup Kitchen. This breaks down to more than 1,600 meals a week.
$70,981 – Amount of money raised in the College Colors Day Funds for Food drive.
It was $49k the year before!!!! There is a volunteer culture down here which makes it nice.
115 – Total number of recreation facilities, including Regional and Village centers and neighborhood areas.
251 – Number of pickleball courts, significantly more than any of the nation’s 100 largest cities.
242 – Number of bocce courts in The Villages.
235 – Number of shuffleboard courts in The Villages.
747 – Total holes of golf across all courses in The Villages.
And Spanish Springs, the original town square, turns 30 this year. Here are details:
The new non-age-restricted community for The Villages and their workers (Middleton) is up and running and construction is going great guns – as is construction on the fourth town square (Eastport) and the homes/golf course/recreation activities around it.
My wife and I went down there last week for a fundraising dinner at the high school (which is AMAZING – the campus looks like one you’d find at a high-end private college) and then drove around to see what is going on. The summary: a lot is being built but they also have a long way to go even to hit critical mass.
Rumors persist that there’s a Costco on the way, but those rumors have been floating around ever since we first came to The Villages, so who knows? I’m not holding my breath. Even after we knew there was one coming to Clermont (i.e. it was publicly declared in the news) it still took over a year for it to be done and open.
Books
I have made a resolution to read/listen to one book a month for 2024 (I got a bit lax on this last year as I read so much from the paper as well as online). I’m off to a great start with three completed and two more started:
- Enemies of Peace – I LOVE it when I can read a book where I know the author! If you’re looking for some good fiction with a FIRE sub-theme, this one is for you!
- Cutting for Stone – I heard the author on a podcast and loved his thinking, so I got the book and loved it too.
- The Purpose Driven Life – I re-read this after having read it about a million years ago. I realized that I have so many good books in my library that some of this year’s reading will be from books I’ve already read.
- Be Useful – Just started so it’s hard to say I like/dislike it yet, but I’ve heard Schwarzenegger do a couple of interviews on it, so I think I’ll like it.
- The Covenant of Water – From the same guy who wrote Cutting for Stone. It’s a 31-hour listen, so it’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s so, so, so good! I have about five hours left and don’t want it to end. I walk a lot so it will take me just about a month to listen through it.
I could go on, but then this post would be way too long so I’ll end for now. Any thoughts or questions?
M-124 says
Great update and thanks for the reading list. Best wishes to your step dad and family during his healing.
I just spent 2 weeks in Colorado – skied with some “old dudes “ from the Springs who kicked my @ss. Miss it yet ?
Be well !
ESI says
I don’t miss it at this time of year — lol!
But do miss seeing our kids there, for sure, and miss the beauty of the mountains.
JEFF says
Good update and it really seems you’ve got YOU figured out. Cheers to that. The toughest thing about aging is that everyone around you is aging as well and it can take an emotional toll, especially when you hear of deaths, sickness, etc. Really makes you value staying healthy.
Not so funny that as you age, your normal routines tend to take more of a toll. I had been overdoing it on my weight workouts and my body started talking back so I’m spending more time on proper rest days, etc. In my research, you can take too many steps as good as walking is, it still wears joints and connective tissues. It’s a balance. The body is super efficient with movements like walking so there’s a sweet spot. 7,500-10,000 is about right depending on individual.
We are considering some big changes as well though nothing set in stone. Now 57, so nearing 5 years of retirement.
Continued health to you!
ESI says
Yep. I’ve already moved down from 20k steps a day to 17k or so and am not walking the stairs at the gym as fast as I used to (or as fast as I can). Will likely move my cardio to swimming sometime in the next year or so as it’s less impact and I enjoy it (it was my main form of exercise for many years).
Thalia says
The Villages will be a Great stage, movie location. The Movie will be about a secret Cult of retirees (The founding Retirees, Elders if you can call them that, knowing that everyone is old) that enlist new retirees. 🤣 to do their secret sacrifices, illicit financial gains, sexual desires and fantasies, white collar crime, political manipulation and gain and of course we can’t forget the Main protagonist “Donald Trump” who runs and oversees and controls his Kingdom of The Villages. I Think it would be an interesting 🎬. 🤔
ESI says
That is certainly a vivid imagination!!!
May says
I hear you on Publix. We go to Sam’s about once a month. I recently discovered Sprouts. It’s a lot of healthy food, supplements, etc. but they have some good produce, as in interesting squashes and melons I had never seen before. It’s a less expensive version of Whole Foods.
ESI says
Yes, we go to Sprouts as well, but not as often as Walmart and Sam’s.
Nick says
Think I’d love the Villages weather & the wide variety of things to do so close, but moving away from the kids & grandkids probably won’t happen on a permanent basis. Always enjoy your updates & appreciate the details you share.
Have you had good experience with a chiropractor working through prior issues?
Prayers for your dad on the healing now with meds straightened out. Their compounding impact is sometimes worse than what’s wrong with us.
ESI says
Appreciate the prayers.
I’m not sure what is working (I am backing off pickleball, using the chiropractor, stretching, foam rolling, etc.) but I feel like I get just a bit better every day.
So it’s slow and steady progress but it is progress.
John says
Thank you for this article. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I moved to The Villages about five months ago, from Western Massachusetts. I love the weather, and would love to have a much closer Costco, and not have to drive an hour to Clermont or Orlando.
I’m saving lots of grocery money lately, attending many “Financial or Health Related Lunch and Learn Seminars”.
I always learn something, meet new people, and get to try out new restaurants.
Yes, I definitely miss my kids and grandkids, but they’ll be visiting here soon.
I especially enjoyed your factoids about The Villages!
Thank you for all of your posts,
John
ESI says
Yeah, the kids are an issue. Ours visit, but it’s just not enough.
I’ll be interested in what you think of the summer. It begins in March. 😉
Patsy says
Is Daytona closer to The Villages than Clermont? Doubt it, but as an FYI… There is a Costco being built across the street from the speedway!
ESI says
Nope. Clermont is about 40 minutes away — so not terrible but not great.
RE@54 says
Dang, it is like looking in a mirror. Been playing a ton of PB lately and back and shoulder issues have popped up. Last year I had some chiropractic work done and felt great. The problems are back, so I am scheduled today to visit a chiropractor to sort things out.
Regarding the great cup of coffee, you don’t have to roast your own beans which takes the most time. Buy roasted beans from your favorite coffee place, have them grind it, and use a pour over or chemex. Think of the calories with no sugar or cream that you add to the Keurig coffee. Ha ha.
So looking forward to June 2024 when my wife and I retire as I have posted on MMM.
ESI says
Appreciate the coffee thoughts. I may need to go that way…
Financial Fives says
Glad to hear things are going superbly. You’ve set up a nice routine. I enjoyed watching that documentary on The Villages, great insight to world we otherwise don’t know! And I wish people would stop pressing for tennis courts to be converted to pickball courts, can’t we just have tennis courts with pickeball lines so we all can play?
Steveark says
Wow, that was a densely packed post! And I mean that in the best possible way. I did also notice the picture of a pickleball landing just out of bounds. You might think it looks like it landed in bounds, but I hit one right there last week and the other team said it was out. Who knew?
Patsy says
As a resident of an Orlando suburbs, I enjoyed reading this update and nodded along with many of your observations. I, too, think Publix is overrated, though PubSubs (as their sandwiches are known) are quite good. Wawa is definitely an *institution* and you should try their subs, too.
If you like nature, you should look into getting an annual pass for Florida state parks and exploring the springs throughout Central Florida. They are nothing short of breathtaking. You can hike, canoe/kayak, boat, etc. See gators (of course) but also lots of birds, especially this time of year, and manatees! And just an amazing ecosystem. The Ocala National Forest is beautiful. Devil’s Den is close to where you are and very cool (if you dive). Anyway- lots of nature to discover very close! And not just beaches, which are definitely some of the best in the country. 🙂
ESI says
Thanks! Appreciate the suggestions!
Scott says
We are glad to hear that your dad is feeling better.
I agree that Publix is okay, we would rather shop at Aldi and save our money. We talked about coming down to the Villages this year and check it, I like the sound of the activities!
ESI says
Would love to see you come down here!
Larry Cuozzo says
It’s so funny how so many retirees have the same experiences. I’m a Toronto boy who retired 2 years ago at 55 and thought I’d play tennis, pickleball and golf non stop. That lasted 5 months. Now it’s walking and golf. Any more and the feet and right shoulder scream at me.
We spend 2 months in the Villages in 2023 and found it too long to be away from the family and friends although the weather was top notch. So this past winter, we were 2 weeks in Palm Springs in December, 2 weeks in Naples Florida in January and we’re just back from 2 weeks in Orlando. I think we’ll repeat this next year in different cities. Perhaps Arizona, or Portugal as well as Orlando. I find 2 weeks is enough to explore a new area without getting too settled.
All the best to the retirees out there.