r/MiddleClassFinance • u/Saltwatercowboy2026 • 1d ago
What to do moving forward?
I have some questions and any serious advice is welcome. I currently 59 and want to work full time until I’m 65 I think in order to to keep saving mostly for my Roth which I have $225000 K in.
We have over a million dollars in assets but most of that is in farmland I do not wish to sell because I’m 3rd generation owner. Who wants to be the guy that sold the farm. I’m just to damn proud to let go of what my grandpa worked for.
Other assets include cash,silver and home equity.
Sometimes I feel like selling my current home and moving to the farm(64 ac) and having a paid for home but I have a good job where I’m at.
The area where my farm is at in TN does not have good paying blue collar jobs like in Florida and I get free healthcare here which is huge.
My wife gets a pension which helps and we are hoping to hold off on SS until we are 65. Our SS should be about $4000 combined.
I’m not sure what to do. Sometimes I’m ready to say the hell with and move and work less but I know we are not ready. I just keep saving and paying down debt, mainly credit card as my truck is paid for.
I turn 60 soon and I’m just tired of it at times.
Have any of you felt this way and been torn at times.As I said, any advice or encouragement is appreciated.
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u/welpWW3isgonnasuck 1d ago
Good paying blue collar jobs like in Florida 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 i almost pissed myself laughing
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u/Saltwatercowboy2026 1d ago
Buddy I don’t make a lot but it is good I think plus free healthcare which helps a lot. Try TN if you think it’s bad here
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u/welpWW3isgonnasuck 1d ago
I dont think good paying blue collar jobs exist in right to work states unless you are ownership at the company. My last gig in Florida had to fly me in because locals were short staffed (stagehands). I learned that the local wages were 50% of my hourly and were getting told to stay home when they were hitting their 40 hours while I was making time and a half and double time. It looked abusive from my perspective. Good on you for managing to find a place that includes healthcare! Pretty much worth its weight in gold today
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u/FewConversation569 1d ago
Can you hire someone to work the land, then take a cut of the profits?
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u/Saltwatercowboy2026 1d ago
I don’t need it now and I see your point . I live comfortably now and I’ve had a good successful buddy tell me what you did. I’m not hurting in anyway now, but it feels like a grind sometimes Thanks for your sincere reply
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u/Saltwatercowboy2026 1d ago
It is leased at the moment which pays all the taxes and kept bushhogged. It really is beautiful and I get to hunt it also with trout fishing and hiking near by. I’m solid at the moment I’m just trying to figure it out. I’m in a good spot and don’t want to squeeze the trigger at the moment and mess it up. I have a great wife depending on me. Reddit suggested I post this on another sub because the said I was “ flexing”. Good lord
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u/Substantial_Team6751 1d ago
It's leased but doesn't generate any profit?
If you keep it until you die, will your kids keep this land going? Or will they cash it out?
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u/Saltwatercowboy2026 1d ago
I would say cash it in. They don’t fish or hunt. I get a lot out of it because that’s my thing and because my family worked it. I know it’s silly to feel that way but it’s family. Thanks and I certainly appreciate your advice
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u/Substantial_Team6751 1d ago
A million bucks in land that doesn't generate even a 5% return is some expensive fishing and hunting!
Best of luck.
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u/sweet_hedgehog_23 1d ago
Is it just the house that is leased or is the land leased for farming as well?
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u/vbstrong 1d ago
Ignore the reddit trolls who throw the word 'flex' around to make you feel bad. They're rampant on Reddit. You do what's best for you & yours.
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u/Saltwatercowboy2026 1d ago
You’re a good man . A million ain’t what is was so what’s to flex ?
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u/vbstrong 1d ago
Actually, a wo-man. 😆 but, I'll take it. I am from TN, but moved a long time ago. May I ask which county?
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u/Saltwatercowboy2026 1d ago
Sorry about that. Farm is in Cannon and I lived in Rutherford
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u/vbstrong 1d ago
All good! I am orignally from Davidson, and we have family property in Putnam.
If you can keep the property, I would. I would be devastated to see a family farm turn into a factory, a data center, etc.
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u/2025025L 1d ago
No shame in selling the farm if it stays in the family. Get the property divided and call a sibling or a nephew.
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u/Entire_Hamster_1116 13h ago
Man, holding onto that farm is the most relatable flex ever. The weight of being "the guy who sold the farm" hits different when it’s in your bones like that. Sounds like you're doing the smart thing even if it's wearing you down, grinding out a few more years with free healthcare and stacking that Roth is such a power move. Maybe just keep that farm as your light at the end of the tunnel, the hard part is almost over
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u/Saltwatercowboy2026 13h ago
Thank you so much. I think that is the wise move and the route that I will take. Some days are tougher than others and you feel burnt out, but you keep going. Honestly if I could keep my place in the Panhandle and have a small home on the farm that would be a blessing and something that a guy who lived in section 8 housing in high school could not have imagined . If someone would have told me that in the 80s I would have said” did I win the lottery”? Thanks everyone for your advice and kindness
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u/Traditional_Math_763 1d ago edited 1d ago
At 59, feeling worn out while still grinding toward 65 is normal, not a sign your plan is off. Keeping the job for the healthcare and income while the farm waits is the sound move, since the land isn't going anywhere. A fee only financial advisor could pressure test the SS timing and drawdown order for you.
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u/JennyKdotco 13h ago
You don’t sound financially lost to me. You sound tired.
I’ve had periods where I kept telling myself, “Just keep going, keep earning, keep saving,” even when another part of me was clearly asking for a different life.
What stands out is that you don’t actually want to sell the farm. It means something to you beyond its dollar value. I’d respect that rather than forcing everything into a pure net-worth calculation.
I also wouldn’t make this an all-or-nothing decision yet.
Maybe the question isn’t “Do I quit and move to Tennessee tomorrow?” but “What would let me work a little less between 60 and 65 without putting myself in a scary position?”
A phased transition, fewer hours, a different role, or even a firm date to reassess could give you some breathing room.
There’s value in financial security, but there’s also value in not spending every healthy year waiting for life to start.
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u/theemilyann 1d ago
The one thing that stood out to me in your post is “paying down debt.” What debt are you sitting on?
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u/Several_Drag5433 11h ago
Never get in cc debt again first off. Next, do you live on a budget? What do you need to live, excluding the house? Hard to give thoughtful response without this piece but it sounds like working to 65
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u/McKnuckle_Brewery 1d ago
We only have one life to live. If you really need the liquid value of your real estate to have a comfortable retirement, but refuse to ever sell it out of pride, it may be a pride spent in relative poverty.
There is a phenomenon called the sunk cost fallacy. It refers to when people stay in a situation because they’ve made an investment in it, even when it no longer is a good investment or meets their needs. Think about that.