Preparing for Retirement While Geo-Baching
Preparing for Retirement While Geo-Baching
About one year ago, my husband retired from active duty. For the three years before retirement, he was a geo-bachelor, and I was functionally a single mother working full time. The most difficult part of this time was the financial burden of maintaining two households. I believe the key to our success during this time was open communication about how and why money was being spent so that we never ended up overdrawing any accounts.
When my husband retired, we had some extra money to save because we no longer had to pay separate housing for him. We did choose to keep our au pair for an extra year to help our child transition to having Daddy at home, so we did not see the child care savings for another year.
Because I am employed full time and my husband now receives his pension and VA disability, he does not need to work to support our family. But he decided to become a school bus driver to give himself a reason to get up in the morning and to bring home some income.
I am grateful for the choices we made early in life because they allow us to enjoy life as we choose now that my husband is retired.
MilSpouse Money
Mission Response:
We are glad your family is back together in the same location! Maintaining a geo-bachelor situation for a period of time is not an easy task. Thank you for sharing your story, Kristina.
Organization and open communication are two critical aspects of maintaining this type of living arrangement. Decide ahead of time how the two households will function from a financial perspective. Determine who will be responsible for specific obligations. Will bills be paid out of joint or individual accounts? Will each household have a separate budget to manage? How will you keep up with your savings and other financial goals? These are just a few questions to consider. Click here for more on how geo-baching can affect your wallet.
Check out Money Ready 101: Create a Budget and our spending plan worksheet for more resources. It is important to know how the money coming in and going out is being managed. Also, anticipate what expenses may increase or decrease and use your household budgets to stay on track!
