It is sometimes hard, for those that have never owned a powerboat, to understand the enjoyment someone gets out of having one. Just like anything else, like: motorhome, hunting trip or basically any thing that is recreational to do, is going to cost for repairs/maintenance.
There is a company called Freedom Boats. A person pays so much a month, to be a member, and gets to use a nice/newer boat, but that "membership cost" definitely isn't cheap. It's like the difference between renting an apartment and buying a house. In renting, a person is restricted to what they can do to the inside of an apartment, whereas, in buying, a person can do anything they want to remodel the house.
Update for my wife and her stay-at-home job: One of the things she is finding out about now, after working for three months thru a temp agency for an insurance company, 73 is getting somewhat to old to work. Of course there are those that can work at 73, and older, but she has quickly found out she may not be one of them. This is one of the first times she has had to start work at 7:30AM, but loves getting off at 4PM. However, depending on how good, or not so good, she sleeps the night before, she has to take an hour nap at 4PM in her recliner. If she laid down in the bed, it would be definitely more than "an hour nap". As for me, I have no problem at all getting up at 6:15AM, to start my day. Then again, I've only had one job in my life where I started at 8:30AM. Most of my jobs have started at 7AM, with sometimes a travel time of 40 minutes to work, so I was up at 5:30AM. And, I won't even mention my old Navy hours I had to keep! **She does love, and I really mean she loves, the salary and being paid weekly. Even with her two AA Degrees and Bachelors, it's the highest paying job she's ever had. Then, add on hers and mine SS. All I can say is, NICE, but. ***She has been extended for another month, until May 28th, but don't know after that. She can be extended thru June, but not thru July. If that happens, she will have to quit! We've got two small trips planned, like in rental car and hotel room reserved, for the third and fourth week of July into the first week of August. Very seriously doubt either the temp service or the insurance company will give her the time off. So, perhaps we will get lucky and they won't extend her. We don't want to miss out on our June boating during the week either, but if she is working........... Weekend boating here can be fairly wild. Would miss the monthly income, but we survived before. And, if you are wondering, neither of us want me to go back to work. And, I don't want to!
I can understand not wanting to work at that age, and finding it to be tiring. The upside is that she got a work-from-home job. It would stink horribly more if she had to get up even earlier to shower/dress/commute and then endure the drive home in the evening. As an aside, if this is the most money she has ever made, it could increase her Social Security benefit (I think they use the highest paid 35 years, so this year could displace a lesser one.) Social Security Administration is supposed to track this and let you know if it happens, but you may wish to monitor it. Also keep in mind that when other earnings cross a certain threshold, Social Security benefits for that year may become taxable. Check it out here. I only point this out so you can plan for it if you're not already, although it sounds like you two may have already been in this situation. I hate nasty surprises when taxes are filed.
She has been on full SS since turning 67, in 2015. No money gets taken from her. Both of our SS are taxable and we the tax taken out before we get the monthly deposit into our bank. The more "enduring" part, that she's very glad she doesn't have is.........snowstorm/blizzard conditions. Since she started this job, we've already had a blizzard of 30 inches and some very cold mornings either a few degrees below zero or just above. On the 20th of this month, it was 15 degrees at 7AM.
The last 5 years or so of my career, my employer started forcing people to work from home. It used to be a benefit you had to apply for and to justify, but then they started to shut down offices to save money. If you did not supervise someone, you no longer had an office. That is what freed me up to move to this rural location and still keep my DC area job. I was able to get a space to work at one of our satellite offices up the road from me so I could be around humans (since I'm single), but it was nice to have the option to stay put when the weather was nasty.
My wife chose, with some inspiration from me, to only apply for "at home" jobs. With this pandemic going on and both of us Diabetic II, it was decided she didn't want a job at an office. Even with both of us being vaccinated. Bad part is, this small city we live in, is made up of many, many working Millennials, that are young enough to be our grandchildren. Very few Seniors here work, but are on a Pension, of which neither of us are. Those that do work, seem to work at local Wal Mart. Funny, but when my wife would get a Zoom (online) interview, from a local company, and with a Millennial interviewing her, she wouldn't get the job. Great qualifications, but, by seeing her online.............well, you know what happened. And, there were some jobs up in Ft. Collins, of which numerous people here work, but it's just to far for her to drive. And, we only have one vehicle now. Had two, before moving back here. Decided to sell one to pay to get boat transported here.
I had the same thing. I got laid off right as I turned 60 in an area I was not familiar with, and started interviewing in out state capital and in Charlottesville (a university town.) Suddenly I realized that I was that old guy I used to interview when I was early in my career, and I could sense the attitude on the part of the younger worker who was sitting across the table. It was then I took a look at my finances and decided to not bother. Had I still been in the DC area, I would have at least been able to get some good-paying consulting work and completely bypass the interview/hiring process.
And, there are those that have a hard time believing that a person's age will keep them from getting a job. It won't at Wal Mart, but not every Senior wants to work there. Many will say, "that's age discrimination and that's against the law". As for many companies, they want someone who will get along with their staff and they doubt very seriously that any Senior will or the staff will. It can be the same way for an ex-military person. There are companies that don't want to hire them, because they are too strict and the company wants a really "laid-back" atmosphere. And, on top of that, if a person is a former Viet Nam Vet, a company can easily figure out the persons age. Actually, I was told by a retired Lt. Col. Army Veteran, at a Veteran's Employment area, "you can list your military experience, if it matches with your job search, just leave off the dates of Service." My Navy experience did match, but an employer will, if dates are not shown, ask for dates. Then was does a Viet Nam Vet say? Anyway, there does come a time when it's time to "throw in the towel" and call it quits for working. My wife does love working, but. And, then comes the time when, if she is extended into July, she will have to quit, due to our plans. My post #288.
Update: Well, she's doing good and also doing not so good. Yesterday, she was informed that the company will give her a 3-week extension, not a 4-week one like the last one. This time, her extension will last until the 18th of June. She both, does and doesn't, want another extension. If they do want to extender her again, she will have to tell them that she will need approx. a week and a half off for plans we made before she started the job. A couple of week days during the middle of July and the entire first week of August. If they tell her "I'm sorry, we can't do that", she will then have to quit. Of course she loves her weekly salary, but do have two things planned already. It's being extremely hard for her to look at double computer screens for the better part of 8 hours a day. She just now came into the living room and told me "I have to take a 10 minute nap/break. My eyes seem to get so tired." I guess she thought it would be pretty easy, after being out of work for almost a year and a half, to go back. In the beginning (January), it was pretty easy, but it has become increasingly difficult. Not the job itself, but just working again in general. The only day she gets to "sleep in" is Sunday, because we get up at 7AM on Saturday to go to Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a little breakfast to bring home. And, if she doesn't get a good enough amount of sleep the night before, working the next day can be really, really tough.
Getting older makes a lot of things rough. I have to make myself my job now. I sat around too long and messed up my body. I have started doing old peoples yoga and muscle activation exercises to try to build stuff up again. Unfortunately it seems I will have to do them FOREVER. If you don't you atrophy. And I don't get paid. But I have some fun in one class and I eat well making my own food. I seem to remember eye exercises that might help your wife. Maybe on youtube?
Don't know what's going to happen, but the 18th is coming up quick. She absolutely loves the weekly pay she is getting, but......... On Friday night, 20 minutes before bedtime, she did take a sleep aid that consists of Melatonin. Pretty much slept the entire night and was up at 6AM. But, by 1:30PM, she needed a nap, so took one for 45 minutes. Right now, Sunday AM, I'm letting her sleep-in until 8:15AM. That will be 2 hrs. past her get-up time during the week. Her arm woke her during the night. It was hurting due to her putting some wax on our boat yesterday. She took a Motrin 200mg for the pain and that is helping her to sleep right now. The money is nice, but a person's health is much more important! We'll see what happens.
Napping is my favorite sport. Nothing wrong with it. If I sleep too soundly, I don't move and wake up stiff. Better I sleep a little lightly and nap in the day. I would take melatonin and a few other natural sleep aids over traditional meds. Good choice.
I can't loll in bed for eight hours without being "locked up" when I get up. I'll limp around the house like Quasimoto for a half hour before things start loosening up. So it's five hours at night and a couple of short naps (or one long nap) during the day and I'm fine. A couple of years ago after spending almost 24 hours in the air and in airports coming home from a trip to India, I crawled in bed and slept for 14 hours straight. I was crippled for two days from sleeping that long.. Everything ached, my skin hurt....I swear my HAIR hurt. Never again.