I’m a veteran, 57, and on disability benefits. How do I persuade my wife, 52, to downsize so we can both retire?

Dear Quentin,

This is my second time writing to you. It seems my previous plans to retire and move to the Philippines with my wife have been destroyed and I am now medically disabled/retired and can’t work. This throws my retirement plans off course, and I sure could use some help navigating my next financial moves. 

I am now 52, my wife is 57, and we still reside in Maryland. My father-in-law would now like to move back to the States and live full time, so we all would like to move somewhere warmer and are thinking it will be South Carolina or Texas. It will need to be near a VA hospital for my ongoing medical care and we are hoping to be near a beach.