Author Topic: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?  (Read 26473 times)

Eagle

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #30 on: October 30, 2017, 05:33:17 PM »
Some days I find myself 'working' on these new projects all day, while others I paddle for a while, ride my bike for a while, and just read and learn new things. Then I play guitar for a while. Life is good in semi-retirement, and I know it's only gonna get better.
Hmm.  Interesting.  Sounds very similar -> as did all those things today except play my guitar.  But the days not over.  Had to cut the lawn earlier.  So all ready for the little kid trick or treaters tomorrow night.
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paddlejones

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #31 on: October 30, 2017, 05:50:34 PM »
46 so it’s not on my to do list at all. maybe 67 or later, who knows

oceanAddict

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #32 on: October 30, 2017, 07:24:22 PM »
wow, what a great reading.

  Being 48 with 3 yo son makes possibility early retirement close to non-existent. So I think I have another 20 years ahead of me and actually was wondering what you are guys thinking about switching the field late in life? I kinda barely tolerate my office job just because of flexible schedule and benefits. Management sucks, the team slowly collapsed and I'm a last one from twelve or so ppl used to work here. Barely raises or promotions (head office is on the left coast so they don't really care). I clearly not enjoy this place anymore and kinda disappointed how ppl were treated. I think I'm looking for a way out and don't really want to be keyboard/mouse jokey anymore. 
   I always liked construction/ renovation business. Currently finishing my third gut job where I always begin as a customer and finishing firing crew and fixing the crappy job myself. I think I would be much happier in this field. Our family friend for many years operates his own RE business and wants us to join him as business is growing. He added property management division and looks like it's going in the right direction under my wife's oversight. I'm helping them too once in a while, but the business is not at the point that I could switch full time. Is this a dangerous game (from a financial point of view) for both of us working in the same business? 
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PonoBill

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #33 on: October 30, 2017, 07:35:08 PM »
People often say they won't retire or that they'll work into their 70's but the average retirement age in the US is 62.  A largew percentage is forced one way or another.
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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #34 on: October 30, 2017, 08:19:26 PM »
Words cannot describe how much I hate being a teacher, but I'm kind of stuck until I can retire.  Too old to make a career change at this point.  I'll be enjoying these posts looking for ideas.
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lopezwill

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #35 on: October 30, 2017, 09:04:51 PM »


 At 52....I'm 62 now.  I started working in Public Safety in my early 20's.  I always picked jobs that gave a pension and provided good medical benefits as I came from a poor family that constantly fought about never having enough money.  I just wanted a fair paying job that would provide a steady paycheck once a month.  I have been very fortunate as the State would take the money out of my paycheck for retirement - pension weather I wanted them to or not.  Now way I could have put money away for early retirement but the State did it for me.

  My wife has always worked.  I never made her get a job or go to work... she just did.  When first married she ran a small child care business in our home.  She then went back to school and received a teaching credential and worked as a teacher while the kids were in grade and High School.  She is still employed as a school administrator.  She still wakes up in the morning singing and happy to go to work...something I seldom did.  We got the kids through college without them acquiring any school loans.  The kids are grown and gone now with good jobs.  We worked hard and bought a meager house in the late 80's that used to be a drug house.  I fixed and painted everything in that house and sold it three years later for a good profit.  We have lived in the house were in now for 27 years.  It's was paid off five years ago.  We did one of those 20 year fixed rate loans and paid it off early.

  I've always driven older cars (mostly older mini vans) with brand new surfboards and wetsuits in them.  We have always tried to live within our means.  We never bought new cars until after I retired.  We only took out one home loan (second) to fix and tile the bathrooms, update the kitchen, put on a new roof and pay for an older Toyota car for out daughter during her college years.  That loan was payed off many years ago.  If we sacrificed it would have been on not going on expensive overseas vacations.

  If your hoping to retire and your young the one word I would focus on is "Balance!"  Keep your life balanced with work, family and play.  I would prioritize family by spending lots of time talking with your kids.  Watching and playing with them in the sports they like... probably won't be surfing or stand up paddling.  Keep praying and checking your life for good balance.   

  I look at my early retirement as a gift from God.  The first 5 years were really special.  Sup surfed most every day.  Really got back into the playing of guitar. Started a band where we would play at Nursing homes around the county.  Visited Hawaii four different times.  Read a bunch of books.  Something to remember is your not going to sup surf at 60 the way you did in your thirties and forties.  If you have some big goal in your life that is of a physical nature I would try to achieve that while your body is younger.  Sorry for the ramble.       

spirit4earth

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #36 on: October 30, 2017, 09:12:36 PM »
What I do between now and then, is my focus.

Made me think of this PJ gem:

North is to south what the clock is to time
There's east and there's west and there's everywhere life
I know I was born and I know that I'll die
The in between is mine
I am mine

You rule Rick!

A great Pearl Jam tune!

spirit4earth

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #37 on: October 30, 2017, 09:22:09 PM »
Never would have retired, cuz all my life, my time was my own, by design.
I owned a bar for 30 years, open at night, so... not really work.

Family, play... then work.

In 2010, my landlady realized that after my 30 year lease expired, she could steal what I had built...and so, she did.
I lost everything, including my home.

So..... why does this matter to this conversation?

I found I could live quite well on NOTHING.
well, almost nothing...
I get $1,306 in Social Security

After rent, utilities and car insurance
I have $100 per week to live on.

That includes food, gas, clothing, auto repair, travel, entertainment....
everything comes out of that $100

So I budget.
It's amazing what you can live without.

I do sell a few Sunova's a year... and my Van is full of demo boards, so I have the odd extra $$$ to fill in some gaps.... but I don't count on it.

I save up $399 every summer, to join Captain's Golf Course with a winter membership.
Sept. to April, I get unlimited play on 2 championship courses.
It kills the budget.... but 7 months of outdoor exercise is worth it.

I own my 2001 GMC van and 2006 Honda Civic, which I repair myself.

Everyday is MINE.... to surf, paddle, play golf or just lay about making videos.

Safety net? NONE
Do I care? HELL no!

Why?

Cuz I know, that right NOW...
I can still surf
I can still paddle
I can still play golf.

Tomorrow?
No guarantee on that.

Every day...
you are a little bit less than yesterday.

If my shit hits the fan, I will figure it out, or not....
but today is mine.

Some of my friends are dying. Most almost had enough to retire.

My world may look small.... but right now, it's pretty sweet!

Rick, it was so great visiting you this summer.  You're an example of how to LIVE life.  Yes, you're on a budget, and you make compromises, but you have a love of life that many people lack.  And your world is not small....in fact, it seems much larger than many people's.

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #38 on: October 30, 2017, 10:06:51 PM »
I  consider  myself  successfully  retired , after a rough  start. I  spent  most  of  my  career  in computer  science , programming , analysis , project  management , etc .  mostly  I  worked  as an  independent  contractor  and the  last  5 years  as an employee  for  a  mortgage  broker. Not the  best  position  to have  during  the  financial  crisis  of   2008. I  was  61 years  old  when  they  turned  the  lights  out of the  company  I  worked  for .

Since  I  mostly  worked  independently , I  invested in 401Ks, but when  the  stock  market  dropped  so did  my retirement  savings .  What  really  saved  me  was  being  debt free . Things  were  tough ,  but  I  didn't  lose  anything  because  I  didn't  owe anything .  Stocks  came  back  and so did  my real estate .

My parents  grew  up  during  the  depression  and  I  guess  they  instilled  in  me to not  buy  anything  I  can't  pay for .  Foe example  I   always  bought  newish  used  cars  and keep  them  forever .

Badger

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #39 on: October 30, 2017, 11:38:01 PM »
My parents  grew  up  during  the  depression  and  I  guess  they  instilled  in  me to not  buy  anything  I  can't  pay for .  Foe example  I   always  bought  newish  used  cars  and keep  them  forever .

Same here. I've paid cash for virtually everything I've ever bought in my life. Debt and bills scare the heck out of me. So I've lived a very simple life.

Apparently there are three kinds of work. Work for money, work for necessity and work for enjoyment. I've never been able to find enjoyment making money.

I'm very busy. Like Pono, I enjoy working on projects and inventions. I never make any money from them though. Making money seems to take the fun out of it for me.

Home maintenance is a lot of work.  The rest of the time, I'm surfing. That doesn't leave me much time for gainful employment.

My last 40 hour job was in 1996. So I guess I've been semi retired since 39. I didn't plan it that way. It's just the way it is.

It boggles my mind that some people retire from their job and have nothing to do.


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headmount

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #40 on: October 30, 2017, 11:55:33 PM »
I always felt the word 'retirement' was synonymous with checking out so I've never used it.   Everyone I knew growing up who used the term, died shortly after so I've been goofing off since the get go.  You hafta practice for this stuff.

From Pono Bill's post/ "I never had retirement as a goal. Other than saving for it, I never planned on it. I pretty much assumed I'd fall in the traces." 

Meriweather Lewis wrote that the plains indians would tell their elderly when they weren't able to keep up with the hunt or nomadic travel. "You've lived long enough.  It's time for you to die."  In 1805 there were no retirement accounts, social security, or warm and fuzzy hospice groups to take you to the river.  Most of us on this forum would  have been cast to the howling wolves long ago.


esskay1000

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #41 on: October 31, 2017, 02:51:55 AM »
My parents  grew  up  during  the  depression  and  I  guess  they  instilled  in  me to not  buy  anything  I  can't  pay for .  Foe example  I   always  bought  newish  used  cars  and keep  them  forever .

Same here. I've paid cash for virtually everything I've ever bought in my life. Debt and bills scare the heck out of me. So I've lived a very simple life.


This.... and my parents taught me to be frugal as well. I saddens me to hear that some feel trapped in their job or that early retirement is 'impossible'. It's possible for the vast majority who make a decent salary (doesn't have to be 6-figures). You just have to make cut-throat decisions on how you spend your money. Ditch the huge house that wastes money. And no new cars. Houses and cars are where American flush their money down the toilet

I drove a $4000 Ford Focus Station wagon for 10 years when I was making a very handsome salary. My friends laughed at me but now I'm semi-retired at 47 and laughing at them. First off, it got 32mpg, so I was wasting less $$ on fuel than them. And it carried my SUPs like a champ, as well as all my cycling and camping gear. The thing was a rock-star. Bought it for 4k, traded it in 10 years later for $1200. During that time, besides routine maintenance I had to repair one power window and one alternator (probably $700 total). So for $3500 I had a great car for 10 years!  Most middle-class Americans live their entire lives with a $400 car payment per month. In 10 years that's $48,000.  So, 48k versus 3.5k. The math is in my favor. With that 45k that I have leftover invested in the stock market (in index funds), in 10 years at an average of 6%, that becomes 80K.

The recipe is spend way less than you earn, invest the difference in simple index funds, retire early. Ignore the Joneses, ignore consumer-culture, and enjoy what you have. We already have so much more than Americans did even 50 years ago. Hell, I have a magic Star-Trek type phone that talks to space!!!
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Dusk Patrol

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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #42 on: October 31, 2017, 03:27:37 AM »
 I'm healthy (thank you universe) and 55, but one never knows when one's number may be up... so I try to strike a balance between saving for the future on the one hand and, on the other,  living for the moment. As a result I don't spend "way less than I earn", but I do spend on life experience. Hopefully it all works out...
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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #43 on: October 31, 2017, 06:04:48 AM »
Agree with comments above about some folks taking retirement to the extreme of taking on mentality of doing nothing i.e., "watch the grass grow".   Leads to inactivity of body and mind and a quick path to the great dirt nap.  Doubtful any of those types here given this crazy SUP passion most/a'' have here.  Never any reason to be idle unless recovering from something.  I retired two years ago at age 54 after 30 years of commissioned service.  Since then I've been working as a federal contractor doing a lot of what I was doing before the uniform was hung up and the only reason I do it is because I love what I do.  Of course, being on a contract is pretty much year to year and it all could/will end at some point.  I figure when it does then I'll likely not work any longer and we'll tighten up a bit and just live off my military retirement.   For now, its all good....I can pretty much SUP whenever I like or whatever I desire in short 1-3 hour bursts and still keep up with work by keeping flexible with my workday.  All good...blessed!
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Re: At what age did you, or do you plan to retire?
« Reply #44 on: October 31, 2017, 06:26:42 AM »
Quote
After rent, utilities and car insurance
I have $100 per week to live on.

That includes food, gas, clothing, auto repair, travel, entertainment....
everything comes out of that $100

Well that is quite a remarkable feat of budgeting Rick considering there are millions of others in America in the same boat one would think you could improve your income by sharing your budget skills. Living on $14.28 a day with all the amenities you describe is incredible. (Actually it's $13.10 a day if one deducts your yearly golf fees.)

What do you do for health insurance? Is that included in the budget? What's the plan when the body gives out considering you have no backup besides SSI?

You are correct, math doesn't lie.... it ain't much.
Meals can't cost $5 or there's no gas.
I try to eat only grass fed, organic, free range, healthy food.. no rice, pasta, potatoes or beans for bulk.... so it's a challenge.
Shopping becomes an artform.... as are all the choices I make.

At 69, medicare pays for my "Tufts Health Plan" since I live in a covered zip code.

I am a realist, I understand my body may give out, that's why I don't put anything off till tomorrow.
 
What do I do if my body breaks? (which I am trying to avoid)
I ain't a'scared.
I never fear the future, my life has taught me that I can deal effectively with any situation that come up. Who knows.....I may find joys in making money again;D

Money has alway been easy for me, that's why I don't sweat that part.
When I had it, I bought houses, Mercedes, designed and built a motor yacht, which I paid for by selling one of my houses. I grabbed my wife of one year, left my business in the hands of employees and took the boat to the islands for 7 months on a surf trip.

When it got boring, we came home and had 2 daughters.... now 24 and 27, both totally self sufficient, living on their own with good jobs. The 2 nicest people I have ever known. I never planned on leaving them anything but the ability to happily and effectively navigate through life....so far, so good.

I get the same joy out of my 2006 Honda Civic (237,000 miles) that I did from my top of the line Mercedes....the view out the front window is the same.

Money surely brings perks..... but life's perks are what I cherish.

I think I need to do a post or a video of what October was like for a poor boy, with zero responsibilities.... you'll all be retiring today  :)


Ps... retiring from responsibility does not mean that you stop moving forward and being productive.... it just means that you engage differently, on terms that put living first.

 


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