PBS Frontline : The Retirement Gamble, sorta Must See (1 Viewer)

[IC FBGCav]

The level of spending you have now and will have in retirement is a bigger driver than what funds or tax vehicle your savings are in. Certainly a worthy topic of discussion.

Yup. My parents are taking a fire fighter pension, 2 social security checks and a not bigger than a breadbasket savings/investment account as far as it can go. A glorified double wide on a lake in NH in the summer, a 2 bedroom condo 2 mi from the beach in fla in the winter and 45-60 days on a cruise ship per year. Frugal folks other than the cruise fares. They even managed to retire early (54ish).I envy them.

Is the NH a trailer park or property with a trailer on it? If the latter, did they buy the prop with the trailer already on it from someone or buy the land and go through the process of getting it cleared and having the trailer moved in and hooked up? I find the arraignment your folks have very appealing.

They bought the property about 25 years ago in a "trailer community". We started with a pop up for 2-3 years and then they purchased a double wide. My dad and I cleared out the property and the trailer company set it up. Now the community has running water, electricity, cable and they had a propane tank set up with a heating stove.

It's a nice layout... Def not the typical "trailer park" you're used to seeing on TV. In fact the neighbors just put in a 11K outdoor kitchen complete with granite.

There are many nice areas with trailers the further south you get and the closer to the ocean you get. Growing up in PA, all trailer parks were pretty bad to me. After moving to NC and hanging at the beach, many people have trailer communities near the beach and everyone has nice decks, golf carts to drive around, etc........

 

[Dentist]

For those questioning food costs...elderly people eat way less in general. They aren't doing the daily grind, working out, and they don't require 2,000+ calories a day.

To Slapdash's point - you also have to consider that once you retire you are no longer contributing to your retirement. For the mega savers that is a huge percent or dollar amount. Most retirement calculators don't adjust for this.

Including the FICA/Medicare contribution. And the loss of all the job related expenses Slapdash talked about can be a very large sum of money for some people. Many folks don't realize how much until they stop working.

Same token, most people don't realize how much time they have to fill when retired. Its fine when the weather is nice, but in the middle of the summer and middle of winter, you're inside all the time and you need something to do. I'm personally wonder what I'd do all day, day after day, in the winter when I'm 70.

People ask me this all the time.

I retired in August of 2010 and have not been bored a single day since then.

For me personally, retirement is the 100% change from waking up thinking "what do I have to do today", to thinking "what do I want to do today"

At this point in my retirement I am just really enjoying a second childhood.

So middle of the winter, what do you do day after day? Say hypothetically, there's 16 waking hours in the day. I know you can say read and watch tv, but that's a lot of reading and watching tv if that fills a large part of your day.

But if you love those type of things, it works.

My typical mid winter day is this

tv, reading, playing video games, surfing, picking up daughter from school, shopping and cooking.

Now, just so no one thinks I'm too much of a hater.

This is what I figure a lot of retirement looks like and I'm fine with that.

I'm jealous of Newlyretired's time he gets to spend reading graphic novels, playing video games (I"d love to get back into some RPG's), and nothing wrong with some general internet surfing.

Couple questions for you:

1) what is your approximate age?

2) how old are the kiddos?

3) what is going to change, if anything, when they are out of the house?

4) what do you do to spice that up? You see I want to play video games and read too... but I figure I can do that a couple weeks a month or so but then I need a trip or an adventure or something every month.

5) What has been the effect of being retired early on: 1) your friends and your interactions with them 2) people's perception of you... like your daughter's friends and their parents, school teachers, etc. One of the things I thought about with early retirement is that I garner some level of respect with what I do whether perceived or otherwise... but if I was just "retired guy" would people think less of me?

 

[IC FBGCav]

For those questioning food costs...elderly people eat way less in general. They aren't doing the daily grind, working out, and they don't require 2,000+ calories a day.

To Slapdash's point - you also have to consider that once you retire you are no longer contributing to your retirement. For the mega savers that is a huge percent or dollar amount. Most retirement calculators don't adjust for this.

Including the FICA/Medicare contribution. And the loss of all the job related expenses Slapdash talked about can be a very large sum of money for some people. Many folks don't realize how much until they stop working.

Same token, most people don't realize how much time they have to fill when retired. Its fine when the weather is nice, but in the middle of the summer and middle of winter, you're inside all the time and you need something to do. I'm personally wonder what I'd do all day, day after day, in the winter when I'm 70.

People ask me this all the time.

I retired in August of 2010 and have not been bored a single day since then.

For me personally, retirement is the 100% change from waking up thinking "what do I have to do today", to thinking "what do I want to do today"

At this point in my retirement I am just really enjoying a second childhood.

So middle of the winter, what do you do day after day? Say hypothetically, there's 16 waking hours in the day. I know you can say read and watch tv, but that's a lot of reading and watching tv if that fills a large part of your day.

But if you love those type of things, it works.

My typical mid winter day is this

tv, reading, playing video games, surfing, picking up daughter from school, shopping and cooking.

Now, just so no one thinks I'm too much of a hater.

This is what I figure a lot of retirement looks like and I'm fine with that.

I'm jealous of Newlyretired's time he gets to spend reading graphic novels, playing video games (I"d love to get back into some RPG's), and nothing wrong with some general internet surfing.

Couple questions for you:

1) what is your approximate age?

2) how old are the kiddos?

3) what is going to change, if anything, when they are out of the house?

4) what do you do to spice that up? You see I want to play video games and read too... but I figure I can do that a couple weeks a month or so but then I need a trip or an adventure or something every month.

5) What has been the effect of being retired early on: 1) your friends and your interactions with them 2) people's perception of you... like your daughter's friends and their parents, school teachers, etc. One of the things I thought about with early retirement is that I garner some level of respect with what I do whether perceived or otherwise... but if I was just "retired guy" would people think less of me?

This should not matter the least to you. Let that stuff go.

 

[fourd]

For those questioning food costs...elderly people eat way less in general. They aren't doing the daily grind, working out, and they don't require 2,000+ calories a day.

To Slapdash's point - you also have to consider that once you retire you are no longer contributing to your retirement. For the mega savers that is a huge percent or dollar amount. Most retirement calculators don't adjust for this.

Including the FICA/Medicare contribution. And the loss of all the job related expenses Slapdash talked about can be a very large sum of money for some people. Many folks don't realize how much until they stop working.

Same token, most people don't realize how much time they have to fill when retired. Its fine when the weather is nice, but in the middle of the summer and middle of winter, you're inside all the time and you need something to do. I'm personally wonder what I'd do all day, day after day, in the winter when I'm 70.

People ask me this all the time.

I retired in August of 2010 and have not been bored a single day since then.

For me personally, retirement is the 100% change from waking up thinking "what do I have to do today", to thinking "what do I want to do today"

At this point in my retirement I am just really enjoying a second childhood.

So middle of the winter, what do you do day after day? Say hypothetically, there's 16 waking hours in the day. I know you can say read and watch tv, but that's a lot of reading and watching tv if that fills a large part of your day.

But if you love those type of things, it works.

My typical mid winter day is this

tv, reading, playing video games, surfing, picking up daughter from school, shopping and cooking.

Now, just so no one thinks I'm too much of a hater.

This is what I figure a lot of retirement looks like and I'm fine with that.

I'm jealous of Newlyretired's time he gets to spend reading graphic novels, playing video games (I"d love to get back into some RPG's), and nothing wrong with some general internet surfing.

Couple questions for you:

1) what is your approximate age?

2) how old are the kiddos?

3) what is going to change, if anything, when they are out of the house?

4) what do you do to spice that up? You see I want to play video games and read too... but I figure I can do that a couple weeks a month or so but then I need a trip or an adventure or something every month.

5) What has been the effect of being retired early on: 1) your friends and your interactions with them 2) people's perception of you... like your daughter's friends and their parents, school teachers, etc. One of the things I thought about with early retirement is that I garner some level of respect with what I do whether perceived or otherwise... but if I was just "retired guy" would people think less of me?

I bet you could find a lot of places that would love to have you volunteer your time for a few hours a week.

 

[Gawain]

5) What has been the effect of being retired early on: 1) your friends and your interactions with them 2) people's perception of you... like your daughter's friends and their parents, school teachers, etc. One of the things I thought about with early retirement is that I garner some level of respect with what I do whether perceived or otherwise... but if I was just "retired guy" would people think less of me?

I think I'd worry more about how pooing on chests caused me to be perceived rather than an emeritus tag.

 

[NewlyRetired]

For those questioning food costs...elderly people eat way less in general. They aren't doing the daily grind, working out, and they don't require 2,000+ calories a day.

To Slapdash's point - you also have to consider that once you retire you are no longer contributing to your retirement. For the mega savers that is a huge percent or dollar amount. Most retirement calculators don't adjust for this.

Including the FICA/Medicare contribution. And the loss of all the job related expenses Slapdash talked about can be a very large sum of money for some people. Many folks don't realize how much until they stop working.

Same token, most people don't realize how much time they have to fill when retired. Its fine when the weather is nice, but in the middle of the summer and middle of winter, you're inside all the time and you need something to do. I'm personally wonder what I'd do all day, day after day, in the winter when I'm 70.

People ask me this all the time.

I retired in August of 2010 and have not been bored a single day since then.

For me personally, retirement is the 100% change from waking up thinking "what do I have to do today", to thinking "what do I want to do today"

At this point in my retirement I am just really enjoying a second childhood.

So middle of the winter, what do you do day after day? Say hypothetically, there's 16 waking hours in the day. I know you can say read and watch tv, but that's a lot of reading and watching tv if that fills a large part of your day.

But if you love those type of things, it works.

My typical mid winter day is this

tv, reading, playing video games, surfing, picking up daughter from school, shopping and cooking.

Now, just so no one thinks I'm too much of a hater.

This is what I figure a lot of retirement looks like and I'm fine with that.

I'm jealous of Newlyretired's time he gets to spend reading graphic novels, playing video games (I"d love to get back into some RPG's), and nothing wrong with some general internet surfing.

Couple questions for you:

1) what is your approximate age?

2) how old are the kiddos?

3) what is going to change, if anything, when they are out of the house?

4) what do you do to spice that up? You see I want to play video games and read too... but I figure I can do that a couple weeks a month or so but then I need a trip or an adventure or something every month.

5) What has been the effect of being retired early on: 1) your friends and your interactions with them 2) people's perception of you... like your daughter's friends and their parents, school teachers, etc. One of the things I thought about with early retirement is that I garner some level of respect with what I do whether perceived or otherwise... but if I was just "retired guy" would people think less of me?

1) 47

2) 1 child is 15 (sophomore in high school)

3) we intend to travel, starting with touring the US, maybe in an RV

4) not sure what you are asking here.

5) friends are happy for me and jealous (in a good way). Daughters friends/parents could not care less.

Do you think less of people who retire early?

 

[NewlyRetired]

For those questioning food costs...elderly people eat way less in general. They aren't doing the daily grind, working out, and they don't require 2,000+ calories a day.

To Slapdash's point - you also have to consider that once you retire you are no longer contributing to your retirement. For the mega savers that is a huge percent or dollar amount. Most retirement calculators don't adjust for this.

Including the FICA/Medicare contribution. And the loss of all the job related expenses Slapdash talked about can be a very large sum of money for some people. Many folks don't realize how much until they stop working.

Same token, most people don't realize how much time they have to fill when retired. Its fine when the weather is nice, but in the middle of the summer and middle of winter, you're inside all the time and you need something to do. I'm personally wonder what I'd do all day, day after day, in the winter when I'm 70.

People ask me this all the time.

I retired in August of 2010 and have not been bored a single day since then.

For me personally, retirement is the 100% change from waking up thinking "what do I have to do today", to thinking "what do I want to do today"

At this point in my retirement I am just really enjoying a second childhood.

So middle of the winter, what do you do day after day? Say hypothetically, there's 16 waking hours in the day. I know you can say read and watch tv, but that's a lot of reading and watching tv if that fills a large part of your day.

But if you love those type of things, it works.

My typical mid winter day is this

tv, reading, playing video games, surfing, picking up daughter from school, shopping and cooking.

Now, just so no one thinks I'm too much of a hater.

This is what I figure a lot of retirement looks like and I'm fine with that.

I'm jealous of Newlyretired's time he gets to spend reading graphic novels, playing video games (I"d love to get back into some RPG's), and nothing wrong with some general internet surfing.

Couple questions for you:

1) what is your approximate age?

2) how old are the kiddos?

3) what is going to change, if anything, when they are out of the house?

4) what do you do to spice that up? You see I want to play video games and read too... but I figure I can do that a couple weeks a month or so but then I need a trip or an adventure or something every month.

5) What has been the effect of being retired early on: 1) your friends and your interactions with them 2) people's perception of you... like your daughter's friends and their parents, school teachers, etc. One of the things I thought about with early retirement is that I garner some level of respect with what I do whether perceived or otherwise... but if I was just "retired guy" would people think less of me?

I bet you could find a lot of places that would love to have you volunteer your time for a few hours a week.

I "work" 8 hours a week at a local library.

There is no shortage of volunteer work to be had if one enjoys that.

 

[Dentist]

For those questioning food costs...elderly people eat way less in general. They aren't doing the daily grind, working out, and they don't require 2,000+ calories a day.

To Slapdash's point - you also have to consider that once you retire you are no longer contributing to your retirement. For the mega savers that is a huge percent or dollar amount. Most retirement calculators don't adjust for this.

Including the FICA/Medicare contribution. And the loss of all the job related expenses Slapdash talked about can be a very large sum of money for some people. Many folks don't realize how much until they stop working.

Same token, most people don't realize how much time they have to fill when retired. Its fine when the weather is nice, but in the middle of the summer and middle of winter, you're inside all the time and you need something to do. I'm personally wonder what I'd do all day, day after day, in the winter when I'm 70.

People ask me this all the time.

I retired in August of 2010 and have not been bored a single day since then.

For me personally, retirement is the 100% change from waking up thinking "what do I have to do today", to thinking "what do I want to do today"

At this point in my retirement I am just really enjoying a second childhood.

So middle of the winter, what do you do day after day? Say hypothetically, there's 16 waking hours in the day. I know you can say read and watch tv, but that's a lot of reading and watching tv if that fills a large part of your day.

But if you love those type of things, it works.

My typical mid winter day is this

tv, reading, playing video games, surfing, picking up daughter from school, shopping and cooking.

Now, just so no one thinks I'm too much of a hater.

This is what I figure a lot of retirement looks like and I'm fine with that.

I'm jealous of Newlyretired's time he gets to spend reading graphic novels, playing video games (I"d love to get back into some RPG's), and nothing wrong with some general internet surfing.

Couple questions for you:

1) what is your approximate age?

2) how old are the kiddos?

3) what is going to change, if anything, when they are out of the house?

4) what do you do to spice that up? You see I want to play video games and read too... but I figure I can do that a couple weeks a month or so but then I need a trip or an adventure or something every month.

5) What has been the effect of being retired early on: 1) your friends and your interactions with them 2) people's perception of you... like your daughter's friends and their parents, school teachers, etc. One of the things I thought about with early retirement is that I garner some level of respect with what I do whether perceived or otherwise... but if I was just "retired guy" would people think less of me?

1) 47

2) 1 child is 15 (sophomore in high school)

3) we intend to travel, starting with touring the US, maybe in an RV

4) not sure what you are asking here.

5) friends are happy for me and jealous (in a good way). Daughters friends/parents could not care less.

Do you think less of people who retire early?

4) i meant, surely you can't do that stuff 365 days a year... what do you do to break up the monotony

I don't think any less of those people, I want to be one.

Wow.. 47... and you've been doing it 4 years.... There's just no way I'll ever pull that off, I'm not doing well enough and my wife doesn't work and i have a 10 month old and child in route. and that would need i'd need to get to 5 million in the next 6 years.... too good newlyretired... impressive

 

[NewlyRetired]

4) i meant, surely you can't do that stuff 365 days a year... what do you do to break up the monotony

That is the entire point . It is not in any way monotonous to me.I love tv, movies, sports, cooking etc.

I go to bed very late each night sad that the day is ending but happy knowing I can start up right up again the next day.

 

[Tiger Fan]

For those questioning food costs...elderly people eat way less in general. They aren't doing the daily grind, working out, and they don't require 2,000+ calories a day.

To Slapdash's point - you also have to consider that once you retire you are no longer contributing to your retirement. For the mega savers that is a huge percent or dollar amount. Most retirement calculators don't adjust for this.

Including the FICA/Medicare contribution. And the loss of all the job related expenses Slapdash talked about can be a very large sum of money for some people. Many folks don't realize how much until they stop working.

Same token, most people don't realize how much time they have to fill when retired. Its fine when the weather is nice, but in the middle of the summer and middle of winter, you're inside all the time and you need something to do. I'm personally wonder what I'd do all day, day after day, in the winter when I'm 70.

People ask me this all the time.

I retired in August of 2010 and have not been bored a single day since then.

For me personally, retirement is the 100% change from waking up thinking "what do I have to do today", to thinking "what do I want to do today"

At this point in my retirement I am just really enjoying a second childhood.

So middle of the winter, what do you do day after day? Say hypothetically, there's 16 waking hours in the day. I know you can say read and watch tv, but that's a lot of reading and watching tv if that fills a large part of your day.

But if you love those type of things, it works.

My typical mid winter day is this

tv, reading, playing video games, surfing, picking up daughter from school, shopping and cooking.

Now, just so no one thinks I'm too much of a hater.

This is what I figure a lot of retirement looks like and I'm fine with that.

I'm jealous of Newlyretired's time he gets to spend reading graphic novels, playing video games (I"d love to get back into some RPG's), and nothing wrong with some general internet surfing.

Couple questions for you:

1) what is your approximate age?

2) how old are the kiddos?

3) what is going to change, if anything, when they are out of the house?

4) what do you do to spice that up? You see I want to play video games and read too... but I figure I can do that a couple weeks a month or so but then I need a trip or an adventure or something every month.

5) What has been the effect of being retired early on: 1) your friends and your interactions with them 2) people's perception of you... like your daughter's friends and their parents, school teachers, etc. One of the things I thought about with early retirement is that I garner some level of respect with what I do whether perceived or otherwise... but if I was just "retired guy" would people think less of me?

This should not matter the least to you. Let that stuff go.

I think the better question is, do you ever face the conflict of seeing how your daughter perceives you b/c you retired early? Do you get worried that she has seen you "not work" and that's ok. I know it's not the same as being out of a job, b/c you're reaping the benefits of all the hard work you put in on the front end...but I'm sure there's something to be said for witnessing it every day.

I'm not trying to sound condescending by any means, but it's tough verbalizing it...but it's something that I've thought about myself if I'm fortunate enough to retire prior to my kids being out of the house.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I think the better question is, do you ever face the conflict of seeing how your daughter perceives you b/c you retired early? Do you get worried that she has seen you "not work" and that's ok. I know it's not the same as being out of a job, b/c you're reaping the benefits of all the hard work you put in on the front end...but I'm sure there's something to be said for witnessing it every day.

I'm not trying to sound condescending by any means, but it's tough verbalizing it...but it's something that I've thought about myself if I'm fortunate enough to retire prior to my kids being out of the house.

it is a good question, but I have no idea how to answer it as she does not treat me any differently from how her friends treat their dads. I don't think kids think of things that way.

She knows I worked my tail off to retire early and that my wife and I really understand how to handle money.

It might be different if I retired via an inheritance I guess since she might see that as an easy way out.

But if she wants to equate working her butt off to getting to retire early, that is ok with me. There are a lot worse things she could think.

 

[sjslacker]

Is it too late to do a back door Roth IRA contribution for 2014?

No, you have until 4/15/15 to make a non deductible traditional contribution for tax year 2014 and convert it to a Roth. There is really no deadline on the conversion, only the initial IRA contribution.

Thanks!

 

[Tiger Fan]

I think the better question is, do you ever face the conflict of seeing how your daughter perceives you b/c you retired early? Do you get worried that she has seen you "not work" and that's ok. I know it's not the same as being out of a job, b/c you're reaping the benefits of all the hard work you put in on the front end...but I'm sure there's something to be said for witnessing it every day.

I'm not trying to sound condescending by any means, but it's tough verbalizing it...but it's something that I've thought about myself if I'm fortunate enough to retire prior to my kids being out of the house.

it is a good question, but I have no idea how to answer it as she does not treat me any differently from how her friends treat their dads. I don't think kids think of things that way.

She knows I worked my tail off to retire early and that my wife and I really understand how to handle money.

It might be different if I retired via an inheritance I guess since she might see that as an easy way out.

But if she wants to equate working her butt off to getting to retire early, that is ok with me. There are a lot worse things she could think.

awesome

 

[James Daulton]

I think the better question is, do you ever face the conflict of seeing how your daughter perceives you b/c you retired early? Do you get worried that she has seen you "not work" and that's ok. I know it's not the same as being out of a job, b/c you're reaping the benefits of all the hard work you put in on the front end...but I'm sure there's something to be said for witnessing it every day.

I'm not trying to sound condescending by any means, but it's tough verbalizing it...but it's something that I've thought about myself if I'm fortunate enough to retire prior to my kids being out of the house.

it is a good question, but I have no idea how to answer it as she does not treat me any differently from how her friends treat their dads. I don't think kids think of things that way.

She knows I worked my tail off to retire early and that my wife and I really understand how to handle money.

It might be different if I retired via an inheritance I guess since she might see that as an easy way out.

But if she wants to equate working her butt off to getting to retire early, that is ok with me. There are a lot worse things she could think.

Now you've got me curious. What did you do? Did you get any inheritances or anything that helped? Did you hate your job?

I'm the same age as you. I love my weekends and have many of the same interests as you. That said, I'm shooting for 55 as my retirement age. I have a long time, good position in a good hospital where my commute is short, I feel appreciated, and I feel like I make a difference. I'm not ready to give that up yet and think I'd get bored with no job.

Anyway, just curious and congrats on living your dream.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I think the better question is, do you ever face the conflict of seeing how your daughter perceives you b/c you retired early? Do you get worried that she has seen you "not work" and that's ok. I know it's not the same as being out of a job, b/c you're reaping the benefits of all the hard work you put in on the front end...but I'm sure there's something to be said for witnessing it every day.

I'm not trying to sound condescending by any means, but it's tough verbalizing it...but it's something that I've thought about myself if I'm fortunate enough to retire prior to my kids being out of the house.

it is a good question, but I have no idea how to answer it as she does not treat me any differently from how her friends treat their dads. I don't think kids think of things that way.

She knows I worked my tail off to retire early and that my wife and I really understand how to handle money.

It might be different if I retired via an inheritance I guess since she might see that as an easy way out.

But if she wants to equate working her butt off to getting to retire early, that is ok with me. There are a lot worse things she could think.

Now you've got me curious. What did you do? Did you get any inheritances or anything that helped? Did you hate your job?

I'm the same age as you. I love my weekends and have many of the same interests as you. That said, I'm shooting for 55 as my retirement age. I have a long time, good position in a good hospital where my commute is short, I feel appreciated, and I feel like I make a difference. I'm not ready to give that up yet and think I'd get bored with no job.

Anyway, just curious and congrats on living your dream.

I was an electrical engineer, mostly debugging outrageously complex problems in ASIC's.

We did not get any inheritance but we might get small ones in the future but none of them factored into the spreadsheet, if they come it will just be gravy.

I hated my job.

 

[James Daulton]

I think the better question is, do you ever face the conflict of seeing how your daughter perceives you b/c you retired early? Do you get worried that she has seen you "not work" and that's ok. I know it's not the same as being out of a job, b/c you're reaping the benefits of all the hard work you put in on the front end...but I'm sure there's something to be said for witnessing it every day.

I'm not trying to sound condescending by any means, but it's tough verbalizing it...but it's something that I've thought about myself if I'm fortunate enough to retire prior to my kids being out of the house.

it is a good question, but I have no idea how to answer it as she does not treat me any differently from how her friends treat their dads. I don't think kids think of things that way.

She knows I worked my tail off to retire early and that my wife and I really understand how to handle money.

It might be different if I retired via an inheritance I guess since she might see that as an easy way out.

But if she wants to equate working her butt off to getting to retire early, that is ok with me. There are a lot worse things she could think.

Now you've got me curious. What did you do? Did you get any inheritances or anything that helped? Did you hate your job?

I'm the same age as you. I love my weekends and have many of the same interests as you. That said, I'm shooting for 55 as my retirement age. I have a long time, good position in a good hospital where my commute is short, I feel appreciated, and I feel like I make a difference. I'm not ready to give that up yet and think I'd get bored with no job.

Anyway, just curious and congrats on living your dream.

I was an electrical engineer, mostly debugging outrageously complex problems in ASIC's.

We did not get any inheritance but we might get small ones in the future but none of them factored into the spreadsheet, if they come it will just be gravy.

I hated my job.

Again, kudos to you and your wife for your balls to do what many others would love to do.

The wife is retired too, yes?

 

[NutterButter]

Now you've got me curious. What did you do? Did you get any inheritances or anything that helped? Did you hate your job?

I'm the same age as you. I love my weekends and have many of the same interests as you. That said, I'm shooting for 55 as my retirement age. I have a long time, good position in a good hospital where my commute is short, I feel appreciated, and I feel like I make a difference. I'm not ready to give that up yet and think I'd get bored with no job.

Anyway, just curious and congrats on living your dream.

Do you have kids at home now? I think that once the kids are gone, I'll really have more time than I know what to do with. My job is very similar to yours so unless I want to do a lot of traveling and therefore need more time off than I can get beyond the 4 weeks I get now, part of me thinks I'll just keep working and just have a lot more disposable income.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I think the better question is, do you ever face the conflict of seeing how your daughter perceives you b/c you retired early? Do you get worried that she has seen you "not work" and that's ok. I know it's not the same as being out of a job, b/c you're reaping the benefits of all the hard work you put in on the front end...but I'm sure there's something to be said for witnessing it every day.

I'm not trying to sound condescending by any means, but it's tough verbalizing it...but it's something that I've thought about myself if I'm fortunate enough to retire prior to my kids being out of the house.

it is a good question, but I have no idea how to answer it as she does not treat me any differently from how her friends treat their dads. I don't think kids think of things that way.

She knows I worked my tail off to retire early and that my wife and I really understand how to handle money.

It might be different if I retired via an inheritance I guess since she might see that as an easy way out.

But if she wants to equate working her butt off to getting to retire early, that is ok with me. There are a lot worse things she could think.

Now you've got me curious. What did you do? Did you get any inheritances or anything that helped? Did you hate your job?

I'm the same age as you. I love my weekends and have many of the same interests as you. That said, I'm shooting for 55 as my retirement age. I have a long time, good position in a good hospital where my commute is short, I feel appreciated, and I feel like I make a difference. I'm not ready to give that up yet and think I'd get bored with no job.

Anyway, just curious and congrats on living your dream.

I was an electrical engineer, mostly debugging outrageously complex problems in ASIC's.

We did not get any inheritance but we might get small ones in the future but none of them factored into the spreadsheet, if they come it will just be gravy.

I hated my job.

Again, kudos to you and your wife for your balls to do what many others would love to do.

The wife is retired too, yes?

yes, she got out about a year before I did (also an engineer).

Thanks for the kind words! I know what I did is not for everyone, and if I loved my job I don't think I would have retired so early.

I was very lucky to be highly compensated but was not lucky in how I liked the job so everything kind of balances out in the end I guess.

 

[Dentist]

I think the better question is, do you ever face the conflict of seeing how your daughter perceives you b/c you retired early? Do you get worried that she has seen you "not work" and that's ok. I know it's not the same as being out of a job, b/c you're reaping the benefits of all the hard work you put in on the front end...but I'm sure there's something to be said for witnessing it every day.

I'm not trying to sound condescending by any means, but it's tough verbalizing it...but it's something that I've thought about myself if I'm fortunate enough to retire prior to my kids being out of the house.

it is a good question, but I have no idea how to answer it as she does not treat me any differently from how her friends treat their dads. I don't think kids think of things that way.

She knows I worked my tail off to retire early and that my wife and I really understand how to handle money.

It might be different if I retired via an inheritance I guess since she might see that as an easy way out.

But if she wants to equate working her butt off to getting to retire early, that is ok with me. There are a lot worse things she could think.

Now you've got me curious. What did you do? Did you get any inheritances or anything that helped? Did you hate your job?

I'm the same age as you. I love my weekends and have many of the same interests as you. That said, I'm shooting for 55 as my retirement age. I have a long time, good position in a good hospital where my commute is short, I feel appreciated, and I feel like I make a difference. I'm not ready to give that up yet and think I'd get bored with no job.

Anyway, just curious and congrats on living your dream.

I was an electrical engineer, mostly debugging outrageously complex problems in ASIC's.

We did not get any inheritance but we might get small ones in the future but none of them factored into the spreadsheet, if they come it will just be gravy.

I hated my job.

Again, kudos to you and your wife for your balls to do what many others would love to do.

The wife is retired too, yes?

yes, she got out about a year before I did (also an engineer).

Thanks for the kind words! I know what I did is not for everyone, and if I loved my job I don't think I would have retired so early.

I was very lucky to be highly compensated but was not lucky in how I liked the job so everything kind of balances out in the end I guess.

Out of sheer curiosity and as someone who also has issues with the enjoyment of their job or lack thereof, was there any other alternative to highly complex ASICS that you could have slipped into that would have maintained some sort of an engineering job for you without the hate?

For instance if somehow I could carve out a practice where I did nothing but root canals and didn't have to see children, do extractions, or mess with the frustrations of working with complete care cases on certain types of people, I could probably wake up everyday motivated to come to the office.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I think the better question is, do you ever face the conflict of seeing how your daughter perceives you b/c you retired early? Do you get worried that she has seen you "not work" and that's ok. I know it's not the same as being out of a job, b/c you're reaping the benefits of all the hard work you put in on the front end...but I'm sure there's something to be said for witnessing it every day.

I'm not trying to sound condescending by any means, but it's tough verbalizing it...but it's something that I've thought about myself if I'm fortunate enough to retire prior to my kids being out of the house.

it is a good question, but I have no idea how to answer it as she does not treat me any differently from how her friends treat their dads. I don't think kids think of things that way.

She knows I worked my tail off to retire early and that my wife and I really understand how to handle money.

It might be different if I retired via an inheritance I guess since she might see that as an easy way out.

But if she wants to equate working her butt off to getting to retire early, that is ok with me. There are a lot worse things she could think.

Now you've got me curious. What did you do? Did you get any inheritances or anything that helped? Did you hate your job?

I'm the same age as you. I love my weekends and have many of the same interests as you. That said, I'm shooting for 55 as my retirement age. I have a long time, good position in a good hospital where my commute is short, I feel appreciated, and I feel like I make a difference. I'm not ready to give that up yet and think I'd get bored with no job.

Anyway, just curious and congrats on living your dream.

I was an electrical engineer, mostly debugging outrageously complex problems in ASIC's.

We did not get any inheritance but we might get small ones in the future but none of them factored into the spreadsheet, if they come it will just be gravy.

I hated my job.

Again, kudos to you and your wife for your balls to do what many others would love to do.

The wife is retired too, yes?

yes, she got out about a year before I did (also an engineer).

Thanks for the kind words! I know what I did is not for everyone, and if I loved my job I don't think I would have retired so early.

I was very lucky to be highly compensated but was not lucky in how I liked the job so everything kind of balances out in the end I guess.

Out of sheer curiosity and as someone who also has issues with the enjoyment of their job or lack thereof, was there any other alternative to highly complex ASICS that you could have slipped into that would have maintained some sort of an engineering job for you without the hate?

For instance if somehow I could carve out a practice where I did nothing but root canals and didn't have to see children, do extractions, or mess with the frustrations of working with complete care cases on certain types of people, I could probably wake up everyday motivated to come to the office.

no, I did not like engineering as a whole. I just happened to be pretty good at a specific niche which was a very well compensated area. So I decided in my late 20's to just stick with it, make as much money as I could and get out when I could.

I even went part time near the end but that did not help control my hours. I just ended up getting paid less but was still working a ton of hours.

 

[NutterButter]

I think the better question is, do you ever face the conflict of seeing how your daughter perceives you b/c you retired early? Do you get worried that she has seen you "not work" and that's ok. I know it's not the same as being out of a job, b/c you're reaping the benefits of all the hard work you put in on the front end...but I'm sure there's something to be said for witnessing it every day.

I'm not trying to sound condescending by any means, but it's tough verbalizing it...but it's something that I've thought about myself if I'm fortunate enough to retire prior to my kids being out of the house.

it is a good question, but I have no idea how to answer it as she does not treat me any differently from how her friends treat their dads. I don't think kids think of things that way.

She knows I worked my tail off to retire early and that my wife and I really understand how to handle money.

It might be different if I retired via an inheritance I guess since she might see that as an easy way out.

But if she wants to equate working her butt off to getting to retire early, that is ok with me. There are a lot worse things she could think.

Now you've got me curious. What did you do? Did you get any inheritances or anything that helped? Did you hate your job?

I'm the same age as you. I love my weekends and have many of the same interests as you. That said, I'm shooting for 55 as my retirement age. I have a long time, good position in a good hospital where my commute is short, I feel appreciated, and I feel like I make a difference. I'm not ready to give that up yet and think I'd get bored with no job.

Anyway, just curious and congrats on living your dream.

I was an electrical engineer, mostly debugging outrageously complex problems in ASIC's.

We did not get any inheritance but we might get small ones in the future but none of them factored into the spreadsheet, if they come it will just be gravy.

I hated my job.

Again, kudos to you and your wife for your balls to do what many others would love to do.

The wife is retired too, yes?

yes, she got out about a year before I did (also an engineer).

Thanks for the kind words! I know what I did is not for everyone, and if I loved my job I don't think I would have retired so early.

I was very lucky to be highly compensated but was not lucky in how I liked the job so everything kind of balances out in the end I guess.

Out of sheer curiosity and as someone who also has issues with the enjoyment of their job or lack thereof, was there any other alternative to highly complex ASICS that you could have slipped into that would have maintained some sort of an engineering job for you without the hate?

For instance if somehow I could carve out a practice where I did nothing but root canals and didn't have to see children, do extractions, or mess with the frustrations of working with complete care cases on certain types of people, I could probably wake up everyday motivated to come to the office.

Couldn't you just work less? Seems like my dentist only works a few days a week which seems like a nice gig.

 

[FUBAR]

For those questioning food costs...elderly people eat way less in general. They aren't doing the daily grind, working out, and they don't require 2,000+ calories a day.

To Slapdash's point - you also have to consider that once you retire you are no longer contributing to your retirement. For the mega savers that is a huge percent or dollar amount. Most retirement calculators don't adjust for this.

Including the FICA/Medicare contribution. And the loss of all the job related expenses Slapdash talked about can be a very large sum of money for some people. Many folks don't realize how much until they stop working.

Same token, most people don't realize how much time they have to fill when retired. Its fine when the weather is nice, but in the middle of the summer and middle of winter, you're inside all the time and you need something to do. I'm personally wonder what I'd do all day, day after day, in the winter when I'm 70.

People ask me this all the time.I retired in August of 2010 and have not been bored a single day since then.

For me personally, retirement is the 100% change from waking up thinking "what do I have to do today", to thinking "what do I want to do today"

At this point in my retirement I am just really enjoying a second childhood.

So middle of the winter, what do you do day after day? Say hypothetically, there's 16 waking hours in the day. I know you can say read and watch tv, but that's a lot of reading and watching tv if that fills a large part of your day.

But if you love those type of things, it works.My typical mid winter day is this

tv, reading, playing video games, surfing, picking up daughter from school, shopping and cooking.

Yeah it does. I shouldn't have even brought this up as its so subjective. There are probably people that could sit in a chair all day and stare at a wall which wouldn't cost a thing. There's also people that could work until they're 70 b/c in their mind if all they're doing is reading and watching tv all day, they might as well go to work and get paid as there's plenty of time to do that at night and on the weekend.

Honestly, I wouldn't retire if I didn't know what I wanted to do.

Wood working, building stuff, maybe learn to paint, gardening, running, reading, surfing (the water type), tennis, golf, travel, volunteering at church or some other charity, etc. There's a lot of stuff to do. If your idea of retiring is watching tv all day, maybe you'll be happy but I sure wouldn't.

My parents ate both retired. They do watch their share of TV but also are very involved in their community.

 

[NutterButter]

Honestly, I wouldn't retire if I didn't know what I wanted to do.

Wood working, building stuff, maybe learn to paint, gardening, running, reading, surfing (the water type), tennis, golf, travel, volunteering at church or some other charity, etc. There's a lot of stuff to do. If your idea of retiring is watching tv all day, maybe you'll be happy but I sure wouldn't.My parents ate both retired. They do watch their share of TV but also are very involved in their community.

Yeah, I wouldn't either. I'm at least a decade off, but the thing I don't know is all the stuff I'm interested now like hiking, biking, kayaking, golf, home improvement, landscaping, its all physical in nature and I have no idea if I'll be able to physically do that stuff when I'm in my 50's and beyond. So if I'm not, I need to find a whole bunch of things to do. I already volunteer with an animal rescue so I know I'll do more of that.

 

[Dentist]

I think the better question is, do you ever face the conflict of seeing how your daughter perceives you b/c you retired early? Do you get worried that she has seen you "not work" and that's ok. I know it's not the same as being out of a job, b/c you're reaping the benefits of all the hard work you put in on the front end...but I'm sure there's something to be said for witnessing it every day.

I'm not trying to sound condescending by any means, but it's tough verbalizing it...but it's something that I've thought about myself if I'm fortunate enough to retire prior to my kids being out of the house.

it is a good question, but I have no idea how to answer it as she does not treat me any differently from how her friends treat their dads. I don't think kids think of things that way.

She knows I worked my tail off to retire early and that my wife and I really understand how to handle money.

It might be different if I retired via an inheritance I guess since she might see that as an easy way out.

But if she wants to equate working her butt off to getting to retire early, that is ok with me. There are a lot worse things she could think.

Now you've got me curious. What did you do? Did you get any inheritances or anything that helped? Did you hate your job?

I'm the same age as you. I love my weekends and have many of the same interests as you. That said, I'm shooting for 55 as my retirement age. I have a long time, good position in a good hospital where my commute is short, I feel appreciated, and I feel like I make a difference. I'm not ready to give that up yet and think I'd get bored with no job.

Anyway, just curious and congrats on living your dream.

I was an electrical engineer, mostly debugging outrageously complex problems in ASIC's.

We did not get any inheritance but we might get small ones in the future but none of them factored into the spreadsheet, if they come it will just be gravy.

I hated my job.

Again, kudos to you and your wife for your balls to do what many others would love to do.

The wife is retired too, yes?

yes, she got out about a year before I did (also an engineer).

Thanks for the kind words! I know what I did is not for everyone, and if I loved my job I don't think I would have retired so early.

I was very lucky to be highly compensated but was not lucky in how I liked the job so everything kind of balances out in the end I guess.

Out of sheer curiosity and as someone who also has issues with the enjoyment of their job or lack thereof, was there any other alternative to highly complex ASICS that you could have slipped into that would have maintained some sort of an engineering job for you without the hate?

For instance if somehow I could carve out a practice where I did nothing but root canals and didn't have to see children, do extractions, or mess with the frustrations of working with complete care cases on certain types of people, I could probably wake up everyday motivated to come to the office.

Couldn't you just work less? Seems like my dentist only works a few days a week which seems like a nice gig.

The amount of time I spend working I have no issue with at all.

Only the type of work that I sometimes have to do... certain procedures make my blood boil.. certain types of people make my blood boil. Unfortunately I can't eliminate all those people or procedures without being fairly unprofitable at this time.

 

[NewlyRetired]

OK so the moral is quite clearn here.

Do not worry about what anyone else does in their retirement. Only worry about what you want to do and make sure you have the funds to support it.

=====================================================================

As an aside, I never understand why these conversations always go this way. We should just simply stipulate there are things you like that others hate and there are other things you hate that others like. Trying to wonder why anyone lives their retirement how they choose is pointless to me.

 

[moleculo]

My youngest kid is in kindergarten - my goal is to be ready to pre-retire when she graduates HS. I would be 53 years old. At that point, I would find a new career/hobby.

I'm thinking something along the lines of professional brewer, personal trainer, bicycle repairman, carpenter, grounds keeper, camp ground supervisor, jiu-jitsu instructor, something like that. Maybe open up a retail store related to a hobby - homebrew ingredients and supplies, maybe. Another possibility is to take temp/contract jobs in my current occupation (engineer), 6 months at a time and spend the other 6 months traveling. Freelancing is another possibility. Hell, teaching could be a good gig - love the idea of working with kids and summers off.

I have a good amount in my 401(k), IRA, roth IRA, and real estate. It's enough that my wife and I will be able to comfortably retire in our early 60's, but not enough to live off of if we shut it down in our early 50's. The way I see it working is that as long as I don't need to pull from principal until i'm in my early 60's, all I really need is enough money to cover living expenses which will be far less in 13 years than they are now.

My point is, there isn't necessarily a hard and fast line between working and retired. You can back into retirement and wind things down at your own pace. I think I could be perfectly happy working 40 hours a week throughout my 50's, provided the work was fun and I had sufficient free time.

 

[NutterButter]

The amount of time I spend working I have no issue with at all.

Only the type of work that I sometimes have to do... certain procedures make my blood boil.. certain types of people make my blood boil. Unfortunately I can't eliminate all those people or procedures without being fairly unprofitable at this time.

Not at this time, but as you get closer to having the amount of money you feel you need to retire, couldn't you just stop doing those procedures or just stop seeing those people but still have a small practice where that extra money is just gravy. If you do the math, that might buy you at least a few years where you're almost semi-retired. Another route I've considered as a software developer is just doing some contract work for 3-6 months a year and having the rest of the year off. So instead of having a number where I'd be fully retired, I can start doing that type of work X number of years prior to that full retirement year.

 

[NutterButter]

OK so the moral is quite clearn here.

Do not worry about what anyone else does in their retirement. Only worry about what you want to do and make sure you have the funds to support it.

=====================================================================

As an aside, I never understand why these conversations always go this way. We should just simply stipulate there are things you like that others hate and there are other things you hate that others like. Trying to wonder why anyone lives their retirement how they choose is pointless to me.

Sorry if I came across as judgmental. I spend a crazy amount of time thinking about retirement and the various paths I can take. I really enjoy thinking about it and crunching the numbers so I'm a sucker for a good retirement conversation.

 

[mquinnjr]

OK so the moral is quite clearn here.

Do not worry about what anyone else does in their retirement. Only worry about what you want to do and make sure you have the funds to support it.

=====================================================================

As an aside, I never understand why these conversations always go this way. We should just simply stipulate there are things you like that others hate and there are other things you hate that others like. Trying to wonder why anyone lives their retirement how they choose is pointless to me.

I look at it thinking, I'm building up savings and letting the market do its thing (while adjusting risk for age, of course), over the course of about 40 years to allow me to live how I want to live in retirement.

For me, I will invest to the point where the market doing its job gets me there if I do my job being disciplined to keep saving, rebalancing and risk adjusting for age all along the way. That's grossly over simplified, but what I'm basically doing. Use the lowest cost asset manager (Vanguard, Schwab, etc.) to do the heavy lifting of setting up your ETF's, give them their fees (which are very reasonable), and do minimal actual work outside of allocating to the appropriate investment buckets relative to age.

Comparing nest eggs and retirement age is for the most part a fool's errand. When do you want to retire, and how dedicated are you to that? If you set a game plan, educate yourself and commit to saving and monitoring your investments with your asset manager doing the rest, you generally should be in good shape.

 

[NewlyRetired]

OK so the moral is quite clearn here.

Do not worry about what anyone else does in their retirement. Only worry about what you want to do and make sure you have the funds to support it.

=====================================================================

As an aside, I never understand why these conversations always go this way. We should just simply stipulate there are things you like that others hate and there are other things you hate that others like. Trying to wonder why anyone lives their retirement how they choose is pointless to me.

Sorry if I came across as judgmental. I spend a crazy amount of time thinking about retirement and the various paths I can take. I really enjoy thinking about it and crunching the numbers so I'm a sucker for a good retirement conversation.

not at all. But it is easy to side track the conversation in to "what" people are doing in retirement (which is simply a matter of taste) vs "how" people get to retirement which we can all learn from.

I too crunched numbers like a mad man.

If you enjoy early retirement talk, you should check out these forums. I learned a ton from these folks

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/

 

[NewlyRetired]

OK so the moral is quite clearn here.

Do not worry about what anyone else does in their retirement. Only worry about what you want to do and make sure you have the funds to support it.

=====================================================================

As an aside, I never understand why these conversations always go this way. We should just simply stipulate there are things you like that others hate and there are other things you hate that others like. Trying to wonder why anyone lives their retirement how they choose is pointless to me.

I look at it thinking, I'm building up savings and letting the market do its thing (while adjusting risk for age, of course), over the course of about 40 years to allow me to live how I want to live in retirement.

For me, I will invest to the point where the market doing its job gets me there if I do my job being disciplined to keep saving, rebalancing and risk adjusting for age all along the way. That's grossly over simplified, but what I'm basically doing. Use the lowest cost asset manager (Vanguard, Schwab, etc.) to do the heavy lifting of setting up your ETF's, give them their fees (which are very reasonable), and do minimal actual work outside of allocating to the appropriate investment buckets relative to age.

Comparing nest eggs and retirement age is for the most part a fool's errand. When do you want to retire, and how dedicated are you to that? If you set a game plan, educate yourself and commit to saving and monitoring your investments with your asset manager doing the rest, you generally should be in good shape.

Nice post.

For the bolded, I would add "what do you want to spend in retirement"

I found retirement planning became much clearer once I focused more on expenses, which I had better control over, vs revenue, which had many more variables out of my control.

 

[Dentist]

The amount of time I spend working I have no issue with at all.

Only the type of work that I sometimes have to do... certain procedures make my blood boil.. certain types of people make my blood boil. Unfortunately I can't eliminate all those people or procedures without being fairly unprofitable at this time.

Not at this time, but as you get closer to having the amount of money you feel you need to retire, couldn't you just stop doing those procedures or just stop seeing those people but still have a small practice where that extra money is just gravy. If you do the math, that might buy you at least a few years where you're almost semi-retired. Another route I've considered as a software developer is just doing some contract work for 3-6 months a year and having the rest of the year off. So instead of having a number where I'd be fully retired, I can start doing that type of work X number of years prior to that full retirement year.

Yes.

It will be somewhat complicated to get the right person in to take over for my practice.. but if I could sell my practice to someone and then be employed by them to only handle the kind of work I actually want to do (which fortunately is generally the type of work most dentists have no interest in doing) I could probably do that a few days a week and still probably generate a decent income and not hate the idea of coming in.

 

[Jayrod]

I fantasize about being retired. I have never been off work long enough to be bored in my life. I've also never gotten tired of playing video games, reading books, watching TV, watching movies, playing games online, etc. The only reason I ever stop doing anything I enjoy is because I have to for responsibilities or sleep. I can waste time for the rest of my life.

The main thing that keeps me from completely wasting every second of my life is my wife. She's like my polar opposite. After 10 minutes of true down time, she gets antsy and HAS to find something productive to do. It can cause arguments sometimes, but we do a good job of complementing each other for the most part. She pushes me to get things done and I get her to calm down and relax sometimes. When we retire it is going to be weird. We have actually had a handful of conversations about it already even though we are like 25 years out.

 

[Dentist]

I fantasize about being retired. I have never been off work long enough to be bored in my life. I've also never gotten tired of playing video games, reading books, watching TV, watching movies, playing games online, etc. The only reason I ever stop doing anything I enjoy is because I have to for responsibilities or sleep. I can waste time for the rest of my life.

The main thing that keeps me from completely wasting every second of my life is my wife. She's like my polar opposite. After 10 minutes of true down time, she gets antsy and HAS to find something productive to do. It can cause arguments sometimes, but we do a good job of complementing each other for the most part. She pushes me to get things done and I get her to calm down and relax sometimes. When we retire it is going to be weird. We have actually had a handful of conversations about it already even though we are like 25 years out.

Are you me?

I also have never been off work long enough to be bored. I'd like to try. I enjoy doing most of the things you mentioned.

My wife also really likes "doing stuff" and while it's not necessarily 'productive' it's that she really wants to get out of the house and is NOT the movie or binge watch a TV series or read a bunch of graphic novels type.

I also damn near fantasize about being retired.... I think of everything I could do that I've always wanted to do but never had the consecutive hours to do so.

I fantasize about spending months at a beach location.. but part of me does wonder if it gets old... can you get burnt out on nothingness/beach living/lake life/boating in the same way you get burnt out with the daily grind?

 

[BeTheMatch]

I fantasize about being retired. I have never been off work long enough to be bored in my life. I've also never gotten tired of playing video games, reading books, watching TV, watching movies, playing games online, etc. The only reason I ever stop doing anything I enjoy is because I have to for responsibilities or sleep. I can waste time for the rest of my life.

The main thing that keeps me from completely wasting every second of my life is my wife. She's like my polar opposite. After 10 minutes of true down time, she gets antsy and HAS to find something productive to do. It can cause arguments sometimes, but we do a good job of complementing each other for the most part. She pushes me to get things done and I get her to calm down and relax sometimes. When we retire it is going to be weird. We have actually had a handful of conversations about it already even though we are like 25 years out.

Are you me?

I also have never been off work long enough to be bored. I'd like to try. I enjoy doing most of the things you mentioned.

My wife also really likes "doing stuff" and while it's not necessarily 'productive' it's that she really wants to get out of the house and is NOT the movie or binge watch a TV series or read a bunch of graphic novels type.

I also damn near fantasize about being retired.... I think of everything I could do that I've always wanted to do but never had the consecutive hours to do so.

I fantasize about spending months at a beach location.. but part of me does wonder if it gets old... can you get burnt out on nothingness/beach living/lake life/boating in the same way you get burnt out with the daily grind?

I'm assuming you can. You ever notice how the people that live on the lake are never out on it? That's been my experience.

 

[Jayrod]

I fantasize about being retired. I have never been off work long enough to be bored in my life. I've also never gotten tired of playing video games, reading books, watching TV, watching movies, playing games online, etc. The only reason I ever stop doing anything I enjoy is because I have to for responsibilities or sleep. I can waste time for the rest of my life.

The main thing that keeps me from completely wasting every second of my life is my wife. She's like my polar opposite. After 10 minutes of true down time, she gets antsy and HAS to find something productive to do. It can cause arguments sometimes, but we do a good job of complementing each other for the most part. She pushes me to get things done and I get her to calm down and relax sometimes. When we retire it is going to be weird. We have actually had a handful of conversations about it already even though we are like 25 years out.

Are you me?

I also have never been off work long enough to be bored. I'd like to try. I enjoy doing most of the things you mentioned.

My wife also really likes "doing stuff" and while it's not necessarily 'productive' it's that she really wants to get out of the house and is NOT the movie or binge watch a TV series or read a bunch of graphic novels type.

I also damn near fantasize about being retired.... I think of everything I could do that I've always wanted to do but never had the consecutive hours to do so.

I fantasize about spending months at a beach location.. but part of me does wonder if it gets old... can you get burnt out on nothingness/beach living/lake life/boating in the same way you get burnt out with the daily grind?

I'm assuming you can. You ever notice how the people that live on the lake are never out on it? That's been my experience.

I think they get burned out on the work it takes to get a boat out.

I fantasize about being retired. I have never been off work long enough to be bored in my life. I've also never gotten tired of playing video games, reading books, watching TV, watching movies, playing games online, etc. The only reason I ever stop doing anything I enjoy is because I have to for responsibilities or sleep. I can waste time for the rest of my life.

The main thing that keeps me from completely wasting every second of my life is my wife. She's like my polar opposite. After 10 minutes of true down time, she gets antsy and HAS to find something productive to do. It can cause arguments sometimes, but we do a good job of complementing each other for the most part. She pushes me to get things done and I get her to calm down and relax sometimes. When we retire it is going to be weird. We have actually had a handful of conversations about it already even though we are like 25 years out.

Are you me?

I also have never been off work long enough to be bored. I'd like to try. I enjoy doing most of the things you mentioned.

My wife also really likes "doing stuff" and while it's not necessarily 'productive' it's that she really wants to get out of the house and is NOT the movie or binge watch a TV series or read a bunch of graphic novels type.

I also damn near fantasize about being retired.... I think of everything I could do that I've always wanted to do but never had the consecutive hours to do so.

I fantasize about spending months at a beach location.. but part of me does wonder if it gets old... can you get burnt out on nothingness/beach living/lake life/boating in the same way you get burnt out with the daily grind?

I think you can get sick of any single activity, but the activity lists are so long in today's world, that I don't see how I could possibly ever be bored with these things. Especially if you throw a nice alcohol buzz in there.

 

[The Ref]

As far as how big the parental trailer space is... Big enough for the double wide, a wood deck, a screen house, a shed and enough room left over to park 5-6 cars. I wouldn't call it "big" but enough to hang out on.

 

[FUBAR]

Honestly, I wouldn't retire if I didn't know what I wanted to do.Wood working, building stuff, maybe learn to paint, gardening, running, reading, surfing (the water type), tennis, golf, travel, volunteering at church or some other charity, etc. There's a lot of stuff to do. If your idea of retiring is watching tv all day, maybe you'll be happy but I sure wouldn't.

My parents ate both retired. They do watch their share of TV but also are very involved in their community.

Yeah, I wouldn't either. I'm at least a decade off, but the thing I don't know is all the stuff I'm interested now like hiking, biking, kayaking, golf, home improvement, landscaping, its all physical in nature and I have no idea if I'll be able to physically do that stuff when I'm in my 50's and beyond. So if I'm not, I need to find a whole bunch of things to do. I already volunteer with an animal rescue so I know I'll do more of that.

I'm somewhere between 5 and 10 years from retirement. Really don't know if I'll get a second career or just have fun doing everything I want (plus raising kids still). I'll only be in my 40s.

we'll have well over half a million (maybe close to 3/4m by then) in investments and a nice pension. Having options will be awesome.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Honestly, I wouldn't retire if I didn't know what I wanted to do.Wood working, building stuff, maybe learn to paint, gardening, running, reading, surfing (the water type), tennis, golf, travel, volunteering at church or some other charity, etc. There's a lot of stuff to do. If your idea of retiring is watching tv all day, maybe you'll be happy but I sure wouldn't.

My parents ate both retired. They do watch their share of TV but also are very involved in their community.

Yeah, I wouldn't either. I'm at least a decade off, but the thing I don't know is all the stuff I'm interested now like hiking, biking, kayaking, golf, home improvement, landscaping, its all physical in nature and I have no idea if I'll be able to physically do that stuff when I'm in my 50's and beyond. So if I'm not, I need to find a whole bunch of things to do. I already volunteer with an animal rescue so I know I'll do more of that.

I'm somewhere between 5 and 10 years from retirement. Really don't know if I'll get a second career or just have fun doing everything I want (plus raising kids still). I'll only be in my 40s.

we'll have well over half a million (maybe close to 3/4m by then) in investments and a nice pension. Having options will be awesome.

Holy #### - would you share what your pension will be? What is from - the military, police, fire? (figuring you earned a pension you can collect while still in your 40s)

 

[FUBAR]

Honestly, I wouldn't retire if I didn't know what I wanted to do.Wood working, building stuff, maybe learn to paint, gardening, running, reading, surfing (the water type), tennis, golf, travel, volunteering at church or some other charity, etc. There's a lot of stuff to do. If your idea of retiring is watching tv all day, maybe you'll be happy but I sure wouldn't.

My parents ate both retired. They do watch their share of TV but also are very involved in their community.

Yeah, I wouldn't either. I'm at least a decade off, but the thing I don't know is all the stuff I'm interested now like hiking, biking, kayaking, golf, home improvement, landscaping, its all physical in nature and I have no idea if I'll be able to physically do that stuff when I'm in my 50's and beyond. So if I'm not, I need to find a whole bunch of things to do. I already volunteer with an animal rescue so I know I'll do more of that.

I'm somewhere between 5 and 10 years from retirement. Really don't know if I'll get a second career or just have fun doing everything I want (plus raising kids still). I'll only be in my 40s.we'll have well over half a million (maybe close to 3/4m by then) in investments and a nice pension. Having options will be awesome.

Holy #### - would you share what your pension will be? What is from - the military, police, fire? (figuring you earned a pension you can collect while still in your 40s)

Military.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I fantasize about spending months at a beach location.. but part of me does wonder if it gets old... can you get burnt out on nothingness/beach living/lake life/boating in the same way you get burnt out with the daily grind?

Porn actors get tired of sex so yes anything is possible

But the key is that you retired. If you get tired of what you are doing, just do something else

 

[Random]

I fantasize about being retired. I have never been off work long enough to be bored in my life. I've also never gotten tired of playing video games, reading books, watching TV, watching movies, playing games online, etc. The only reason I ever stop doing anything I enjoy is because I have to for responsibilities or sleep. I can waste time for the rest of my life.

The main thing that keeps me from completely wasting every second of my life is my wife. She's like my polar opposite. After 10 minutes of true down time, she gets antsy and HAS to find something productive to do. It can cause arguments sometimes, but we do a good job of complementing each other for the most part. She pushes me to get things done and I get her to calm down and relax sometimes. When we retire it is going to be weird. We have actually had a handful of conversations about it already even though we are like 25 years out.

Are you me?

I also have never been off work long enough to be bored. I'd like to try. I enjoy doing most of the things you mentioned.

My wife also really likes "doing stuff" and while it's not necessarily 'productive' it's that she really wants to get out of the house and is NOT the movie or binge watch a TV series or read a bunch of graphic novels type.

I also damn near fantasize about being retired.... I think of everything I could do that I've always wanted to do but never had the consecutive hours to do so.

I fantasize about spending months at a beach location.. but part of me does wonder if it gets old... can you get burnt out on nothingness/beach living/lake life/boating in the same way you get burnt out with the daily grind?

Count me in with you guys. Just give me a few years to get the youngest in school.

 

[Jobber]

I fantasize about being retired. I have never been off work long enough to be bored in my life. I've also never gotten tired of playing video games, reading books, watching TV, watching movies, playing games online, etc. The only reason I ever stop doing anything I enjoy is because I have to for responsibilities or sleep. I can waste time for the rest of my life.

The main thing that keeps me from completely wasting every second of my life is my wife. She's like my polar opposite. After 10 minutes of true down time, she gets antsy and HAS to find something productive to do. It can cause arguments sometimes, but we do a good job of complementing each other for the most part. She pushes me to get things done and I get her to calm down and relax sometimes. When we retire it is going to be weird. We have actually had a handful of conversations about it already even though we are like 25 years out.

Are you me?

I also have never been off work long enough to be bored. I'd like to try. I enjoy doing most of the things you mentioned.

My wife also really likes "doing stuff" and while it's not necessarily 'productive' it's that she really wants to get out of the house and is NOT the movie or binge watch a TV series or read a bunch of graphic novels type.

I also damn near fantasize about being retired.... I think of everything I could do that I've always wanted to do but never had the consecutive hours to do so.

I fantasize about spending months at a beach location.. but part of me does wonder if it gets old... can you get burnt out on nothingness/beach living/lake life/boating in the same way you get burnt out with the daily grind?

I'm assuming you can. You ever notice how the people that live on the lake are never out on it? That's been my experience.

My mother and some other family live in Naples, Fl - some of the best beaches in the country. The vast majority of retired locals rarely visit the beach.

 

[MechEng]

What is everyone's current age and retirement age goal? Mine is 40 and 60. Hopefully sooner.

 

[xulf]

What is everyone's current age and retirement age goal? Mine is 40 and 60. Hopefully sooner.

I'm 34 now and would ideally like to retire when my youngest (just turned 1) either goes to college or graduates from college. That would put me at 51 or 55. Though, without knowing exactly what I will be doing then and how much I enjoy it, that may vary greatly. I wouldn't mind being an adjunct professor and teaching some online courses at some point and I could see myself doing that maybe a little earlier than those ages and extending it past 55. But, the entire education system is likely to change 10 times before then and who knows what would be available.

 

[shady inc]

What is everyone's current age and retirement age goal? Mine is 40 and 60. Hopefully sooner.

27 and 60. i max out my 401k contribution ($17.5K last year) as well as my HSA. Trying to learn more about investing through a regular taxable account and maybe retire by 55??

 

[NutterButter]

What is everyone's current age and retirement age goal? Mine is 40 and 60. Hopefully sooner.

I'm 37, but I'm all over the map when I want to retire. I haven't had more than a handful weekends all to myself in the past 8 years so to have every single weekend free once my last kid is in college when I'm 49 might be enough to make me keep working especially if my job is as easy as it is now. I'd have way more disposable income to work with as well which could be used for some really nice vacations.

 

[James Daulton]

I'm 47 and would ideally be able to retire from current job at 55 and go part time doing something that's more of a hobby than a job. My wife stayed home with our kids so I've let her know that her turn at full time is coming up in a few years.

 

[Slapdash]

What is everyone's current age and retirement age goal? Mine is 40 and 60. Hopefully sooner.

26 and 40. Hopefully sooner.

 

[lumpy19]

In my 20's I really wanted to retire early(early 50's).

I'm 37 now and really enjoying what I do and I think I'd like to keep working til at least 60.

Hoping to be financially ready to retire at 55 and then decide.