Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Listening Point - General Discussion :: Retirement - Are you glad you did/will?
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mgraber |
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salukiguy |
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Pinetree |
salukiguy: "Ok, I am close to decision time and I am having a hard time letting go. Consequently I am not going to go May 1st as originally planned but may go July 1st instead. The good news is I have a BWCA trip in the works for the last week of June. Maybe i take that vacation as my going away present and don't come back to work after that? My financial guy still says all systems go. " It depends on what you want to do. Your heathiest years are probably now. Get out and enjoy if you got big plans. |
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Grandma L |
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jcavenagh |
I actually have a lot of fun doing what I do. Eventually, I will cut back my caseload, but I hope to work well into my 70's. |
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PortageKeeper |
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nofish |
As for me my retirement is like 25+ years away so at the moment I'm feeling the chain tightening between my desk and my ankle. I assume when the time comes I'll collect my things, head out to the office parking lot where I'll havet a ride waiting for me, and then as my ride drives away I'll be mooning the entire office out the moving car window with the word "Cya" painted on one butt cheek with "Suckers" painted on the other butt cheek. |
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thebotanyguy |
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ockycamper |
I am now 62 and can honestly say I am thankful to have a career/profession. It is not work for me. This January/February were very slow. After 3 weeks of not having any real orders my wife said I could not retire and needed to find something to do as I was driving her crazy. We have no debts and own our house and cars outright. That allows us to live on very little. I don't have a great deal saved, but also don't need much. There is something to say for having others regard what you do as important and call you for professional help. Our last annual state meeting the average age for appraisers in our state was 57. There were as many still appraising in their mid to late 70's as there were in their 40's. Bottom line.. .if you love what you are doing, why stop? If it is not taxing physically, and you don't have to deal with obnoxious people, the activity keep your mind sharp. And I hate golf. |
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flytyer |
When the boys were in school my wife worked. Other than that, she was a stay at home Mom. We lived on my income and saved most of hers. |
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ockycamper |
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Savage Voyageur |
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DrBobDg |
thebotanyguy: "I turned 65 about a month ago. The nice thing about a university is that there is no mandatory retirement age. I'll keep at it until I no longer enjoy the daily interaction with students." Hi. Botany Guy... I remember you from the other board. Glad you are still out there... Gonna be 68 in July and still chase a few cows and my wife still does dogs/cat work in our practice. We turn the answering machine on and leave much more often. Got the cover off the RV today and the old beast started right up. Maybe something around the end of the month. Last year we went to Alaska and back (9200 miles of driving) Probably disappear most of August again. still vertical in NE wi. dr bob |
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jhb8426 |
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LindenTree3 |
LindenTree3: "I'll let you know in three weeks. I have been retired now for for 5 months and am really enjoying it, almost every morning I get a tingling in my stomach that tells me Yea, I don't have to go to work today. I do not think I fully realized how stressful firefighting was until I retired. I'm sure most all jobs are stressful, it now feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I took the advise of many people who told me not to wait and retire as soon as possible. My advise is if you can afford it and have most of your needs taken care of (health care, ect). Why wait? Retire. |
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Zulu |
Take the rest of the day off. I am. |
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Pinetree |
Also a great plan I try to follow and also friends. After retiring my new job is to stay fit and exercise every day. You put exercising on your schedule as a must do now. Yes I like retirement,but do miss the people and I loved my job. But it was time to move on. Been over 7 years now. Clocks ticking you better enjoy while you can. |
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Zulu |
Also choosing to go to the fitness club daily even though I dread the thought of it and create excuses to avoid it. It’s like going to a job you really don’t like but once you get there it’s OK. The payday comes in improved health, social interaction, and feeling good when a young women looks at you a little longer than normal. One problem has been finding other people near my age and activity level that are retired to do stuff with during the week or travel. I hope anyone who wants to retire can. It’s pretty good. |
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schweady |
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DrBobDg |
quote LindenTree3: "quote Pinetree: "All good points on saving,but don't do as some people do. Sacrifice to the extreme and don't enjoy life to the fullest now by saving every penny now. Be rational. |
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Jeriatric |
Things will change. We are moving (tomorrow, in fact) to a location with a higher cost of living in order to be near to the grandkids. I am glad I retired when I did. I no longer liked my job. Fortunately, we had lived modestly and had paid off both our current house and our 1st house which we had turned into a rental. |
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andym |
Just enjoying the thread and seeing if I can fix the quote problem. |
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GraniteCliffs |
I quit and have never looked back. Too busy to look I guess. |
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missmolly |
Pinetree: "I see too many people say they going to or want to keep working because they feel SO GOOD. Yeh,than they work to their body wears out and than retire. Than they can't do what they had on their bucket list when they planned to retire. That's why job places have a retirement age-you start wearing out. They want replacements-new parts. Framing staying fit as your new job is so smart. And this is wise: " Clocks ticking you better enjoy while you can." |
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Wick |
I started my company in 1999 and made all my retirement from it. I was getting to hate going to work, dreading it every morning. I could not go to that office any more, so i sold the company. I have had a strange time adjusting, even though i have lots of projects. I get up around 5am and mill around the house until daylight. It is very different having no one else around to talk to, lol,,or give orders to since i am used to running my company every day. My wife is a nurse and still working, and has already mentioned i am around too much on her days off. I tend to run her days for her,,,according to her. I live on 40 acres. I am used to working 50-60 hours a week and still doing my hobbies at home, mixed with mowing big yard, working my land and woods. I thought retiring would be perfect since my list of projects is very long, but i find myself fidgeting around wondering what to do each day. I am hoping this is temporary and will go away as i find my groove. |
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BWPaddler |
I was laid off from my IT job 2 years ago, technically classified as "retired" due to age (51) and years worked (30). Initially I assumed I would work in a similar job - I was too young to access any real retirement benefits without penalties. Then the needs of my children escalated and I had to admit that caring for them was what I need to do at this time of life. So I am "retired" and will need to return to work if and when my kids can be more independent. I never imagined it this way, but I am rolling with it. Reminding myself that my very healthy mother died suddenly at age 71 and all her financial strategies were based on living much much longer. I don't know how the money will work - mid-life retirement was never in the cards. But, somehow, I will have to find a way for it to work. I've begun editing and writing for pocket change, and maybe that will flourish into something more substantial that offers me the flexibility I need to care for children and earn an income at the same time. Fingers crossed. In any case, I am shocked at how much I enjoy the less stressful life without a 40+ hour work commitment. It's a different pace that probably took me a full year to adapt to... but it's not boring and I love the autonomy. |
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SilentPaddler |
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Dooger |
I'm 39, wife 37 with a 3 and 4.5 year old. State worker with 401 and wife is a teacher with a small pension. Have never bought a home, but have a very large down payment now. We're trying to figure out where we want to raise our kids. Longevity on my mom's side is poor. My mom died of a heart attack at 44. One thing she taught me was to have "credit life insurance" on everything. When she passed, I was 18, sister was 20 and Dad was a 46 year old disabled vet. Mom had insurance on the mortgage and two year old SUV. That helped a ton. She did not have life insurance. Just throwing those thoughts out there for others to ponder... I plan to retire at 60. Still not sure what's going to happen with college finances for the children. My wife and I paid our own way and I still hear "focus on your finances, not your kids". My head is spinning again! |
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MHS67 |
My wife retired 8 years ago. She has a great big garden and chickens to keep her busy. I don't think either one of us would change a thing. Retirement has been great. |
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CityFisher74 |
We always second guess ourselves that we should focus on a house like our friends do but we keep going back to the fact that when we are 55 we probably won't say "I wish we bought a house at age 26 rather than 29", but we know for a fact that the memory of climbing Kilimanjaro will live for our entire lives. It's all about the choices we make. Is this semi-reckless plan a wise one? Probably not, but you truly only live once so to heck with it. |
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Pinetree |
Also there is some kind of time warp that hits retired people. Time speeds up and boy do the years fly bye in a supersonic way. |
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LindenTree3 |
quote Pinetree: "All good points on saving,but don't do as some people do. Sacrifice to the extreme and don't enjoy life to the fullest now by saving every penny now. Be rational. Good point pinetree, I started my first savings account at 7 yo. My parents took me into the bank to open it with my allowance. (which I had to do chores for) I have been frugal ever since, and married an even more frugal wife. My wife and I work hard, are 55 ish, and doing fine financially. I've been very tight my whole life, moths fly out of my wallet when I open it. 1.5 years ago my father who is a millionaire told me to quite being so cheap. I have taken his advice and started spending/enjoying my hard earned money. The wife, is still trying to gasp my altered direction with our assests ?? |
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HowardSprague |
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LilyPond |
quote ozarkpaddler: "The way I see it, the circumstances that keep me from retiring is because I'm fulfilling my life's mission in taking care of others!" I think there there are two key questions that can help you decide when to retire, other than money: (1) What would you do tomorrow if you didn't HAVE to work? Some people say they would quit their job immediately. Others say their job is what brings meaning to their life and they would keep working. Maybe your answer is neither of those. Maybe you can think of a lot of things you'd rather be doing than going to work. (2) I agree with Ozark Paddler that you should fulfill your life's mission one way or another. That starts with having an idea of what your mission is. I think of it as a legacy---what do you want to leave behind so that your life mattered? I think like Ozark here---I want to know that I've helped enough people, in significant ways, before I stop working. The vast majority of people can't retire early. I think that as a society we attach a lot of value to saving up a million dollars and retiring early, like the financial books say you're supposed to. Well, there's that fantasy and then there's reality. It only takes ONE major event to throw you off course and cut you out of that dream---an illness, divorce, loss of a job when you're older, your company closing in the recession, your pension plan crashing, etc. etc. For anyone who loves the outdoors, there are a lot of other ways besides early retirement to be happy. Natural beauty is often free and there for the taking. If you can't retire early, live every weekend as if you were retired and make the best of it. |
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mgraber |
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arm2008 |
quote mschi772: "I graduated from college at the peak of the recession. I'll never see a day of retirement in my life. SS may be entirely broken by then, too, so I'll truly work to death." IT worker here, dot com bubble burst 2 years after I finally got a steady gig. Unstable employment in the years since, until a couple years ago when things leveled out. I've sporadically been able to pay into 401k/IRA. I figure I'll be working until 70. If my health gets bad and the money gets short I'm going to take up more dangerous hobbies. In the meantime, I don't have a bucket list because I'm doing the things I want to do now. If I won the lottery I'd drop the job in an instant! |
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GeoFisher |
quote arm2008: "quote mschi772: "I graduated from college at the peak of the recession. I'll never see a day of retirement in my life. SS may be entirely broken by then, too, so I'll truly work to death." .com bubble cost me half......I started over. meltdown in 2007-2008 cost me half again....I started over. EXTREME aggressive investing since 2008 has put me back in a position to be able to retire when I want. I'm less aggressive now, but the past 8 years have been good for AGGRESSIVE investing......I'm not too sure what the next 8 will be, but I sure don't want to lose half again. |
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mcsweem |
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GeoFisher |
quote DuluthPak: " The big wild card will be health care. If I had to predict one thing that might prevent me from retiring at age 55, it would be the affordability of health insurance for my wife and I until Medicare kicks in. " Absolutely.....I turned 50 this year. I've saved all my life and have a decent nest, and can probably go early, but the big kicker is Healthcare. What do folks who have retired do for healthcare. I suspect quite a few of these folks have good pension based health care, and that is fantastic, but for a whole lot of folks that will not be a possibility. And with pension based health care, or retiree health care, I wonder how long that will exist. I know in my mothers case, her "union" voted retirees out of their insurance, and she ended up going back to work just to get some health care benefits.....Yea, that kind of sucked. My plan is to sock away as much as I can in my HSA ( I'm doing that today), and be in a position in 10 years for my HSA to pay a significant chunk if premium or coverage.....we shall see. Later, Geo |
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mutz |
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Flashback |
Have not regretted one day of my retirement; glad I hung it up when I did. Went back to my workplace once; stayed about 30 minutes, and haven't been back since then. I have medical insurance from my work. It covers what Medicare doesn't cover. I am a vet and can use the VA for medical issues; for example they take care of my RX, glasses, hearing aids, and all needed tests, and exams. I participated in a deferred compensation plan at my work place; it was maxed every month & all raises went into that plan. I rolled it over into IRAs when I retired, and get a monthly check. I get a monthly retirement check from my old job, and I also draw social security. My monthly income now, exceeds my salary when I was working (so much of it was deferred back then). Wife is 11 years younger; works part time now to continue building her IRAs,CDs and deferred comp plan, until she qualifies for Medicare, and Social Security. She has a quite large deferred compensation account, and a goodly amount in CDs, and IRAs. She's is looking forward to saying, "I'm outa here"! Our CPA told us we can do whatever we want, whenever we want, within reason. That's exactly what we do now. Really glad we had the motivation to plan ahead for our retirement & follow up on our plan. Now we are reaping the rewards of save, save, saving. BOB |
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Pinetree |
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emptynest56 |
I second MissMolly in how employers do NOT want you if you are older, unless you levitate on the air/water interface. Retirement is very good and I have a lot of interests. Young people: you will get there if you save, save, save. We started out with a 13% mortgage. All is not lost. It looked bleak for us at times too. But you know what? I would trade it all to be young again and running sub 3 hr marathons again. |
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NotLight |
My thinking is, it's maybe not how much money you have for retirement that dictates how early you can retire, but rather at what point you can accurately project your future expense to income ratio and lifespan. My other thought is, if you don't have the funds to be constantly globetrotting, most people seem to get bored without working, unless they've already had years of practice. |
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misqua |
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BigTim |
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deerfoot |
What I would do differently were I retiring now would be to not take early SS retirement benefits but tap into the retirement savings accounts and delay taking SS. The increased SS benefit each year you delay is probably better than most people could generate on their own. Other than that we are still completely happy to have exited the world of work when we did. Personally there is nothing I miss about working. In terms of staying busy, I am now looking to eliminate some activities so I have a little more free time for myself. I need to "retire" from one of my volunteer jobs. I took the summer off from both of them and spent nearly a month in Canada canoeing, a week in BW and several shorter trips to the UP. I plan to take several more canoe trips before the season ends. My favorite 85 yo neighbor told me retirement means "every night is Friday night and every day is Saturday." How true. |
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bwcadan |
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mschi772 |
quote missmolly: "quote mschi772: "I graduated from college at the peak of the recession. I'll never see a day of retirement in my life. SS may be entirely broken by then, too, so I'll truly work to death." Working until I die isn't my choice/plan. It's literally what I'm fated to do unless a quasi-miraculous opportunity comes along. I know it makes people feel bad to think that there is someone who is stuck in a legitimate rut because no one wants to admit that it's possible (because then they'd have to worry it could happen to them), but truth hurts, and I'm living with it every day. I'm 31, I'm making $15/hr with zero benefits in southeast Wisconsin sometimes making more than I need to make ends meet, often making so much less than necessary that I have to suck my savings dry. I have about $9k in a 401k from a previous job right now, and that's about it. When I say that I'll be working until I die, I fully expect that I'll either die early enough for lack of work not to be a factor or to truly end-up jobless, penniless, and living only because the government will insist on providing me just enough assistance to slowly lose my mind in assisted living/nursing home. I'm not going to be having any children, so I won't have that to rely on. I'm trying to make a change right now by starting my own mobile auto detailing business, but I have a LONG way to go and quite a bit of luck necessary for that to get to the point of paying all my bills as well as put away some for retirement. Until I strike gold with an occupational paradigm shift, I'm just trying to squeeze drops of enjoyment out of life because I recently realized that I've spent the last 5+ years of my life not LIVING and instead constantly preparing to live "in just a little while--life will be easier if I just bust my butt for a little longer." Nope, I'm not going to spent my whole life letting life pass me by only to find myself too old to enjoy all the things I'm no longer young enough to do. |
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BnD |
quote deerfoot: "What I would do differently were I retiring now would be to not take early SS retirement benefits but tap into the retirement savings accounts and delay taking SS. The increased SS benefit each year you delay is probably better than most people could generate on their own. " I'll offer this perspective on this position. Using realistic financial projections you will have to live to age 77 to "break even" vs. taking SS at age 62 vs 67. The thing to remember is you have 5 years of payments vs. ZERO. Using little or no interest income on the payments between the 62-67 range the break even point is approximately 77. Finally, when do you need additional resources? 50s or 80s? That said, using personal investment income to bridge financial gaps in retirement income is reasonable advise provided it is based on solid conservative financial projections. Just food for thought but, I assure you it is based on solid financial analysis and projections of financial needs as we age. |
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missmolly |
quote BnD: "quote deerfoot: "What I would do differently were I retiring now would be to not take early SS retirement benefits but tap into the retirement savings accounts and delay taking SS. The increased SS benefit each year you delay is probably better than most people could generate on their own. " My parents are both mid-eighties, so I've the likely longevity to wait. However, your point about when will you most need the resources is what I can't project. One can do more with the money when younger and squeeze maximum joy out of it, but one might desperately need it when older. |
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mschi772 |
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HowardSprague |
If I were retired now, I'd love it & still not have time to do all the things I want to do! |
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lindylair |
My wife is almost 7 years younger than me and at this point plans working until she can get Medicare at 65. So that leaves a lot of time for me to keep myself busy which I don't think will be a problem. We are homebodys who dont travel much and dont spend a lot. i am planning on a lot of camping during that time, probably much of that solo. Looking at buying a fishing kayak so I can get out on the water and fish a lot. Also thinking about buying a small trailer big enough to accommodate me and my wife on occasion. This will be the height of luxury for me after 50 years of roughing it in a tent in all seasons and some difficult conditions. But I am tired of crawling into my 2 man tent on my hands and knees and not being able to sit up straight:). (I will still do it for the BWCA though) I have questions on what is "good enough" to retire on. With her making 40k those first 7 years it shouldn't be much of a challenge to live just fine. Won't have to get too far into pension, social security or my investments. But when she retires the game changes a bit. But by then I will be 72 years old and longevity is not a trait of my family. I am excited about retiring and i think I will be able to spend more time in the woods than ever before, that is awesome. Not opposed to getting a part time job to supplement our income if needed or wanted, something I enjoy. But given my family history and my current health situation I am beginning to wonder if I should even wait that long. I definitely want at least 10 years not working to relax and enjoy life, family and my passions. If I get a little more than that, or even a lot more that would be great but we would have to plan for that financially. Im thinking we can live pretty well on about 75% of our pre retirement income, given our pretty mellow lifestyle. Does that sound about right? Won't have the same expenses, most debt will be paid off and the 20% I currently put into retirement plans will no longer be there. As much as I am looking forward to retirement in 4 years or so, i don't want to overlook the next 4 years and want to enjoy life every day and every week, one never knows how much time we have. Thankfully camping is what I do in my leisure time and it is about as cheap a hobby/passion as you can have. And I will finally have the time to do something with my lifelong passion for photography which I definitely intend to do. If I can start my day with a walk in the woods somewhere locally with my camera, life will be grand indeed. Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. |
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Pinetree |
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pswith5 |
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LindenTree3 |
Not being sure of your families health history, but consider long term care insurance. The typical scanero is the husband gets put in a resthome for the last few years of his life, eating up the nest egg, and leaves the wife who typically lives longer, destitute. Check out Dave Ramsey.com I get a lot of my financial advice from his team team. It's free. |
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riverrunner |
I have been retired for 6.5 years people ask me if I am bored no I am not. If your bored in retirement you need a better imagination. The days come and go so fast I wonder where the last 6.5 years went. |
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emptynest56 |
quote riverrunner: "I have found the job of being retired is one of the best ones I have had.Agree totally, RR. Just like John Lennon's "Watching the Wheels". I feel bad for my fellow health care/lab workers still trapped. Horrible career, no reward whatsoever, and always someones scapegoat. |
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Pinetree |
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Laketrout58 |
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HangLoose |
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Savage Voyageur |
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hobbydog |
If you can afford to retire, go for it. |
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yellowhorse |
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NoService |
Folks closer to retirement than I tell me I'm doing it correctly, but at least for now I can kiss travelling (minus to the boundary waters - that's a yearly must take trip) and most general sight seeing goodbye. I'm jealous of all you current and upcoming retirees! I'm not wishing my life away, but would much rather just work for me than the man! |
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Wally13 |
yellowhorse, Thanks for posting early-retirement.org forum site. It has a lot of good information that will help one with early retirement considerations. |
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plainspaddler |
A lot of things come in to play though. I too didn't have children until I was in my 30's. My kids are 12, 10, and 7. We have told them that we will help them all we can but that they really need to study in school because college is expensive. Both my wife and I paid our own ways as I expect my children to do. I plan to change our house over to a 15 year mortgage so that is done by the time I retire. My wife will not be able to retire when I do so that is a little bit of a sore spot with her. Now if I could just win that damn lottery... Mike |
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missmolly |
quote mschi772: "I graduated from college at the peak of the recession. I'll never see a day of retirement in my life. SS may be entirely broken by then, too, so I'll truly work to death." Mitch, I've heard others assert that they'll work until they die, but for most people, it's not doable. Ageism is real and there are real reasons for it, such as dwindling energy and cognitive agility. Then there's one's health. Your employer might be willing to keep you working, but you simply can't keep working. Save as much as you possibly can by living as simply as you possibly can. |
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HowardSprague |
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awbrown |
I am now 69. I have had some rare health issues not at all related to diabetes, but I basically do whatever I feel capable of doing.........just slower. I have not regretted retiring early for one minute. In fact, I don't know anyone who ever told me that they wished they had worked longer. My only real issue is that almost all my friends are several years older than me. It has been hard to find younger retired guys around my locale to share adventures with. |
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Frenchy19 |
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KarlBAndersen1 |
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johndku |
I was a late starter. In six months I turn 59, and just put first daughter into college two weeks ago, have another daughter who's a sophomore in high school, and a son in 6th grade. Oh well,,,they keep me young. |
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Spartan2 |
I am very glad that I retired early. I have thoroughly enjoyed retirement, and I have found activities that I enjoy to keep me involved in the community, church, and life in general. I don't miss school teaching, but I do sometimes miss directing the church choir. Still, I am content with the way things worked out. We enjoy our retirement. We made sure that our home was paid for and that we were debt-free before we even considered retirement. My husband was a prudent saver while he was working, and we were blessed with children who had academic scholarships that paid for their college education. We love to travel and we do a lot of it. Both of us have health issues now, and we try to keep going to places that we enjoy while we are still able to do it. Every day is a gift. My husband says, "when you are retired every day is Saturday, except Sunday, because then you go to church!" |
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ParkerMag |
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nctraveler |
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yogi59weedr |
Turned 50 and walked out the gate 5 days later. Did some lawn work for a few years. Built some guns for a couple yrs. Wait a minute.... that's still work... Now I work 1 day a week in the pro shop at a local course....free golf...and I can fish the course lakes.... Now we're talk in. I consider myself very lucky I keep a low profile as many buddies are not so lucky.... I am fricking happy.. They say it's like having kids... if you wait til you can afford it.. you'll never do it..... Those 1st couple paychecks you get after you retire are real eye openers..... Then you say to yourself. Hell ya. I can do this. |
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LindenTree3 |
Retiring from Wildland firefighting after 28 years, I'm 54. I have mandatory retirement in 2 years, but I figure it's time now. I find my joy very stressful, it's not all glory like the movies. There comes a time after 28 years that you realize it's time to let the younger generation advance. They are more of a go getter than I'm now, are way better with all the new technology and more physically fit. Most retirees I talk to tell me why wait? My health is good, but firefighters have a much higher incidence of cancer and lung cancer due to lung damage. I'm not taking any chances, and getting out while I can still hike and paddle. Living in Alaska, I'm am also homesick to move back to Mn and my wife. I've only spent around 6 months with her in the last 2.5 years. She's my rock, don't know if I could have done it without her, but she deserves to have her husband back. |
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ozarkpaddler |
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DeanL |
quote Laketrout58: "I retired at 55. I enjoyed my mail route but figured I could do something else. We live conservatively and are having fun! Go for it! Marc" Another USPS employee? I was a sub for 6 years and have been full time for almost 4 years. I'll be eligible to walk at 57 and I can promise that I'll know exactly where the door is. I really like my job but I like vacationing with my family even more. I'll have to wait a few years before I would get any retirement money but I'm fine with that. I farm with my dad and brother after my day job and that will be all the bridge I need to get me by. |
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BnD |
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missmolly |
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Blatz |
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salukiguy |
Anyway, from the time I started into the workforce, one of my goals was always to retire early or at least not work as long as my dad did. I could hang onto my job and save more or I can go at 60. My job is not so stressful most of the time and I get five weeks vacation (and still don't make it to the BWCA every year) but it sure would feel nice not having to get up for work every day and having time to pursue my own interests. What's your retirement story, either past or future, and are you glad you quit working? |
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blutofish1 |
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GraniteCliffs |
Had recurring and problematic bouts of AFIB the last several years of work. The AFIB basically disappeared the instant I retired and has not returned. Guess I had more stress at work than I thought.............................. |
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Savage Voyageur |
quote Pinetree: "Before retirement your paying into Social Security,Pension plans and Deferred programs if your lucky. None of that happens when retired. That makes a huge difference. Not exactly true about this. One of my pensions was transferred to another fund and they gave me an option to cash out of the very conservative pension. Most cashed out and reinvested it into a more aggressive fund like an Roth IRA that continues to make money. You can also transfer your work IRA money into a fund controlled by you, that also continues to make money. And this is exactly why I say to put as much as you can away. Put it away and forget about it. Plan for that money to be put away every paycheck. Then you won't miss it. I can't tell you how many times I have heard from young guys that a pension is no use to me. They think that retirement is an eternity away. They would rather have the money now, and figure out the money later. One day you wake up and find out you are 55 years old and have zero money put away. I never failed that at contract time the young guys wanted more money up front, and the older guys wanted it put away in the pension before taxes. I was very lucky that an old guy at work talked to me about retirement when I first started out. Now I'm the old guy with two different work pensions, a 401K, and social security. Start planning for your retirement early and you won't have to stress when it's time to quit. |
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yellowcanoe |
Last year we got a small travel trailer and this summer packed it with canoe camping gear loaded a canoe on the truck roof and went to Alaska and the West and cross Canada We did the Bowron Lakes chain. 8 days but very smoky from the fires We decided to do this when we can as you don't know what will happen health wise. We're both 71 We like the convenience of the trailer and the comfort and the handy bathroom at 3 am but still hope to continue to canoe camp Meanwhile my sister in law was in denial and was comatose when taken to the hospital last week She had been sick for a while but wanted to hide it. We are going as fast as we can. She is in hospice. Inoperable cancer. She has COPD and can't take anaesthesia |
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jcavenagh |
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RetiredDave |
Yes, I am very happy with my decision = and I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for Ely and a fall solo trip. Dave |
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Pinetree |
Social Security you will have to wait awhile. I also have seen many coworkers work up to a certain point and retire and shortly after they die or get to sick to enjoy their big plans. Even the least stressful job has stress and retirement made me much more relaxed. Also part of my job when I retired was to spend more time exercising. Only you know if you should retire,you will always get a lot of free advice. |
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ghamer |
While I really liked my job, there were so many other things I would have rather been doing. Now I am doing those other things... spending lots of time with grandkids, photography, taking 2 canoe trips per year and getting some of those neglected projects done around the house. No regrets here! |