In the zone

[Firezone]

Long time follower of this site .In the zone to fire . Retirement for me is not about ending , but beginning a new chapter . I’m 56 , 20 years in a stressful job and in love with stability and conservative with money . Although moderate risk allowed me to make some good decisions and earn more than I thought I would . Remarried at 53 with blended families and weddings coming up . You think you can’t do it but our new mindset of being in the zone has helped us tremendously . . My husband is 32 yrs in with a defined benefit so we are lucky . We are in zone now to retire in three . Bought a second home down shore . Downsiized primary home to condo ( will sell to live at beach and be mortgage free . ( already appreciated in value) No car payments , paid off debt . Jobs ironically became more necessary and less stressful when we embraced that we need to make them work until we are ready to let go . When my attitude changed so did my zone . We have more opportunities coming to us now than I ever thought possible as far as second career consulting / work from home type jobs . We know we need to keep busy and we both volunteer already and our building our network . It’s not easy though . There are days I want to throw in the towel and just get off the wheeel , but I keep my end zone in sight . I realize that making permanent decisions on a bad day is not the same as a bad life . I love this site . I wish all the best and hope to continue to find ideas and resources until we officially fire .

[Dtail]

Welcome to our wonderful site. Being a long time lurker, you know you can receive lots of good advice whenever necessary.

[Bir48die]

Remarried at 53 also to another widower. We had blended family of older kids in their 20's. Tried to make it the Brady bunch. Didn't work but they get along.

I gave a year and a half notice to retire and it became the most delightful time to not take things so seriously and be able to speak freely. Hope you get to do the same.

Welcome

[Vacation4us]

Remarried at 51 here. My spouse also has a pension. We are very happy, kids not so much. The youngest is 19 she's the only one that likes us both��, and the only one still at home.

For the OP will your spouse's pension be your only source of retirement funds? Did you co mingle all your finances immediately?

[MBAustin]

Welcome Firezone! If you haven't found them in your lurking, we have a helpful list of things to think about as you're on your glideslope to ER:

Some Important Questions to Answer

We're glad you joined and look forward to your contributions!

[Firezone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vacation4us Remarried at 51 here. My spouse also has a pension. We are very happy, kids not so much. The youngest is 19 she's the only one that likes us both��, and the only one still at home. For the OP will your spouse's pension be your only source of retirement funds? Did you co mingle all your finances immediately?

I don’t have defined benefit but 401 k . We feel we cannot pull the trigger yet , but we are working towards our goal . We bought a little 800 Sq ft house with a nice yard near the beach and are just seasonal right now . But we will sell our home in pa and retire to no mortgage which should help us reduce expenses . My spouse will carry health Insurance for three years after he retires . We dated for 11 years before marriage . We have been married for three now . We did co mingle finances after marriage , but it took a while . It was a process . Now we laugh and think what were we so afraid of . But second time around can be scary . But our kids all moved on . But they are close by but independent . We opted not to raise kids together . For us it worked out . 19 is tough . We have four kids and I think they all hated us at 19 .. lol it gets better

[Octogirl]

Remarried at 56. Best decision !! We sold each of our homes then bought an "our" home. We paid it off and now have a rental SFH for extra income

I'm working another year and my DH is retired with a pension.

We co mingle $$ and are very happy too.

[Firezone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Octogirl Remarried at 56. Best decision !! We sold each of our homes then bought an "our" home. We paid it off and now have a rental SFH for extra income I'm working another year and my DH is retired with a pension. We co mingle $$ and are very happy too.

Happy for you ! [emoji4]

[Vacation4us]

Anyone with a prenup?
1 year in we haven't commingled anything yet. Eventually we will have to or our life won't be what we planned.

We both agreed on the prenup. He has a mega pension to protect I have an almost paid for house and 401k. My dilemma is once we retire in 2 to 3 years I will have no income and no access to any of my assets until 59.5. The what if the worst happens is scary. Top that off with I really suck at spending other people's money. It's disconcerting being in a position less than equal the second time around.

[Firezone]

My lawyer wanted us to do a prenup when we did our wills etc.. We opted not . But so far our life is better than I could have hoped for . I do worry about the what if’s . His pension is good . I actually make more from a salary standpoint . It’s give and take

[Omega]

Hi Firezone! I guessed you were in PA when you mentioned buying a place "down the shore" lol. Sounds like you're in a good place. Congrats!

[Vacation4us]

800 sq feet sounds perfect for 2. Easy to keep clean! Although we each have a home in Scal we are in a 650 square foot 1 bedroom rental up NCal for our jobs. We both really like our "tiny home". The kitchen is a challenge though,lol.

[Firezone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omega Hi Firezone! I guessed you were in PA when you mentioned buying a place "down the shore" lol. Sounds like you're in a good place. Congrats!

Lol I realized I gave it away when I said that