scrabbler1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2009
- Messages
- 6,699
First time poster here, having searched for forums on early retirement.
I retired last year (October 31) at the age of 45. I worked for 23 years in the actuarial field, the first 16 of them full-time and the last 7 of them part-time. I had an awful commute from where I lived on Long Island (New York) to Manhattan for the 16 full-time years and to Jersey City (New Jersey) for the part-time years. My company became a for-profit company in 1997 and I took a big company stock payout (about 300k) last year, invested it in a high-yield (not junk) bond fund to generate enough money (along with my other considerable savings) to cover my expenses with room to spare. I have an IRA from my old 401(k) which has bounced back nicely in the last 12 months. It has nearly 300k in it and it is waiting and growing until I can tap into it in 14 years. I have a frozen pension waiting for me, too, at age 65. So, all I have to do is live off my dividends for 14 more years until the "reinforcements" start arriving. Even if I have to tap into principal in 10 years that is okay. I checked this out with a financial advisor. Playing with numbers is something I became very good at in my 23 years in the actuarial field.
I have been debt-free since 1998, having paid off the mortgage on my co-op apartment. I found a decent and affordable individual health insurance policy last year. I bought a new car (a Toyota Corolla) in 2007. My monthly expenses are both affordable and mostly predictable. I am single and am childfree, the latter my biggest reason for being able to retire.
The last 12 months have been great. No more alarm clocks, no more trains, no more commute, no more office stuff (I actually liked the work most of the time, though), no more lousy lunches in New Jersey. Even working two days a week from mid-2007 to my final week at the end of October, 2008, was an awful experience, mainly because of the tiring, annoying, and often sickening commute.
Once I began working part-time in 2001, I was able to reclaim my life. I resurrected an old hobby (at night, something I had no energy to do while I worked full-time) and began doing volunteer work in several area schools as part of the school Scrabble program. Otherwise, I come and go as I please, including spending time with my ladyfriend of 5 years.
I am enjoying the start of my second year of retirement and look forward to many more.
I retired last year (October 31) at the age of 45. I worked for 23 years in the actuarial field, the first 16 of them full-time and the last 7 of them part-time. I had an awful commute from where I lived on Long Island (New York) to Manhattan for the 16 full-time years and to Jersey City (New Jersey) for the part-time years. My company became a for-profit company in 1997 and I took a big company stock payout (about 300k) last year, invested it in a high-yield (not junk) bond fund to generate enough money (along with my other considerable savings) to cover my expenses with room to spare. I have an IRA from my old 401(k) which has bounced back nicely in the last 12 months. It has nearly 300k in it and it is waiting and growing until I can tap into it in 14 years. I have a frozen pension waiting for me, too, at age 65. So, all I have to do is live off my dividends for 14 more years until the "reinforcements" start arriving. Even if I have to tap into principal in 10 years that is okay. I checked this out with a financial advisor. Playing with numbers is something I became very good at in my 23 years in the actuarial field.
I have been debt-free since 1998, having paid off the mortgage on my co-op apartment. I found a decent and affordable individual health insurance policy last year. I bought a new car (a Toyota Corolla) in 2007. My monthly expenses are both affordable and mostly predictable. I am single and am childfree, the latter my biggest reason for being able to retire.
The last 12 months have been great. No more alarm clocks, no more trains, no more commute, no more office stuff (I actually liked the work most of the time, though), no more lousy lunches in New Jersey. Even working two days a week from mid-2007 to my final week at the end of October, 2008, was an awful experience, mainly because of the tiring, annoying, and often sickening commute.
Once I began working part-time in 2001, I was able to reclaim my life. I resurrected an old hobby (at night, something I had no energy to do while I worked full-time) and began doing volunteer work in several area schools as part of the school Scrabble program. Otherwise, I come and go as I please, including spending time with my ladyfriend of 5 years.
I am enjoying the start of my second year of retirement and look forward to many more.
