Newly retired

[muchohucho]

Hi,
I just joined this group as I will be "retiring" in two weeks. I don't like to call it retiring but I am quiting my current job with the State of Alaska. I have 21 years of service in which is not the normal 30 years considered full retirement.

I am a male, 53 years old, and was driving 100 miles per day and dealing with nauseating bureaucracy, so got out. I have been saving a big chunk of my pay check for the last 14 years to do this. My partner did the same thing but quit last year. We will live off savings/unearned income until our pension checks start coming in at 60. They will be reduced pensions, but we have and enjoy a frugal lifestyle. Our house is paid off, we have no serious debts (I'm paying off my car but the balance is negligible really).

Looking forward to ADVICE on portfolio management for income. We are both very conservative with our money and granted we would be in a much better financial position had we been fully invested, personally I have a hard time stomaching ups and downs of the market and have little trust after losing quite a bit of money in the Dot com bust in 2000. But NOW would really like to get some decent income coming in. Maybe even get educated on Options.
Otherwise, I'll be fishing, hiking, birding, gardening and a little hunting on the side. Hopefully some good travelling too, lower 48 and overseas. Looking for good advice on budget travelling too!

 

[CabinLifeAt50]

Congrats on getting ready to wrap up w*rk!

It sounds like you are somewhat starting on figuring things out about what you want to do for income. Maybe I'm wrong on that? Otherwise I would suggest doing a bit of research reading up on what may fit for you- bonds, dividend stocks, reits, options etc. The challenge there will be that you want a decent income but mentioned you have a hard time with the ups and downs of the market. Short of a CD/money market, your going to get a bit of ups and downs, more or less depending on the investing class. There are some very conservative option strategies available that can help boost income a bit but would probably be good to understand income investing from a stock perspective first.

A lot of folks around here will suggest index funds, set and forget and those are good as well just depending on how much hands on you want. Dividend investing outside of index funds can net you a lot more income, but does take more hands on time. All just trade offs you'll need to consider and read up on as well as understand your own risk tolerance.

Would also suggest checking out some of the many blogs out there for the various topics you are interested in. Tons on dividend investing, early retirement, options, bonds, etc.

 

[38Chevy454]

Congrats on making it to early retirement. As for advice on investments, my suggestion is to read a lot on here to get many perspectives. Most on here that are retired have some mix of equities and income type investments. The mix that works for you, and the exact investments, depends on your risk tolerance and timeframe. I would say that at your age, you definitely need some decent amount in stocks to help offset inflation. A common mix is 60/40 (stocks/income).

 

[DrRoy]

Well done on RE. I will be joining you early next year and have the same issue on generating income. I am already buying some bonds, generally BBB rated for investment grade but a little better yield, and also some municipals to avoid FIT. Later on I expect to add preferred stocks, but have not gotten there yet. I am also interested in rental real estate, but would study it a lot and might not want to put in the effort required for that.