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OMY vs. the uncertainty of now
Old 07-18-2016, 12:38 PM   #1
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OMY vs. the uncertainty of now

Hello,

I'm a 61yo longtime lurker that now feels the urge to reach out and compare notes with others on ER topics (i.e. I finally have a few questions for the community).

I work at a University in the Boston area. Job is Research/IT related now but I've been at it almost 40 years so I've worked as a programmer, a systemadmin then for many years as a technical manager. I've since dialed it back to an individual contributor for the last few years. I'd like to dial it back even further in terms of hours but that seems unlikely given my circumstances.

I've always been something of a saver and I've luckily married someone that similarly values that trait. My wife is a year younger than I am. We have no children and so do not have a need or desire to leave a large estate.

One major challenge as I see it involves transitioning from net saver to net spender. Despite having accumulated a sizeable nest egg, it never seems enough to guarantee complete confidence despite all my Firecalc/RIP/I-Orp projections. Our expenses have been stable for 2-3 years.

My wife's level of retirement uncertainty is even greater than mine. How do you handle the point in time when you stop accumulating?

I'm sure others have experienced the same feelings. How do you deal with that psychic sense of uncertainty when income finally drops off?
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Old 07-18-2016, 12:47 PM   #2
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Assuming your finances are a definite 100% according to reasonable calculations, this thread might be a good read from a similar couple last night:

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ml#post1757765

A couple of points in it that might hit home, since you mention "guarantee complete confidence":

- At a certain point, the risk of dying outweighs the risk of a catastrophe that might wipe out your assets.

- And if that sort of catastrophe did happen, money probably won't be of much use for anyone.
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Old 07-18-2016, 12:49 PM   #3
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Hi gypsydavy, welcome aboard. You ask an important, and difficult question. While you discuss here you might the archives for earlier threads on this. Here's one recent example http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...der-82377.html
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Old 07-18-2016, 01:48 PM   #4
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I am going to switch from being a saver to a spender when I RE early next year. I will be doing quite well with a small pension and a 1.5% WR. The low WR gives me the financial confidence that you seem to be lacking. I am tired of my job and have other things that I would like to be more able to do, so it is time for me to go. If we wait too long, we will not be able to enjoy the $ that we saved.
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Old 07-18-2016, 02:18 PM   #5
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Well everyone has to ask or think that question. But if it were me I would hurry up and find the answer as the time remaining is rapidly decreasing.
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Old 07-18-2016, 03:23 PM   #6
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Time > money in terms of value. You can always increase your money. You can't increase your time.

I see my retirement assets as numbers on a computer screen. A few clicks on my computer and those numbers change and suddenly my checking account has more real money that I can spend.

It feels like magic.


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