I thought this article was a joke...

[timo2]

or at least from the 'Onion', but apparently it is not

5 Reasons to Not Bother Retiring

 

[W2R]

My comments on the five reasons not to retire that are discussed in this article are,

1. Retirement means lots of free time ... maybe too much

Most of us seem to be able to adjust to having more free time, but some do have a harder time of that than others. It helps if you do not need to be entertained, in my opinion.

2. Working later may help you stay healthier

Correlation is not causation, as we know, and studies that say this seem to assume causation without investigating that hypothesis. When someone is extremely ill or dying, they may not be able to work and thus are more likely to retire.

3. Your savings probably aren't up to the task

Usually this hasn't been a problem for our forum members in the past. If necessary, LBYM can save them.

4. It's hard to un-retire

But, but..... who wants to do that? Yes, I agree, it may be best to only retire if you know that you want to do it and will not be changing your mind.

5. Your kids may be coming home

Perish the thought!

 

[clifp]

Sadly lately an easy way to make sure you don't have money to retire is to follow the Fools investment advice.

 

[Ozstache]

My comments on the five reasons not to retire that are discussed in this article are,

5. Your kids may be coming home

Perish the thought!

Mine never left, but that doesn't mean they get a free ride. As soon as they had stable employment, they paid their equal share of groceries and household amenities. If they're still around at age 25, house rates, insurance and maintenance get added into the shared expense mix. And if they push through 30 and I'm still housing them, they become shareholders in house renovations and furniture/appliance replacement purchases. They know this and actually think it's fair.

 

[Greencheese]

Maybe its just the people I know but what's with all these parents charging their kids rent to live at home after college? People I know are taking advantage of the no rent/low expense post college lifestyle to save up money and pay down their massive student loan debt. They're not blowing their paychecks every Friday night at the bars.

 

[REWahoo]

Maybe its just the people I know but what's with all these parents charging their kids rent to live at home after college?

When I charged post-college rent I called it "real life".

 

[pb4uski]

Maybe its just the people I know but what's with all these parents charging their kids rent to live at home after college? People I know are taking advantage of the no rent/low expense post college lifestyle to save up money and pay down their massive student loan debt. They're not blowing their paychecks every Friday night at the bars.

We did this with DS, in part to welcome him to the real world. But we added a kicker. We kept track of what he paid and called it the "DS Freedom Fund" and told him that he could have it back when he moved out. The idea was after a certain number of months as the balance built up he would have an incentive to leave the nest and could use that money for first month's rent, security deposit, etc.

He moved out last September. He's happy and doing well. We're happy to have the house to ourselves.

 

[nash031]

My comments on the five reasons not to retire that are discussed in this article are,

1. Retirement means lots of free time ... maybe too much

Most of us seem to be able to adjust to having more free time, but some do have a harder time of that than others. It helps if you do not need to be entertained, in my opinion.

2. Working later may help you stay healthier

Correlation is not causation, as we know, and studies that say this seem to assume causation without investigating that hypothesis. When someone is extremely ill or dying, they may not be able to work and thus are more likely to retire.

3. Your savings probably aren't up to the task

Usually this hasn't been a problem for our forum members in the past. If necessary, LBYM can save them.

4. It's hard to un-retire

But, but..... who wants to do that? Yes, I agree, it may be best to only retire if you know that you want to do it and will not be changing your mind.

5. Your kids may be coming home

Perish the thought!

1. I can only hope. Training for an Ironman and working with dogs promises to take a lot of time.

2. Working later may also make you fat, unhealthy, unhappy, stressed, fatigued, and dead. I'll take my chances.

3. Or they probably are.

4. Why the hell would I want to do that?

5. Easy: don't have kids.

Doom. DOOOOM!

 

[Fermion]

If I had a kid living at home post college while working I would charge them rent and then make them fund a Roth IRA with that rent money. Perhaps even get the saver's credit.

 

[robnplunder]

My comments on the five reasons not to retire that are discussed in this article are,

1. Retirement means lots of free time ... maybe too much

Most of us seem to be able to adjust to having more free time, but some do have a harder time of that than others. It helps if you do not need to be entertained, in my opinion.

2. Working later may help you stay healthier

Correlation is not causation, as we know, and studies that say this seem to assume causation without investigating that hypothesis. When someone is extremely ill or dying, they may not be able to work and thus are more likely to retire.

3. Your savings probably aren't up to the task

Usually this hasn't been a problem for our forum members in the past. If necessary, LBYM can save them.

4. It's hard to un-retire

But, but..... who wants to do that? Yes, I agree, it may be best to only retire if you know that you want to do it and will not be changing your mind.

5. Your kids may be coming home

Perish the thought!

1. My RE activity list amounts to more than full time. No problem there.
2. They don't know my job, or boss.
3. I can maintain my current lifestyle with what I got now. Current OMY stint is for adding frequent travel to my RE lifestyle.
4. True. But with 1 - 3 & 5 in firm ground, why would I ever want to un-retire?
5. My kid has been independent since he's out of college 4 years ago.

 

[Ozstache]

Maybe its just the people I know but what's with all these parents charging their kids rent to live at home after college? People I know are taking advantage of the no rent/low expense post college lifestyle to save up money and pay down their massive student loan debt. They're not blowing their paychecks every Friday night at the bars.

Don't confuse rent with shared living expenses. I don't charge rent as I own my own house outright and my kids have shown me they are paying off debt and then saving for the future. However, if I did have a mortgage or paid rent myself then why shouldn't they, as income earning adults, pay their share of rent/mortgage repayments? Even after them paying rent and living expenses, they'd still have much more disposable income than me to pay down debts, save and party on.

And if I had a kid who was living the party life and not paying down debt or saving anything, then I would charge them rent as a forced savings program for them and give it back later (as others have mentioned earlier). If they didn't like it, they could vote with their feet, but financially that would be a case of them cutting off their nose to spite their face.