Any blue collar workers here?

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garyt

Full time employment: Posting here.
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From reading the posts for a while now it seems (obviously) that most people are pretty well off and ex professionals who made some really good money back in the day.
Any blue collar workers here? I was a route driver for most of my life, never made over $45k a year, same for my wife. We managed to save a considerable amount for our income level, about $800k and wondering if there's others on this site like us.
We have no medical benefits in retirement so that has us cautious about early retirement.
 
I worked a variety of jobs over the years, including a stint as a warehouse manager.

My DH was a copier repair guy for decades before moving into IT, but still carrying a toolkit until quitting a few years ago. Now he's a sort-of part time handyman who does computer work sometimes.

He has an associates degree and I didn't get my bachelor's until I was 40. Our incomes bounced around a good bit, but certainly were never stratospheric.

I'd say that savings/spending habits contributed way more to our nest egg than high income ever did.
 
There was a pizza delivery guy who hasn't posted since I first started lurking. Must've been 4+ years ago. Pretty rare company.
But come to think of it, there is no way DM would consider driving around in a car delivering junk food as "blue-color, salt of the earth, honest work," so maybe he doesn't count. Pretty rare company indeed.
 
I worked nothing but blue collar until I quit full time work at age 31. Since then i've been self employed in a non office environment but not hard labor either. Not sure what you would classify me as now but i've never been white collar and never reached $50K in any year and never will. Average income from age 19-37 is around $30-35K/yr but average expenses are well under $20K/yr so it's all good.
 
Been there, done that.....worked as a laborer on a dam in NW Australia, drove truck in Melbourne, skinned kangaroos (only for half a day) for pet food outside Adelaide, loaded freight cars at night when I returned to school in Toronto, also, (while going to school), worked as a hotel detective.......to (mis)quote the Duke "A man's gotta do......"
 
DH and I definitely blue collar, but LBYM has been our key for financial planning. We always put money into savings every pay day.
 
I am!!! I have been following this forum for many months now. This is my first time posting. I am a 41 y/o server, chiropractic assistant, and landlord. My DH (also landlord)was a restaurant manager, followed by a sales rep/route driver, and finally became self employed when he got tired of making other people look good and stomping out fires. He started doing property maintenance and repair about 5 years ago and has a steady clientele of senior citizens, other landlords, and realtors. During the first couple years of growing his business, I was the main breadwinner. Supporting a family of five, working two serving jobs. We did have our rental properties that helped a little but we're only netting about $8000/yr from those. We bought our first 3 houses CFD from my grandparents about 20 years ago. Those three we paid off 5 years ago. Over the past 15 years we have purchased another four rental properties. We have very little turnover as we keep our rent a little under market, but we don't profit as much as we should. We earn about $70,000 total between the two of us and have a net worth of $631,000. $178,000 from IRA's the rest is real estate. I am trying to come up with an exit plan for my part time chiropractic assistant job. I only bring in $13 an hour and feel I am worth more than that. I need to figure out how I will replace the $1100 a month that I take home from that job. I don't want to go full time serving. I like that job and it pays well, but I don't think I would like it as much if I was there full time. My goal is to be FI in 9 years. Cutting down to one part time job in 6. (Another 3 houses will be paid off then). In any case, you are not the only blue collar following this forum!
 
I have three buddies that are not U grads. One was a "dialing for dollars" fund raiser for mining companies until he retired. Another fell into installing foam insulation in boats. A third developed an electrical company and eventually sold it for $41 million.

None of them participate here. They seem to share an aversion for using the internet. They all use email but sparingly.
 
Nothing wrong with pride of work and that work being blue collar type. Since graduating college as an engr I have been white collar, and have spent may years on the mfg shop floor. Wearing steel toe boots, eye and sometimes ear protection. Built many friendships with the shop workers in the production area or the facility repair/maintenance guys. In many ways I prefer being out in the production area than sitting behind a desk or worse, stuck in mtgs.

I worked my way through college, mostly in auto parts stores, I call it my J-O-B scholarship. Around 25 hours/week while going to school. Not the easiest way, but graduated without any real debt and then able to start on my way towards FIRE.

I have a lot of respect for those that are working blue collar type jobs and able to save and have a nice retirement waiting for them. Yes, it is harder to save with less income. But the principles of PBYM always apply.
 
garyt said:
...
Any blue collar workers here?...
We have no medical benefits in retirement so that has us cautious about early retirement.
Click to expand...

My whole family is blue collar, but my working summers from 13-22 doesn't really count--nor does the construction work I did while raising kids, as it was all on our own houses. Do you have pensions from your jobs? (One of my cousins retired at 50 with a relatively well funded carpenters union pension and low expenses, and my brother-in-law is in a similar position soon.)

I am in awe that you have yourself in a position to have 800K put aside for E.R. with your income history. Even if 90K combined income was every year (unlikely as all get out!), you had to be diligent LBYM/Saver throughout.

As for medical insurance, join the club. :( I think that is the biggest concern for all of us who lack employer-provided benefits, but you don't have as much wiggle room as some of us. Depending upon how your 800K is allocated between tax deferred and not, you could well benefit from ACA subsidies (I'm assuming US citizen/resident)--but the out-of-pockets are daunting, and it is a black hole for forecasting. [A thought--how does your current health coverage compare with ACA exchange policies?]
 
Up until I got my masters I was, like most folk start. I did still wear Blue Collars after that though, except for funerals and weddings. :)
 
One of the main tenants of the "Millionaire Next Door" series of books by the late Thomas J. Stanley is that it is relatively easier to achieve FI by living a "blue collar lifestyle" as opposed to buying into the high consumption lifestyle I am referring to such things as neighborhood you live in, friends you associate with, etc. etc. Too much social/peer pressure to spend $ in the high consumption neighborhoods.

One of the reasons that I purchased my house in my current neighborhood (also in SE Michigan) is that it is a very nice area built in the 1950s that was originally blue collar. Many electricians, technicians, warehouse people etc. I was able to learn many things from these folks.

Welcome

-gauss

p.s. I believe the book in the series that really drills down into this concept is "Stop Acting Rich.. And Start Living Like a Real Millionaire"
 
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Interesting thread. My father who was a product of the depression, spent his whole career as a cash register mechanic. When he retired in 1978, he had never made more than $21,000 a year. Within a year of purchase, every house he bought he owned them free and clear. He also paid cash for every car he owned and kept them for 7 to 8 years. His initial stake in investing came by winning $500 in a dice game on the troopship returning from Europe in WWII. He considered that he was lucky to make it off the ship alive with that much money hidden in his socks. After retirement he and my step mom lived off of a small pension and Social Security, probably $1,600 per month. I think the depression made him obsessively frugal. When he died in 2004 his portfolio was over $800,000.

I was extremely blessed to have him as a role model!

Milkman
 
Enjoyed college a year or so, went floating on boats with free lodging and food for almost 4 years, worked for a rental company and then Mountain Bell a few years, then spent 4 years in a very fine liberal arts college. Worked for a mushroom farm as a grower, mis-spent a year or so in law school, then diddled around as a foreign car mechanic for a while. According to the SSA website I reached my peak earned income in 1988, pulling down $14,479. Somewhere in there I hooked up with a girl who believed in loyalty and hard work for its own sake, not for wages.

We both liked real estate and started buying the dumps we could afford, adding plenty of work and any bucks we could spare. The SSA says I haven't had any earned income since 1991. Took social security at 62, $313.20 lands in my bank account every month and $243.60 goes to Medicare part B. I am tickled to be getting anything from social security, but at this point it is a tiny tiny tiny portion of our monthly income - Medicare is great though! Rental real estate and its unearned income has been very very good to us.
 
I worked outside as a land surveyor and as a draftsman for several years, finished college while working, bought a partnership in the company and then helped run the business for 20+ years.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
 
garyt said:
From reading the posts for a while now it seems (obviously) that most people are pretty well off and ex professionals who made some really good money back in the day.
Click to expand...


It may seem that way, but as you can see there are quite a few who did it the hard way. Being "pretty well off" in retirement doesn't necessarily mean you made a lot while working. It just means you planned well and executed your plan properly.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum
 
My first 10 year career was the lumber industry. We learned from the ground up. Bought, cut and delivered logs while building our own ~1930 model sawmill. Finally got it running used it to saw the lumber for the elevated floor of the mill! Tough life and we didn't make any money. Moved to work in a real mill as a NHLA inspector. I woke up at 26 went to night school and got an entry-level programming job. Twenty nine years later I retired. Never really attended a college.

I learned a lot in my blue collar life. Met some interesting people too! Few of those guys I still know today.
 
I was a remodeler and DW did office work. She was down sized in 2012 at 54.I bought lots and built houses on them all for cash I lease them and receive about 1100.00 apiece to me per month I have four.She always maxed out her 401k and now has over 550 k in it my houses are worth about 300k apiece I have about 110k in each one plus I have 300k in a taxable account.She was making 40k at the end of her career and me probably less .Its all about living below your means and saving and investing its not rocket sience
 
2017ish said:
My whole family is blue collar, but my working summers from 13-22 doesn't really count--nor does the construction work I did while raising kids, as it was all on our own houses. Do you have pensions from your jobs? (One of my cousins retired at 50 with a relatively well funded carpenters union pension and low expenses, and my brother-in-law is in a similar position soon.)

I am in awe that you have yourself in a position to have 800K put aside for E.R. with your income history. Even if 90K combined income was every year (unlikely as all get out!), you had to be diligent LBYM/Saver throughout.

As for medical insurance, join the club. :( I think that is the biggest concern for all of us who lack employer-provided benefits, but you don't have as much wiggle room as some of us. Depending upon how your 800K is allocated between tax deferred and not, you could well benefit from ACA subsidies (I'm assuming US citizen/resident)--but the out-of-pockets are daunting, and it is a black hole for forecasting. [A thought--how does your current health coverage compare with ACA exchange policies?]
Click to expand...

My employer health coverage is pretty darn good and I pay $200 a month. We have a decent amount in Roth IRA's and could manipulate money enough to qualify for Medicare, although I hear they're looking to change that . I'll work till next May then take a serious look at FIRE.
 
I grew up in the School of Hard Knocks and learned to LBYM and invest wisely from another old Hard School Nocker. I owe my savings to his teachings. I forever bless him for his insights and sharing life knowledge. I am comfortably retired and making much more than what I was making before I retired. I had to do it because I had no family support or inheritance.
 
This is an interesting thread. I too often feel like I am alone here. Its astonishing how many posters that mention their megacorp (I actually had to look up what a megacorp was when I first started reading post) jobs, huge pensions and post retirement health care. I too often wonder if any one still worked hard physically for a living and retired securely.

I did some research when I was in high school on how I could make decent money and become self employed as early as possible. I knew what I wanted to do but the local trade school didn't have any openings for a whole year so I went to the local state university for a short spell. I knew after the first day that it wasn't for me. I thought everyone at the college would be no older than about 22-23 years old. I walked around there between classes and saw what looked like mostly middle aged people walking around wasting their lives away being a full time student. I got up and left the day the psychology 101 professor told the impressionable minded students that "the problem with America today is the white American male". I stood up and said good bye. I enrolled that afternoon in the local trade school to start the next fall.

I have had nothing but blue collar jobs since I was 12 years old. I got a blue collar education in a skilled trade, did my apprenticeship, got a journeyman then a masters license. I quit my job to go on my own when I was 25 years old. I have been self employed for almost 20 years and have accumulated 2 million in investable assets and a net worth of around 3 million. I guess if I would have been a little smarter and stayed in school I could have got a good job and been successful but this is the path I chose now I have to follow it.
 
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