ER butterflies

[Katsmeow]

Let me see.

DH has plans for what he'll do...but then I have plans for him

For me...we just bought a 30 year old house that was not been updated at all and so I can see remodeling going on for quite some time.

And we still will have 2 kids at home - one in high school and other in community college. So there are things to be done there.

I have that whole bookcase full of TBR (to be read) books that I thought I would get to someday.

And, of course, maybe I'll finally level my warrior and DK in World of Warcraft.

Get back to working on the Wii Fit and get the treadmill set up (recently moved so lots of stuff not set up yet)

And...

Well let's just say I have lists that are really long of what I'd like to do.

Travel is something that I've enjoyed in the past but ultimately felt was just not worth the high cost. We still will do some vacations but not necessarily every year.

 

[Moemg]

I just looked at your gift category $250 for three children plus his grown children and grandchidren and great grandchildren ? Either you give $5 gifts once a year or you way underestimated this category .

 

[Katsmeow]

Oh, when I wrote that I meant $250 a month, not annually. I've actually got that down closer to $100 a month this year.

 

[Moemg]

Oh, when I wrote that I meant $250 a month, not annually. I've actually got that down closer to $100 a month this year.

I see now it was per month . I had just finished watching " Men who stare at goats " so my mind was warped . Weird movie ,my daughter picked it .

 

[Danmar]

Let me see.

DH has plans for what he'll do...but then I have plans for him

For me...we just bought a 30 year old house that was not been updated at all and so I can see remodeling going on for quite some time.

And we still will have 2 kids at home - one in high school and other in community college. So there are things to be done there.

I have that whole bookcase full of TBR (to be read) books that I thought I would get to someday.

And, of course, maybe I'll finally level my warrior and DK in World of Warcraft.

Get back to working on the Wii Fit and get the treadmill set up (recently moved so lots of stuff not set up yet)

And...

Well let's just say I have lists that are really long of what I'd like to do.

Travel is something that I've enjoyed in the past but ultimately felt was just not worth the high cost. We still will do some vacations but not necessarily every year.

Sounds like you will be busy. When my DW and I retired (4 years apart) we both decided to increase our physical activity levels We both lost 20 lbs (each) and got into skiing and mountain biking. Aso, we spend significant time looking after our parents. 3 of 4 still going. Have fun.

 

[travelover]

I must say, I'm really impressed by how far Katsmeow and her DH have come! Two well paid professionals who really could have been trapped on the treadmill of earning high $$ forever to maintain high spending levels. Instead, you guys have carefully gone through your priorities and taken big steps to free yourselves and studied the financial ramifications carefully.................................Audrey

I agree, Katsmeow has really pulled it together. I admit that after her initial post I thought [-]NFW[/-] this is gonna be tough.

 

[Bikerdude]

I must say, I'm really impressed by how far Katsmeow and her DH have come! Two well paid professionals who really could have been trapped on the treadmill of earning high $$ forever to maintain high spending levels. Instead, you guys have carefully gone through your priorities and taken big steps to free yourselves and studied the financial ramifications carefully.

Hey, I think its great they are taking the retirement step but 62 is not really getting out early IMO.

 

[W2R]

Hey, I think its great they are taking the retirement step but 62 is not really getting out early IMO.

Really? Well good thing that I squeeked by at 61, then.

Seriously, 62 seems early to me, since I thought the conventional retirement age was usually 65. Besides, it's Katsmeow's DH who is 62. I believe she is younger.

 

[Bikerdude]

Really? Well good thing that I squeeked by at 61, then.

Seriously, 62 seems early to me, since I thought the conventional retirement age was usually 65. Besides, it's Katsmeow's DH who is 62. I believe she is younger.

You'll have to post on the "Conventional retirement forum" to get any agreement.

 

[W2R]

You'll have to post on the "Conventional retirement forum" to get any agreement.

Hey, when I first arrived here I was feeling pretty unsure as to whether or not I'd be welcome. I hadn't been able to find a "Conventional Retirement Forum" that was as active as this forum and as much fun. When I posted asking about my age someone (CFB, maybe?) told me it was not a problem. So there.

 

[ziggy29]

Seriously, 62 seems early to me, since I thought the conventional retirement age was usually 65. Besides, it's Katsmeow's DH who is 62. I believe she is younger.

I have a feeling that even retirement at 65 will be a luxury in the decades to come.

 

[W2R]

I have a feeling that even retirement at 65 will be a luxury in the decades to come.

When we start getting new members in their 80's, I'll really worry.

 

[Katsmeow]

Besides, it's Katsmeow's DH who is 62. I believe she is younger.

He is 62, I'm 56. Truthfully, when I first found this forum I was hesitant to post since at that time we thought we wouldn't retire for another 4 years or so. I did look for a "regular" forum that covered similar issues and didn't really. I did find a lot about early retirement though. Until then I had just assumed DH would work until 66 when our daughter would graduate high school and if I was lucky I would retire with him at 60. At that time, I thought that we would need at least 2 million or even more to think about retirement.

Finding this forum was really instrumental in my starting to think about how we could adjust our expenses and our lifestyle to retire earlier. So, yeah, it isn't all that early but it is earlier than I had anticipated.

 

[REWahoo]

Other that the occasional new member who claims to be a 16 year old from Missoula, I can't recall any poster who wasn't welcomed to this forum to discuss retirement at any age. I see "early" as a relative term and subject to a wide range of interpretation.

 

[traineeinvestor]

Congratulations on your impending transition.

A question if I may: how confident are you that the "one day a week" arrangement will in fact be only one day a week? The reason for asking is that I may try to get a similar arrangement for myself when I eventually pull the trigger. So far, the feedback from others I have spoken to is that there tends to be a lot of creepage in the reduced working hours as clients and colleagues keep asking the part timers to "just have a quick look" at something or if they can help out "because we have a situation" outside of the official working hours.

I don't want to end up in a situation where "part time" becomes "almost full time on a part time salary" which kind of defeats the purpose of the exercise.

 

[ziggy29]

Finding this forum was really instrumental in my starting to think about how we could adjust our expenses and our lifestyle to retire earlier. So, yeah, it isn't all that early but it is earlier than I had anticipated.

Thus demonstrating that financial planning for retirement isn't *only* about generating more income.

 

[Katsmeow]

how confident are you that the "one day a week" arrangement will in fact be only one day a week? The reason for asking is that I may try to get a similar arrangement for myself when I eventually pull the trigger. So far, the feedback from others I have spoken to is that there tends to be a lot of creepage in the reduced working hours as clients and colleagues keep asking the part timers to "just have a quick look" at something or if they can help out "because we have a situation" outside of the official working hours.

That's a good question. I am confident that I won't work more hours than I'm willing to work. I am being paid by the hour so don't have any worries about working full time for part time salary.

Basically I'm willing to work about 8 to 10 hours a week. The concept is that I'll go into the office one day a week. However, my role is going to be more of a consultant type role so I know that there will be some calls and emails on other days to review something and run something by me. I am OK with that so long as it is half an hour or an hour of something not 4 hours every day. And how long I'll come in for on the one day a week will directly relate to what I did on the other days of the week.

The bottom line is that the person who suggested this arrangement does very much want me to do this and knows that it would be easy for me to just not do it. It will be nice to have the extra money but I don't consider it necessary (i.e. we did our planning based upon that income not being there).

Also part of what will help is I've said I don't want to work on an ongoing basis on any matters. I've said I don't want to be copied on the correspondence that routinelyh comes in, I don't want anything put on my calendar, etc. Basically I don't want to get sucked into anything ongoing. I want the things that I'm consulted on to be basically standalone matters. I think that will also help with not letting more work creep in there.

So, we'll see how it goes. If I don't like it, then I just won't keep doing it.

 

[clifp]

To answer a couple of questions:

I am an attorney.

The kids get roughly $1100 a month because they are under 18 and my husband will be drawing Social Security. They receive 1/2 of his full retirement age benefit (subject to a family maximum that is about $4k a month).

I thought when you originally posted that it was somewhat risky. It is interesting a few factoids really change the situation. Attorney IMHO have a much easier time making a very nice wage working part time than almost any other profession. I'd certainly be happy to work one day a week for $1,000.
These certainly gives you latitude if the house selling doesn't working out as well as you hoped.

Maybe I missed it in the original thread but I thought you two were much younger (two kids under 18 gave me the impression).
Oh and before I forget congratulations.

Now my rant. Kids under 18 get social security based on his full retirement age, even though the husband retired at early 62. No wonder the system is in trouble.

On the other hand, I fell in lust with this cute single mom at the dentist office, and now my mind is busy trying to figure out how to scam the system.
Too bad I am more than a decade away from collecting.