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Old 05-28-2013, 02:34 PM   #41
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My dad and brother both told me not to retire too early. In my brother's case, he had no hobbies and not many friends. He retired at 50 and became depressed, fat and died of cancer at 56. My father said "don't waste away by retiring early". He had a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis and couldn't do a lot physical activities, although he tried. So his retirement wasn't that enjoyable.
In both cases I fail to see how continuing to work would have been better. No way did you brother suddenly get cancer because he stopped working. That was going to happen. And if your dad was physically limited by severe arthritis that it limited his fun, how much would he have been happy to have to do work at someone else's behest?

Still seems like ER was the lesser of two bad choices for both of them.
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Old 05-28-2013, 07:40 PM   #42
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I've been retired for 4 years now. I do find myself occasionally "selectively remembering the good days at work."

However, I've yet to find myself, even for a second, wishing I was still back there.
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Old 05-28-2013, 10:08 PM   #43
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In both cases I fail to see how continuing to work would have been better. No way did you brother suddenly get cancer because he stopped working. That was going to happen. And if your dad was physically limited by severe arthritis that it limited his fun, how much would he have been happy to have to do work at someone else's behest?

Still seems like ER was the lesser of two bad choices for both of them.
My brother didn't blame his cancer on ER. But being depressed because he had nothing to do, did contribute to him gaining a lot of weight. He thought I would be bored too. Many people think this way. And my Dad, like many of his generation, felt like you needed to work to be productive or useful.

But that was their way of thinking. Not mine.
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Old 05-29-2013, 05:08 AM   #44
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I got the old "you're too young to retire" and "you'll be bored silly" from people. I'm busy enough now that I'm not sure how I found time to work.

Occasionally bored when I happen to have a slow day, but otherwise quite happy. I do miss colleagues and clients that I enjoyed working with and miss them calling me looking for advice.
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Old 05-29-2013, 07:59 AM   #45
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I got the old "you're too young to retire" and "you'll be bored silly" from people. I'm busy enough now that I'm not sure how I found time to work.

Occasionally bored when I happen to have a slow day, but otherwise quite happy. I do miss colleagues and clients that I enjoyed working with and miss them calling me looking for advice.
Exactly my thoughts. What I'll add is if you have a variety of hobbies, financially independent, have a few friends whom you can spend time with and you also enjoy being alone and can keep yourself busy - you should do fine.
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Old 05-29-2013, 08:22 AM   #46
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Sometimes ER or just retiring period is measured by the life style you maintain or feel you want to maintain. I have a friend that is 63 and is not ready for retirement. I know he has a large enough portfolio, but they like to buy new cars every year or two. They like to eat out at select restaurants 3 or 4 times a week, go to shows regularly, have all the latest toys, travel the world, etc. He saves about 10% of his salary a year and he does not like the word "Budget" - hence fear or for now a deference to retiring.
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Old 05-29-2013, 09:48 AM   #47
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Sometimes ER or just retiring period is measured by the life style you maintain or feel you want to maintain. I have a friend that is 63 and is not ready for retirement. I know he has a large enough portfolio, but they like to buy new cars every year or two. They like to eat out at select restaurants 3 or 4 times a week, go to shows regularly, have all the latest toys, travel the world, etc. He saves about 10% of his salary a year and he does not like the word "Budget" - hence fear or for now a deference to retiring.
Sounds like his lifestyle is a little larger than what his portfolio will support...

I guess I would rewrite your post to say "I have a friend that has a portfolio large enough to retire comfortably, if he would only cut out all of the unnecessary spending (that he happens to enjoy)."

Some people value new cars, toys, lavish travel, dining out etc too much to make any cuts in those categories. I get it, but don't personally share those values.
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Old 05-29-2013, 09:58 AM   #48
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Sounds like his lifestyle is a little larger than what his portfolio will support...

I guess I would rewrite your post to say "I have a friend that has a portfolio large enough to retire comfortably, if he would only cut out all of the unnecessary spending (that he happens to enjoy)."

Some people value new cars, toys, lavish travel, dining out etc too much to make any cuts in those categories. I get it, but don't personally share those values.
Something like that, but it is also the desire to leave a big chunk to his children some day. This is the part that I do not totally understand. He sent all of them to college and they are all professionals so should have no problem surviving without Mom and Dad's support...
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Old 05-29-2013, 10:50 AM   #49
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As I mentioned, both of these guys had been retired more than a decade. My gut feel is that they may miss some of the social interaction, and the feeling of being a 'player'.

From my perspective, I am an aging IT guy working in a young guys field. Bragging rights after working 70 hour work weeks dont do it for me anymore I can't imagine that I will miss the 2 AM support calls
If you have failed to manage your career so that earning a living and saving for RE means spending your time in pain and aggravation, it's hard to think of the possibility of RE'ing "too early." OTOH, some folks are very successful in being able to earn money not only painlessly but by participating in activities they actually enjoy. Those A+ career managers might indeed retire "too early."

It's an individual thing and 100% dependent on your ability to manage your life so that "earning" and spending your time engaged in enjoyable activities are the same thing.
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Old 05-29-2013, 02:33 PM   #50
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This will be my last year before FIRE, but I have had a couple retirees suggest that I not retire too early. I respected these guys, but , each of them had been retired 10-20 years. My view is that they selectively remember the good days at work ( going to coffee with the boys, being a player, etc ), but misremember the days in traffic, getting up and driving thru snow storms, etc. Anybody else heard these commnets?
'It's not enough to retire from something, you need something to retire to.'

If you're just escaping work because you can but you don't have activities planned, you could get bored or worse in time. (Semi) active/engaged retirees are happy, bored retirees may have been better off working a few more years at least - I don't think it has much to do with whether you retire early or whatever age, or 'selective remembering.'
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Old 05-29-2013, 11:09 PM   #51
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I get the 'you're too young to retire' comment too. Just what do they mean by that??

Retired a month ago after three OMY.
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Old 05-30-2013, 12:08 AM   #52
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I get the 'you're too young to retire' comment too. Just what do they mean by that??

Retired a month ago after three OMY.
I can think of a couple of ways to reply sarcastically and at the same time appropriately to this 'you're too young to retire' thing.

1) "Wait, did they change the law on that? I know you have to be 18 to vote and 21 to drink, what is the rule on when you can retire again?"

2)"Oh, so you must know something I don't about how many years I have left. So when is it that I am supposed to retire and how much time do I get after that?"

Puts the ball back in their court to explain themselves, rather than letting them try to push you into justifying your choices.
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Old 05-30-2013, 02:22 AM   #53
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If you have failed to manage your career so that earning a living and saving for RE means spending your time in pain and aggravation, it's hard to think of the possibility of RE'ing "too early." OTOH, some folks are very successful in being able to earn money not only painlessly but by participating in activities they actually enjoy. Those A+ career managers might indeed retire "too early."

It's an individual thing and 100% dependent on your ability to manage your life so that "earning" and spending your time engaged in enjoyable activities are the same thing.
On this basis, I guess I have to say I retired at exactly the right time (maybe a couple of weeks too late at the worst). I was enjoying what I was doing and getting paid bushels of money to do it. I'd long since gained FI. When the boss said, now you're going to be doing XYZ (something I hated), I said "No I'm not. I'm retiring." Truth be told, I DID, in fact, retire FROM something rather than TO something. Still, it has worked out well and I'm more than satisfied.

I suppose if we're honest (at least with ourselves) we would admit that there are some things we miss about our w*rking days. An obvious one for (probably) many, if not most, would be the social interaction. I discovered a surprise "missed thing" about my w*rking. days. I used to travel once or twice a year for Megacorp. I got to stay at nice hotels, eat good meals (on Megacorp), have the freedom (not just from DW and kids, but also from regular duties and responsibilities) to roam about and discover new things (again at Megacorp expense). Didn't miss it until it was gone. Yes, I still travel, but there is a different dimension to it. In the old days it was a "mission". Now, it's an excursion. We could argue about which is better, but I do miss it, god help me.

Still, I contend that my ER date was, for all practical purposes, right on time. Not too early and not too late. Never really regretted it, though I do miss some things occasionally. YMMV
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Old 05-30-2013, 06:19 AM   #54
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I think a big part is the loss of socialization. DW and I frequently go out to breakfast during the week because it is calmer while everyone is w*rking. We often see large groups of men, typically in a separate room or area. They are weekly breakfast clubs of retired local mega corps. They tend to relive their work stories and gossip about what is going on at the mega. You will see the at McD's and food courts at the mall as well. My dad was in such a group of WWII vets. While they generally didn't talk about the war, they talked about their relationships and past reunions. Slowly they ran out of members. I always thought it was kind of sad. I think most have a need to belong to a group and share a common background.
I think Idnar hit the nail on the head. You need to be a self starter and have a supporting network of friends that like to get out and do stuff, just like you. Some people are passive and some are active types. I think the passive types are the ones that sit around and the Mcd"s and tell their war stories and get bored with each other. The active types get on with life and have passions to follow. The friends they relate with are that way, too.

You could be sitting on a pile of money, be retired and hate it, if you don't have any buddies to do things fun things with...
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Old 05-30-2013, 07:57 AM   #55
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You could be sitting on a pile of money, be retired and hate it, if you don't have any buddies to do things fun things with...
Half the reason I want to retire is to spend no time with anyone but my family and SO. I love my job is because it's me, my boyfriend, and the occasional client interaction, but all online. I never feel obligated to go out to some awkward dinner. I can sit at home, read my books, play my video games, and eat without people staring at me.

I'm terrified I'll get a job someday where I can't do all that, and honestly, it terrifies me!
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Old 05-30-2013, 08:37 AM   #56
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For me it came down to a few things:

1) How closely is your self-worth tied to your job? Many with whom I work define themselves by their work titles and responsibilities. They might regret RE if they left before that changed. Although I am proud of the work I do I no longer define myself by that as I once did.

2) What are your personality tendencies? I have a friend that has told me he's not sure he could ever retire since he'd "watch too much TV, eat too much, and die early". I have a list so long that I might never even complete what is already there. It seems that whatever someone is like while working will be amplified in retirement, be that positive (or not).

DW and I actually had a discussion this weekend (over beer and wine) about what a day in our retirement life would look like. It looked really sweet. I'll leave with no regrets.
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Old 05-30-2013, 11:22 AM   #57
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A few months back I met a guy who had retired a year ago at 62. Mentioned that I was working on a 5 year plan to get finances in order and such, which would still have me out in my 50's. His response was simple yet prophetic.... "Just remember, the one thing you can't buy more of is TIME". Changed my whole outlook on things....
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Old 05-30-2013, 11:58 AM   #58
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I don't hear people saying that they will miss work and I never did. I stayed connected and hung out with a few friends but eventually that dies out as well as our worlds drifted apart.

Currently I can ER but am working. I ER'ed for 3 months and then got a job offer that sounded fun and in the Higher ed. sector. What I noticed was that I needed a scheduled for the days and interests to channel my energy. When you are ~ 50 your still have a lot of energy and to just stop one day seems counter productive.

For those 3 months I spent each morning at the YMCA taking courses and the rest of the day volunteering and hanging out with my kids.

Now, 6 yrs later, I see myself working during the summer in the Parks department of my state(MA) and then volunteering/traveling the rest of the time. That will most likely happen next year.
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Old 05-30-2013, 04:55 PM   #59
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I semi retired 7 years ago and fully retired 18 months ago. I was called by my employer to do some consulting recently. I am back to almost 20 hours a week, however, it is much different now. I can work from home, pick my hours or just not show up some days if I am busy with other stuff.

Right now it is good for me but I am looking forward to going back to just a few hours a week which was the original arrangement.
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Old 05-30-2013, 05:18 PM   #60
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One person said to me to be sure I don't retire too early. He had been retired about 30 years and think he was just concerned about me running out of money.
I also agree that you should not retire too early, but the definition of "too early" is different for everyone. I ERd at 50 and would consider someone retiring at 30 to be "too early". But that's just me and I have no right to try to convince others to adapt my definition of "too early".
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