I took my little girl to a birthday party this weekend. There was a guy at the party who retired early (about 55 when he retired). We spoke a little bit about saving for retirement. He cautioned me that sometimes those on-line calculators don't accurately predict how much income you'll need in retirement.
He said that in his case, he *needed* to spend a lot more money after retirement than he thought. He found that he had lots of time on his hands, so he had to find something to occupy his time. He *had* to buy a Porsche 911, and build a garage to keep it in. He's put 600 miles on the car since June, so I'm not sure how that car fills his time...
Later on he was telling one of his "peers" (another guy about his age) how he just can't seem to pick the right stocks this year. I guess he figures he should be able to beat the market somehow.
Meanwhile his son (we went to high school together) was telling me about how he needs to trade in his one-year old Acura for something better, like a BMW. He says the Acura is OK, but it just doesn't seem like anything special. I tried to tell him that he needs to drive some kind of beater car to work everyday, so his good car feels special when he drives it. He agreed with me, but I know he'll be buying that BMW.
The father asked the son "How much is this party costing?" The son said, "I don't know, my wife is paying for it." His wife is a stay-at-home mom.
He said that in his case, he *needed* to spend a lot more money after retirement than he thought. He found that he had lots of time on his hands, so he had to find something to occupy his time. He *had* to buy a Porsche 911, and build a garage to keep it in. He's put 600 miles on the car since June, so I'm not sure how that car fills his time...
Later on he was telling one of his "peers" (another guy about his age) how he just can't seem to pick the right stocks this year. I guess he figures he should be able to beat the market somehow.
Meanwhile his son (we went to high school together) was telling me about how he needs to trade in his one-year old Acura for something better, like a BMW. He says the Acura is OK, but it just doesn't seem like anything special. I tried to tell him that he needs to drive some kind of beater car to work everyday, so his good car feels special when he drives it. He agreed with me, but I know he'll be buying that BMW.
The father asked the son "How much is this party costing?" The son said, "I don't know, my wife is paying for it." His wife is a stay-at-home mom.
