Anxious about retiring so early at 38

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stepford said:
Just curious about your thesis area (if that isn't too much personal data). I also got my undergrad degree at 20, but not being as smart, took another 7 years for the Physics PhD. ... and REALLY not being as smart, stayed in Physics/Engineering as a career until 55.

Anyway, my concern with your plan is that you may have developed somewhat opulent tastes requiring a pretty healthy nest egg. I know others who've hit it big in the tech industry and retired in their late 30s to early 40s with savings in the multi 8 figure range. This has been enough to maintain a reasonably luxurious lifestyle for their last 15-20 years of retirement and they still seem happy as clams. Presumably you've run your numbers, so if you're in a similar financial situation I'd say go for it.
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Thanks for a nice response. And I know at least a few who retired twenties by investing in Apple in 2001 earning much more than I did.

Opulence is reserved for treating my hard working GF to a nice travel experience. I stay in real cheap hotels when alone, and I love it. Google Amskal Riad Marrakesh, City Hotel Cairo, Fish Inn Shanghai, about 30-40$ per night. Loved every minute in those places. And best ever was Chung King Mansions Nathan Rd, Hong Kong.
The boring thesis was to demonstrate the role of solar radiation and solar pressure on the osculating Keplerian elements. I was lucky to have Pedro Ramon Escobar send me daily a copy of ACTRAC orbit analysis results of a satellite he tracked and I could see the effects of Sun angle on the errors between modeled ephemeris and actual measured ephemeris. I tossed in the role they played in causing large mesh reflectors on spacecraft to suffer changes in quadratic phase error thus causing an ellipsoid focal region. That attracted attention from a very well know professor specializing in reflector. I was just lucky, he helped bring it all together. And I do know many people who took more than 5 but lots got there in 5.
 
stepford said:
Kudos to you for not getting scared off by the snark. There's a tendency around here for some to think those who've done very well for themselves are bragging and/or telling a story that's too good to be true. Whether or not this is so, as far as I'm concerned we lose nothing by taking your story at face value and responding with decent advice.
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Stepford, I am still taken aback a bit but I likely have not done nearly as well as posters have speculated.

But, I took it as "hey kid, get off of my grass".

I do admit to being too prideful about the amount of effort I put into education, and while friends hung out I was usually at my room at a homemade desk, churning out homework.
 
braumeister said:
Hmm.
Graduated from a "lower ranked UC state school" at 19.
Then spent 1 year at USC for a graduate degree.
Then 5 years for a Ph.D. in physics from UCLA.
Finally another year for an MBA somewhere.
15 years with GS traveling the world making big bucks.
Could afford to retire in SoCal at 38.
Travels the world 4 months out of the year on superpremium airfares.
Yet travels to Mexico for dental work and spends his time as a "competitive beach volley person".

Why would anyone think there's a troll here?
:facepalm:
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I smell troll too, I’m debating whether it’s good or bad troll here. Several things don’t check out in subsequent posts but I won’t mention it here for fear of identifying people I know.

Somehow the title and the posts don’t jive up. It’s more boastful than anxious.
 
misterantsypants said:
Stepford, I am still taken aback a bit but I likely have not done nearly as well as posters have speculated.

But, I took it as "hey kid, get off of my grass".

I do admit to being too prideful about the amount of effort I put into education, and while friends hung out I was usually at my room at a homemade desk, churning out homework.
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Having read through all your posts in this thread, I'm honesty not sure exactly what it is you're looking for here. Are you seeking advice on how to retire successfully and happily at 38? If so, you haven't given us much hard data to go on, such as what your net worth and annual spending amounts are... or at least, what your annual spending is as a percentage of net worth. If you don't want to divulge those things (even though this is an anonymous forum), then I don't think you can expect much in the way of financial advice.

If you're looking for advice or thoughts on the non-financial challenges of "extreme early retirement", maybe we can help with that, too. But you need to ask questions or tell us some of your concerns in a thoughtful, well-worded manner. This forum is filled with very knowledgeable, helpful, friendly folks... but we're not mind readers.
 
So are you giving us some financial info if you re truly looking for advice, or we keep going around in circles?
I used to deal with many folks from Goldman.........
 
Dtail said:
So are you giving us some financial info if you re truly looking for advice, or we keep going around in circles?
I used to deal with many folks from Goldman.........
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Reread, I never claimed to work for Goldman Sachs, the subsidiary has nothing in its name identify, it is simply an LA based investment firm owned by Goldman Sachs.

Brag if you wish but I have never had the wonderful experience of "deal with many folks", obviously much older colleagues did but it takes way more than my short career to be assigned to Stephen Ross accounts.

AND, not once have I asked for financial advise! Maybe the best thing I can ask is how long into retirement till I become hate filled, cantankerous, curmudgeon, cynical and easily angered. It looks common trait here.
 
Sojourner said:
Having read through all your posts in this thread, I'm honesty not sure exactly what it is you're looking for here. Are you seeking advice on how to retire successfully and happily at 38? If so, you haven't given us much hard data to go on, such as what your net worth and annual spending amounts are... or at least, what your annual spending is as a percentage of net worth. If you don't want to divulge those things (even though this is an anonymous forum), then I don't think you can expect much in the way of financial advice.

If you're looking for advice or thoughts on the non-financial challenges of "extreme early retirement", maybe we can help with that, too. But you need to ask questions or tell us some of your concerns in a thoughtful, well-worded manner. This forum is filled with very knowledgeable, helpful, friendly folks... but we're not mind readers.
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Not looking for financial advice at all. I intend to make retirement a positive experience by observing the experience others will share honestly. I came here to see what to expect in retired life. Mostly interested interested in the impact on relationships with friends from the office. Also, how do most retirees fill their time? What about your self image changed? Are you happy?

And what I see so far is not encouraging, seems like a lot of prickly folks from just one post.
 
Go back and reread your first post. The highlights I saw were that you fly in the uber luxurious airline suites both on business and personal travel, and take month long vacations 1/3 of the year, though maybe you mean she comes to see you for a month or you go see her for a month a few times a year. And the next tidbit is that you're a beach volleyball hotshot. And now that you've taken some heat for those remarks you quickly resort to name calling. Nice start!
 
Dtail said:
So are you giving us some financial info if you re truly looking for advice, or we keep going around in circles?
I used to deal with many folks from Goldman.........
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If you have skills in detail, you failed to notice that I have not asked for financial advice from anyone here, only general aspects of retirement. You maybe circling wrongly.
 
RunningBum said:
Go back and reread your first post. The highlights I saw were that you fly in the uber luxurious airline suites both on business and personal travel, and take month long vacations 1/3 of the year, though maybe you mean she comes to see you for a month or you go see her for a month a few times a year. And the next tidbit is that you're a beach volleyball hotshot. And now that you've taken some heat for those remarks you quickly resort to name calling. Nice start!
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You have fairly well nailed the trip thing, I visit her mostly but she can get vacation time to take a nice trip on ocassion.

What the thread came from was a moderator asking me to share my interests, etc. The volley ball hotshot seems like name calling but I'll respond. Please post where I have called anyone "a name", never happened to my knowledge. I have only pointed out what I feel is unwarranted comments call me names. I've been called a troll, why do you no call them out like you are me?
 
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Lots of us are miserly, like you, as a means of stretching our retirement budget. Not sure how those airline suites fit into that miserly image. But it's your money. I aspire to fly once in my lifetime in that kind of opulence... but my next vacation will be in coach because I don't have the mega-bucks to justify it.

You have some options if you do run out of money... with a PhD you can likely pick up a part time (or full time) teaching gig. My former BIL did this - teaching for one of the big-name private, mostly online, universities... He likes that he can mostly work from home, or from the road... only 1-2 weeks a year for the "residency" portion that the school requires from students. He supplements his teaching income with editing/reviewing/advising students on their thesis and dissertations. (Amazing how many grad students can't write well.) It's his early retirement gig... mostly part time.

2nd tier UC schools are still UC schools - good education. My son is in the college app process and I'm making sure he includes 2nd tier UC schools since CAL, UCLA, and UCSD aren't likely to accept him since he doesn't have a 4.6 gpa.
 
misterantsypants said:
If you have skills in detail, you failed to notice that I have not asked for financial advice from anyone here, only general aspects of retirement. You maybe circling wrongly.
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Which you didn't get around to until post 33. Nothing quite like farting in the elevator and then asking your fellow riders for advice. Best of luck to you.
 
Your thread title says that you are anxious, so people come here and read it expecting to perhaps share some experience related to your anxiety.

But the opening post content is unrelated. Just introducing yourself, I guess. If that was responding to a request to introduce youself - then thanks for doing so.

But still not telling us whether you are already retired.
 
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Fedup said:
I smell troll too, I’m debating whether it’s good or bad troll here. Several things don’t check out in subsequent posts but I won’t mention it here for fear of identifying people I know.

Somehow the title and the posts don’t jive up. It’s more boastful than anxious.
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+1 Troll

Not a new one either. The language is very similar to one from first quarter this year. Can't remember the handle right now.
 
So I'm curious what kind of dental assistant gets 4 months off to circumvent the globe with her rich boyfriend.

Now it's changed to she can get vacation to take a nice trip once in awhile. What you are seeing as jealously or envy is a healthy dose of skepticism....but its a nice change from trolls that come here and suck us in by saying they are broke and worried about having to lives on the streets...
 
"seems like a lot of prickly folks"

I'm certain I saw worse from you or I wouldn't have said so but I can't find it now that you've asked for it. I suspect it was edited or deleted.
 
misterantsypants said:
Yeah, same thing I did with summer plus UC and CSU would take certain community college credits, so El Camino College was easy to get in 4-5 courses in summer and they transferred, so 3 years is only mildly challenging if planned correctly, at the time I could to class from home. My undergrad was math, and so I took all my electives at El Camino. In undergrad I tested out as often as allowed.


I started grade school at a military base, mom is Japanese so I had my nose in a book 24/7, so got to skip grades when we moved back. I guess folks on here can't grasp the concept.
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I think this post is a bit racist, regarding the Japanese part. This is why I think you are trolling.
 
Why chase this guy away? He has everything in his posts, sex, opulent travel, southern California, much that is attractive in life. We can always read the mundane from the usual suspects. :)

Ha
 
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misterantsypants said:
AND, not once have I asked for financial advise! Maybe the best thing I can ask is how long into retirement till I become hate filled, cantankerous, curmudgeon, cynical and easily angered. It looks common trait here.
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So perhaps everyone needs to take a step back here.

OP, some advice. You have wandered in like a bull in a china shop. Your intro post is very unlike most others, almost braggy, with an unusual story. 99% of intro posts share some background, a rough financial picture, and yes usually ask for some tips.

And sometimes people do create fake stories and come here asking for input, so perhaps some of your details have similarities with those other less-well-intentioned people. Hence some healthy skepticism.

Punching back isn't a good strategy, instead, focus on why you joined, and what you'd like to get out of your membership here. Whether that's in our hobby/"life after FIRE" areas, setting in an investment portfolio, ideas for HI and taxes, whatever floats your boat. What would make you less anxious?
 
RunningBum said:
"seems like a lot of prickly folks"

I'm certain I saw worse from you or I wouldn't have said so but I can't find it now that you've asked for it. I suspect it was edited or deleted.
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+1

I saw what you referred to. That was the text that sounded very familiar to a troll in the beginning of the year, perhaps when it left.
 
haha said:
Why chase this guy away? He has everything in his posts, sex, opulent travel southern California, much that is attractive in life. We can always read the mundane from the usual suspects. :)
Ha
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Add to your list, riches, youth, sport and a foreign lover and I'm skipping Netflix tonight. I will just read this thread!

ETA: Much more interesting than the umbrella excess thread. :D
 
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