Introduce yourself here!

[Nords]

Welcome to the board, Goonie-- and congratulations!

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I just came across this forum yesterday while surfin' @ work. I could've been working @ work, but being a "short-timer" things are winding down....faaaassst!!! Therefore I surfed instead!

I'm single, just shy of 50, just got some new wheels, and own a 2007 Rand-McNally Road Atlas!!! Seems it's almost time for a LOOOONG vacation until I'm hopefully about 100!!!

I've been at the same rock pile for 30 years, and had planned to get paroled....er, retire at 55 with 35 years on a DB pension....5 years from now. However, they offered a ER Incentive, under which I'm buying 5 years credit, and have some other time that will figure in. I'll end up with 35yr 10mo service. Pension (after taxes and ins premiums) will be 84% of my current net pay, plus I'll receive a couple of substantial lump sum payments from my employer. And 2 more positives: (1) I'll have zilch in personal debt, (2) my investments will continue churning out profits!!! I guess I've learned well!!!

I get to jump ship the first week of April '07!!! (95 working days left) Yee-Haa!!!

Have A Great Day!!!

I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do.

Semper fi.

JG

 

[JWA]

Hello everyone. I am new to the forum. I research my portfolio daily. Have been saving since I was 21 (Now 55) can't stand corporate America anymore and Fire Calc says I can quit. However will have to down size home and wait 18 months for one to get out of High School.

The good news is it looks like I can ER the bad news I am a pay check junky.

I wonder how many others are like this and are just plain chicken, like me, to pull the plug.

 

[Goonie]

I wonder how many others are like this and are just plain chicken, like me, to pull the plug.

I've run all the numbers so many times, my numeric keypad is about worn out!!! I KNOW by the numbers that I'm OK to RE.....but every once in a while a lurking thought pops up that says, "But, are you SURE?" And with a half worn out keypad and stacks of calcs on paper....Yeah, I'm SURE!!!

As far as being a pay check junkie....I get 26 stubs a year currently (direct deposit)....With my DB pension (with cola) I'll be down to 13 per year (still just the stubs....still direct deposit).

It can be a bit unsettling though, since this is an all new, uncharted territory for each of us. Yeah, I know others have passed this way before.....BUT, I haven't!!!! (YET!!!)

BTW....my RE is 5 months from tomorrow!!!

 

[JWA]

I only have a 401k from work and no pension. I like you have worn out my share of numbers.

Do you think that FC is the most accurate calculator you have used. It tells me that I will be using 4% of my portfolio and that I should never run out of money.

Fortunately I am dept free.

 

[Goonie]

Do you think that FC is the most accurate calculator you have used.

Actually, I haven't used FC yet....started to a couple of times...but then I thought, "Nah, I'll do this later." And...Oops!....I haven't gotten back to it yet. I have used other calcs, and forms, and some resources from my pension folks. I've gone to a couple of planning seminars, and met with my regional pension rep a couple of times. Also have talked to my CPA, and a friend who is a financial planner (who knew he wasn't gonna get a nickel outta me )

And of course I've consulted with several friends/relatives who are living the life...and gotten their "where the rubber meets the road" advice.....Very insightful!!!

I've also read several books that have dealt with retirement costs and investments...including things that are often over looked...even the little things like magazine subscriptions and oil changes. They're small but they add up.

But FC...one of these days I will!!! I promise...

 

[golfnut]

Been lurking on this forum for quite some time.

Personals - 51 yrs old, married with one kid (13 yrs old). Hoping to retire in 7 or 8 yrs.

Retirement made up as follows:

401 (approx. 50%) - contribute about 17% of gross salary plus 6% company match

Trad IRIs (approx. 25%)

Roth IRAs (2%) - plan to fully contribute for both me and my wife

Taxable (23%)

60/40 Equity/bonds and cash - Mostly Vanguard funds and mostly active.

My company offers a pension but it is not colad (Pension is projected to be worth $10,000 per year when I am 55 and $20,000 when I am 62.
Have 529 plan thru state of Nevada (Vanguard) with a healthy balance (should pay for 4 yrs of in state (Illinois) public university. Presently 529 is 25% equities and 75% bonds (all index funds and I realize a very conservative mix but I figure it will be only only 4 1/2 years before junior starts college). I figure it should grow about 5% per year and we contribute $250 per month.

I have learned alot reading the messages on this forum. Admittedly, I am reluctant to provide $ figures of our retirement fund. Should I be concerned??

My company offers a pension but it is not colad (Pension is projected to be worth $10,000 per year when I am 55 and $20,000 when I am 62.

Presently we live comfortably on $6,600 take home a month.

Just wonder how much we would need in a nest egg when I am 55 given I should be able to draw about $10,000 per yr from my pension.
My guess would be $1.8mm.

What do you think??

Golfnut

 

[Nords]

Welcome to the board, golfnut!

Just wonder how much we would need in a nest egg when I am 55 given I should be able to draw about $10,000 per yr from my pension.
My guess would be $1.8mm.

Well, as you know from lurking, you don't have to guess.

It sounds like you have college covered. As for ER, have you looked at your retirement expenses, along with the pensions & Social Security, and entered them into FIRECalc?

 

[mykidslovedogs]

OK, OKay, Sorry I didn't do this earlier.. Actually, I didn't realize this part of the forum was available before...I thought the whole thing was the Health and Retirement section.

Just so you all know, I am very gunshy about giving too much personal information about myself on the internet...We had an incidence here in Colorado not too long ago with a few young girls who were killed by a nutcase because they gave too much info. on the internet, so I hope you all don't mind if I keep myself somewhat anonymous.

I'm sure you all figured out by now that i am an economic conservative and I am a self-employed insurance agent licensed in the state of Colorado. I've found that I am addicted to reading people's posts....some of the things people say just fascinate me. It's a good thing I'm a multitasker, cuz otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get anything done! Since my life revolves around health insurance, you'll probably see me in the health and retirement sections most of the time.

Also, and I hope this doesn't give away too much information, I am woman....not a guy as some of you may have thought! Bet you never thought a woman would lean so far to the right on economic issues....

I am in my late 30's and I have children and somehow I manage to work full time and juggle my career with all of my kid's activities. My husband and I have been together for 18 years, and we are a little over halfway to retirement. We also work together and share a lot of the same views. Our favorite hobbies are going camping and skiing with our kids and fixing up our house. In the summer, I love to garden. I would consider myself to be in the middle class. I live in a suburban neighborhood in a track home, and I drive an old 1995 Chevy.

My husband calls me a closet hacker, because I am always on the computer working on my website, which I prefer not to advertise here, because I think it will give away too much personal information about me. I like to keep my business separate from my personal opinions about politics and the economy.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

MKLD,

Welcome to the board (belatedly), and thanks for saying a little about yourself. I must admit I inappropriately assumed you were a man based on my own obvious subconscious stereotyping - lesson learned. I moderate the Health and ER forum.

You have already gotten some push-back and handled it gracefully, but don't avoid the other forums. There a lot of good material there and, yes, this is an early retirement board.

As to wishing to remain anonymous, that is understood. Doing so allows you to reveal whatever you wish about your career, finance, retirement plans, etc. without fear of "outing."

The board is pretty free-wheeling but also pretty wise. People don't often buy sweeping generalizations without some backup links and data. Opinions span the entire spectrum politically.

You may also find that shorter "to the point" posts get a better reception than long diatribes. Hope you stick around, You may learn a few things, and teach us a few things while you're at it. Please keep an open mind.

 

[donheff]

OK, OKay, Sorry I didn't do this earlier.. Actually, I didn't realize this part of the forum was available before...I thought the whole thing was the Health and Retirement section.

Just so you all know, I am very gunshy about giving too much personal information about myself on the internet...We had an incidence here in Colorado not too long ago with a few young girls who were killed by a nutcase because they gave too much info. on the internet, so I hope you all don't mind if I keep myself somewhat anonymous.

I'm sure you all figured out by now that i am an economic conservative and I am a self-employed insurance agent licensed in the state of Colorado. I've fo.

Welcome MKLD and sorry about the skeptical reception. Your coy manner initially seemed disingenuous so some of us were suspicious of your motives. Don't worry about Internet predators, they are notorious for pursuing immature kids, not mature women. And I can't imagine many are lurking on an ER board.

With your multitasking capabilities you should have plenty of capacity for browsing the other boards. And with your strong beliefs you will find lots of amusing arguments to join in the "Other Topics" board.

Oh, by the way, during the commercial breaks on O'Reilly you should channel surf over to Keith Oberman on MSNBC to get some balance.

 

[USK Coastie]

Hi all. A little bit about me and DW. Me 56 and working in hospital as Facility Manager. DW 55 retired or stay at home wife depending on who asks. Outside date of FIRE for me May1, 2010 when Reserve Retirement and Tricare Medical start. Will go sooner if I can get the Numbers to work.

Has anyone got opinions on relying on the Bernicle Retirement Plan option in FireCalc to change retirement date? From monitoring this forum for a couple of months I know some here are very conserative financialy and others not so. Would like feed back on using Bernicle option as it could shave a couple of years off working, but will it work?

 

[haha]

From monitoring this forum for a couple of months I know some here are very conservative financially and others not so. Would like feed back on using Bernicle option as it could shave a couple of years off working, but will it work?

I think this is an unanswerable question. Many questions are posed here that have answers, and many posters are very good at giving clear answers to these answerable questions.

As you have noticed, some of us are conservative, others less so. It is in the area of unanswerable questions where one's natural caution or lack thereof will be most evident.

If I were you, I would imagine that I retired with faith in the practicality of the Bernicke (sp?) Idea. Then imagine that he was wrong, or that the environment was more difficult than you expected so that you find yourself short.

How do you feel?

This may be a good guide to these sorts of questions.

Ha

 

[clifp]

Aloha

I have been a lurker for a while, thought I'd start posting in this board, because the Motley Fool's Retire Early Home Page has become a political board. (Of course one of the beauty of retiring early is one has a lot more time to talk politics).

I've been retired for 7 years from Silicon Valley, and moved to Hawaii. I do volunteer work, lots of internet surfing, but not the local kind, and water sports. I am currently in the process of becoming a CFP, although I am not sure if I going to make this a really second career or just a hobby.

I noticed that Nord and I could be neighbors, Howzit brah, and we are almost the same age. Hawaii really is a much nicer place to retire than having to work here.

 

[Nords]

I have been a lurker for a while, thought I'd start posting in this board, because the Motley Fool's Retire Early Home Page has become a political board. (Of course one of the beauty of retiring early is one has a lot more time to talk politics).
I've been retired for 7 years from Silicon Valley, and moved to Hawaii. I do volunteer work, lots of internet surfing, but not the local kind, and water sports. I am currently in the process of becoming a CFP, although I am not sure if I going to make this a really second career or just a hobby.
I noticed that Nord and I could be neighbors, Howzit brah, and we are almost the same age. Hawaii really is a much nicer place to retire than having to work here.

Howzit, Clif, welcome to the board!

Ironic that you should mention non-surfing-- today the kid & I check out Silva's, Mokuleia, and Army Beach for a good North Shore winter break that's not dangerous or crowded.

TMF politics? Is it possible for the Gardners to lose their way any more than they already have?

I'm curious-- what local volunteer organizations do you prefer? Every year I look around, don't see anything compelling, and have too many other things I'd rather do anyway. Someday perhaps I'll try Habitat For Humanity but there's still too much of that type of work going on around Hale Nords...

 

[clifp]

TMF politics? Is it possible for the Gardners to lose their way any more than they already have?


I'm curious-- what local volunteer organizations do you prefer? Every year I look around, don't see anything compelling, and have too many other things I'd rather do anyway.

Actually it isn't the Gardners fault (although the endless hyping for the Fool's various investment products has got really old.) It is just the Retire Early discussion Forum, which Dory36 use to participate in, many years ago, is 10% Retiring Early finances and 90% everything else.

I volunteer at Hanauma Bay, spending 4 hours talking to tourist about Hawaiian fishes and the environment, while watching girls in bikini's, at a gorgeous setting, is great job. Now the pay sucks, but the benefits are great.

The other one that you should check out, (not sure which service you were in) is being a Docent at the just opened Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island. They are still getting organized but they have some very ambitious plans. A number of the docents are Air Force and Naval avaitors, being a WWII buff I get a kick out of taking to WWII fighter pilots, a rapidly vanishing breed.

At some point I'll start a thread/ rant on the problems with volunteering, but these are both good organizations.

 

[Bram]

Hi there! I've made a first post so thought I should introduce myself a bit. I found this board a couple of weeks ago via Ray Lucia. Listening to a podcast online, Ray mentioned Ben Stein having given him a "thumbs up". Curious & not knowing of Ben Stein, I searched & somehow stumbled into here. Looks like a good place to learn & I can tell already that I wish I'd found FIRE sooner!

I'm a 59 yr old RN who is no longer working. I call it "retired" but haven't started using any of my retirement money. My DH travels with his career & we decided 3 years ago that I could quit & travel with him. We're hoping he'll work another 5.5 yrs when we'll both turn 65 & retire "for real". I am really enjoying being out of the medical rat-race!

I like to think that I have more knowledge about funding retirement than the average nurse. Example: a nurse friend & I were discussing our payroll deductions for retirement & she revealed to me that perhaps she should increase hers. "How much do you defer", I asked. "$5.00 per pay for the past few years", was her response!! Ummmm, yes an increase would be a GOOD idea!
Yet, I also recognize that I am woefully short of being well versed, so I am hopeful to gain a better understanding by reading/posting here.

 

[Nords]

Actually it isn't the Gardners fault (although the endless hyping for the Fool's various investment products has got really old.) It is just the Retire Early discussion Forum, which Dory36 use to participate in, many years ago, is 10% Retiring Early finances and 90% everything else.

Well thank goodness that's not a problem on this board. I blame TMF's moderators!*

I volunteer at Hanauma Bay, spending 4 hours talking to tourist about Hawaiian fishes and the environment, while watching girls in bikini's, at a gorgeous setting, is great job. Now the pay sucks, but the benefits are great.

I'll be darned. Tell Martha McD up in the office building that "Nords" says "hey". We've worked together on the board of the dressage association. I'm the ponytailed surfer dude who doesn't ride horses but whose kid spent three years at it.

The other one that you should check out, (not sure which service you were in) is being a Docent at the just opened Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island. They are still getting organized but they have some very ambitious plans. A number of the docents are Air Force and Naval avaitors, being a WWII buff I get a kick out of taking to WWII fighter pilots, a rapidly vanishing breed.

I used to work at the submarine training center on Ford Island in buildings right across the street from the museum. It's been interesting watching that place come back to life. It's not a bad idea, either, to be able to drop in on shipmates at the damage control trainer. But I'd have to be trained from scratch-- my WWII aircraft knowledge is limited to believing whatever Burl Burlingame writes.

I'd probably get hassled by the other aviators for not being able to find the submarine museum. But I like the idea of volunteer guiding without having to drive all the way downtown...

*Settle down, everyone, it's humorous moderator sarcasm.

Hi there! I've made a first post so thought I should introduce myself a bit.

Welcome to the board, Bram.

Good luck with those Ameriprise slimeballs. It sounds like they've given you quite the financial education already...

 

[DRiP Guy]

I volunteer at Hanauma Bay, spending 4 hours talking to tourist about Hawaiian fishes and the environment, while watching girls in bikini's, at a gorgeous setting, is great job. Now the pay sucks, but the benefits are great.

I spent several years in Hawaii, and visited the Bay often -- used to snorkel, and to dive from the rocks... awesome place as I recall it - perfectly clear, lots of fish. Portuguese Man 'O War were no fun, tho'!

And the consensus is correct on TMF, I went there years ago when they were jsut getting started, and it was kind of fun and homey. I hate to say they 'sold out', but...

 

[fazeila921]

Jumpin on board the ER bandwagon!!

Hey everyone! I am so excited to have found this site. I am 35 yrs old, totally broke but on a mission to still retire early. I've made alot of stupid career and financial mistakes over the years, mainly because i've always hated corporate america. I could have been making alot more money than I am now but I was stubborn resisting Big Brother in my cubicle and not really moving up and making more money. I consider myself to be an artistic, bohemian type by nature and i'd be more than happy to be retired right now. It seems that since i got my first real job out of college, about every 4 yrs i get fed up and just quit my job and stay unemployed for several months. Those are the happiest days of my life. Well now I know that being stubborn won't get me to retirement. I am creating a plan to get to early retirement within 10 yrs. Oh how i wish I would have started at age 21. But better late than work til 65 or later!
My friends all think i have issues because i still don't know what i want to do career wise. I do know what I want to do---i don't want to work! I've always known that but society doesn't want to accept that it's okay to want to have my own life. Don't you hate losers that say that they'd still work if they hit the lottery?!
By the way, regarding personality types, I happen to be an "INTP" so it's in my personality to be destined towards early retirement.

 

[Nords]

Welcome to the board, Fazeila.

 

[dreamer55]

Welcome!

This is the place to introduce yourself to the others.

We suggest you create a new topic when you introduce yourself, rather than replying to this message or someone else's introduction.

 

[Moemg]

Hi,Just found this forum last week.I retired last month not real early I'm 59 and live in Sarasota,Fl.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Welcome to the board, neighbor.

Why not start a new post and tell us a little about your general situation - it's a curious bunch. There are quite a few Floridians here, especially from Pinellas Co, as well as a few from S. Fla and the TB area.

 

[mountaintosea]

Re: Jumpin on board the ER bandwagon!!

My friends all think i have issues because i still don't know what i want to do career wise. I do know what I want to do---i don't want to work! I've always known that but society doesn't want to accept that it's okay to want to have my own life. Don't you hate losers that say that they'd still work if they hit the lottery?!
By the way, regarding personality types, I happen to be an "INTP" so it's in my personality to be destined towards early retirement.

Hi fazeila. Have you read the material from John Greaney? I know you have your own plan but you might get new ideas from looking at his story.