Tell me if it counts

[Lena]

Hi,

Me and my DH are talking about having kids in the next few years, and I am not planning to go back to work after that.

However, I have a degree in accounting, I have been working since I was 16 and just can't imagine myself not bringing in some kind of income, so I might look into doing some kind of light bookeeping for small businesses.

Does that count as a "retierement"? I've always thought that as long i don't have 9-5 working for the Great Corporate America, I am not exactly "working"

What do the gurus on here think?

Lena

 

[rs0460a]

Me and my DH are talking about having kids in the next few years

Sounds like full-time work to me  :

- Ron

 

[brewer12345]

Honestly, who cares? One of the nice things about saving and LBYM is that you have more time and resources available to please yourself. My DW quit before we had kids and set up a small business in her field that she continues with today. Its a nice way for her to stay active in her field, make a small amount of money, and have a little adult contact that doesn't involve play dates. Laurence's DW is doing something similar.

 

[retire@40]

...so I might look into doing some kind of light bookeeping for small businesses.

Does that count as a "retierement"?  I've always thought that as long i don't have 9-5 working for the Great Corporate America, I am not exactly "working"

At best it's semi-retirement.

 

[CCdaCE]

I've always thought that as long i don't have 9-5 working for the Great Corporate America, I am not exactly "working"

What do the gurus on here think?

See what Uncle Sam, or Social Security thinks. Isn't that the ultimate yardstick? Gonna contribute to SS?

A lot of the weekend days, I work harder entertaining the kid than weekdays at the office.

People told me a kid would be hard work, but I had no idea how much work. I think that's what Ron is hinting at too.

-CC

 

[LOL!]

As a parent of two children, I do not think kids are hard work. This is especially true when they start to go to school. This is especially true when you teach them to take care of themselves. They are not pets and can become quite independent after 20 years or so.

 

[Lena]

Very interesting. Well, since (if all goes well) not having kids is not an option, I might not be retired for many many moons to come


I guess I am trying to figure out how I am going to handle not having a regular paycheck twice a month.

So, I am hoping to get many great ideas here

Lena

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

my brother's wife doesn't work. she raises his three kids, keeps the 3,200 sf house clean and helps care for my mom with alzheimer's.

i don't think of her as retired. i think of her as an illegal immigrant.

 

[laurence]

Honestly, who cares?  One of the nice things about saving and LBYM is that you have more time and resources available to please yourself.  My DW quit before we had kids and set up a small business in her field that she continues with today.  Its a nice way for her to stay active in her field, make a small amount of money, and have a little adult contact that doesn't involve play dates.  Laurence's DW is doing something similar.

Ditto, I'm not interested in meeting some technical definition of retired!

I think that the situation that Brewer's spouse and my spouse now experience has really opened my eyes. Sure, she's working part time (15-20 a week), but she is working strictly from home, enjoying the interaction, and yesterday took my daughter to the beach! I'm starting to think semi-ER is the route for me, too!

 

[Nords]

I'm starting to think semi-ER is the route for me, too!

Somewhere ESRBob just broke out in a big grin...

 

[Lena]

So, the big question is: where to start??

 

[yakers]

Somwhere, ESRBob just broke out in a big grin...

Good point. I like ESRBob's book but it doens't apply to me, I want a clean break from work into retirement. But part time work would work for a lot of people and this sounds like a very good case. And you get to tell your friends you are retired, a stay at home Mom or working as you choose.

You may like the income and you may like the social/work contact. Under ideal conditions you could have flexible hours as well. Certainly worth exploring.

 

[Nords]

So, the big question is:  where to start??

If you're asking "What work should I do?" then let me vent a pet peeve.

If you're an accountant, do you know how to do non-profits & their tax returns? When I volunteered as Treasurer of a very very small 501(c)3 ($35K annual revenue), no full-time self-respecting money-grubbing accountant would touch such a tiny organization. It was actually easier to learn the accounting & taxes than it was to find & supervise someone for the $400-$500 we'd be able to pay. If you're only looking to do a couple hours a month and a couple workdays around tax time (especially with 501(c)3 flexible fiscal years & filing extensions) you'd help a lot of volunteers sleep better at night.

Have you considered small-business or non-profit consulting? A neighbor of ours helps organizations set themselves up, organize their books, and deal with tax issues. She only works with them once or twice a year for a straight hourly rate. It would also be very easy for Peachtree or Quickbooks users at small businesses to swap files with you.

And most of your work-related spending would either be a business expense or a charitable donation...

 

[Lena]

Nords,

that's a really interesting suggestion, thank you. I've never done none-profit accounting, but I do know the basics, so don't think it would be too hard to learn.

As appealing as it might sound to some - the idea of complete retirment, I just can't picture not doing something that relates to my field.

Anyone has any suggestions on good reading?

Lena

 

[Martha]

my brother's wife doesn't work. she raises his three kids, keeps the 3,200 sf house clean and helps care for my mom with alzheimer's.

i don't think of her as retired. i think of her as an illegal immigrant.

You're an artist and funny. 

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

You're an artist and funny. 

yeah, mom used to say i'm funny. but then she'd say: "but looks aren't everything."

(and actually i thought of that immigrant thing from reading your last post)

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I can say with some authority that "lazy" and "not working" are not associate in any way with my "retirement". A few days I've looked at the wife and said I was considering going back to work as sitting behind a desk and talking to people on the phone was way easier than this.

CONSIDERING. For a second.

Maybe the OP could do tax work? Busy for a month or two a year, probably bring in some good change, sit back the rest of the year?

 

[mathjak107]

retirement is not having to work ,but not necessarly not working........

 

[jdw_fire]

Retirement is not working, not having to work for money is financial independence.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Retirement is exactly what each person decides it means to them.

Otherwise, you'd have to sit like a lump in one place, on feeding tubes, to avoid the definition of "work"

"Something that one is doing, making, or performing, especially as an occupation or undertaking; a duty or task"
"Something that has been produced or accomplished through the effort, activity, or agency of a person or thing"

Even occasionally learning about and managing investments is "work".

 

[laurence]

Didn't we have a thread once where someone said, "Hey, I went to a discussion group and got a free gift!" and all the orthodox retirement brownshirts chorused, "Hey, you were compensated for work, you are no long retired, your a poser! Stop pretending!" .

I second CFB's thoughts, retirement is exactly what you want it to be. If you ain't doing a darn think you don't want to, well...

 

[Nords]

Didn't we have a thread once where someone said, "Hey, I went to a discussion group and got a free gift!" and all the orthodox retirement brownshirts chorused, "Hey, you were compensated for work, you are no long retired, your a poser!  Stop pretending!" .    

Hey, I promptly blew the $100 on a new printer that I didn't think we'd need, OK? It has all sorts of hedonic adjustments!

 

[ESRBob]

Somewhere ESRBob just broke out in a big grin...

All I can say is, if you all could see how much fun I'm having making these sculptures of kids heads (and, OK, I admit, doing the full figure nudes every Friday from live models isn't exactly onerous), I think we could all start to agree that "part time work in ER" can be a very good thing. But it took awhile to get here. The years consulting in my old industry a day or two a week are happily in the past, and I would do a lot of belt-tightening before going back to them again.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

All I can say is, if you all could see how much fun I'm having making these sculptures of kids heads (and, OK, I admit, doing the full figure nudes every Friday from live models isn't exactly onerous), I think we could all start to agree that "part time work in ER" can be a very good thing. But it took awhile to get here. The years consulting in my old industry a day or two a week are happily in the past, and I would do a lot of belt-tightening before going back to them again.

OK, ESRBob, I know you're the writer, and I'm the engineer, but the way your first sentence stands, it would appear that you're making full figure nudes of the kids. Hm...

 

[soupcxan]

All I can say is, if you all could see how much fun I'm having making these sculptures of kids heads (and, OK, I admit, doing the full figure nudes every Friday from live models isn't exactly onerous)

Um, this really makes you sound like a pedo. May want to think about rephrasing.