Three years of ER

[SteveR]

Congratulations on your anniversary. I just realized mine was a couple of days ago May 18. I ERed in 2008 and we moved shortly thereafter to get out of the snow and cold. We still get some snow here and there but it melts in a day or less. I don't even own a snow shovel anymore (it was decommissioned with ceremony and a hack saw.

My son in law is moving to Denver soon as I am sure we will be getting over there to see them after they settle in. Being in the West is good as long as you don't go over the border into Kaliforniastan. Very strange goings on over there...we avoid it as much as we can (which is hard with DW's large family all still behind the Redwood Curtain.)

We took quite a hit on our investments during these past years as well. We also took a gamble and bought into a local store that was struggling and have been building it up over the past year of so. So our finances have been pretty stretched to say the least. I still have a son in school who we help out from time to time and there is my mother and DW's folks that we help from time to time too. We have cut back on many things but don't have time to miss them with the store taking a lot of our time and tallents. It it makes it that will be great but the key if for DW to enjoy the experience while she can. Lost one wife 7 months into her ER so that is a priority for me.

That past 3 years have been rough on everyone and it was a wake up call to many who thought the gravy train would never derail. Well it did and it took out many other sacred cows along the way like housing, bonds, jobs, and other things. We have managed through so far with spending controls and cost avoidance (don't buy it if you can rent it or borrow it).

Things are starting to turn the corner in our investments and we are about even from 2007. It have been a FireCalc scenario that one never thought would really happen...too far off the trend line to be real....we now a a new reality and a better appreciation for all of the FireCalc calculation events...none are out of the question. How you deal with it is the key.

So, at 5 years of ER do we get a tie tack or something from the catalog to celebrate our first major milestone? Oh wait,...that was in a former life.

 

[Alan]

So, at 5 years of ER do we get a tie tack or something from the catalog to celebrate our first major milestone? Oh wait,...that was in a former life.

Congrats to you guys for making 3 and 5 years, and thanks for posting an update on how things are going.

 

[walkinwood]

Congratulations SteveR. We don't need no stinking tie pins or wrist watches.

 

[Dawg52]

Couldn't agree more, Denver is fantastic. I don't like snow, and like ha I prefer the sand and salt, so I'll be heading elsewhere, but I do have family in Denver and appreciate what it offers. Congratulations!

I wish I had the money to have a home in the mountains and one near the beaches. Dream dream dream. But, I will probably always live here in MS. I'm only about 3 hours from the beach so I can easily satisfy my salt water needs. And a couple of weeks in the mountains will probably satisfy those desires as well. A better solution for a retiree on a [-]beer[/-] med budget.

 

[Moemg]

Congratulations walkinwood and enjoy your move ! I also retired in 2008 . It was a sobering experience but I just got expenses a little and I am now just about back to were I was despite spending $100,000 on living expenses .

 

[Jake46]

Congratulations! Next week marks our 4th anniversary in retirement.

 

[Gotadimple]

Good for you WnW! My 3 year comes up in July.

-- Rita

 

[Major Tom]

Congratulations walkinwood. As others have said, if you can ER just before such a big market downturn and still make a success out of your retirement, it's very inspirational for many of us.

My 3 year anniversary comes up in, erm, about 3 years