When to retire?
- Thread starter zcung
- Start date
Welcome to the board, zcung!
Have you read Bob Clyatt's "Work Less, Live More" about taking the ER break, keeping an eye on the portfolio burn rate, and working if necessary?
It's probably more important to retire early to avoid burnout & ill health than it is to keep working to a more "traditional" retirement age. However your planning also should consider what happens if you live longer than 78...zcung said:
Have you read Bob Clyatt's "Work Less, Live More" about taking the ER break, keeping an eye on the portfolio burn rate, and working if necessary?
JDW, my assets include mostly in RE value around 4.5M, 220K of that is in IRA. Only one child, age 12 at home, 1/2 of college expenses is in place. Though our annual expenses is about 60K, I figured one can live, travel, and give pretty comfortably at 150K a year.
Rich_by_the_Bay
Moderator Emeritus
zcung said:
By conventional wisdom, such as it may be, you have enough to live indefinitely and handsomely at that. Only by squandering it would you get into big trouble assuming you stick to a 4%-4.5% withdrawal rate or so (nearly 200K/y) and invest prudently.
Congratulations. Read up around here to learn how to stay out of trouble financially, and have a great retirement.
zcung said:
Hey, c'mon, we all have to start somewhere! I remember how frustrated I was when I asked a senior "What would I do?" and was told "Whatever you want!"73ss454 said:
Try the "Get A Life Tree" in Ernie Zelinski's "How to Retire Happy, Wild, & Free" and peruse the Kaderli's CD (or download it).
Try these threads:zcung said:
http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=3524.msg59689#msg59689
http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=6034.msg107219#msg107219
http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=4558.msg78549#msg78549
http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=848.msg11137#msg11137
http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=2414.msg38660#msg38660
http://early-retirement.org/forums/index.php?topic=3908.msg66033#msg66033
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
zcung said:
Loads? You bet.
Wisdom? That's debatable.
Opinions? We've got ya' covered!
astromeria
Moderator Emeritus
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zcung said:
I could tell you what I do*, but that would probably not be what you would do. What do you do on weekends and vacations and if/when you play hooky from work? What do you wish you were doing when you're at work?
* I read, think, listen to music, observe nature, garden, imagine, travel (and plan travel), and do stuff with and talk to my hubby, other family, and friends. I play Sudoku, manage our investments, watch movies and comment on them, plan menus, invent recipes, throw dinner parties, go to dinner parties, walk on the beach, collect & identify seashells, and listen to the surf. I surf the net, play the violin, and go to concerts, plays, and art galleries--and good places to see the sun rise and set. I drive safely, kayak the tidal creeks, observe the human condition, host houseguests and become a houseguest. I try to control my spending on art, music, and books with more or less success. I try to make my husband and children happy--and usually succeed. I look back on my career and my life so far with satisfaction--and feel glad that the career part is over now O0 Really, there aren't enough hours in the day!
dumpster56
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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zcung said:
I will probably get up at 8am run 10 miles, take the kayak out on the lake for a few hours, work part time at a health food store, eat a nice dinner with my wife have fun do it all again the next day.
Take trips, have fun like a high school senior in june !
Leonidas
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Z - our situations have some similarities. I'm a year younger, have about 300K less in assets than you (madeup for by a lifetime pension starting at 53K with health insurance forever) although very little of mine is in real estate. Two kids, oldest is almost 18.
What I really wanted to do almost two years ago when I stopped working was take the kids out of school and hit the road. My plan was to "home school" them for a year and take the family to every interesting out of the way place I could think of. If I had known then what I know now, I would have done it - but both kids consistently test in the 99th percentile in science and I was struggling even then helping out with my oldest son's homework. By the time I figured out a way I could have done it (schools accept distance learning and there are a couple of in state universities with good HS DL programs) he was in all honors/AP classes and taking chemistry, algebra II, physics and biology II - all at the same time. We were way past my skill level, and in fact I hired a grad student and a NASA scientist to tutor him in a couple of subjects.
In the end it worked out well that I decided against pursuing my plan - he struggled this past year and has to retake Spanish (how the heck do you fail HS Spanish?) and a quarter of Physics over the summer. We're doing correspondence courses (which will help me work on my tutoring skills).
But now I am reconsidering my plan and taking a year to travel after the oldest one has gone off to college. The younger son takes all honors classes in MS and makes all A's and makes it look easy.
I'm just now researching the options, but I think that this is the kind of adventure that being FIRE'ed with kids still at home is all about.
What I really wanted to do almost two years ago when I stopped working was take the kids out of school and hit the road. My plan was to "home school" them for a year and take the family to every interesting out of the way place I could think of. If I had known then what I know now, I would have done it - but both kids consistently test in the 99th percentile in science and I was struggling even then helping out with my oldest son's homework. By the time I figured out a way I could have done it (schools accept distance learning and there are a couple of in state universities with good HS DL programs) he was in all honors/AP classes and taking chemistry, algebra II, physics and biology II - all at the same time. We were way past my skill level, and in fact I hired a grad student and a NASA scientist to tutor him in a couple of subjects.
In the end it worked out well that I decided against pursuing my plan - he struggled this past year and has to retake Spanish (how the heck do you fail HS Spanish?) and a quarter of Physics over the summer. We're doing correspondence courses (which will help me work on my tutoring skills).
But now I am reconsidering my plan and taking a year to travel after the oldest one has gone off to college. The younger son takes all honors classes in MS and makes all A's and makes it look easy.
I'm just now researching the options, but I think that this is the kind of adventure that being FIRE'ed with kids still at home is all about.
Thank you Nords for the links and everyone else comments. I did not read all the threads by each word but it seems FIREs daily life is too routine and (to me) may be even boring... IM refering to "Up at 5/6, drink coffee, walk the dogs, lounge around, eat lunch, take a knap, excercise, eat dinner, go to bed... and repeat)
I am not much of a debater here but again, is that all there is? shouldn't we all being doing something more with our lives after ER? and I am not talking about volunteerism or charity w*rk. I am listening...
I am not much of a debater here but again, is that all there is? shouldn't we all being doing something more with our lives after ER? and I am not talking about volunteerism or charity w*rk. I am listening...
Rich_by_the_Bay
Moderator Emeritus
zcung said:
Not sure you are going to hear what you are listening for around here. What you do after FIRE is about as personal a decision as you can imagine.
Perhaps earning money and the "thrill of the chase" provide gratification for you. If so, keep working and entrepreneuring. Your FI might allow you to take risks you would not otherwise have taken.
If there is a point to any of this, it is that FIRE removes the need to factor in earning an income stream in your life. For most folks, rich or not, that makes a difference. If it's meditating all day, great. If its voluntarily placing yourself in what others might see as the rat race, great.
Do what you want. Doubt anyone here's gonna tell what that might be. I try to avoid judging the choices others have made. Sounds to me like you have done the FIRE part and your bigger challenge is figuring out what to do with your life. Don't mean this in a nasty way, just an observation on your posts.
Good luck.
Dawg52
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
zcung said:
As Rich said, what one chooses to do in retirement is very personal. For me, I love golf and that will be a big part of my retirement. For you, that may sound like a very boring thing to do. It's all about personal choices.
kaudrey
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Hi,
I'm relatively new here as well, and my plan is to FIRE at 52, in 15 years. However, I can tell you what my parents do - although they are now 69, they FIRE'd 12 years ago at 57.
Mom and Dad BOTH- golf about 4 days a week. Play tennis a few times a week. Read books and the newspaper, volunteer with the local arts council in various capacities, play bridge, kayak/swim on the lake.
Mom - gardens, volunteers with the local breast cancer society and the library, sews, paints/decorates scarves, cooks/bakes etc.
Dad - builds things (wood), works on the house as needed, does photography and mattes/frames his own photos, became a rockhound and overseas a local mine, does crossword puzzles, cross country skis...
They live in NH and spend a few months in the winter in FL, doing the same kinds of outdoorsy things and visiting friends. They travel out west once every two years or so.
They are always busy and are having a blast. I want to be just like them!
I'm relatively new here as well, and my plan is to FIRE at 52, in 15 years. However, I can tell you what my parents do - although they are now 69, they FIRE'd 12 years ago at 57.
Mom and Dad BOTH- golf about 4 days a week. Play tennis a few times a week. Read books and the newspaper, volunteer with the local arts council in various capacities, play bridge, kayak/swim on the lake.
Mom - gardens, volunteers with the local breast cancer society and the library, sews, paints/decorates scarves, cooks/bakes etc.
Dad - builds things (wood), works on the house as needed, does photography and mattes/frames his own photos, became a rockhound and overseas a local mine, does crossword puzzles, cross country skis...
They live in NH and spend a few months in the winter in FL, doing the same kinds of outdoorsy things and visiting friends. They travel out west once every two years or so.
They are always busy and are having a blast. I want to be just like them!
zcung said:
Most importantly, the folks responding to you are probably doing "what they want to do" (not HAVE to do). That in itself is "freedom" (and I substitute "freedom" for the term "retirement)....
For me, retirement is the chance for the (hopefully) last 1/3rd of my life to do what I want - not what others (parents, bosses, family) want me to do...
- Ron
cute fuzzy bunny
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I think what you'll find is that most people lack the discipline or organizational skills to "do something with their lives".
You'll do something, for certain. I'm not sure you'll get a nobel prize for it, but it beats the crap out of getting up at 6am, scraping the face, strapping on the noose and going to work.
Its 1:30 where I am now. My wife and I have made breakfast, fed the baby, watched the morning news, taken a 2 hour walk, dropped by the neighborhood day care center so the baby could play with the other kids for 20 minutes, came home, cleaned up, eaten lunch, and put the baby down for a nap.
The day fills up pretty quick...
You'll do something, for certain. I'm not sure you'll get a nobel prize for it, but it beats the crap out of getting up at 6am, scraping the face, strapping on the noose and going to work.
Its 1:30 where I am now. My wife and I have made breakfast, fed the baby, watched the morning news, taken a 2 hour walk, dropped by the neighborhood day care center so the baby could play with the other kids for 20 minutes, came home, cleaned up, eaten lunch, and put the baby down for a nap.
The day fills up pretty quick...
