Anxious about retiring so early at 38

[misterantsypants]

My username reflects my current mental processing. I got a doctorate in physics from UCLA intending to teach but soon saw that I would make a small salary by southern Cal standards so I got back in school to acquire my MBA.

Being heavily in debt I used my dad's cronies to get an investment banking position at a Goldman Sachs subsidiary in LA. Best move and best job ever. I was basically a glorified salesman seeking both private equity and venture capital.

I was assigned to foreign regions like Europe and Middle East and traveled most of my 15 years. And to the point of hating the 14-16 hour commutes and now nearly cringe at the though. Thus part of the reason for retiring.

The good memories are of first class on Etihad, Emirate, and Singapore. They had private 5 star hotel quality "rooms" and showers, 30" flat screens and current movies.

The bad memories were arriving after midnight and having a meeting to attend at 7AM next day.

Now, the best reason to retire. I met a 22 yo Mexican dental assistant in Tijuana while visiting for a 4 day TMJ procedure. We were instantly in love and she mentioned dreaming of world travel but had never been on any trip ever. She had never flown. Now we travel about 4 times per year for month long visits. My splurge is purchasing a room on Etihad with beds and private bar for us.
May die broke but happy.

 

[cooch96]

Dieing broke but happy is very efficient. You can’t take it with you.

But if it looks like you or Mrs antsypants could go broke before death, you should steal yourself for returning to the workforce.

I think Ms. Orman had you in mind when she advised a NW of $5M before retiring. Are you in that ballpark?

 

[pb4uski]

Private equity were a frequent client of ours while I as working and we worked with investment bankers a lot. IMO, you essentially trade your life for 24/7/365 work or on call and a boatload of $$$... which is fine for people who make that choice.

Have you thought through what you're going to do all day? You can't travel all the time... or at least I couldn't.. would eventually get bored.

 

[Dtail]

If you wish to provide us with more financial details, you would receive some well thought out advice on this forum.

 

[misterantsypants]

Dieing broke but happy is very efficient. You can’t take it with you.

But if it looks like you or Mrs antsypants could go broke before death, you should steal yourself for returning to the workforce.

I think Ms. Orman had you in mind when she advised a NW of $5M before retiring. Are you in that ballpark?

cooch96 btw what is a cooch?
The firm I worked for did many of Stephen Ross projects like his current development at Hudson Yards which will require them to go out begging for billions. The idea of going into a Saudi Palace and asking for a billion$ would likely cause me to piddle my pants but the guys who did that would instantly be wealthy.

I was never that league, but did score several wins which is the reason I was able to retire so early and as a joke here, Ms Orman thinks small. Kidding!

 

[NgineER]

I’m impressed that you were able to get a doctorate in physics and an MBA before the age of 23. You are amazing! Or a troll...

 

[misterantsypants]

Private equity were a frequent client of ours while I as working and we worked with investment bankers a lot. IMO, you essentially trade your life for 24/7/365 work or on call and a boatload of $$$... which is fine for people who make that choice.

Have you thought through what you're going to do all day? You can't travel all the time... or at least I couldn't.. would eventually get bored.

Very true, like being living life centered on seeking bigger bonuses.

I live at the sand line in Manhattan Beach and at 6'2" am a competitive beach volley person. Also do a ton of volunteer work at food pantries like stocking shelves. My main place does meals for people in need so I'm the designed delivery guy and meet so many people. One lady refuses to open her door until I prove its me. I say "its me, its me, its Mr T" and she cracks the door and looks out, so I got a peephole lens installed 3 days ago.

 

[ivinsfan]

Is this the outline of your next novel? If it is my advice is you are laying it on a little thick..one major problem is you need to add a few year to your education timeline..


If it's all true my question is, what in the heck are you doing hanging around here with us regular folks...

 

[rodi]

Welcome to the forum.

A few thoughts...

* You pursued multi year graduate work without considering the end career and salaries. Perhaps taking the time to come up with a detailed plan for your retirement before you start it.

* Were you considering retirement this young prior to meeting the dental assistant? How much if this is just a whim driven by new love and the hormones that go with it?

* Without details it's impossible to know if you have enough saved. It will take a pretty huge nestegg to support the lavish travel style. Will you be able to adjust to coach? Will you be able to adjust to inland living if the beach is to expensive?

* For a longer retirement you need to have a lower withdrawal rate...

 

[RunningBum]

 

[audreyh1]

Why are you anxious?

Did you already retire? Sounds like it with all the extended personal travel and volunteer work.

 

[misterantsypants]

I’m impressed that you were able to get a doctorate in physics and an MBA before the age of 23. You are amazing! Or a troll...

Not at all amazing if facts are presented. I'm within one month of being 39. Worked for 14.5 years. But do not just subtract
Hold out your left hand, grasp thumb, count 25 for it then progress across your hand 3 times, counting 25,26 etc. You will see its 15 digits to arrive at 39, I started my MBA beginning at 25 and got the job half way thru MBA. Thus 14.5 is the time and 15 was easier to type.

17-19 undergrad in 3 years not at all uncommon at lower ranked UC state schools, as a matter of fact it is sorta the norm
19-20 grad just 10 classes at USC. 1 year is the norm
20-25 doctorate, only an overly complex choice would require more than 5 yrs
25-26 acellerated MBA
25.5 started job
Again, no at all amazing.

 

[misterantsypants]

Is this the outline of your next novel? If it is my advice is you are laying it on a little thick..one major problem is you need to add a few year to your education timeline..


If it's all true my question is, what in the heck are you doing hanging around here with us regular folks...

It would be a book unsold.

My reason is the experiences people have had dealing with retirement issues like health, change of lifestyle, etc. And I'll answer some other questions.

I retired due to feeling comfortable money-wise and feeling dread when given assignments, long hours, long trips, wealthy colleagues who were greedy for more money.
Love where I live and expect to live there for much of my future.
Boredom may happen but expect not, but it is a big worry.
The new girlfriend and I do not live together, she lives in Mexico so she has had little influence on my retirement decision
My financial situation is manly to do with being a miser, other than company paid trips I spent very. I drove an Accord until it was nearing death and Toyota now, not into lavish lifestyle.
So in short, I would likely not be a top wealth person on this forum but I'm doing OK.

Never gonna go back to the job but maybe get more involved with groups that interest me.

 

[CaliKid]

Not at all amazing if facts are presented. I'm within one month of being 39. Worked for 14.5 years. But do not just subtract
Hold out your left hand, grasp thumb, count 25 for it then progress across your hand 3 times, counting 25,26 etc. You will see its 15 digits to arrive at 39, I started my MBA beginning at 25 and got the job half way thru MBA. Thus 14.5 is the time and 15 was easier to type.

17-19 undergrad in 3 years not at all uncommon at lower ranked UC state schools, as a matter of fact it is sorta the norm
19-20 grad just 10 classes at USC. 1 year is the norm
20-25 doctorate, only an overly complex choice would require more than 5 yrs
25-26 acellerated MBA
25.5 started job
Again, no at all amazing.

Couple things... even with a lot of AP classes it's hard to graduate in 3 years from a UC. Not impossible but not common as you suggest.

Also, is it a UC or a "state" school that you went to? In California those are two different systems even though they are both state run schools of course. When someone in California says "state school" they are generally referring to the CSU's not the UC's.

Your story doesn't totally add up to me. Plus you seem sort of cocky which is not the norm for people here.

You sure you aren't a troll?

 

[ivinsfan]

Not at all amazing if facts are presented. I'm within one month of being 39. Worked for 14.5 years. But do not just subtract
Hold out your left hand, grasp thumb, count 25 for it then progress across your hand 3 times, counting 25,26 etc. You will see its 15 digits to arrive at 39, I started my MBA beginning at 25 and got the job half way thru MBA. Thus 14.5 is the time and 15 was easier to type.

17-19 undergrad in 3 years not at all uncommon at lower ranked UC state schools, as a matter of fact it is sorta the norm
19-20 grad just 10 classes at USC. 1 year is the norm
20-25 doctorate, only an overly complex choice would require more than 5 yrs
25-26 acellerated MBA
25.5 started job
Again, no at all amazing.

I thought you were already retired, how else to you take 4... 1 month long trips every year?

And you also do a ton of volunteer year which obviously takes up the rest of your time.

 

[dtbach]

How about what your personal assets are, equity/bond/cash ratio, etc. so we can give you a bit more assistance. It's OK to divulge it as this is an anonymous forum.

 

[TDub]

Are you already retired then?

If you do a breakdown of your current assets/expenses/plans, the people here can offer a ton of great advice.

PS. I graduated from a UC, as well. I miss SoCal all the time I took a quarter’s worth of classes every summer and combined it with AP credit to graduate with my BA in 3 years. Totally doable but not that common, at least it wasn’t back then. I did kind of feel like I left the party early

Best of luck to you!

 

[stepford]

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.

 

[braumeister]

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?

 

[flintnational]

+1

 

[ivinsfan]

It would be a book unsold.

My reason is the experiences people have had dealing with retirement issues like health, change of lifestyle, etc. And I'll answer some other questions.

I retired due to feeling comfortable money-wise and feeling dread when given assignments, long hours, long trips, wealthy colleagues who were greedy for more money.
Love where I live and expect to live there for much of my future.
Boredom may happen but expect not, but it is a big worry.
The new girlfriend and I do not live together, she lives in Mexico so she has had little influence on my retirement decision
My financial situation is manly to do with being a miser, other than company paid trips I spent very. I drove an Accord until it was nearing death and Toyota now, not into lavish lifestyle.
So in short, I would likely not be a top wealth person on this forum but I'm doing OK.

Never gonna go back to the job but maybe get more involved with groups that interest me.

Miserly except for the place on the sand in Manhattan Beach...

 

[Mdlerth]

The Secret Life of Walter "Mdlerth" Mitty

I do all those things, too. Especially during staff meetings at w*rk.

 

[misterantsypants]

Are you already retired then?

If you do a breakdown of your current assets/expenses/plans, the people here can offer a ton of great advice.

PS. I graduated from a UC, as well. I miss SoCal all the time I took a quarter’s worth of classes every summer and combined it with AP credit to graduate with my BA in 3 years. Totally doable but not that common, at least it wasn’t back then. I did kind of feel like I left the party early

Best of luck to you!

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.

 

[misterantsypants]

Miserly except for the place on the sand in Manhattan Beach...

With 2 room mates paying $1,000 each per month, and at Cali wages easily doable.

 

[stepford]

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.

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.