Cool story and good for you. Lima Peru, cool. We're in Wilton. I grew up in Darien and moved to Wilton thinking it would be so down to earth; well maybe relatively speaking but it's crazy here. I have several friends in Fairfield, that's a cool town.
Anyone else retire 45 or younger?
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Cool story and good for you. Lima Peru, cool. We're in Wilton. I grew up in Darien and moved to Wilton thinking it would be so down to earth; well maybe relatively speaking but it's crazy here. I have several friends in Fairfield, that's a cool town.
papadad111
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I was out at 45. DW not working either. 2 kids. One kid a freshman in college and one kid a sophomore in high school. The higher " kid spending " comes around age 13 or 14 and lasts till they are on their own, I estimate.
We live a simple life now in a low cost of living area with some property and a simple paid off house. Cars are a 2 year old Toyota, a 15 year old Honda and a 21 year old Subaru.
I fell into a part time teaching gig the income of which is just covering / offsetting the tuition for a masters degree. Also doing this school thing to fulfill a bucket list item and to set an example for my 2 kids to always be industrious and better yourself with knowledge. I do like the social interaction with the younger millennial generation a lot (they are different than my generation but to know them will be important I think). If this starts to really feel like work, I'll throttle back or stop all together .. But for now it gets me up and out of the house which is good too.
Life is good. ...
We live a simple life now in a low cost of living area with some property and a simple paid off house. Cars are a 2 year old Toyota, a 15 year old Honda and a 21 year old Subaru.
I fell into a part time teaching gig the income of which is just covering / offsetting the tuition for a masters degree. Also doing this school thing to fulfill a bucket list item and to set an example for my 2 kids to always be industrious and better yourself with knowledge. I do like the social interaction with the younger millennial generation a lot (they are different than my generation but to know them will be important I think). If this starts to really feel like work, I'll throttle back or stop all together .. But for now it gets me up and out of the house which is good too.
Life is good. ...
retiredinnyc
Recycles dryer sheets
I retired at 45
I ran my numbers without the benefit of firecalc in 2007, I estimated high returns of 5% withdrawals (now I believe it's should be 3), either way it's enough for 2 lifetimes, I'm in NYC I had had enough, my child was already married so it was only us in the paid for house. Seeing the kids ball games? Only happened a handful of times, I was working , I have posted before that my only regret was I didn't retire 5 years earlier, we still live in NYC, terribly expensive as you know but I have enough .I think I live on less than 60,000 now, the pension is 103 before taxes, after tax it's 84, plus investments so now I just let it build, we have a car that is 11 years old with 38000 miles, I have never been bored since I left, I'm not handy so I make to do lists for the house and maybe once a year the Handymen come and paint, hang new fixtures, I walk to either the butcher, fish monger, fruit store ,bakery , almost everyday to get stuff and chat and get dressed to leave the house . I find I go to the dr now when I'm sick instead of not going because I needed to go to work. Enjoy the kids now you never get those years back. P.s. My dad owned a deli , he worked 7 days a week died @ 57 when I was 22, he worked till the day he dropped dead. Great provider but never enjoyed life outside of working , I didn't want that.
I ran my numbers without the benefit of firecalc in 2007, I estimated high returns of 5% withdrawals (now I believe it's should be 3), either way it's enough for 2 lifetimes, I'm in NYC I had had enough, my child was already married so it was only us in the paid for house. Seeing the kids ball games? Only happened a handful of times, I was working , I have posted before that my only regret was I didn't retire 5 years earlier, we still live in NYC, terribly expensive as you know but I have enough .I think I live on less than 60,000 now, the pension is 103 before taxes, after tax it's 84, plus investments so now I just let it build, we have a car that is 11 years old with 38000 miles, I have never been bored since I left, I'm not handy so I make to do lists for the house and maybe once a year the Handymen come and paint, hang new fixtures, I walk to either the butcher, fish monger, fruit store ,bakery , almost everyday to get stuff and chat and get dressed to leave the house . I find I go to the dr now when I'm sick instead of not going because I needed to go to work. Enjoy the kids now you never get those years back. P.s. My dad owned a deli , he worked 7 days a week died @ 57 when I was 22, he worked till the day he dropped dead. Great provider but never enjoyed life outside of working , I didn't want that.
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NYEXPAT
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Ahhh Wilton, new it well. Back in the early 70's my friends and I all owned 240Z/260Z's. Many weekends were spent driving up to Bob Sharp's place in Wilton and then racing around the the backroads. Sound's like you are ready, last thing I did before moving to Peru was to sell my Porsche!
Really cool way to fill your time, stay engaged and stay off the couch with your kids. I think kids learn by example more than anything and if Dad is off fishing, playing golf every day that may not send the best message. Also, with young kids, no matter what, you are working and as much as I try to help, my wife carries 90% of it. I can already see she is getting annoyed with me being around so much. When our second gets to kindergarten, I think things will change quickly though.
younginvestor2013
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I am 26 and not currently retired, but thought I would chime in.
I could be "retired" by mid 30s, depending on how my life pans out. If I have kids or plan to have kids, the target date would be pushed way back, although it may be doable by 40 still. It just depends on the quality of life I would want my family to have, and how risky I am willing to be with mouths to feed.
If I don't have kids, I could have enough assets to retire by about 40. This assumes I continue to save what I am now (adjusting for inflation), and that my spending stays the same. Any raises over inflation or additional savings would speed things up.
If I am willing to work until about 45, I would be have extra cushion money. Alternatively, I've thought about maybe pursuing something else in my mid-30s or upon reaching FI, that would allow me to work part-time, and control my schedule more. For example, if I could earn only $20k, I would only have to withdraw about 1.8% of my portfolio to cover the gap in my annual spending.
I try and think of jobs that would allow this, but often come up with not much. I am not the creative type
I could be "retired" by mid 30s, depending on how my life pans out. If I have kids or plan to have kids, the target date would be pushed way back, although it may be doable by 40 still. It just depends on the quality of life I would want my family to have, and how risky I am willing to be with mouths to feed.
If I don't have kids, I could have enough assets to retire by about 40. This assumes I continue to save what I am now (adjusting for inflation), and that my spending stays the same. Any raises over inflation or additional savings would speed things up.
If I am willing to work until about 45, I would be have extra cushion money. Alternatively, I've thought about maybe pursuing something else in my mid-30s or upon reaching FI, that would allow me to work part-time, and control my schedule more. For example, if I could earn only $20k, I would only have to withdraw about 1.8% of my portfolio to cover the gap in my annual spending.
I try and think of jobs that would allow this, but often come up with not much. I am not the creative type
Congrats StuckinCT on your FI and upcoming ER!
I FIRED at 45, earlier this year. Life is now just amazingly good
It's so wonderful I just don't care what people think. Actually, folks have been surprisingly positive and impressed, although this is certainly not the experience of some on this forum.
So if you're tired of the rat race, and really want to live your life as you wish, not as others expect, then jump right in! This freedom is both empowering and ennobling. You'll be having so much fun to care about others' expectations, real or imagined/projected!
FB
Jon, thanks for your thoughts. I am working part time now consulting two or three days a week and I definitely appreciate all the time I am spending with the kids. On Monday our 2 year old was sick and had to go to the doctor so I took my other boy to his activities which was a real treat. It's great knowing you can do whatever you want and not have to answer to anyone.
I don't know anyone in our kids school or in our town who is ERd at 44, and we know a lot of people. Westchester is a stones throw from my house, so you are the first person I have spoken with in the area. I think people have a hard time believing that someone could retire in an area this expensive, my real estate taxes alone will be over 32k this year, and I think some people think I am miscalculating- and I am one of those people that thinks 4% is too much!
I quit earlier this year at 43 as a single, no kids. The only issue in my plans is my bf which I'm still on the fence whether I help finance his retirement too or let him just keep working and we keep splitting the bills... if I add him in, the numbers don't work. Basically even with all my planning ... life events may get in my way. If I could have gone part time I would have.. as I wouldn't have minded working more years, I just couldn't do the 70 hour weeks any longer.
Most definitely. Now that my boys are 17 and almost 19, I've started having discussions with DW (after being retired for 15 years) that soon we need to start considering what we want our "real" retirement to look like once the boys on their own/in college.
With young kids, it's not what most would consider a typical retirement lifestyle!
A Bird In Hand
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45 was my original goal. Pretty aggressive savings since age 21 + paid off mortgage before 45 will hopefully put us in the ballpark of FI by that age.
But the combination of enjoying our jobs, our desire for a bigger financial cushion, and the (optional) expense of private school tuition for our three young kids means we'll probably keep working -- though perhaps only part time -- after the age of 45. Maybe indefinitely if we continue to enjoy our jobs.
But the combination of enjoying our jobs, our desire for a bigger financial cushion, and the (optional) expense of private school tuition for our three young kids means we'll probably keep working -- though perhaps only part time -- after the age of 45. Maybe indefinitely if we continue to enjoy our jobs.
Travelwanted
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I have thought the same...43 here...seems too young. I will be going PT 2d/wk soon, though. 2 young kids, even though the numbers look great. I'll do it as long as I want...that is the key. At least I have the choice.
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ExFlyBoy5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Hey Karen...I see you still have an "occupation" on your profile page. When I retired, I couldn't change that part of my profile fast enough!
youbet
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
This thread has lots of interesting posts regarding lifestyles. And it convinces me all the further that there is absolutely no consensus as to what exactly constitutes "retirement." I think it's more a matter of what lifestyle do you lead to support yourself vs are you "retired" or not.
Is a stay-at-home parent with a working spouse "retired?" If they never worked? If they worked for a while? If they worked a long time? If they fiddled around with their own business but don't anymore?
If you've always worked less than 40 hours per week at your own business because you're so successful at it that you don't need to put in full time hours for adequate income, does that mean you've always been semi-retired? Or that you've never worked full time?
If you "retire" from MegaCorp but work part time at your own business, are you retired, semi-retired or still working?
Is there a difference in retirement status between someone who pays for all of life's food, shelter and transportation needs to be done for them and someone who works hard to "do-it-yourself" in regard to car and home maintenance, gardening for food and other cost avoidance tactics?
Are you retired if you've left MegaCorp but still work 20 hours a week managing a string of apartment buildings?
Yadda, yadda, yadda.........
Perhaps the title of the thread should be "Anyone else leading a less-than-full-time-employment lifestyle at 45 or younger? Of course, then we'd still have to arm wrestle over exactly what "employment" means!
Is a stay-at-home parent with a working spouse "retired?" If they never worked? If they worked for a while? If they worked a long time? If they fiddled around with their own business but don't anymore?
If you've always worked less than 40 hours per week at your own business because you're so successful at it that you don't need to put in full time hours for adequate income, does that mean you've always been semi-retired? Or that you've never worked full time?
If you "retire" from MegaCorp but work part time at your own business, are you retired, semi-retired or still working?
Is there a difference in retirement status between someone who pays for all of life's food, shelter and transportation needs to be done for them and someone who works hard to "do-it-yourself" in regard to car and home maintenance, gardening for food and other cost avoidance tactics?
Are you retired if you've left MegaCorp but still work 20 hours a week managing a string of apartment buildings?
Yadda, yadda, yadda.........
Perhaps the title of the thread should be "Anyone else leading a less-than-full-time-employment lifestyle at 45 or younger? Of course, then we'd still have to arm wrestle over exactly what "employment" means!
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ExFlyBoy5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
You raise very good points. I guess really, it's similar to the word RICH. There is an over generalization as to what it IS to be rich...but it's highly subjective. My idea of being RICH is most likely different than what a Fortune 500 CEO considers RICH. So...retirement is what YOU make of it. Personally, I took a lot of pride in putting "RETIRED" in the occupation field of my 1040 this year.
Not sure why you worry about what others think. You are clearly able to retire from reading your other thread .... so just do it if you want to. Maybe it would be worth exploring why you have these feelings and if retirement is really for you.
To specifically answer your question.... I retired at 55 but could have retired at ~50 without any concerns. Never gave any thought to what others would say. Just worked until I no longer wanted to and then quit. Maybe I'm just thick skinned.....
I quit work and this year at 43. So far I tell people I'm on a sabbatical rather than use the loaded word "retired". Unless someone expresses interest in FIRE and wants to know more, I think it's best to practice Stealth Wealth.
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ExFlyBoy5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
+1000. Makes things MUCH easier.
Mulligan
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My situation is flip flop with a GF. Trouble is the bulk of my retirement is my pension. If I outlived her, things would probably work out though tighter than I would want. But if I died, and she had quit her job, she would be SOL. She needs about 10 more years to get her pension, so she will have to work until 58. She really needs to go until 62 minimum but I should have enough money built up for her to survive at that point with a smaller pension.
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