Introduce yourself here!

[Nords]

Welcome to the board, VaCollector...

Quote:

Originally Posted by VaCollector Now that I've done a proper introduction....it's off to the board with MY worries

... let us know how we can help!

[reporter]

I found my help, thanks!

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by reporter I don't mean to intrude, but I am a reporter at Fortune magazine doing a story on people who have retired by age 50-ish and I am looking for people to interview. I specifically need people outside of the CA or NY area who retired, not by winning the lottery or inheriting a lot of money, but through careful planning and a strong desire to spend time doing something else. If anyone fits the bill and would like to help let me know a little bit about yourself and what you are up to now. My email address is [edited by moderator] thanks!

Welcome to the board, Ms. Hajim... e-mail on the way.

[anykey]

Greetings from sarf west London 8)

All the kids these days are taking a Gap Year. They never existed forty years ago when I was a teenager - so I've decided to take my Gap Year now..!!

[Nords]

Welcome to the board, Anykey.

[smileydog]

Good to have you join us. Gap year.... I like it!

[anykey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smileydog Gap year.... I like it!

So do I

[Chonder]

HI, Im 38 years young and hope to be FI by 48, then RE by 52. Actually I plan to RE at 50/52/or at least by 55 depending on how the road unwinds. Good to have a plan B, C, etc.

[Chonder]

Whoops, hit the wrong button and posted BEFORE saying how much I have learned from this site in the past few months lurking. Lots of free friendly info, and I appreciate it.

[BunsGettingFirm]

I am BunsofVeal, but I can't use my old account since the software change, so I created a new account. Damn, post count of 1!

[rollingstone]

Greetings,

I am Rollingstone and I will probably retire in the next few years. Honestly, even though it's still some time away, I am a little nervous about retiring. I have worked and I guess I am a bit of a workaholic. I would like to think there is more to me than my job. But I am a bit lost. I thought I would surf around this website for information, tips, suggestions etc,,,

[Nords]

Welcome to the board, Chonder & Rollingstone. You've both come to the right place...

[Bklyn Kid]

Great site!! Lots of seemingly sound advice. Look forward to learning and sharing!! Need some clarity on what is acceptable to post in terms of websites. While I see lots of people posting their sites they don't seem to be considered spamming while others who post their sites are considered spam. Can you shed some light on that?

[Grizz]

Hello, I'm 38 yrs old and have always worked hard. Truth be known though, I've been uncommonly blessed in that the values of my more or less randomly timed real estate and business ventures have reached levels that I didn't think would be possible within the last 8 yrs. Now there is an offer from a competitor to purchase my business. I've made attempts at talking with a select few people who basically just repeat the cliche "you're too young to retire". After reading posts for the last couple of hours, I have come to the conclusion that it truly is just a tired old cliche. I haven't decided just what I'll do yet, but I am inspired and am sure that this forum will be a great resource. Thank you

[ndfmnlf]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum, having discovered it weeks ago. I enjoy reading your posts, they're very helpful. About myself:

- 41 yrs old,male, married; wife is 39 yo; one child 7 years old
- I'm a physician (internist), wife is a medical technologist
- I am self-employed, a partner at a 5 doctor medical group in rural western Illinois; I've practiced here for the last 10 years since finishing residency training
- our annual household income has ranged from $120k to 230K over the last 10 years
- we have no student loans (our parents paid for the entire cost of our education)
- our only debt is our mortgage (balance of $160K);
-our net worth is $680k; this includes $80k we have saved up for my daughter's 529 plan, and $80K of equity in our house; the bulk of our net worth is in Vanguard index funds tucked away in our SEP-IRA.

We are quite frugal (I think). My car is a 10 yr old 1997 Ford Taurus. My wife drives a 2004 Toyota 4 runner. We intend to keep both vehicles till they conk out. Living in rural Illinois where the cost of living is below the national average has certainly helped. Our work place is only 5 minutes from home (10 minutes on a bad wintry day).

Based on surveys of physicians' net worths that I have seen, we are in better shape than the majority of them who are at our age and income level. Unfortunately, we may not yet be ready to retire due to our late start in investing (we started when I was 30 years old). My daughter's education expenses also still need to be fully funded (we intend to pay for the whole thing up to grad school/med school/law school if she goes that route). We could pay off our mortgage anytime as we have enough cash for that, but I feel more comfortable being liquid at this time.

Sorry for all this rambling, but my real point is this: we've been quite blessed financially here in Illinois, but we have also gotten quite bored. The town is small (18000 people), there are very few cultural activities, and the nearest major airport is 3.5 hours away in Chicago. During winter, we feel we are trapped here. All we can do is work (to fill up our bank and investment accounts). After 10 years of doing this, we feel that we sacrificed our youth simply to fatten our retirement accounts. We've isolated ourselves from family to focus on our careers. Is this really the way it should be till we drop dead? My wife and I are about ready to relocate to a bigger city. My daughter will also be able to attend a better school district there.

We have looked at California as our destination since my family lives there (in Downey, a suburb of LA). My wife's family lives in the Sacramento area. We are planning to eventually retire in California. I have received job offers in the LA area for $190K to join a multispecialty group, and also in Sacramento for $160k. My wife has no job offers yet, but given her profession, we don't feel she will have a problem finding a job.

I am conflicted about this relocation plan because California is an expensive state, as you all know. We intend to continue our frugal ways, but given the cost of living there, I expect our finances to definitely take a hit, and this will set back our early retirement plans. If we stay in Illinois, we will probably be able to retire in 10 years at the rate we are saving and investing. But we have no family in the Illinois town we live in; we have many good friends here, but we still feel like outsiders despite our 10 years of residency in this small agricultural area. We feel like we don't belong here. I am still being asked how long I've lived in this town by well-meaning yet naive locals. I am not easily offended, it's just irritating to hear questions like this.

So the choice boils down to this: hunker down in our little Illinois town - with its terrible winters and lack of cultural amenities - save and invest big bucks, then retire early; or move to California, be with family and friends, and shelve early retirement plans indefinitely. I am presenting this dilemma on this forum not to get specific advice from you but just to get a general feel for what the more experienced members of this forum would do if faced with a similar situation.

Thanks in advance.

ndfmnlf

[Martha]

I don't think it is an either/or decision. One of our regular posters lives in the Sacramento area and housing there did not seem outrageously expensive. Though I imagine LA will be a lot pricier. Nevertheless, given your earning power and frugal ways you may find you can manage an early retirement.

My SIL is an MD and works in small town Wisconsin. They have been there for years and all their kids are growing up there. Nevertheless, they are still newcomers. There is something about small towns where you can be there 20 years and still have just arrived. I am from a very very small town, if you can even call it a town. I haven't lived there since childhood. People know my family from way back and I automatically belong. They keep track of me, where I have worked and what I am doing. Whether or not I want them to.

[Judsen]

Hi, Judsen here from the heart of Dixie. I've been retired 10 yrs and am used to it by now. I found this forum via the bogleheads/diehards forum as some there are also here. Any Auburn U. folks on here? Any kayakers?
Solar tinkerers?

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judsen Hi, Judsen here from the heart of Dixie. I've been retired 10 yrs and am used to it by now. I found this forum via the bogleheads/diehards forum as some there are also here. Any Auburn U. folks on here? Any kayakers? Solar tinkerers?

Welcome to the board, Judsen. Yes on the last, and you can read more by searching for the "solar" and "photovoltaic" keywords...

[Pearson]

Hi Pearson here.
I feel I have put my hard time in over the past 25 years working 60+ hours for many of those years and now deserve to retire, even though I'm only 42... My wife deosnt want me to retire yet but I told her I'm starting to feel the effects of all those long hard hours. Sure would be nice to finally grab that old fishing pole before its to late and spend some time with my son. I watched my father work himself to death and I dont want to be like that anymore.

[Elgallo]

My real name is Bob, I work for the federal govt. (DOD) and have for appx. 27 years and I am looking to retire for the fist time in two years at age 62. I will most likely continue doing something (working) but it will be what I want to do when I want to do it. I live and own a home on the central coast of CA, married, two adult children. I am an avid sportsmen namely fishing (own my own boat) and hunting.

Looking forward to learning more about planing for and entering into this next stage of my life from those of you who have passed before me.