Twins in College, FIRE 4 more years?

[hpnutty]

Hello everyone. Long time lurker, first time poster. DW and I are 53, one girl off the payroll and twins looking at first years of college this fall. No debt, 1.2MM 401k, lump-sum pension valued at 1.1MM as of today, 500M of assets in house and other investments. Investments are about 65% stock, 35% bond through a combination of Vanguard index funds. FIRECalc says 100% confidence of FIRE today with estimated annual expenditures of $84M, but DW feels it is important to work until twinkies are out of college. In addition to cash-flowing most of college we'd like to use $400m of our nest egg for a better nest in the Texas country when "the day" arrives.

I like w*rk most days , not sure what I would do with "everyday is a Saturday". I'm admittedly a bit greedy and insecure about FIRE. This forum helps me understand how everyone makes it through the financial, emotional and spiritual issues that face you in preparing for and living in retirement. Thanks for reading this.

 

[W2R]

Hi hpnutty, and welcome. It sounds like you are in great financial shape for retirement when the time seems right to you. I can understand why you and your DW might want to wait until your twins are through college, though, with college expenses escalating so much in recent years. As for the psychological adjustment, it is hard for some of us, but not hard at all for others. Personally I love the "every day is a Saturday" aspect although I wasn't sure if I would have problems adjusting or not until I retired.

Thanks for introducing yourself and I hope you enjoy the discussions here.

 

[chemist]

If your j*b permits it, you might consider taking an extended (3 to 4 week) vacation and stay at home and "try" retirement.

Also I would suggest you think hard about your hobbies and interests, maybe join some groups. I did a lot of preparation for retirement beyond the financial.

I decided to pull the plug before putting my kids through college. My son said he was the only 8th grader with a retired mom and a retired dad. People think we are crazy. So maybe that is one reason to continue to w*rk until the twins are through college, if you care what others think. Personally I don't care.

PS I just got back from a week hiking in Big Bend NP. That is beautiful country out there in West Texas.

 

[Midpack]

Once I reached FI+, confronting "every day is Saturday" was my biggest fear. IMO figuring out the money aspect is simple (but not easy) compared to figuring out the critical second part of 'it's not enough to retire from something, it's important that you have something (better) to retire to.' Like W2R mentioned, it's easy for some, but not for others.

Reading Work Less, Live More and How to Retire Happy, Wild & Free were very helpful in my case. Completing the Get-A-Life Tree exercise in the second book was the best thing I could have done to answer the "every day is Saturday" question for myself. Only then was I comfortable pulling the plug and giving up a 35 year career.

I retired only 7 months ago, but so far I have never referred to my Get-A-Life Tree output. I have not had any trouble figuring out what to do with myself. Winter (up North) is a little tougher than Summer & Fall were, but most days I run out of time before I run out of what to do. Eventually I may have to refer to my list, there's enough there to keep my busy for a lifetime, and it's reassuring to know I have it. Going through the exercise was the key...

 

[MBAustin]

... I have not had any trouble figuring out what to do with myself. Winter (up North) is a little tougher than Summer & Fall were, but most days I run out of time before I run out of what to do.

+1

Had lunch yesterday with a friend who recently retired and we agreed that this was the aspect of retirement that surprised us the most. And that the freedom to use our time as we wish every day is priceless.

 

[hpnutty]

I'm working through "Work Less, Live More" and it helps gain some insight into what it takes for the transition. Thanks for all your replies.