jjquantz
Full time employment: Posting here.
Retired?
I'm 54 years old and still trying to figure what I want to be if I grow up. DW is 53 and would like me to figure this out as well. Despite my immaturity we have ended up in a position where we are currently negotiating our retirement transition(s).
Having run the numbers on my own for over 5 years now, I was overjoyed to find that FIRECalc, other calculators, and discussions at this site and others verify that I can step out of the workforce any time that I want and we will be just fine financially. As a result, I will be reducing my time at work to 3 days per week this year.
Pulling the plug entirely will depend on a couple of things:
1) Convincing DW that there is a "safe enough" level of retirement savings and that we have more than reached that stage.
2) Helping DW realize that she will also benefit from my not working. We had a foretaste of this several years ago when I was teaching and she started a job that was on a year-round schedule. The first summer was UGLY! By the second year she had adjusted to the fact that she had to go to work and I didn't. She has no interest in retiring right now because, as she puts it, "You know that I don't do well without structure in my day."
We realize that what we are trying to do is balance her desire for security with my desire to step away from the workplace. We know that we will reach a point where both of these desires can be met, we just don't know where that point is right now. This year will be an ongoing conversation about spending, investments, and retirement goals that will help us decide on the end dates for our respective work lives.
I look forward to the conversation.
I'm 54 years old and still trying to figure what I want to be if I grow up. DW is 53 and would like me to figure this out as well. Despite my immaturity we have ended up in a position where we are currently negotiating our retirement transition(s).
Having run the numbers on my own for over 5 years now, I was overjoyed to find that FIRECalc, other calculators, and discussions at this site and others verify that I can step out of the workforce any time that I want and we will be just fine financially. As a result, I will be reducing my time at work to 3 days per week this year.
Pulling the plug entirely will depend on a couple of things:
1) Convincing DW that there is a "safe enough" level of retirement savings and that we have more than reached that stage.
2) Helping DW realize that she will also benefit from my not working. We had a foretaste of this several years ago when I was teaching and she started a job that was on a year-round schedule. The first summer was UGLY! By the second year she had adjusted to the fact that she had to go to work and I didn't. She has no interest in retiring right now because, as she puts it, "You know that I don't do well without structure in my day."
We realize that what we are trying to do is balance her desire for security with my desire to step away from the workplace. We know that we will reach a point where both of these desires can be met, we just don't know where that point is right now. This year will be an ongoing conversation about spending, investments, and retirement goals that will help us decide on the end dates for our respective work lives.
I look forward to the conversation.
