Retirement Coming Up

[Danny]

For those on the ER Forum who haven't Retired yet:

Do you have a Retirement date approaching?

Or have you set a goal date for your Retirement (ER, RR, LR or SR) ?

 

[Cal]

Re: Retirement Coming Up?

My goal is to retire at 50 (36 right now). Unfortunately, I didn't get ER religion until a couple of years ago, so I wasted all of my 20's and am having to be extra aggressive with my savings to make up for it.

We'll see what Mr. Market has in store, how high health insurance costs will go, what if any social security reforms occur, what taxes will be like in the coming years with our ballooning debt.  Ick. Too many variables right now. I just keep dumping my money into my investments, living below my means and playing with my spreadsheets and I'll see what comes up in a couple of years.

 

[Danny]

Re: Retirement Coming Up?

My goal is to retire at 50 (36 right now). Unfortunately, I didn't get ER religion until a couple of years ago, so I wasted all of my 20's and am having to be extra aggressive with my savings to make up for it.

We'll see what Mr. Market has in store, how high health insurance costs will go, what if any social security reforms occur, what taxes will be like in the coming years with our ballooning debt. Ick. Too many variables right now. I just keep dumping my money into my investments, living below my means and playing with my spreadsheets and I'll see what comes up in a couple of years.

Hi Cal,
This is the way I felt in my 30s also.
So many variables. 80s market wasn't so good for me. Didn't use 401k or IRAs as soon as I should have or put in as much as I could have.
I hardly had much savings No house until I was 35..I did LBMM and was and am frugal maybe obsessively frugal, but I had a goal of 50 like you and I focused on it religiously...I did make ER at 50 (1 month before I was 51 ) Luck? Probably some.
I have come to believe that focusing on a goal like you are doing can make your luck or whatever people want to call it. Good luck DanTien

 

[dex]

April 2006 at age 50.
I make the biggest step - putting the house on the market. In a perfect world it would sell in April.

 

[snowbird]

Will semi-ER in January, 2006 at age 56.

Don't enjoy winters in CT so I sold the house last year, bought a condo here and a home in FL so we can snowbird. Will pay mortgage off in January. Didn't/couldn't save enough (2 kids - graduated college, living on their own) and maybe should have been more aggressive with 401k in 80's & 90's.

Semi-ER is next best thing to ER as far as I'm concerned. We'll both work part time 4-5 months when back in CT and will enjoy the 7 months in FL.

Anyone else planning the same?

Pete

 

[brewer12345]

Will semi-ER in January, 2006 at age 56.

Don't enjoy winters in CT so I sold the house last year, bought a condo here and a home in FL so we can snowbird. Will pay mortgage off in January. Didn't/couldn't save enough (2 kids - graduated college, living on their own) and maybe should have been more aggressive with 401k in 80's & 90's.

Semi-ER is next best thing to ER as far as I'm concerned. We'll both work part time 4-5 months when back in CT and will enjoy the 7 months in FL.

Anyone else planning the same?

Pete

Pete: Could you talk a bit about how you are managing the work 4 to 5 months thing? What kind of gig is it/ How did you find it?

 

[snowbird]

Pete: Could you talk a bit about how you are managing the work 4 to 5 months thing? What kind of gig is it/ How did you find it?

I am a Laser/EDM process engineer working at a major aerospace company. They have "yellow badge's" doing part or full time contract work. Since I write the postprocessors for all the drilling equipment in the plant they should need my services once they figure out what I do!!!

Pete

 

[SteveR]

ER'd at 50 but really just changed jobs to move to another part of the country. New company paid the tab which was a major motivator for working one more year. Wife retired at the same time and we moved.

Things don't always work out as you plan. Wife passed away 7 months into retirement. At the same time we lost both department managers so I took over their jobs along with mine, until they could find a replacement. That took 9 months. I was now working 1.5 years into a one year gig. Since I had nothing better to do and did now want to have too much alone time on my hands I kept working. Eventually found the new Mrs. and since she still has two years before she can ER, I am sticking it out here one day at a time. I can stop whenever I want but the fat paycheck is hard to walk away from right now.

The plan is to ER August 2007 unless I get so fed up I leave before that and find a part time job somewhere getting a tiny check for my efforts. If my stocks move up instead of sideways I will be a very happy camper. Once my stock options can breath air again I will dump them in a flash for some very overdue cash.

No real plans to work after ER but would like to do some volunteer stuff. DW is already started in that area.

 

[73ss454]

Snowbird,
Love your plan, hope it works out for you.
We live in NY and bought a house in Fla about 3 years ago.
Glad we bought when we did because of the prices.
Next year we hope to sell our house in NY and make Fla our home.  Would love to have 2 places but have to be realistic with the finances.
I will be 57 at that time and DW 55.  Have a great need to sit under a Palm tree for a few years.

 

[HFWR]

Was all set for 55, but was right-sized out of that. Now the plan is "whenever I have enough", which seems to be shrinking with time...

 

[retire@40]

When the mission is accomplished

I plan to retire on my 40th birthday as a birthday present for myself. I've been on track for the past decade, but I know anything can happen between now and then to throw my plans off.

At the very least, I think I'm in good shape to stay semi-retired for a long time.

 

[snowbird]

Snowbird,
Love your plan, hope it works out for you.
We live in NY and bought a house in Fla about 3 years ago.
Glad we bought when we did because of the prices.
Next year we hope to sell our house in NY and make Fla our home.  Would love to have 2 places but have to be realistic with the finances.
I will be 57 at that time and DW 55.  Have a great need to sit under a Palm tree for a few years.

73ss454,

Bought a place about 9 miles outside of Disney with a pool and lanai. Can't see renting it out. Nobody takes care of it better than you. Place has appreciated ~60% in a year and a half. If things get tight I can always sell it or the condo but plan on hanging on as long as I can. Can't stand the winters in CT but don't much care for the heat and humidity in Fl in the summer.

Right now it acts as a vacation home for ourselves and family members. Although expenses for this home amounts to ~16% of my retirement budget, I'm sure there are ER folks out there that probably spend that much on vacation travel a year. I'm at least building equity.

Pete

 

[73ss454]

Pete,
Seems were on the same path.
I also leave my house in Fla. empty. I would love to have income by renting it but just too fussy.
Were not to far from you, we bought in Viera a subdivision on Rockledge just north of Melbourne.
Hope to see you at the Palm tree.
JOE

 

[Mr._johngalt]

73ss454,

Bought a place about 9 miles outside of Disney with a pool and lanai. Can't see renting it out. Nobody takes care of it better than you. Place has appreciated ~60% in a year and a half. If things get tight I can always sell it or the condo but plan on hanging on as long as I can. Can't stand the winters in CT but don't much care for the heat and humidity in Fl in the summer.

Right now it acts as a vacation home for ourselves and family members. Although expenses for this home amounts to ~16% of my retirement budget, I'm sure there are ER folks out there that probably spend that much on vacation travel a year. I'm at least building equity.

Pete

A few years ago I thought "snowbirding" was not an option for us.
Was sure we could not afford it. However, NW has grown since, DW
is still working and I found a place where we wanted to be part of the year, priced right
and rentable. I hate renting it out (super fussy) but love the cash flow.
Could I let it sit empty until we wanted to use it? Maybe. Wouldn't make
a lot of financial sense though.

JG

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Was all set for 55, but was right-sized out of that. Now the plan is "whenever I have enough", which seems to be shrinking with time... 

I've heard that from others (whenever I have enough). Not a good plan IMHO.

JG

 

[Andre1969]

I really don't have a set-in-stone goal date set yet, I figure I'll just do it when I feel I have enough saved up to retire. I'm 35 right now. Optimistically, I'd retire tomorrow if I could. But as a more realistic timeframe, I figure more like when I'm 50-55, which would put me at 2020-2025. I absolutely DO NOT want to be working past the age of 55!

So far I've got about $335K saved up. 1/3 ownership of the house I'm living in. It's been in the family for ages, and a couple years ago my grandmother put my name on the title, and also my uncle's name so that he doesn't get screwed out of his inheritance. We would've put my Mom's name on it as well, but she wasn't worried about it. The house was free and clear, but I took out a $100K HELOC on it. I also have two roommates right now, which helps out with expenses considerably. Between my 401k and other investments, I'm probably putting away about $2500 per month right now, plus I'm trying to contribute the max to a Roth IRA.

My original goal was to retire when I got to $3 million, not counting any equity in the house. But as I get more and more fed up with work, I'm starting to think that maybe I'll try it when I hit $2M! I plotted it out on a spreadsheet, and with luck I'll hit $2M when I'm 50, and $3M when I'm 54. With luck, that is!

I'm starting to wonder if I could go out with just $1M, which I might hit when I'm 44. I don't live an extravagant lifestyle, nor do I wish to, so who knows? Maybe I COULD do it on $1M!

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Pete:  Could you talk a bit about how you are managing the work 4 to 5 months thing?  What kind of gig is it/  How did you find it?

While we are waiting for Pete, just think of this.

Before I quit for good (1998), I negotiated a deal where I worked about a week per month for about a third of my full time salary and still got
health insurance, bonus plan, etc. Plus, I continued
to receive 100% of a very nice expense allowance for travel, lodging, etc.
I would still be doing it if the company hadn't hired a fulltimer.
Bottom line...........you can negotiate anything if you have something
to bargain with.

JG

 

[HFWR]

I've heard that from others (whenever I have enough).  Not a good plan IMHO.

JG

Somewhat agree, JG. Current NW ~$300k, SS is 11 yrs away, still have a mortgage...

Doesn't look doable for a few more years...........

 

[Kronk]

Ballpark figure for retirement is at 45 (am 31 now). In good shape now, and if my particular planets align, maybe I can semi-retire in 5-10 years.

 

[panhead]

I'm considering opting out at 40 (I'm 35 right now), but may go sooner or later depending on what happens. My situation is much like Andre1969, except I own a little house free and clear. I figure I can do pretty well by myself on $500k, but if I end up supporting a wife and some rugrats, the $1M number looks much more realistic.
-Pan-

 

[peggy]

I'm 37, DH is 44.

Our target date is January 2010, or about five years.  We'll have around $500k in interest-bearing assets and no mortgage, if all goes according to plan.

I expect it will be more of a semi-retirement than a full retirement, because DH does enjoy his work--he just wants not to be bound by the need for a paycheck.

I can't say I enjoy my work, but I have a range of other interests and such that may provide some income.  (Though if I sell the novel I'm working on and it makes me millions... neither of us will complain. LOL)

 

[Michael Moore]

Monday, though I'm taking leave so I don't have to come in. That makes Friday at 2:30PM PDT my effective "never going back to work" retirement date.



cheers,
Michael

 

[Danny]

Monday, though I'm taking leave so I don't have to come in. That makes Friday at 2:30PM PDT my effective "never going back to work" retirement date.



cheers,
Michael

Congratulations Michael!
Feel a little different... a little lighter?

 

[SteveR]

Monday, though I'm taking leave so I don't have to come in.  That makes Friday at 2:30PM PDT my effective "never going back to work" retirement date.

Michael,
Congratulations. It is a wonderful feeling once you realize next week that you are not on vacation....you are retired. It may take a while to sink in but once it does you will be walking on air. My wife did it and she was a very very happy camper while it lasted. My turn will come again; not now but soon and I will be out for good this time.

Enjoy the rest of your life.....you worked for it.

 

[Nords]

Re: Retirement Coming Up?

My goal is to retire at 50 (36 right now). Unfortunately, I didn't get ER religion until a couple of years ago, so I wasted all of my 20's...

I think this is where you're supposed to say "Ah, but what memories!!"