Forced very early retirement?

[Whakamole]

So here I am, a refugee from the old TMF board, who planned on having a nice income for the next, oh, ten or twenty years which, combined with low-spending, would give me a decent nest egg to live off of.

Did I mention I'm in tech?

The bottom fell out and all signs point to a lot of what I do being moved to cheaper locales. Actually, if the locales varied a little, I could adapt just by moving there. Unfortunately that's not the case, the two countries that are benefitting the most aren't known as especially immigrant-friendly.

So here I am, facing a "retirement" from my career which may happen in the next year or two!


What do I have? My apartment (no home.) About $115K in stocks, bonds, funds, and cash right now, mostly cash and TIPS/I-Bonds. Early 30s. Not great savings, but not bad either. Plus I'm healthy.

My one comfort is that, worst-case, I could take a relatively low-paying job and live off that and interest from my savings, growing the rest to provide a decent, if low-key, retirement. Or I could go lurk offshore for a while, perhaps in one of the less expensive European nations (Hungary, Poland, etc.) and wait out the economic problems. Or call up mom and dad and ask whether they need someone to feed their cats

I could also try to gear up for a job that's resistant to moving overseas (i.e. nursing), but there are also concerns with cheap immigrant labor being brought in for those jobs, not to mention everyone else having the same idea.

So... you're in my shoes. What do you do?

 

[patnbj]

First of all, it doesn't sound like you have lost your job yet, just reading the tea leaves. It sounds like you doing well progressing to retirement, but you don't have enough money to pull it off yet. What I would do is to find an area of IT that is still in demand and less likely to be outsourced. One suggestion--work for a government contractor where you need security clearance. Go back to school if you need to. If worse comes to worse, conserve your next egg, even if that does mean sucking it up and moving in with your folks.

Good luck.

 

[Cut-Throat]

You are only in your early 30's and the world will change a lot before you're 50. Many times. Recessions don't last forever, even though they seem like it when you're in one.

I am also in IT and worked through the 90-93 Recession. It was really bad a lot of quality folks out of a job. (Bush 41 lost his job over this one). If this economy does not start creating jobs pretty soon Bush 43 will also be sent packing.

Either way, IT jobs will be in demand again and you will get another job. It will encourage you to save even more, because companies don't give a **** about you or anyone.

So as the other poster said, save your nest egg, spend very little and hunker down until this recession is over.

We have to be hopeful. Hopefully this capitalism has not gone too far and we will export all of the middle class jobs out of the country for the sake of profits. If that is the case we can all look forward to a South American Country - Many poor people, No middle class, and a few very, very wealthy folks! - Could be the new American Way.

 

[SteveMcgarret]

We have to be hopeful. Hopefully this capitalism has not gone too far and we will export all of the middle class jobs out of the country for the sake of profits. If that is the case we can all look forward to a South American Country - Many poor people, No middle class, and a few very, very wealthy folks! - Could be the new American Way.

Has anyone actually read Adam Smith? Especially has anyone who calls themselves a capitalist or currently talks about how great Capitalism is? If you read the papers and HAVE read Smith you'll know that the answer is either "No, they haven't" or "Yes, they have and they ain't buyin' it"

As far as "going to far" , well, they always go too far. It's the nature of the system. Overcapacity. Boom. Bust etc. More efficient on a relative basis doesn't equal efficient. That is the cause of the current economic problems. (And many in the past) Positive change almost always requires this kind of catalyst. (is the "cata" in Catalyst" related to the "cata" as in "Cataclysm"...? )

History is full of examples. In fact, necessity is the mother of invention so you could say the really important changes won't occur without a certain precipitating irritant. Human history has some examples of "too far".

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I read this post by our guest Steve McGarret four (4)
times and don't know what the hell he is saying.
Can someone enlighten me?

 

[Whakamole]

You are only in your early 30's and the world will change a lot before you're 50. Many times. Recessions don't last forever, even though they seem like it when you're in one.

I am also in IT and worked through the 90-93 Recession. It was really bad a lot of quality folks out of a job. (Bush 41 lost his job over this one). If this economy does not start creating jobs pretty soon Bush 43 will also be sent packing.

Either way, IT jobs will be in demand again and you will get another job. It will encourage you to save even more, because companies don't give a **** about you or anyone.

So as the other poster said, save your nest egg, spend very little and hunker down until this recession is over.

We have to be hopeful. Hopefully this capitalism has not gone too far and we will export all of the middle class jobs out of the country for the sake of profits. If that is the case we can all look forward to a South American Country - Many poor people, No middle class, and a few very, very wealthy folks! - Could be the new American Way.

I missed the first Bush recession (reminds me of a great quote I read once from an unemployed guy: "All I know is, every time there is a Bush in the White House, I'm out of work.")

I am hopeful but at the same time now I realize how important it is to get off the economic merry-go-round if you can. I took advantage of the good times that we had by socking away that much, and if we ever see those times come again, not wasting it. I can also hope that we don't just end up exporting the middle class.

 

[BigMoneyJim]

Whakamole, I'm in IT, too, but I'm more of a Network Admin/Field Tech type of guy directly supporting operations end users, and I don't think my type of work can be shipped overseas effectively as long as someone in the US still has a job. I am slightly concerned, though, and my savings are about half as much as yours, plus I have some debt. (Debt will be paid off May 04 if all goes well.) And I'm 33. I am fairly sure I could live off of a much lower salary if I had to without dipping into savings. What expenses of yours do you think would require withdrawing interest from savings?

After being out of work for many months in 2000 I'm determined that pride be damned next time I'm out of work and looking. I passed up a couple of low-paying opportunities because I didn't want to earn that little, but I would've been much better off to take them!

JohnGalt, I'm lost, too. I read it a few times, and a couple of times I thought he was saying something, but I think I my brain was trying to add in some meaning. It's kinda like a horoscope; it's very vague and you supply your own meaning. Then again, I haven't read Adam Smith, so maybe I missed something. By the way, the meaning my brain supplied was something like "It's cyclical. Don't panic. We're okay."

 

[blazerjeremy]

Do you really want to retire or are you just afraid of being out of work and calling unemployment retirement. Just a simple calculation of 3-4% of your nest egg each year will tell you that is a very small amount to live on each year. But there are people around the world that live on much less but you have to evaluate there life style. It doesn't appeal to me.