The best post I have seen on SWR yet!!

[Cut-Throat]

Bob Smith wrote in another thread - and it bears repeating. I have been out of the country for the last 10 days and just read this. We always seem to be wary of the future, however our past is much scarier indeed!

Whenever I'm experiencing angst about SWRs and my future financial security without work, I reflect upon this:


MY PAST

--Total financial dependence upon the whims of employers who had not the slightest interest in my well-being
--Exposure to disability that could have wiped out my earning power in an instant
--Children and a wife who were dependent upon my ability to maintain a job
--No financial cushion. At times we didn't have enough to handle even a major automobile breakdown.
--Throughout all of this we had to figure out a way to save something for retirement, buy a house, and pay for college for our kids.


MY PRESENT

--The kids are almost raised and doing very well
--Own my house free and clear
--Only three years away from a pension
--Only 10 years from SS
--Enough money saved so that my biggest worry is whether my assets will last for 30 years, or 40

The insecurity I face going forward is almost nothing compared to the risk that I (and probably most of us) have already faced in the past.

 

[unclemick]

Amen and I'll second that.

I have yet to pick an SWR and probably should get started since this is our 9-10th yr in ER(his,hers). I love reading the posts. Our first ten years as I've said before would not fit neatly on a spreadsheet - a mish mash of savings, rental/cap gain on duplex, SS (widowed mom), 1 yr temp job, pensions kicking in at 55, severance pay and all that unexpected cost savings of not working. I had transitional worries at the start in 1993, but it gets more and more fun with each passing year.

 

[Bob_Smith]

Thanks Cut-Throat and unclemick!

 

[John Galt]

I agree with unclemick. I was nervous when I
semiretired in 1993 (although I was compelled to leave
the world of work). Every year gets easier.
I am quite certain a lot of it is just luck.

John Galt

 

[dex]

It is a good post and puts things in perspective.

I a way he is saying that it is our fears that keep us from our happiness.

There is a saying: Jump and the net will appear.

Sometimes I think retiring early is like taking that jump!

 

[John Galt]

Well, I've made a lot of "jumps" in my life, besides ER.
I am not afraid to jump, but I'd like to see the net first

John Galt

 

[BUM]

Well, I've made a lot of "jumps" in my life, besides ER.

As a former paratrooper I'm reminded of the panicing first-timer straight out of jump school. The jump master said, "Kid, if you don't go out that door now I will !@#$%^& you - right here right now!"

The next day the kid called home and his father asked, "Did you jump?" Kid said "Not much".

 

[FIYes]

Great thread. As someone who is working toward financial independence and early retirement, I appreciate how far I have come as well as acknowledge the distance yet to go. I had to purchase new tires yesterday (a few months earlier than I had planned.) I thought as I waited for the new tires to be put on---this is an annoyance, but a few years it would have been a financial problem. Great reminder!

 

[John Galt]

Hello FIYes! Sounds to me like you are already "retired"

John Galt