Andre1969
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I have no desire to be recognized for retiring early, or having it be the main thing people associate me with. I tend to be a serious live-below-my-means type, but I think I might have blown my cover a bit, a few years ago. I bought a new house, more house than I need, with a large yard and a swimming pool. It's definitely extravagant, compared to what I'm accustomed to. But, it still counts as living below my means, if I could have bought an even fancier house if I wanted to, right?
Anyway, I'm still working, so that might have lessened the shock, somewhat. And, I haven't actually had anyone come right out and question where I got the money to buy that much house. Well, I take that back. My Mom asked me if I was going to be okay with that big of a mortgage, but she was doing it more out of concern for me, than any kind of snooping.
Still, I've learned to watch what I say. For instance, a few years back, I made a comment about going back to the old house to sort through some stuff, and they just responded with "Wait? You have TWO houses..." I backtracked pretty quickly with "yes, I haven't been able to sell the old one yet, so the carrying costs of two houses at the same time is killing me!" But still, I could see the little hamster wheel in their brain spinning, trying to process it, and thinking "Two houses = lots of money!"
My work sent us home to telecommute in March of last year, just a few weeks before my 50th birthday. I don't really talk much to the neighbors out here in the new neighborhood. It's a rural enough area that the mailboxes are all on the same side of the road, so my neighbor across the street has to come over to my side to get his mail. We've chatted a few times, and in the small talk, I do remember mentioning once about how I'm trying to get used to this work-from-home stuff. So, when I do finally retire, I don't think it would raise any eyebrows from them, as they're used to seeing me around the house all the time, anyway. Plus, I've never really gotten past the "driveway small talk" phase with them.
I have a feeling that once I do retire, most people won't even notice. If everything goes as planned, it will probably be within the next year or two (I keep suffering from OMY syndrome). So that would put me at 51-52, maybe barely into 53. My Mom will question it, I know, but again, mostly out of concern. The old, "can you really afford it" type of things. She's retired, having gone out at 62, but she was federal government, under the old CSRS system, and gets a nice pension. Medical is pretty good too I think, so she's fairly secure.
When I'm out and about, I'm usually driving my 2003 Buick Regal, with 100,000 miles, a couple dents, and no hubcaps. I'm usually in jeans and a t-shirt, and either sneakers or boots, depending on the weather. And usually not expensive, flashy ones. So for the most part, when most people look at me, I don't think I exactly scream "MONEY"
Anyway, I'm still working, so that might have lessened the shock, somewhat. And, I haven't actually had anyone come right out and question where I got the money to buy that much house. Well, I take that back. My Mom asked me if I was going to be okay with that big of a mortgage, but she was doing it more out of concern for me, than any kind of snooping.
Still, I've learned to watch what I say. For instance, a few years back, I made a comment about going back to the old house to sort through some stuff, and they just responded with "Wait? You have TWO houses..." I backtracked pretty quickly with "yes, I haven't been able to sell the old one yet, so the carrying costs of two houses at the same time is killing me!" But still, I could see the little hamster wheel in their brain spinning, trying to process it, and thinking "Two houses = lots of money!"
My work sent us home to telecommute in March of last year, just a few weeks before my 50th birthday. I don't really talk much to the neighbors out here in the new neighborhood. It's a rural enough area that the mailboxes are all on the same side of the road, so my neighbor across the street has to come over to my side to get his mail. We've chatted a few times, and in the small talk, I do remember mentioning once about how I'm trying to get used to this work-from-home stuff. So, when I do finally retire, I don't think it would raise any eyebrows from them, as they're used to seeing me around the house all the time, anyway. Plus, I've never really gotten past the "driveway small talk" phase with them.
I have a feeling that once I do retire, most people won't even notice. If everything goes as planned, it will probably be within the next year or two (I keep suffering from OMY syndrome). So that would put me at 51-52, maybe barely into 53. My Mom will question it, I know, but again, mostly out of concern. The old, "can you really afford it" type of things. She's retired, having gone out at 62, but she was federal government, under the old CSRS system, and gets a nice pension. Medical is pretty good too I think, so she's fairly secure.
When I'm out and about, I'm usually driving my 2003 Buick Regal, with 100,000 miles, a couple dents, and no hubcaps. I'm usually in jeans and a t-shirt, and either sneakers or boots, depending on the weather. And usually not expensive, flashy ones. So for the most part, when most people look at me, I don't think I exactly scream "MONEY"
