since i made the decision to ER ppl are noticing im more relaxed

[W2R]

I don't want to offend you but my experience with "lower salary" claims by Federal workers is a pile of crap. It does seem to be a "chant" of this class of workers bemoaning their lot in life.

I worked as a government contractor and most of the civil servants I interacted with would have been run off in short order by the private sector companies I was with.

All my peers made far less than the civil servants and did their "function" which they "managed." Most were clueless or worse. Some of the high level government people may be able to make big bucks on the outside but the typical civil servant was over paid IMHO.

Being a civil servant bestows upon the retiree massive benefits that are adjusted for inflation. Working for decades as a contractor qualifies you to die broke. There is no pension except for the wonderful amount of social security.

My rant is based on repeatedly overhearing civil servants crying that they won't be able to retire until they are 55 and they just don't know how they'll survive on their pension. They usually did this in front of numerous contractors (the ones that must be making far more money since they weren't civil servants) that had no pensions and no job security. Most of these overpaid contractors hoped to work until 65 or later unless a merciful God took them sooner.

As for lifetime medical.... You've got to be kidding.

My goodness.. I didn't mean to aggravate you or anybody. I'm sorry if I did!

I was referring to the fact that at one point I had a choice of taking my present job as a scientist working for the federal government, or a scientist working as a permanent full time (non-contractor) employee in industry. I earn about $20-$22K less as a federal employee than my colleagues in industry (the oil and gas industry, generally) with equal qualifications. However, I have better benefits and better hours. This is normal in my occupation (and jobs in academia pay considerably less than either). I do not regret my decision. These were exactly the trade-offs and it is an accepted fact among both industry and government scientists in my small field. Perhaps it is different in your field. In any case, we each make our best deal when we choose a job.

So why did you choose to work as a contractor for decades? Do you mean like a jobshopper? If it was me, I would rather take a permanent job of almost any kind than be a jobshopper, since I do not like to move. Frank has done both. In my agency, the only contractors we have are IT people and I think they do not move as much as engineering jobshoppers.

 

[Spanky]

Want2Retire,

You worry too much. Your portfolio will withstand any storm. If you are concerned about having too much assets at Vanguard, try shifting some of them to Fidelity. We have multiple accounts with Fidelity since we like their offerings and service. Stop worrying.

Spanky

 

[W2R]

Want2Retire,

You worry too much. Your portfolio will withstand any storm. If you are concerned about having too much assets at Vanguard, try shifting some of them to Fidelity. We have multiple accounts with Fidelity since we like their offerings and service. Stop worrying.

Spanky

You're right - - I know that I really DO worry too much. Up to now life has thrown some formidable and unexpected obstacles in my path (such as having to start over from massively negative net worth at age 50, which was my fault for divorcing my husband at that age, but my failed marriage is only one of many disasters). Most people just wouldn't believe it if I told them! As a result I suppose that I try to anticipate things that just never end up happening.

I will be researching funds over at Fidelity, and if I find one that I like then I will probably open an account over there with about 20% of my net worth. I think that will increase the "sleep at night" factor a little. I have a chunk of my assets in the TSP, too, which helps.

What makes me suspicious about Vanguard is that it has become SO popular in the last ten years or so, especially with the baby boom generation. Due to some prior experiences, I regard that as a warning sign.

 

[dm]

I worked part time last year until the end of September when I fully pulled the plug. Even though I retired when the dow was over 14,000, I'm still glad I did. I'm not sure exactly what my allocation is presently, but I did increase my bonds/fixed income portion to carry me for several years. If the market is down for several years, we will just cut back alittle on the spending. I made sure to have plenty of cushion in the budget.

My golfing buddies have definatly noticed that I'm more relaxed. Its worth much more to me to just be able to get out and do what I want everyday. I'm definatly more laid back now. I'm not in a hurry as I know I can always get to it later.

The only drawback that I can see is the wifes never ending list of projects for me to do. I never have to worry about not having anything to do. But she does realize that I am in no hurry and I have a 1:00 tee time durring the week, 9:00 weekends.

 

[dm]

Some people worry about everything. I remember my grandmother saying my grandfather would worry if he didn't have anything to worry about.

 

[Moemg]

The funny thing about worrying is the thing that you are worrying about rarely happens . It's the unexpected stuff that knocks you for a loop .

 

[TeeRuh]

Somewhere I was told, "worrying is like planning for something you don't want to happen."

t.r.

 

[megacorp-firee]

I've been in the stock market for years so the gyrations annoy me but they don't make me lose any sleep . I did work a few extra years after I was FI until I was mentally ready to pull the trigger and believe me at that point I was ready . When you are truly ready financially and mentally you'll know it .Good Luck !

As you can see, this is becoming a common theme here

 

[Ronstar]

I am extremely more relaxed, even though I'm still working 4 days a week. After a health scare a few years ago that turned out ok, I don't fear or worry about non life threatening things.

The stock market will come back, like it has every other recession. If I run low or out of money in retirement, I'll go back to work. And I know I wont get bored in retirement because I enjoy more than enough activities to keep me busy.

 

[Moemg]

Relaxed , I'll tell you relaxed . Tonight I was about to have an early dinner party for twelve people when the power went out . Did I panic ? No , I found lots of candles and placed them around the whole house . It was pretty nice and an hour into the party the power returned . In the old days I would have been so stressed out but this time I just took it in my stride . Luckily everything was already cooked .