Retiring at the start of a down turn... oddly at peace.

[DawgMan]

A little introspective... finally made the official full RE after a planned soft landing over the last few years. While all the numbers lined up with the master plan at 55, I needed some time to lay down the sword, especially as a driven A personality and waited until 58. Had a good career, liked 90% of what I did and the compensation so had no regrets. While the 2000 tech recession made some noise in my investment days, 2008 shook me up, mainly because I had more $$ then. I panicked some, sold some when I should not have, but quickly came to my senses and jumped back in so little lost in long term. Fast forward to today, and thanks much to all you folks on this site, I fined tuned the RE machine probably too a fault, mentally prepared for a downturn (which has occurred), and yet, find myself oddly at peace. While I am still in the honeymoon stage, I suppose I expected some level of panic, but perhaps all that analysis paralysis planning brought me to a good place. Did you transition to RE peacefully or did you find turbulence?

 

[SnowballCamper]

Great to hear that you managed your expectations to be at peace with the market downturn and inflation. I think that is a big part of the process that we gloss over while scrutinizing all sorts of details around here. I had a little turbulence until I found some appropriate hobbies, and I'm loving it now!

 

[street]

I went out when things were going down. All went well and with a solid plan for bad times I really didn't worry about the rock markets when I stopped work. You should be fine with a plan when markets are turning down.
Good Luck!

 

[DawgMan]

I had a little turbulence until I found some appropriate hobbies, and I'm loving it now!

I have to say I am still finding my way with my new "identity" and while I have some hobbies, still searching for a little "meat and potatoes". That said, I am trying to give myself some grace and enjoying the ride for now...

 

[DawgMan]

I went out when things were going down. All went well and with a solid plan for bad times I really didn't worry about the rock markets when I stopped work. You should be fine with a plan when markets are turning down.
Good Luck!

True dat. But when your old self was/is so progress driven, it stinks to see those balances declining out of the gate because you think you are so smart with your investments. Hence, that's the part that surprises me and I attribute to taking some time to land the plane, at least in my case. Time will tell.

 

[ivinsfan]

Dawg with tongue in cheek may I suggest it's the 170 threads you started since late 2015 that have brought you a measure of peace during this time.



You parsed your ER six ways from Sunday and are confident the wizards on this forum have led you to the right path.

 

[pb4uski]

Only 170? It seemed like many more than that. [emoji16]

 

[RobbieB]

I had concerns that the dough I was blowing was well over the 4%.

Which dissipated as the market rose so I don't worry anymore. I even bought a boat!

And now with the decline I still have way more than I started with. So buying diesel for the boat is not a worry either.

 

[DawgMan]

Only 170? It seemed like many more than that. [emoji16]

Easy does it fellas... can't a man just enjoy the view!? It's a process that only can be lived out on the internet incognito!

 

[DawgMan]

I had concerns that the dough I was blowing was well over the 4%.

Which dissipated as the market rose so I don't worry anymore. I even bought a boat!

And now with the decline I still have way more than I started with. So buying diesel for the boat is not a worry either.

Now that's the spirit! You got "IT" Robbie!

 

[DawgMan]

Dawg with tongue in cheek may I suggest it's the 170 threads you started since late 2015 that have brought you a measure of peace during this time.



You parsed your ER six ways from Sunday and are confident the wizards on this forum have led you to the right path.

2015!? Man, I need a hobby!

 

[Scuba]

Give yourself time to adjust without committing to too many new activities. A temptation for us “Type A” people is to start doing a bunch of things. People notice your skills and then want you to do more. It can be flattering, but if you aren’t careful, you can end up working pretty hard, not getting paid, and not necessarily enjoying your ER.

The above is the advice I got from this forum before my ER in late 2016. DH and I spent the first year traveling, spending more time with family and friends, and doing things we knew we enjoyed. I realized I liked our new lifestyle a lot and didn’t miss the high-pressure life of a business executive.

Since then, I tried various types of volunteer work and while I still do a limited amount of it, I found that much of it wasn’t making me happy, so I stopped the activities I was no longer enjoying. Last year, I created a new way to stay busy, have a lot of fun, and support the broader community. I started a women’s social group that has grown to over 350 members in less than a year. It’s been a wonderful way to make new friends, try new activities, and go to places I hadn’t experienced before.

The beauty of being retired and trying different things is that you really can reinvent yourself, and can easily walk away from anything you’re not truly enjoying. Very different than owning a business or even working in business.

 

[pacergal]

One of my favorite reminders I got from someone here on the forum:
"You are no longer in a savings mode, you are now in a slow spend down mode."

Helps remind me when the numbers go down, either from planned spending or otherwise.

Congrats on your full retirement. Go out and enjoy!

 

[Bigdawg]

Easy does it fellas... can't a man just enjoy the view!? It's a process that only can be lived out on the internet incognito!

170? Wow! But DawgMan, how many of those threads have been shut down by Porkie? LOL

 

[ivinsfan]

170? Wow! But DawgMan, how many of those threads have been shut down by Porkie? LOL

I don't know if anyone keeps track of that

 

[MRG]

I left Megacorp in 2013 and found this place the same time. Looking back I had no idea what I was doing in regard to retirement and money management but this group helped a lot. I managed to bring my own anxiety down with the help of the forum. This is the first real downturn I've been through and it's OK. I'm 65 and SS will provide a good chunk of our monthly necessary expenses at 70 and we have more in our accounts then when we retired. I can see several sources of money that will tide us over till and beyond.

 

[tmitchell]

I have to say the math hasn’t been on my mind much at all either @dawgman since my spending is (mostly) in check and I’m still on target for success long term the decline.

Emotionally, however, I’m struggling a bit as well now after 4 months post-job. I was very driven in my career as well, and although I have set some tasks for myself (writing daily, exercise, learning a foreign language) I feel a bit wobbly. I’m definitely happy I’m not sitting in boring meetings, but I’m starting to worry I may be getting a bit depressed. Not sure if I’m reading myself correctly since this is all so new, but I’m not exactly feeling the joy of freedom I had hoped for.

Maybe this is just part of the detox? I’m trying to enjoy the little things and give myself a bit of grace like you said. Or maybe it’s that I’m turning 55 this month!?

 

[Romer]

I retired in March and the market has only gone down since then. Still, I have no regrets and will ride it out

I had a list of lots of things I wanted to do. A lot of Land scaping projects. Barely cracked it as other things came up and I have no sense of urgency in working through it. I try and do something productive every day, exercise more and am happy I no longer have to go tow work. I enjoyed my job and career and felt I made a difference, but time to focus on my life going forward

Congrats

 

[COcheesehead]

I retired in July of 2020 when the pandemic was roaring. I felt at peace too. I built an income stream to get me through the first ten years. I thought I might be too conservative, but when you have a pandemic and a bear market in the first two years of retirement, it’s best to hope for the best, but…prepare for the worst because it happens.

 

[Dtail]

170? Wow! But DawgMan, how many of those threads have been shut down by Porkie? LOL

Probably none. His topics were intricate, but not controversial. How many ways does 7.5m work in retirement mode?

 

[MC Rider]

My work in real Estate Appraising has fallen off a cliff along with the rise in interest rates. It is as bad as any time in the last 30 years doing this. My license comes due for renewal / expire in February. If I continue I will have to pay about $1100 for that, $200 for a CE class first, $850 for E&O Insurance, $800 for software, $420 for MLS access. Not to mention car expenses, etc.


So am thinking of moving ahead on selling our house and move to a lower cost area. I don't like the idea of retiring into a downturn. But am 63 and have wanted to pull the plug for some time and leave the big city. The calculators look pretty good, although I have to estimate how much our portfolio will be, part of which depends on selling the house. More thought and discussion needed over here.

 

[Koolau]

2015!? Man, I need a hobby!

I guess some of us count threads.

 

[NW-Bound]

... Did you transition to RE peacefully or did you find turbulence?

I retired in mid 2012. The housing bubble burst and the Great Recession were in the rear-view mirror.

My stash already recovered and was above its high-water mark in Oct 2007 (but the S&P has not).

So, me worried? It just happened to work out.

 

[Koolau]

I retired in mid 2012. The housing bubble burst and the Great Recession were in the rear-view mirror.

My stash already recovered and was above its high-water mark in Oct 2007 (but the S&P has not).

So, me worried? It just happened to work out.

Having retired in 2005, I got to live through the whole Great Recession as my first big "event" during FIRE. Honestly, I was so busy, I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. Also, my stock allocation was less than 30% and, again, that blunted a lot of the effects to my portfolio. Still, that's not exactly good timing to retire into the GR but YMMV.

 

[meleana]

We moved to our retirement home the month the pandemic hit and we had to just deal with it. It actually was easier to accept than what’s going on now in the economy and with our money. So much for carefree. Though we are ok it doesn’t feel that way looking at our investments, especially since we essentially have no income.