That's what my FIL usually says to me when he visits on our back lanai with a frosty beverage and sees me hacking weeding my way out of the jungle back yard. I usually say that it beats having to chase a paycheck, and he raises a toast.
But we reconnected yesterday with a friend who really is happy in his work. I first met him seven years ago when he started in the admin office of my last command. He joined the Navy out of high school in the '80s, became a cook, volunteered for submarines, and did so well that his shore duty was in the Pentagon running SECDEF's mess. He left active duty in the early '90s but stayed in the Reserves. He was actually fired from our command's GS-5 starter job (have you ever heard of a federal civil-service employee getting fired?!?) but he landed a Hawaii civil-service job in an admin office.
Since then he's: made Chief Petty Officer in the Reserves, been promoted in his state jobs a couple times, gotten married to a nice lady, fathered two kids, started & finished both his bachelor's & master's degrees at night school, bought a house, sold it for a bigger house, and been accepted for a Reserve officer's commission. He's in his high 30s.
His kids are 3 & 1 but they wanted to live in a neighborhood with a nicer school, so they sold their house for $435K (bought in 2001 for $235K) and bought a brand-new 4BR for $585K. By the time he finishes it off (landscaping, sidewalks, gutters, modifying the floor plan) they'll have another $25K into it. His elderly mother-in-law is living in the new house with them (free childcare!). His wife just made CFO of a small local business.
He took a week off from work to watch the contractors and to finish the garage interior. They move in next week. We started talking money while we were slinging paint and... they actually get it! They raised their equity in the new home to keep their mortgage payment about the same as 2001, and they're making extra mortgage payments. They LBYM, they fully fund their 401(k)s & IRAs, they save about 20% of their take-home pay in mutual funds, they're saving for the kids' colleges, they're doing fine. It is exceedingly rare for us to have this type of conversation with ANY of our friends or neighbors, let alone people in their 30s.
Spouse asked him "So, you'll be ready to retire in 10-15 years?" and he asked "Why would I want to do that?!?" He sees himself climbing the Reserve officer ranks until he's 60 and working in the state govt until he's at least 65. His wife figures that she'll either be running her own business in 10-15 years or working at one of the state's top 10 companies (maybe both). Neither of them plans to stop.
Keep in mind that at age 60 he'll have not one but two DBPs with COLAs and lifetime TRICARE. His spouse will probably have her own pension kick in when she's 65. They'll also have two 401(k)s, two IRAs, a mortgage-free home, an empty next, and their other savings. Either one of them could easily hang it up now and raise their kids. Or both of them could ER in 10-15 years and consume savings until the pensions kick in. But with no childcare hassles, plenty of income, and interesting jobs-- they see no reason to quit anytime in the next 25 years. They're not worried about what they'd do all day, but they're having too much fun to stop what they're doing now.
He sounds like he's found his avocation (his spouse is sure that she's found hers!) and I must admit to a little envy. We'll be celebrating their housewarming in a few weeks, and I'm sure we'll be helping each other with many future home improvement projects. It'll be interesting to see how things turn out over the next 20 years. If I was in his shoes I doubt I'd consider ER either.
But I think I'll have to teach him how to surf.
But we reconnected yesterday with a friend who really is happy in his work. I first met him seven years ago when he started in the admin office of my last command. He joined the Navy out of high school in the '80s, became a cook, volunteered for submarines, and did so well that his shore duty was in the Pentagon running SECDEF's mess. He left active duty in the early '90s but stayed in the Reserves. He was actually fired from our command's GS-5 starter job (have you ever heard of a federal civil-service employee getting fired?!?) but he landed a Hawaii civil-service job in an admin office.
Since then he's: made Chief Petty Officer in the Reserves, been promoted in his state jobs a couple times, gotten married to a nice lady, fathered two kids, started & finished both his bachelor's & master's degrees at night school, bought a house, sold it for a bigger house, and been accepted for a Reserve officer's commission. He's in his high 30s.
His kids are 3 & 1 but they wanted to live in a neighborhood with a nicer school, so they sold their house for $435K (bought in 2001 for $235K) and bought a brand-new 4BR for $585K. By the time he finishes it off (landscaping, sidewalks, gutters, modifying the floor plan) they'll have another $25K into it. His elderly mother-in-law is living in the new house with them (free childcare!). His wife just made CFO of a small local business.
He took a week off from work to watch the contractors and to finish the garage interior. They move in next week. We started talking money while we were slinging paint and... they actually get it! They raised their equity in the new home to keep their mortgage payment about the same as 2001, and they're making extra mortgage payments. They LBYM, they fully fund their 401(k)s & IRAs, they save about 20% of their take-home pay in mutual funds, they're saving for the kids' colleges, they're doing fine. It is exceedingly rare for us to have this type of conversation with ANY of our friends or neighbors, let alone people in their 30s.
Spouse asked him "So, you'll be ready to retire in 10-15 years?" and he asked "Why would I want to do that?!?" He sees himself climbing the Reserve officer ranks until he's 60 and working in the state govt until he's at least 65. His wife figures that she'll either be running her own business in 10-15 years or working at one of the state's top 10 companies (maybe both). Neither of them plans to stop.
Keep in mind that at age 60 he'll have not one but two DBPs with COLAs and lifetime TRICARE. His spouse will probably have her own pension kick in when she's 65. They'll also have two 401(k)s, two IRAs, a mortgage-free home, an empty next, and their other savings. Either one of them could easily hang it up now and raise their kids. Or both of them could ER in 10-15 years and consume savings until the pensions kick in. But with no childcare hassles, plenty of income, and interesting jobs-- they see no reason to quit anytime in the next 25 years. They're not worried about what they'd do all day, but they're having too much fun to stop what they're doing now.
He sounds like he's found his avocation (his spouse is sure that she's found hers!) and I must admit to a little envy. We'll be celebrating their housewarming in a few weeks, and I'm sure we'll be helping each other with many future home improvement projects. It'll be interesting to see how things turn out over the next 20 years. If I was in his shoes I doubt I'd consider ER either.
But I think I'll have to teach him how to surf.
