I am amazed

[MultiEventer]

To those of us on these forums, it isn't rocket science on how to F.I.R.E, but to many folks, they just can't resist that new house in the best subdivision, along with sharing pictures on Facebook of their latest exotic trip, or wearing the latest designer clothes, and remodeling the house seasonally.

I have been very lucky to have the parents I have (married for 60 years, healthy, and financially fit,), and my wife of 31 years who is on board also. Without this support, and good example, I may have fallen into the clutches of consumerism just like most of my friends/co-workers who are amazed.

No doubt, there has been sacrifice, and some heartache along the way, but well worth it.

It's hard to say how much a child costs because it's very different for every family. My wife home schooled our kids in a low cost, rural area so they were not affected by the consumerism of their peers until we put them in public high school. Then it was a battle. I just made sure I won those battles and my wife was good at shopping for bargains. They got summer jobs and saved money for their fun money and extra things. Some did better than others. 2 saved. 1 blew every penny she made within a week after she earned it. Now as an adult, she's the one that still struggles financially while the other 2 are on their way to FI themselves. I made it clear to all 3 kids that they were responsible for their college expenses so they worked to get scholarships. All 3 earned athletic scholarships in their respective sports (football, basketball and volleyball) with my oldest also getting academic scholarships. So that certainly helped. Either way, I would not pay for tuition as I made my way in life and got a comp sci degree on my own without anyone's help. My wife was a SAHM so that made it a challenge for us to FIRE at age 54, but we started early when I got my 1st full time job at age 21 with a 401k. After 33 years of consistent contributions to the 401k, roth IRA's (when they became available) and a taxable brokerage account where I bought individual stocks, there you have it! A living wage off your investments at age 54!

 

[bencasey]

So say you... I retired at 56 with a small pension from a former employer I spent 12 years with from 1986 to 1998... 18% of our spending... but we have two kids.

IME, your at least $500k number each is a crock though I didn't track how much we spent on them.

How much do kids cost? College alone probably runs around $150,000 to $200,000. I think that $500K amount might be low.

 

[makingaplan]

College cost my children's college cost per year if I had to pay full cost was more than my yearly income, Notre Dame was more than 60K and my other daughters was more than 40K. Thank goodness for scholarships! My kids hated me for making them apply but when they ended up in the workforce with no student debt they got it.

On the retirement planning side full disclosure my mother was a pension plan manager and when I started working she encouraged me to enroll and contribute to my 403B. People should listen to their Mothers!HA

 

[camfused]

I have sympathy for those with elder parents, on a cancer journey, and other tough circumstances, but I don't have any for those that just did not save enough.

I came from a blue-collar background, went to college, and worked a white-collar career. From the first days of working, I decided I wanted to retire after 30 years, with the company pension, which at that time would have been at age 53. So, I opened up a 401K in the mid-80s, and stuck money in it. Many times, when I would get a raise, I would up the amount I saved in the 401K by a percent, never seeing the impact. I still bought (and wasted money on) cars, lived in an average house, and went on trips, etc. I just had a saver mentality, where you spend as little as you can. Basic LBYM. About 15 years into this, my stupid company screwed me over and said no more pension for you, and gave me a lump sum. That caused me to reset my goal to retire at 59.5 (due to 401K rules). So be it, and I did just that.

So, I am blessed, and am thankful for how God let me have a good life, but if you have a decent paying job, and you did not save up your money to FIRE, then that is likely YOUR fault. You just had different goals than me.

 

[Drake3287]

Absolutely agree with your post. I'm also a retired public employee making a good CalPERS pension and financially we've always made pretty much the same salary as most of my friends and fellow workers. Problem is, most of them never saved or invested during all those years and now live pension check to pension check where on the other hand I saved and invested for years and now have zero financial issue's.

Just the other day over lunch one of my old co-workers went off on how only the wealthy have made money off this Trump economy. I almost choked to death on my food after hearing this. Although I bit my tongue not to bring up politics or my financial success, I so wanted to call him on why he's cash poor and not financially successful. It's always everyone else's fault but their own.

As an average Joe, I've made a killing over the last 3 years, no reason why most others couldn't have done the same thing. You don't need to be wealthy to invest a few dollars.

 

[gwraigty]

but we have two kids.

IME, your at least $500k number each is a crock though I didn't track how much we spent on them.

+1

I've seen so many articles that quote $250K per kid, with not much in the way of facts to back this up. Some people take it as gospel.

 

[gwraigty]

How much do kids cost? College alone probably runs around $150,000 to $200,000. I think that $500K amount might be low.

https://www.valuepenguin.com/student-loans/average-cost-of-college

 

[tsturbo]

Congrats.
It is just the way it is. The jealousy part will come next.

Yep, which it is a good idea to not disclose or announce retirement plans with co-workers or supervisors until you submit your resignation 2 wees out. No more as co-workers will become jealous.

 

[Eucerin]

I am amazed that my friends at work are amazed when I tell them I am planning to retire next year. The amazing part is they have the same job and income I do and most say they are in not financial position to retire. These are people that are pension and Social Security qualified. How can you be stressed out at your job for at least the last 10 years and have not planned for retirement?

Glad that you posted this, I am asking same question often enough. Some are make more money than I did for longer time but they said they are not near close enough to even think about retirement.
We have two kids, they did alot of sports when they are growing up. We spent what we need to spend, not extravagant but not frugal either.
Sometime I think they are just faking it but who knows

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

Retiring with a pension is no great accomplishment.

The majority of military retirees can not afford to retire on a Minimum-Wage level of pension.

I know a lot of people who have pensions, very few of them can retire on their pensions.

I accumulated a bunch of Rental Real Estate properties, to support my decision to retire.

... I mostly retired at 57 with no pension. Its called never getting married and not having kids.

My getting married was the best thing for me to be able to retire at 42. My wife has helped me to achieve goals.

... When people ask me, I tell them it probably costs at least $500,000 to raise a kid and times that by two and I saved that money.

That is total B.S.

We raised five children. All five in total did not cost me $500k.