In the home stretch

[steinj]

Hi,

We are in the 'home stretch' to ER with 3-4 years to go and in our 40s. I have been lurking here for about 8 months now and feel as if I know many of you well - John Galt, Nords, Cutthroat. th, Martha, CalgaryGirl, Holly - I really enjoy your posts - true inspiration.

We have always LBYM and lived on one salary although we earned two most of the time. Very interested in the perpetual traveller lifestyle and considering some variation thereof e.g. doing part time PT and part time living with or near our kids until they finish University. Has anyone tried this? Also any suggestions for getting through the home stretch? It's really painful counting down... so close and yet so far.

JoJo

 

[BUM]

Hi JoJo
Welcome to the home stretch. 3-4 years may seem like a long time but I'd recommend you save, save, save, and prepare your portfolio if necessary to meet your needs.

Perpetual travelling how? Air, boat, RV, or sandals? Sounds like fun. Good luck!

 

[Mr._johngalt]

JoJo should find a home in Tucson, Arizona.

JG

 

[Janie]

Hi JoJo,

We're in the same boat-- 5.5 years to go, sooner if a buyout is offered.  Since my husband will retire from the fed gov't he's used to being on autopilot when it comes to thinking about benefits/ retirement.  I'd like to come up with a game plan to make sure we can do it and make the most of it... ideas??

He just hit 50 and substantially upped his 401K (TSP) contributions.  We both have Roth IRAs and other savings.  We are counting on at least a portion of our projected SS benefits.  

Other ways to get ready:  we are living now on approximately the same income we expect in retirement- in other words, living modestly.  I've been streamlining in many ways= cutting back on possessions, getting the possessions we want to keep (or put in storage if we travel) organized, like photos; researching low cost of living areas we are interested in living in; spending more time with family and friends now rather than waiting til we retire and everyone is ancient; staying fit and trim so we are healthy in ER.  

The time goes faster if you enjoy the present and don't just put it off until you ER!  

We know a lot of RVers.  The only downside I can think of is that those darn trailers depreciate rapidly.  You can't count on selling it someday and turning around and buying a house for cash... you need to also have most of a house in the bank.  

Any other ideas for preparing for the best years...?

Janie

 

[Eagle43]

Welcome JoLo. If you're gonna do RV fulltime, my advice is buy it and try it now. We met some fulltimers and it takes a special mindset to live together, so close, 24/7. OTOH, it really is nice to be able to live somewhere it's cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Home stretch? Save, Save, and plan, plan. Then, to quote a famous ad, "Just do it."

 

[tozz]

Which, of course, recalls the down-east Mainer's quip about his wife of ample girth:  "Eh, she's warmth in the winter, and shade in the summer.  Ay-yuh."

...it takes a special mindset to live together, so close, 24/7.  OTOH, it really is nice to be able to live somewhere it's cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Which, of course, recalls the down-east Mainer's quip about his wife of ample girth:  "Eh, she's warmth in the winter, and shade in the summer.  Ay-yuh."

Slightly OT, I just heard this (maybe it's an old joke).

A guy on TV said that families are wonderful. You can tell them
anything. The reason is that no one is listening

JG

 

[Mountain_Mike]

I'm pretty much in the same boat...I'm working a maximum of 3 1/2 more years.

Some things I'm doing is accelerating pay off of the house (to be done before ER), major home improvement, such as new "50 year" roof, etc. I am also increasing savings (just bumped it up by $400 more per month). Others have given good ideas as well.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Hi JoJo.

Congrats on only having 3 or 4 more years to go and only being in your 40's. That's fantastic!

Although hubby and I haven't retired, I dream of it all of the time. So, I can only imagine how difficult it must be when the countdown is actually on! The only suggestion I have is to try not to think about it too much and you'll be amazed how quickly the time fly's by.

As for travelling, hubby and I will probably downsize our home when the time comes and become snowbirds during the winter months. We just haven't pinpointed the exact location. Phoenix is very close us (2.5 hours by plane) but quite a few Canadians go to Florida. I guess the fun part will be having the luxury of actually being able to do this.

 

[Dawg52]

I can relate as well. 19 months to go but it seems like 19 years. 

 

[steinj]

Perpetually travelling on SANDALS actually sounds appealing as I sit in my cube. We are more inclined towards air travel and renting cars in different places since we want to explore Asia and South/Central America in particular. I like the Terhorst approach of several months here and there. We are starting to downsize our 'stuff' and have cranked up the savings. We are also making a list of the top 50 places we want to see. John Galt - I don't get the Tucson comment - was there a song?

Top 10 reasons why the home stretch is SOOOO hard:

10. Everytime the boss walks by, you are more tempted to say something that would get you to the ER state instantly

9. The countdown from 1460-days-to-go goes vvveeerrrry slowly

8. The kids begin to think that they are ERing too

7. Peanut butter sandwich dinners now have a purpose (saving!!!)


How about some others (6,5,4,3,2,1,) for a good countdown ??

JoJo Girl

 

[MJ]

JoJo,

6. The countdown from 1460-days-to-go, I can see the light at the end of tunnel.

 

[yakers]

I like this thread but I have what I assume is a common variation, I do not have a fixed retirement date. My wife is planning to retire next year in June from her teaching position. She doesn't have much of a pension because of time off for child raising and other employment. I can technically retire later this year. I have 32 years with the govt and I will be 55. But I have one son at home in high school. I want to 1) get a better idea about college support requirements, 2) build up the retirement fund a bit and 3) I am waiting to see if there is a major market correction ( i would rather retire into a rising market, its OK if its falling while I work and am still accumulating retirement funds). So I do not know the magic date although there have been buyouts in my agency and if I get one offored next year I will take it, not so much for the money but its not as much fun working somewhere after downsizing.

I am interested in how those who could retire and had only a general idea of when they planned to retire actually discerned a date to do so.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I like this thread but I have what I assume is a common variation, I do not have a fixed retirement date. My wife is planning to retire next year in June from her teaching position. She doesn't have much of a pension because of time off for child raising and other employment. I can technically retire later this year. I have 32 years with the govt and I will be 55. But I have one son at home in high school. I want to 1) get a better idea about college support requirements, 2) build up the retirement fund  a bit and 3) I am waiting to see if there is a major market correction ( i would rather retire into a rising market, its OK if its falling while I work and am still accumulating retirement funds). So I do not know the magic date although there have been buyouts in my agency and if I get one offored  next year I will take it, not so much for the money but its not as much fun working somewhere after downsizing.

I am interested in how those who could retire and had  only a general idea of when they planned to retire actually discerned a date to do so.

This is quite interesting to me also. Will watch the responses.
I did not "have only a general idea", but neither did I have a date . However, there were two (2) dates which were turring points
between 1992 when I took the first step and 1998 when I drew my last paycheck. Back in 1993, I shut down my manufacturing company
only after we had shipped as much of our backlog as possible.
This maximized the Receivables/cash flow/profits and it was the
courteous way to handle it, as opposed to calling my customers
with "Guess what? I'm retiring. You'll have to get your order
somewhere else." The second date was in 1998, when my Texas employer
decided they wanted someone full time to do my PT job. They
offered it to me, which was nice. It was big money but my head/heart
were already firmly in ER.

JG

 

[BUM]

JoJo

5. Monday still means MONDAY



BUM

 

[Martha]

John Galt - I don't get the Tucson comment - was there a song?

Beatles, Get Back:

Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner
But he knew it wouldn’t last.
Jojo left his home in tucson, arizona
For some california grass.
Get back, get back.
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back.
Get back to where you once belonged.
Get back jojo. go home
Get back, get back.
Back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back.
Back to where you once belonged.
Get back jo.


I am with Yakers, sure would like retiring into a rising market. Hard to tell when that is though.

 

[Eagle43]

JoJo

If you really want to make it slow, go to this website and set up the dates. I had it in my cube and it was set up with dates and down to the seconds...

http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/index.html

Then you can see how long before you get back to where you once belonged

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

5. Monday still means MONDAY

Every day feels like saturday!

The wife noted that if we do something extensive on any given day of the week, like a day trip, that the next day feels like "the weekend". I figure its that we're conditioned to find the weekend relaxing after a long week of work, so any major activity leaves the next day with that 'weekend' feeling...

 

[steinj]

Yeesh Martha and John, I can't believe I forgot that Beatles song. For the record, I am not a man who thinks he's a woman . It is interesting to think about what triggers when you retire or finally do what you really want to do with your life. While some people in this forum base it on financial goals, there are also those that pick a time based on life events as well. I have found in middle age that it's life events that make me think most about when to retire. Things like watching a close friend endure cancer or die young (big impact for me), noticing people at work who have no spirit left but continue on just because, waiting until you have more freedom because the kids are self-sufficient, a change in business circumstances, etc.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I am not a man who thinks he's a woman

I'm a lesbian trapped in a mans body. Works for me though.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I'm a lesbian trapped in a mans body.  Works for me though.

Hey th, did you hear about the 2 lesbians who built a house
together? It went up lickety-split!

(Sorry folks, I couldn't resist)

JG

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Could be worse.

I came home and found two confused lesbians in my liquor cabinet.

 

[retire@40]

Could be worse.

I came home and found two confused lesbians in my liquor cabinet.

Why were they confused?  Were they having a ball?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

They were trying to figure out which part was the "cabinet".

 

[JonnyM]

Yeesh Martha and John, I can't believe I forgot that Beatles song. For the record, I am not a man who thinks he's a woman . It is interesting to think about what triggers when you retire or finally do what you really want to do with your life. While some people in this forum base it on financial goals, there are also those that pick a time based on life events as well. I have found in middle age that it's life events that make me think most about when to retire. Things like watching a close friend endure cancer or die young (big impact for me), noticing people at work who have no spirit left but continue on just because, waiting until you have more freedom because the kids are self-sufficient, a change in business circumstances, etc.

I'm there, with about 400 days to go. It was never about the money, when DW and I started our 7 year plan, we expected about 1/2 of what we will end up with for income, and that was just going to have to work, as we were commited to ER with minimal FI. Just a steady, for-sure income that would meet our obligations. It's going to turn out much better, thankfully, but the fact of the matter is our time is so much more valuable than working more years for a better total yearly income.

It's about freedom. and certainly life events that have occured over our planning and accumulation period have just brought that more into focus. I'm getting out soon, because it's vital for me to do so. 8)