Introduce yourself here!

[Old Admin]

Welcome!

This is the place to introduce yourself to the others.

We suggest you create a new topic when you introduce yourself, rather than replying to this message or someone else's introduction.

 

[venny]

Hello Joining Board

Hello - venny here - just joined up at recommendation of esteemed colleague. Am follower of REHP on MF.
Also offer career advice to those in large corporations.

http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/6057/career3.html

Am happy retired (long time) oil field grunt.

venny

 

[CHEWY55]

Welcome!

This is the place to introduce yourself to the others.

We suggest you create a new topic when you introduce yourself, rather than replying to someone else's introduction.

 

[vellis]

any regrets?

Hello
I am a 59 year old married nurse who now is in a position to retire. Financially we have finally reached a point where we could manage with my retirement and husbands salary, but.....
Although there are days I don't want to go to work and days I work way too hard, I do get alot of satisfaction from what I do. I like my coworkers a great deal and enjoy the patients and families. I am trying to decide to leave it all or just work 3 days a week for awhile as a tranistion.
Have others faced this? Any advice?

 

[arrete]

Although there are days I don't want to go to work and days I work way too hard, I do get alot of satisfaction from what I do. I like my coworkers a great deal and enjoy the patients and families. I am trying to decide to leave it all or just work 3 days a week for awhile as a tranistion.
Have others faced this?

Though I am happily completely retired (I have other activities that would preclude work), my husband is working 3 days a week as a contractor for his old company. He is quite happy with the situation since it allows him to hang out with people he greatly respects, and generally does interesting work. That's because the boss (a great guy) knows he'll leave if he gets bored. He's been doing this for 2 years and doesn't plan to stop anytime soon, unless he's bored.

arrete

 

[Mr._johngalt]

My situation may be a bit unique, mostly in that I was
a textbook workaholic for most of my working life.
In my case, it was not so much not liking the work
(I owned my own company) as it was wanting to do other things before the inevitable health problems
interfered. So, although I am still interested in business,
I will never go back as I am happy with the way I spend
my time now, even though it's a complete reversal of
what once was. I still have the urge but don't want the hassle. My wife is still working (2 jobs at present)
but she has the comfort of knowing it is not a long term
necessity.

 

[Jack Alles]

Dory36!! Is this your retirement home? How does it work out for you? After looking at retirement places none are so fasinating as a Trawler. I found a Cheoy Lee 50 Tri-Cabin. My wife is a seasoned sailor (48' Schooner) and she said "Honey, if that's what you want you should at least try it". Any advice? Jack

 

[dory36]

Dory36!!  Is this your retirement home?  How does it work out for you?  After looking at retirement places none are so fasinating as a Trawler.  I found a Cheoy Lee 50 Tri-Cabin.  My wife is a seasoned sailor (48' Schooner) and she said "Honey, if that's what you want you should at least try it".  Any advice?        Jack

We love it! We've been hanging out in south Florida for a couple of months, and are floating within a mile of about 40 other early-retired couples also retired on boats. The social side is spectacular, and the costs are much less than living on dirt!

Some more info can be found at http://www.early-retirement.org/dory

Dory36

 

[Jack Alles]

Thanks for the encouragement (Like I really needed it) I'll check out the web site you left me. Enjoy!!!

 

[ken]

Retired in body, but not mind yet....

I retired last May, helped my son build a house, they moved in on Nov 23. . It was getting chilly for him and his new wife living in my 27 foot R/V.... Since then I have just floated about without a sense of purpose. I have done some small projects, but wonder if this is a normal phase or I need to engage in some other sort of thing? I have been a caregiver my whole life so the idea of getting into more people helping situations does not interest me now. I am looking for advice or success stories.

 

[arrete]

[i][/i]Re: Introduce yourself here!

Since then I have just floated about without a sense of purpose. I have done some small projects, but wonder if this is a normal phase or I need to engage in some other sort of thing?

I think there is a "finding your feet" stage for a lot of people. You may be particularly sensitive to it if your job involved dealing with a lot of people. I would suggest activities that involve at least some people. And the lack of purpose problem is quite common. You had set goals when you were working, probably set by other people. Now you have to set them yourself, and if you aren't used to that, it may take some time. But if you just want to live day to day and you're happy with it, what's the harm in that?

I have been a caregiver my whole life so the idea of getting into more people helping situations does not interest me now.

Any new activities should involve peers, considering you don't want people-helping activities - which I can understand. I help wildlife myself . But you can give some structure to your retirement (which maybe is what you really need) by getting involved in various sports (if that interests you), reading clubs, classes in anything (from learning a new language to making clay pots), gardening clubs, hikng club, bird watching, etc. Unless you are in a very isolated area, there should be some activities that are already set up that you could try.

The internet might actually help. This is a weird example, but my daughter-in-law felt very isolated after moving, then having a baby. It was hard to get out (because of the baby) and she didn't know anyone in the area. She found through some moms and baby chat groups about a moms group close to her home. She has really enjoyed it. She also joined the local women's soccer team which gives her social interaction and exercise.

Of course, the real issue is - do you mind just floating around? If you feel uncomfortable about it, then you need to do something. If it is because other people feel uncomfortble about it, you may just need to learn how to deal with people that don't approve of your new life style. All of us early retirees go through some of that.

You may note that our fearless leader just floats around - literally

Good luck.

arrete

 

[Ted]

Ken:

If you read my initial post under "Hello with socioeconomic commentary," you will pick up that I became retired before I wanted to be and wasn't too happy about it. However, it's something that a person tends to adopt to (at least if they are fairly secure financially).

You may also pick up that I'm sort of an amateur philosopher, who likes to comment on the way that society functions. So I'll add this observation.

I became married at the ripe old age of 39, and as such had my share of contact with "singles bars" and other organizations where single people could interact. As a person who appreciates attributes such as intelligence and character in both women and other men, I regretted having to "compete" with other males on the basis of the superficialities that the most "successful" people learned to flaunt.

Now, not too many years later, I'm retired. But an encouraging discovery is that most people who are retired are pretty much finished with competition (other than the friendly type such as in golf). They tend to regard themselves as belonging to a fraternity/sorority, to which new members are always welcome. I hope that you will "get out" and discover that for yourself.

 

[Oberst_One]

Second Career

Retired from the US Air Force in 98 after 26 years. New career in telecom since. Would like to retire as early as possible and thanks for having this forum. Spouse and I have two active paychecks and one from USAF retirement, and of course, living well beyond our means. Goal: Move to the coast and downsize in 3-5 years. Interested if any ret-mil folks are in the forum.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Well, my only military experience was in the sexual
revolution. I think your goal is a good one, except for the "3 to 5 years" part. You should work hard on the
"living beyond our means" part also. That tends to retard
the march toward ER most severely (voice of experience).

 

[twoshoes]

How to get there--what mindset is needed

Good Morning Folks--

I am new at this and grateful I stumbled across this site--especially the forum capabilities.

How do you condition your emotional, psychological, etc side to prepare for early retirement--have worked in the telecommunications industry for 31 years and at the age of 56--thinking of enough is enough.

Don't know if it's the fear of retiring or what--love to hear from you

 

[Telly]

Welcome! I'm new here too.

I was kicked by the "invisible boot of Adam Smith" (I still remember a little bit of Econ from years ago, but maybe not correctly so whether to do it or not was immaterial. But it would not have been possible if not for my prior lifestyle and mindset.


Some people can never retire. Either due to lifestyle economics, or no real life outside of work. I have worked with a few people like that, without their job to go to, their reason for being would cease. They really don't know what they "would do with themselves". And/or a Wife that doesn't want them at home.
Was never a problem for me!

 

[RYD]

I just signed on this site. Not retired but looking towards it in the next few years. I enjoy the various input from those alreay retired. 52 and I stil enjoy working.

I look forward to great future exchanges

RYD

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Welcome aboard RYD! This site is my favorite spot to
visit when I am cruising cyberspace. By the way,
although I still got satisfaction from my work when I retired, it was stressful (Type A personality) and I
had a huge list of "adventures" I feared I might never get to if I kept on working. Now, 10 years after semi-
retiring and 5 years after hanging it up for good, I can
see I will never live long enough to get to everything on my list. So far I haven't been bored a minute. I know
everyone is not this lucky.

BTW, I reread Paul Terhorst's classic today for about the 5th time. Have enjoyed it every time, and always
find something I forgot which I need to keep in mind
as we continue down the ER highway.

 

[4jems]

Hi Y'all
A bit new to this type of forum. Fifty Six and about to make the big jump. A bit scared that I will outlive my cash (especialy in this market) and that I will go bored.

I hear all kinds of numbers fro m 35 to 90% of retirement salary. Need to find a reasonable spreadsheet or something that allows estimating needs - anyone know of anything that's free ?

Lot's of hobbies but not sure if they will all keep me busy.

 

[omni500]

4jems,

Welcome.

There are many useful downloadable spreadsheets at this site (created by an engineer who retired at 38!):

http://www.retireearlyhomepage.com/

HTH,

omni

 

[dory36]

Welcome 4jems!

Without any spreadsheet, you can make some back-of-envelope calculations about your needs. I suggest this can be much more accurate than a planning tool or a percentage suggestion from anyone who doesn't know the intimate details of your finances.

For a start, your health insurance costs may have changed. Add/subtract that from your preretirement gross income.

Next, subtract that percentage of gross currently going to 401k, Social Security, and after-tax savings and investments. You'll be withdrawing, not contributing, so this goes to zero.

Subtract the percentage of gross currently going to work-related expenses such as commuting, business attire and laundry, and so forth. Maybe costs of a no-longer-needed second car. (Be sure to tell your car insurance people that you no longer commute -- that often saves insurance $$!)

Subtract the income taxes you were paying on your gross income. You'll likely take out the maximum from your IRA (taxable upon withdrawal) to exhaust your standard deductions -- something like $15,000 or so -- and probably take much of the rest from after-tax savings and investments, so you'll only pay tax on the interest and growth, not the principal. So your tax will be probably in the neighborhood of 10% of your spending, or perhaps 2-4% of your preretirement gross income, rather than 20-30%. Add the estimated tax back to your income requirement.

The only thing else is probably based on changes you make. Did/will you pay off the mortgage? Get rid of the 2nd car? Those common changes at retirement time will also reduce your income requirements.

Finally, allow yourself something for spending more time at those hobbies, and maybe some new ones.

Hope this helps!

Dory36

 

[mark]

Analyzed Over and Over and Still Nervous !

Dory36,

Thx for the information. 4JEMS is a new 260 Sea Ray Sundancer. No mortgage but we finally did the boat we have always wanted.

Have gone through all the simple analysis and even hired a Morgan Stanley Dean Witter retirement counselor (what a waste of time and $$) to help me understand the ins and outs of retirement planning.

Spent about a week going through the last several years spending patterns to try to develop a spreadsheet that was representative of what I thought we would spend in retirement. Everythoing looks good but I just can't help feeling nervous about things like inflation, market down turns etc. I have tried to bucket assets to protect our retirement from these types of fluctuations so we can 'ride them out' but I just can't help being nervous. Once I make the final decision I do not want to have to put the tie back on again !!

4JEMS

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Hello Mark! Congrats on the boat. We don't have our
big boat yet but it is doable, so......................

I went through most of what you posted in my life, i..e.
talked to investment counselors/etc., (a total waste
just like your experience). I never wanted to "go back"
either and so I remain diversified, but totally out of common stocks. When I semiretired in 1993 I had an
eight year old at home, a big spender spouse, a net
worth which was laughable and some debts. Ten years later,
all the kids are on their own, my new wife is quite
frugal, my net worth has more than doubled and I have
no debt other than what I sometimes borrow for
arbitrage situations. It wasn't all skill. I had some luck
too. I am living on less than 25% of my most recent
income when I last worked full time (1996). I haven't ever been bored. I have never felt deprived. Most importantly, as time passes I know ER was 100% right
and that I will never go back to work. In other words,
my security level increases steadily as I age. I am a
habitual financial number cruncher, but it comes so
naturally that I am hardly aware I'm doing it. Bottom line? Come on in. The water's fine.

 

[GaryR]

Ooops,Gary Campbell here again I should have looked over the entire forum before I posted a new topic,I should have introduced myself here.All my info is on my first post,If anyone would like to contact me,I may be reached at siwashed@shaw.ca
To Happiness
Gary R Campbell
BC Canada

 

[vellis]

I am the nurse that wrote in January that I was thinking of retiring but liked the patients and other staff so much I was having second thoughts. Well, I am now starting to work 3 days a week thru the summer and have set a firm date in late September to retire. I have also started a list of all the things I hope to explore, accomplish, or get involved in once I'm retired. Now I can't wait! I think it is all a process that takes time. A major life change but it is certainly looking positive to me at the moment. I have follwed the postings here and they have helped me to clarify my thinking. Thanks to all that contribute.
V. Ellis