Know anyone that had to 'un-retire'?

[MRG]

Four people I know. One was an '08 casualty. Another guy came back when he realized that golfing with folks 20 years older wasn't fulfilling. Another guy just went back to Megacorp after 2 years, said he's bored(I think his wife had something to do with that). Another gal just started her real Estate career after 10 years of retirement.

 

[Koogie]

Yes. Also many people follow their real passion.

I've never had one of those. I can't decide if I envy those who do or if I pity their single mindedness.

I've always been more of a polymath. Minus the prerequisite knowledge portion.

 

[kcowan]

I've never had one of those. I can't decide if I envy those who do or if I pity their single mindedness.

Well one things you can do is pity them for all the years of w*rk that kept them from their passions.

 

[kcowan]

He said after retiring he was tired of hanging around the house / cabin and pulling weeds. He completed all his hobbies (whatever that means), and was just bored. As his occupation required him to travel globally, he said the last thing he wanted was to climb on another airplane.

I think it really underscores the principle that one who is independently wealthy can do whatever they want after w*rk, including doing more w*rk.

 

[Mdlerth]

I know a guy who did it twice. First time he "retired" and was going to make easy money flipping houses to pay for it. Of course that flopped and he came back to work. then a couple years later, he "retired" again, this time planning to day trade his way to easy street. That lasted less than 6 months. He's still working. I wonder what kinds of debts he has to pay off for these two disastrous attempts.

I knew almost the same guy at my sweatshop. He didn't exactly flip houses, he was going to build them as speculations and sell them for a profit. 2008 cured him of that. A couple years later he "retired" to become a day trader. How'd that w*rk out? Not too good. He is back at the sweatshop.

I would regard both day trading and building spec houses as the high side of the risk scale. Way outside my comfort zone.

But that guy is a chemical engineer, an occupation requiring a fair bit of brain. I find it curious that a person that smart would be seduced twice into ventures offering a low probability of success. I can well understand his motive to escape the sweatshop. I look forward to doing it myself. But it won't take many such failures to virtually guarantee never escaping, which is too high a stake for me.

 

[Walt34]

II find it curious that a person that smart would be seduced twice into ventures offering a low probability of success.

I am constantly puzzled by that as well, seeing it often in other people who are clearly at least reasonably bright, if not downright smart.

After reading books like "Predictably Irrational", "Your Money & Your Brain" and "Thinking, Fast and Slow" it became clearer in the academic sense but I'll never really understand it.

 

[MRG]

I've seen it. At least in the folks I've known call it lack of common sense.

 

[splitwdw]

A guy in our repair department retired at 51 and was bragging to everyone that he had $200,000. saved. He and I did talk and he really did think that was plenty. Most of the guys in that department were jealous that he had "that much saved". When he came back 3 years later he told me that he really thought that he had saved enough. He said he hadn't counted on health insurance, home repairs or car replacement, among other things. When I listen to people at work talk finances it doesn't sound like they have much if anything saved...but they do buy lunch every day.

 

[RobbieB]

Hehe, yeah, off by an order of magnitude.

2 mill could have worked, 200K, not so much.

 

[splitwdw]

RobbieB, There seem to be a lot of people like him, at least listening to people at work. I'm in my 40's and am amazed when I hear people say they don't have money for something like car repair. I can imagine the looks I would get if they knew we had saved over 1.5m. I would bet they would think that it was plenty and should quit work.

 

[RobbieB]

If you want to retire young you need a lotta dough or a "frugal" lifestyle.

Or at least some combination that works. I don't think he even ran one free online calculator. I can't think of any that would determine that 200K was OK at 51.

Amazing.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

I am constantly puzzled by that as well, seeing it often in other people who are clearly at least reasonably bright, if not downright smart.

After reading books like "Predictably Irrational", "Your Money & Your Brain" and "Thinking, Fast and Slow" it became clearer in the academic sense but I'll never really understand it.

Well, I know a lot of people who can talk really well and think they are so smart. To be honest, I would not put those same people in charge of my piggy bank account. Why is that? Well, they are simply not near as smart as they think they are. I suspect we give others too much credit for intelligence which they don't have. We tend to think because one is good at advanced math or they have the gift of gab it should carry over in other areas of life. It just isn't so.

 

[niven]

I find it curious that a person that smart would be seduced twice into ventures offering a low probability of success.

I've always seen being smart and having common sense as two different qualities. Some have both, some only one, and some neither.

 

[GravitySucks]

I worked with a few that I consider failed ER.

One coworker took his pension lump sum and free health insurance at around 55. He invested everything in megacorp stock (to be fair it was for a hundred years one of the buy and never sell widows and orphan stocks before deregulation.) The stock dropped 60% and he panicked and sold. Probably could have skated by on the dividends till it regrouped. Off to work at Home Depot last I heard. Hope things work out for him.

Another gent was always smarter and better than the rest of us and he saved up about a half million and took his pension cash value and went day trading. I know he was looking for work about six months later, but don't know what fate befell him.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Went back part time , not for the money. Trying to wean myself off work for good. I will get it right eventually.

 

[Walt34]

RobbieB, There seem to be a lot of people like him, at least listening to people at work. I'm in my 40's and am amazed when I hear people say they don't have money for something like car repair.

My older sister worked in an office (managing 401k plans) where many of the people had six-figure incomes. For some of them if their paychecks didn't arrive before noon they couldn't afford to buy lunch!

Just amazing.

 

[Big_Hitter]

My older sister worked in an office (managing 401k plans) where many of the people had six-figure incomes. For some of them if their paychecks didn't arrive before noon they couldn't afford to buy lunch!

Just amazing.

I get Jimmy Johns on my visa when I'm po

 

[Music Lover]

My older sister worked in an office (managing 401k plans) where many of the people had six-figure incomes. For some of them if their paychecks didn't arrive before noon they couldn't afford to buy lunch!

Just amazing.

A former co-worker used to borrow $20 from me a day or two before payday on a regular basis. I used to hear him on the phone with the credit card company every now and then trying to explain missed payments. He also liked to talk about all the things he'd do once he retired, but he didn't have enough years of service to get much more than 50% of his working wage....not sure how someone who can't live on $XX thinks they can magically live on half of that??

 

[Big_Hitter]

but he didn't have enough years of service to get much more than 50% of his working wage....

that's a stout pension in corporate Murica nowadays js

 

[splitwdw]

A former co-worker used to borrow $20 from me a day or two before payday on a regular basis. I used to hear him on the phone with the credit card company every now and then trying to explain missed payments. He also liked to talk about all the things he'd do once he retired, but he didn't have enough years of service to get much more than 50% of his working wage....not sure how someone who can't live on $XX thinks they can magically live on half of that??

There's a guy at work that's on the phone almost every month with credit card companies or utilities explaining why his payment is late. You can hear him all over the office. I'd be embarrassed if that was me. He always has money to buy lunch but no money to pay his bills. He says he needs a raise to make ends meet.
I'm curious why he calls the bank to check his balance. He does this a couple of times a week. He uses the same bank that I use and they have a mobile app.

 

[user5027]

There's a guy at work that's on the phone almost every month with credit card companies or utilities explaining why his payment is late. You can hear him all over the office. I'd be embarrassed if that was me. He always has money to buy lunch but no money to pay his bills. He says he needs a raise to make ends meet.
I'm curious why he calls the bank to check his balance. He does this a couple of times a week. He uses the same bank that I use and they have a mobile app.

Posturing for the "needed" raise.

 

[jon-nyc]

We had a member who retired from BofA and had his nest egg in the stock and lived off their dividends. Then 2008/9 happened. He went back to work.

He was a good guy and handled it with more grace than I could have mustered. I wish he still posted here.

 

[gayl]

I know of several people who discovered that they wanted more discretionary money after they retired, but didn't want to pinch pennies to get it.

I know several who return to work out of boredom -- I've been in that camp

 

[Music Lover]

I know several who return to work out of boredom -- I've been in that camp

I'd rather be bored at home than bored at work...not that I get bored at home.

 

[gayl]

I'd rather be bored at home than bored at work...not that I get bored at home.

still it's an adjustment to make. I'm working on it. Recently I go too far too many concerts and I'm involved with far too many music groups to have time to work. Guess I found a hobby in music?