Stratman
Dryer sheet aficionado
Hi, I’m Kelly. I just found you guys and I’m looking forward to learning from the people who have been there and done that. Also hope to make some positive input as I go.
I’ll be 62 in November. Kids are grown with homes and families of their own. We have six grandchildren, 3 locally and 3 more 8 hours away. The wife babysits the youngest who is four three days per week
I went to work in the nuclear industry when I was 19. I left in 2006 with a full pension at age 52 and worked full time in my own photography studio. We did very well in that until the recession caught up with us in 2009 and the income started dropping. We fought hard for four years trying to bring it back but it wasn’t to be (technology is killing that business.)
We were doing okay but I was down because our only source of income was the pension with a little photo business money coming in. The wife wanted to do some things and get some things that I just could not afford so I felt that I was not a good provider.
In 2013 I went to work for a bank. I enjoyed the work and it brought in enough income to fill the gaps but it wasn’t a lot. We were getting by and there was some left over for extras but I still didn’t feel like a good provider.
In mid-2014 the plant where I had worked was shut down and a contractor hired for decommissioning. I was called and asked to come on board as a manager to oversee stabilization which I accepted and am currently working. Earlier this year, one of our major projects lost its funding so right now there’s not a lot going on and frankly, I’m bored.
The wife really wants me to retire and I would love to, but I want to travel for 2-3 months at a time and she doesn’t want to leave the grandkids so I’m a little worried about what I would do, especially during the winter. She says she can keep me busy in the summer but I know that’s yard work and I don’t want my life centered on the house and yard.
Our retirement assets are in Roths, IRAs, 401k and some cash. Last month the retirement assets hit $1M. We have an emergency fund and savings in a local bank of about $110K. A couple of weeks ago we visited with our financial planner who had run a FERC calc and it came back at a 99% success rate.
One big reason for my hesitation is that now, between my salary, my pension and her Social Security, we are making more money than we have ever made in our lives and we are doing some really fun things with it. We are giving to charity like we never have before. We’re helping out our kids. We both like baseball and can buy the best seats in the stadium. We just got back from Napa Valley where we bought all kinds of wine. We’re taking a month long cruise to Australia and New Zealand in February.
At the same time we are positioning for retirement. We’re piling up cash for car purchases; need to replace a couch and our 20 year old refrigerator; replacing the windows in the house in the next few weeks; and in general, trying to take care of all the big ticket items before we pull the plug. Having money is fun, especially when I look back at those lean years between 2009 and 2013. I don’t want to go back to that.
My other issue is that although I am bored with my work today, our contract runs out in July 2017. There may be an extension that would run it out until October but that would be about it. A new 5-year contract is being bid and I’m thinking I may want to be involved in that work. At least to stick around to see what my part in it would be; but another part of me doesn’t know if I can continue to be bored in my job for another 10 to 13 months.
We had decided early this summer that I would retire next March. Even counted the days for the countdown; but my anxiety level went up until I told the wife that I was going to see this contract through. So right now we’re just floating but still laying the groundwork. Hopefully someone on this forum has lived this and can advise.
I’ll be 62 in November. Kids are grown with homes and families of their own. We have six grandchildren, 3 locally and 3 more 8 hours away. The wife babysits the youngest who is four three days per week
I went to work in the nuclear industry when I was 19. I left in 2006 with a full pension at age 52 and worked full time in my own photography studio. We did very well in that until the recession caught up with us in 2009 and the income started dropping. We fought hard for four years trying to bring it back but it wasn’t to be (technology is killing that business.)
We were doing okay but I was down because our only source of income was the pension with a little photo business money coming in. The wife wanted to do some things and get some things that I just could not afford so I felt that I was not a good provider.
In 2013 I went to work for a bank. I enjoyed the work and it brought in enough income to fill the gaps but it wasn’t a lot. We were getting by and there was some left over for extras but I still didn’t feel like a good provider.
In mid-2014 the plant where I had worked was shut down and a contractor hired for decommissioning. I was called and asked to come on board as a manager to oversee stabilization which I accepted and am currently working. Earlier this year, one of our major projects lost its funding so right now there’s not a lot going on and frankly, I’m bored.
The wife really wants me to retire and I would love to, but I want to travel for 2-3 months at a time and she doesn’t want to leave the grandkids so I’m a little worried about what I would do, especially during the winter. She says she can keep me busy in the summer but I know that’s yard work and I don’t want my life centered on the house and yard.
Our retirement assets are in Roths, IRAs, 401k and some cash. Last month the retirement assets hit $1M. We have an emergency fund and savings in a local bank of about $110K. A couple of weeks ago we visited with our financial planner who had run a FERC calc and it came back at a 99% success rate.
One big reason for my hesitation is that now, between my salary, my pension and her Social Security, we are making more money than we have ever made in our lives and we are doing some really fun things with it. We are giving to charity like we never have before. We’re helping out our kids. We both like baseball and can buy the best seats in the stadium. We just got back from Napa Valley where we bought all kinds of wine. We’re taking a month long cruise to Australia and New Zealand in February.
At the same time we are positioning for retirement. We’re piling up cash for car purchases; need to replace a couch and our 20 year old refrigerator; replacing the windows in the house in the next few weeks; and in general, trying to take care of all the big ticket items before we pull the plug. Having money is fun, especially when I look back at those lean years between 2009 and 2013. I don’t want to go back to that.
My other issue is that although I am bored with my work today, our contract runs out in July 2017. There may be an extension that would run it out until October but that would be about it. A new 5-year contract is being bid and I’m thinking I may want to be involved in that work. At least to stick around to see what my part in it would be; but another part of me doesn’t know if I can continue to be bored in my job for another 10 to 13 months.
We had decided early this summer that I would retire next March. Even counted the days for the countdown; but my anxiety level went up until I told the wife that I was going to see this contract through. So right now we’re just floating but still laying the groundwork. Hopefully someone on this forum has lived this and can advise.