Who Is Your Role Model for Retirement?

[RobbieB]

Aw, shucks...

But thank you very much!

 

[NW-Bound]

Just wondering about your Role Models for retirement.

I am surprised nobody has mentioned Wally. He has the knack that allows him to retire while still getting a paycheck.

... In other words, who is the person(s) you are currently using as a positive (or negative role) model as you make day-to-day retirement decisions?

Yes, you should ask yourself what Wally would do in a situation.

 

[rk911]

Just wondering about your Role Models for retirement. In other words, who is the person(s) you are currently using as a positive (or negative role) model as you make day-to-day retirement decisions? Many thanks to those of you who are willing to share this personal info...

role model? nope. but maybe inspiration. my grandfather retired at age 60 in 1959 and he and my grandmother did well. i spent my summers with them from about age 9 to 17 at their place on a lake in SE Missouri.

but i realize now what planted the seed in the back of my mind was my father's death in 1969 when he was 48 and i was 18. he worked his rear off for his family and received an early death for his trouble. and most of my paternal uncles passed before they turned 60. i figured if I had my dad's genes i should plan on retirimg early.

but that seed in my head didn't germinate until the mid 80's when we were on an RV trip to Florida. we were newbies in the RV world and at a nice campground in the FL panhandle. spacious, clean and with 3-mi of private beach. we were in lust with the place. they pitched us an offer...3-mos of rent on a full hook-up site discounted to $200 per month. we sat down and figured between rent and other expenses how much we would have to take in to live "the good life" and then realized...or naievly belived anyway...that that all we would need would be two, 40-hr minimum wage jobs. seemed too good to be true. we wisely did not pull that trigger but it did get us seriously thinking about ER. 20-yrs later we pulled it off.

 

[2017ish]

Good example--inlaws, who comfortably retired at 59 due to his AirForce pension and portfolio holdings. They traveled fairly extensively (well, at least as much as they wanted to!) through about age 80 or so.

Cautionary example, my folks. Dad got his lung CA diagnosis while still working as a bricklayer at age 69 and died within a year. He never wanted to quit working....

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Users on this forum.

 

[Midpack]

Influences:
My parents.
John Bogle, William Bernstein, YMOYL, MND.
Members of this forum and Bogleheads.

And it certainly helped that DW was as naturally frugal and organized (financially and otherwise) as I am.

Role Model(s):
None? I still don't personally know anyone who retired anywhere near as young as I did. Though I made FI a primary goal in my 30's, I never let on what our plans were to anyone, except DW. My friends, family and co-workers were shocked when I announced my retirement at age 57 from a very well paying job.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

My father worked until his early 80s and I had always wanted to keep working like him, which is to not retire. I would have continued working until 62 and even later than that. However, my older husband wanted us to retire together, so I retired at 53, leaving money on the table.

But you "retired happy," no?

 

[friar1610]

John Greaney was my early "FIRE" inspiration. I also need to say the Terhorst's as an inspiration. I bought their book used (for a little more than the original cover price) in my early 20's and still have it... at one point they got pretty expensive. (ETA, Amazon has used for $95... I'm still keeping mine. Not sure I've read it in two decades so maybe I'll read it next!)

This^^^. Emphasis on inspiration vs “role model”. I had a good head start on ER as I had a Navy retiree’s pension but I was a bit short on the FI part. I recall searching for “Early Retirement” shortly after starting my first post-Navy job. That lead me to Greaney’s “Retire Early Home Page” and from there I was hooked on figuring out how to retire for good ASAP. I was too old then to follow in the TerHorsts’ footsteps but certainly got vicarious pleasure reading their story.

 

[aja8888]

Nobody specific comes to mind. My Dad died at 62 from too much Vodka. He did have a good work ethic though.

Yogi Berra was my role model in sports, but I was not a good left handed hitter. Then I turned to pitching. I needed counseling after that.

 

[friar1610]

Nobody specific comes to mind. My Dad died at 62 from too much Vodka. He did have a good work ethic though.

Yogi Berra was my role model in sports, but I was not a good left handed hitter. Then I turned to pitching. I needed counseling after that.

Yogi was my role model as a philosopher!

 

[2HOTinPHX]

Bob Brinker. Learned about low cost MF's (index and otherwise), AA, etc., from him on WLS radio, Chicago. His show was from 3 PM to 6 PM on Sat and Sun. That meant that sometimes I'd be listening on a little transistor radio and ear phone while working at my bench in the factory doing some overtime!

Loved listening to Money Talk with Bob Bringer.....that's who we learned about index funds from.

 

[Scuba]

DH and I were friends with a couple about 15 years older than we are. They were our main retirement role models, although we knew several others who gave us great advice too. They counseled us to keep working to max out some one-time compensation opportunities, to invest smartly, and their lifestyle of 2-3 international vacations per year was inspiring. They lived very comfortably but not extravagantly.

Sadly, the male part of the couple passed away at age 72 from esophageal cancer. 10 weeks from diagnosis to death. His wife was devastated, but after several years has just recently remarried.

 

[Andre1969]

I've picked up some knowledge from a lot of adults in my life. Often, what TO do, but sometimes, what NOT to do!

I'd say that the two biggest influences were my two Granddad's. My maternal Granddad saw that I was good with handling money, and saving money, and told me that I was smart enough that I should look into something that paid better. He didn't understand stocks, mutual funds, etc, but he had a feeling that I would be able to figure them out.

My paternal Granddad used to get these money magazines, like Kiplinger's or something like that, and he suggested that I look through them. He was also the type that didn't really understand individual stocks and mutual funds, even though he got those magazines.

Both of my Granddads also retired fairly early. My maternal Granddad, at 55. He took early retirement from the Federal government, so he could take care of Grandmom's favorite aunt. She died within a year, but Granddad never felt the need to go back to work. He kept busy by turning a good chunk of the back yard into a garden...farming was in his blood. He also did "shade-tree" mechanic work, at least until the cars started getting more complicated and harder to work on in the late 70's (downsized cars with cramped engine bays, increased emission/electronic controls, etc)

My paternal Granddad retired at 60, after 35 years with the Pennsylvania Railroad. Grandmom retired the same year. They had a cottage near the Chesapeake Bay, about 45 minutes away, that kept them busy. And six grandkids. However, I also remember them spending a lot of time watching soap operas in the afternoon.

 

[racy]

Yogi was my role model as a philosopher!

And, a financial guru: “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore”...Yogi Berra
https://tinyurl.com/yfdspnyy

 

[FANOFJESUS]

My father retired at 46 after a disability. I thought why can't I do the same. He told me is would be impossible. I saved like crazy and with his inheritance it was possible. He was right it was a lot harder with no disability check. But I got it done at 38. He in contrast had about 25k in the bank and the disability check each month. It required a lot more dough for my plan. I am so thankful that he opened my eyes to what I could do in life.

 

[mpeirce]

Not exactly a role model, but I worked with a guy who actually retired. Sounds a little odd, but not a lot of the people I worked with retired or were anywhere near retirement.

I had heard he had retired and it got me thinking about it as well.

On a whim, I did a search on him. That brought me here. Sadly, he’s gone now. But he was an inspiration for me.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I have an uncle who retired at 49. My dad retired at 62 after 40 years in big oil. He made much more in retirement than he did working. The value of investing.

 

[travelover]

No role model, but I was born lazy, so it was easy to quit working. I always thought it was a bad idea, starting with my paper route at 14.

 

[Escapevelocity]

No role model, but I was born lazy, so it was easy to quit working. I always thought it was a bad idea, starting with my paper route at 14.

Your honesty is refreshing. I am the same way. I've always leaned to the lazy end of the spectrum from when I was a kid in high school. I had a hell of a time motivating myself to do homework.

 

[ExPatKiwi]

There’s no bigger role model than seeing the life expectancy of current and retired staff at my company having an average age at death of 65!

 

[athena53]

Two. One was a guy I never met. I was at a meeting of my professional society and 2 coworkers were discussing a guy who'd worked at their previous company. Management told him he was being promoted. He said he didn't want the promotion. They told him he had no choice. He said, "Oh, yes, I do" and ER'd. I just found him on LinkedIn. Living in Vero Beach and says he retired in 1993 at age 44.

The other was Dad. He was managing a steel plant and was "demoted" (who knew there was such a thing?) in 1985 when he would have been about 55. He'd been saving and investing for years and decided to quit and try his hand at becoming a stockbroker. That didn't work out (he became very disillusioned at pressure to sell inappropriate products to people and the grind of cold-calling) but he and Mom bought a little house in Myrtle Beach with cash and they lived happily ever after. Really. Mom died 5 years ago and Dad died last month after entering LTC in March, 2020. I didn't expect him to have much left. He left $1.5 million. Even split among the 5 of us, it's nothing to sneeze at.

Both examples taught me that it was important to have options as I got older and not rely on "work till you drop". And, sure enough, when my BS bucket was full at age 61, I got the heck outta there.

 

[mz44]

Bob Brinker. Learned about low cost MF's (index and otherwise), AA, etc., from him on WLS radio, Chicago. His show was from 3 PM to 6 PM on Sat and Sun. That meant that sometimes I'd be listening on a little transistor radio and ear phone while working at my bench in the factory doing some overtime!

The land of critical mass. Loved listening to Bob, and he inspired me as well.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We know two couples who retired early, so I'm sure that influenced us. One person in particular was always great at finding bargains and inexpensive entertainment, plus was involved in several clubs, all with fun activities, and good at making friends. They ticked off many of the boxes of what make people happy without having a fortune, including social connections, leisure time, and living in a scenic area.

Other than that probably book authors. The Millionaire Next Door, while not a retirement book, helped with the mindset to save and invest enough to retire early. Also Retire on Less Than You Think by Fred Brock and Retirement on a Budget by John Howells. Those books really helped me understand the mindset of living well with low overhead.

 

[slowsaver]

My grandparents' lifestyle inspired me. They took vacations (mostly cruises, which I like), went out to nice restaurants, and had a lot of church friends that they stayed active with. I think since they grew up in the depression, they were frugal, paid off their mortgage and saved & invested for retirement and it payed off well at the end of their lives. They lived to 87 and 92.

Their kids (my parents) were the exact opposite: very bad money managers, never saved -- always spent money on dumb things and never had enough money for things their kids actually needed. Never took vacations. Dad worked until the day he died, at 72. Mom is completely financially dependent on me.

I definitely take after my grandparents.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Just wondering about your Role Models for retirement. In other words, who is the person(s) you are currently using as a positive model as you make day-to-day retirement decisions?

Role Model you ask ?

It would have to be Hugh Hefner. He kept working well into his old age. Until he just couldn't keep it up anymore.