I think retirement is a pipe dream... (3 Viewers)

[HoustonSaint68]

My uncle retired before 60, but he also worked his early life away.

Kinda my story, but at least I liked (not loved) my job, got to see a good bit of the world on the company's dime, and had a great wife holding down the fort at home.

Also, living well below our means helped a lot to get there early - although it didn't really feel like we were, having both grown up very lower middle class in the Parish and 9th Ward, respectively.

Too many people don't have choices but we were fortunate with income/health and we consistently made the right ones when it came to (saving and not spending) money.

 

[jrdbrn]

Kinda my story, but at least I liked (not loved) my job, got to see a good bit of the world on the company's dime, and had a great wife holding down the fort at home.

Also, living well below our means helped a lot to get there early - although it didn't really feel like we were, having both grown up very lower middle class in the Parish and 9th Ward, respectively.

Too many people don't have choices but we were fortunate with income/health and we consistently made the right ones when it came to (saving and not spending) money.

Do you have children? Are there regrets working away?

 

[Rickboy]

If I count the net value of my house, I'm basically a millionaire at this point. But if the Denver housing market totally collapses, then I'm worth a lot less.

I'm not really targeting retirement. To me, you retire to die. I don't intend to stick in this job for the next 30 years but I'll probably start a hobby business when before I'm 75. Until them I'm putting away cash where I can and keeping my 401k funded. I suppose I'll get the max Social Security payout, if it still exists, when I'm 70. I'm planning to sell this house in a few years and take the profits to build a nice tiny home on a mountain.

I'm really more concerned about my son's future. He's got a lot of mental issues. There is no way I can fund a trust to take care of him. Heck, I'm worried he'll have to be institutionalized as an adult.

 

[HoustonSaint68]

Do you have children? Are there regrets working away?

That's the $64,000 question. Some "sorta" regrets - but they're mostly the kind of decisions which I would have made over and over again only knowing what I knew at the time.

I didn't travel outside of LA/Miss until I was out of high school, and not out of the country until I had my "career" job at 27. So traveling overseas regularly was life-changing for me and I passed that wonder and desire to travel onto both of my sons. They've both traveled and lived extensively overseas and they both have credited to me their desire and lack of fear to do so. So there is that. Plus, making enough money to retire early when my first grandson was born and then be Grampa Daycare (and home school teacher during covid) for both of my grandsons -- well, that's really priceless.

But, there's no denying I missed a lot of stuff while I was on the road. And I think that's the main thing. Assuming you've got the right partner, you can manage the "quality if not quantity" thing with the kids. But, YOU miss stuff -- and, of course, quality WITH quantity is always better when it comes to kids.

 

[HoustonSaint68]

To me, you retire to die.

Yeah, it's all very personal.

I liked my job, excelled at it, and worked incredibly hard at it. As a result, many of my colleagues swore I'd be back doing contract work within a year.

I'm 7 years into retirement and haven't missed it for a second...quite literally.

 

[SystemShock]

To me, you retire to die.

I retired to play. I highly recommend it

 

[HoustonSaint68]

I retired to play. I highly recommend it

But I do know some people who can't do that, for whatever reason.

The first half of my career, I was just reaching, reaching, reaching for the next rung of the corporate ladder. Then, a miracle disguised as a wicked curveball flew across the plate: my company got taken over and it gave me an opportunity to stop and think hard about why I was striving so hard for position and recognition. I realized a good bit of it was tied up in self-esteem and daddy issues, so I left for a different company and recalibrated. I still worked my arse off, but this time passing up promotion after promotion and instead focusing on working rewarding projects...and ones that generated bigger bonuses for me to retire early.

My original peers zoomed passed me in titles and, presumably given my early retirement, zeroes in the investment accounts -- and that's ok by me. Occasionally, the competitive little voice in my head starts whispering about how far up the ladder I could have gone. Then I grin, thinking about all the silly, goofy-arse sheet I've done with my grandsons over the past seven years, and I put that voice back in the closet where I keep all my other little childhood insecurities.

 

[SystemShock]

But I do know some people who can't do that, for whatever reason.

The first half of my career, I was just reaching, reaching, reaching for the next rung of the corporate ladder. Then, a miracle disguised as a wicked curveball flew across the plate: my company got taken over and it gave me an opportunity to stop and think hard about why I was striving so hard for position and recognition. I realized a good bit of it was tied up in self-esteem and daddy issues, so I left for a different company and recalibrated. I still worked my arse off, but this time passing up promotion after promotion and instead focusing on working rewarding projects...and ones that generated bigger bonuses for me to retire early.

My original peers zoomed passed me in titles and, presumably given my early retirement, zeroes in the investment accounts -- and that's ok by me. Occasionally, the competitive little voice in my head starts whispering about how far up the ladder I could have gone. Then I grin, thinking about all the silly, goofy-arse sheet I've done with my grandsons over the past seven years, and I put that voice back in the closet where I keep all my other little childhood insecurities.

My last day at the grind was Dec. 17 2021. I have had to deal with some issues the past few months, but so far, I feel no desire to work. Maybe in a couple of years, I don't know, but right now, not even close to wanting to do anything that even resembles work.

 

[HoustonSaint68]

My last day at the grind was Dec. 17 2021. I have had to deal with some issues the past few months, but so far, I feel no desire to work. Maybe in a couple of years, I don't know, but right now, not even close to wanting to do anything that even resembles work.

Oh, hey, congratulations!! Don't know your experience but I feel like I had a life's quota of work in me and all the long days pre-retirement just used that quota up early. Now, I'm happy just piddling around with nothing serious.

And certainly there is that "Period of Adjustment" -- my wife is no Jane Fonda (she's better) but we definitely had some hiccups. Going from spending 3 hours a day together to 16 was...challenging.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I retired to play. I highly recommend it

Yeah, no offense to Rickboy or the many, many others like him- but that mentality of ‘You retire to die’ is kinda sad to me…. I just feel like there’s so much to life besides work; i had my first job at 9 yrs old, working summers on my dad’s construction sites.. my first ’outside of the family’ job was working in a fast food place at 14 yrs old.. so that’s literally almost 40 years (off and on) of grinding away and.. im sorta tired .

 

[HoustonSaint68]

i had my first job at 9 yrs old, working summers on my dad’s construction sites.. my first ’outside of the family’ job was working in a fast food place at 14 yrs old.. so that’s literally almost 40 years (off and on) of grinding away and.. im sorta tired .

Haha, child labor laws don't apply to parents, do they?

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Haha, child labor laws don't apply to parents, do they?

No, they certainly do not, ha… i still joke around that i was a victim of ‘forced child labor’ back then.. and truth be told, i hated pretty much every day of working 7am-3pm while my friends were at summer camp.. BUT i was always the only one of my friends walking around at 11 or 12 yrs old with $50 in my Velcro wallet , which was a lot of money for a kid in the 80s.. .. and, more importantly - those summers taught me what i DIDNT want to do for the rest of my life- which was manual labor .

 

[melman]

It's amazing how much money you save by eating home cooked meals, driving your vehicle years after payoff, not needing a new cell every time the next one comes out. Been retired 7 years in Dec and adjusted very well to not doing dammit on most days. Dable in woodwork, have afternoon happy smoke, occasional Natty Light and Evan Williams. Livin the high life on cheap street...if I did not have excess baggage (wife) I would be in PI or Thailand. Great memories there...

 

[SteveSBrickNJ]

This is the only answer .


Unless you are independently wealthy, or expecting a very large family inheritance - i dont see how very many people can retire IN AMERICA and live very well at all .. There are plenty of countries where your money goes 5-10 times further than in the U.S. (esp now with the incredibly strong US dollar).. and there are hundreds of thousands of US citizens living very comfortably in these countries on just a monthly SS check…. i realize this isn’t an option for everyone- but as for me, im late 40s and just dont think i have another 15 or 20 yrs of work mentality left in me .. so ill be looking to escape to one of these LCOL countries in relatively short order .


And for those who are afraid they might get bored in retirement , or are scared of becoming idle- i have always heard that there are two types of retirees- 1) Those who can’t stand not feeling ‘useful’ and wind up returning to the workforce, or starting another business and 2) the type of retiree who says ‘Im so busy in retirement, i don’t know how i ever found time to hold down a full-time job’.. i know beyond the shadow of any doubt that i will be the second type.. i already have lots going on , and have trouble squeezing work in between the stuff I want to do lol .

These things you have going on ....are they doable in Belize or Panama? Low Cost of Living Countries might increase your chance of boredom?

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

These things you have going on ....are they doable in Belize or Panama? Low Cost of Living Countries might increase your chance of boredom?

Interesting that you of all people would ask.. becuase one thing ive been looking for in a possible retirement location is an active tennis community .. I know ur a tennis fan too, and yes i think Belize and Panama have good tennis.. but there are some beautiful places to play in Asia, and your $$ goes a lot further there than in Belize or Costa Rica.. but one of the reasons ive sorta scratched the Philippines off my list is b/c it seems there arent many decent places too play; if you google, it seems that outside of the high dollar areas of Manila, most of the tennis courts in the Philippines look like dirt parking lots .. it’s depressing .