One year into retirement!

[Jim Richards]

Lining up a project is OK, just chill about the schedule. Mañana.

[VincentVega]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

One of my brothers passed away about a year before he was planning on retiring. He was thrifty and didn’t do that much during his working years. You never know...

I hear you buddy, my mom died just after she retired. She busted hump for years and then...

Its funny how we all have a different perspective, nothing is really right or wrong. The last thing I want to do is not have an option, I work hard to always have choices. Might not be great choices, but I'll have them. Skipping stuff I want or want to do for the 'long term planning' is cool but I'm just about over it. One thing, I have to stop putting off fun stuff, gotta live man.

Also a good point about $$$, its surely not the answer. I laugh at housing/cost of living around here compared to so many other places. Both up and down. ~1.5 mil sounds like a lot, it is!, but its all relative. The simple little place in ME sounds better and better!

[Jim Richards]

Tell me about it in FEBRUARY!

[fintstone]

Yep...even the VA/NC winters are damp and cold enough to make every joint hurt now that I am older. Going to have to go father south or west to winter once retired.

[Jim Richards]

V^2, ever think about this for retirement...live aboard a sailboat in a temperate-weather harbor? That one big cat (Catana 52?) we looked at at the boat show might be the hot ticket.

[Crowbob]

Originally Posted by tdw28210

Not to be disagreeable, but total comp in the public sector has outpaced the private sector for sometime now. From a 2012 Princeton study:

...the Griswold Center for Economic Policy Studies at Princeton University published a working paper on the same topic. It was formally published a year later in the journal Public Administration Research. This study found that “taking differences in employee characteristics into account,” federal workers earn 34.2 percent more than private-sector workers.

And those government pensions aren't going anywhere. Politicians will take taxes to the max before even suggesting any kind of benefit reduction. Look at City of Chicago. They have a $50 billion unfunded pension liability and all they can come up with is raising taxes and putting the screws to the gullible country folk downstate. As for the tribes, that's a false comparison. They weren't government employees - they were effectively wards of the state (until gambling revenue came along for some of them).

Those government pensions ain't built on sand, they're covered in gold courtesy of the taxpayer. Don't believe me? Then go suggest to all the participants they should be forced to convert their pensions into 401k's. Just take the bus that day or risk having car keyed into a pile of dust.

I'm gonna assume this is in jest. And old Seahawk there has gone soft on us just like our beloved sammy.

Numbers don't lie. A trillion is a trillion. The only reason this economy survives is because we all still agree to carry on like normal. Make every day count because every one of them is numbered.

[SeanPizzle]

A useful retirement calculator I have found while exploring an early retirement is firecalc

https://www.firecalc.com/

It looks at historical stock market returns for 30 year periods and analyses the 119(ish) possible outcomes and assigns an investment certainty percentage. I plan on pulling the plug at 55 or 56. If we keep our income down to about 63K, we will be eligible for ACA subsidies for healthcare. Still, I'm planning worst case scenario of $2k a month for health insurance. Our goal is to be able to spend around 8K a month (house paid for, cars paid for) on various insurances, taxes, utilities, food and some travel.

A good forum for early retirement discussions is here:

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f21/

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

V^2, ever think about this for retirement...live aboard a sailboat in a temperate-weather harbor? That one big cat (Catana 52?) we looked at at the boat show might be the hot ticket.

My plan. Plus Colorado when it's warm.

[Bugsinrugs]

Originally Posted by latunabernie

We sold our house in L,A,
Oct. 22 marked our first anniversary living in Mariposa.
Today we went to Yosemite Had lunch at the Ahwannee Inn.
Porsche is running great.
Going to take the Tioga Pass & Sonora Pass before the roads close.
I love being retired.

How is the traffic in the valley these days? I’d love to take a cruise down 395 to the entrance to the park and cruise the valley. The fall colors this year are as beautiful as I’ve seen.

[latunabernie]

Traffic is very light.
I would expect more on the weekends.
Parking is the biggest issue.
The roads are in great shape.
Hurry before the Passes close.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by tdw28210

Those government pensions ain't built on sand, they're covered in gold courtesy of the taxpayer. Don't believe me? Then go suggest to all the participants they should be forced to convert their pensions into 401k's. Just take the bus that day or risk having car keyed into a pile of dust.

I get it. My wife is a GS15 that has had temp SES jobs...believe me I understand the power of TSP and a % of your salary after what will be 40 years of service when she retires.

And again, I am a retired O-6 at 26 years of service. I understand federal government retirements inside and out.

I just refuse to believe they are inviolate simply because they are too good a deal, especially when you factor in the life-time health care stuff.

Concerning this thread, I apologize for the detraction. The various perspectives on retirement are as interesting as they are varied. Great stuff.

I plan on retiring from business at 70 (seven years) because I really like what I do. That and my wife, who is nine years my junior, will be retiring at 61 and 40 years of government service.

We'll volunteer doing something or work a small business on the farm.

No one knows what the future holds so I embrace each day knowing that I am doing exactly what I want to be doing. There have been detours and distractions, roads that should not have been taken, but the power of moving ever forward is key.

Best to all.

[sammyg2]

Elvis could do or have anything he wanted.
The hunt is often more rewarding than the catch.
But not always.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by cstreit

My plan. Plus Colorado when it's warm.

My plan is to share my time between our small house at the cheap end of the Alps and a yet to be bought small house in the UK countryside.

I'll try to spend any spare cash on lots of travelling and working on my too long list of projects

A few years off but with a lifetime practicing living below our means we should be ok

Don't plan to just stop work in one go but gradually stop over a few years as I become more choosy with the work I chose to take on

[flatbutt]

I was retired by poor health 5 years ago. I saved, saved, saved every dollar I could, had all of the toys I wanted, the house was paid for and I was absolutely certain that I could cover my basics, BASICS, with $25K a year.

I'm back in under graduate school, matriculated for a second baccalaureate in music and enjoying it immensely because I don't need the degree. I garden in the summer, get in at least one MC trip, star gaze on winter nights, go to concerts and spend time with my grandchildren. My health is stable but I can't do any marathons, nor do I wish to.

I don't just stop to smell the roses, I grow my own, metaphorically and literally.

You see I'm not afraid of dying, I'm more afraid of not living.

[Hawkeye's-911T]

Hey FLat..


All the very best to you & yours

Cheers
JB

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye's-911T

Hey FLat..


All the very best to you & yours

Cheers
JB

Luv that poster!!

[mrbeverlyhills]

I have very little to offer over what has already been (wisely) offered already. I am just so pleased to see so many characters here, usually at each other's throats in PARF, helpfully and positively interacting with their nemesis. Nemesii?

For me (62 this summer) it is boredom and the urge to remain relevant. We have low debt service and income from rentals, not trusting the Feds for anything, not needing them if we stay fairly frugal: coach or strapped to the wing, small out of the way hotels or inns. But looking ahead, I don't want to be that guy being wheeled to the plane in a chair, so is there any relevance at an advanced age?

[Jim Richards]

When you’re young, you have piano recital. When you’re old, it’s organ recital. Sh t starts going haywire as you age. This, that, or the other starts hurting. Do active stuff before you’re 70, moderately active stuff before you’re 80, chase 30something babes before you’re 90. Let your kids take care of you afterwards. YMMV.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by mrbeverlyhills

I have very little to offer over what has already been (wisely) offered already. I am just so pleased to see so many characters here, usually at each other's throats in PARF, helpfully and positively interacting with their nemesis. Nemesii?

For me (62 this summer) it is boredom and the urge to remain relevant. We have low debt service and income from rentals, not trusting the Feds for anything, not needing them if we stay fairly frugal: coach or strapped to the wing, small out of the way hotels or inns. But looking ahead, I don't want to be that guy being wheeled to the plane in a chair, so is there any relevance at an advanced age?

Defining relevance is personal. I am an important figure in the lives of my family (children and grandchildren) other than that I am happy to live on the sidelines of life. I used to be an active player, then I became a coach, now as an occasional advisor my energy lasts a lot longer. Oh and my ego is intact.

[billybek]

I am on the freedom 66 plan! Hope I make it that far.
The pension plan at work is far from gold plated but it is decent. I do make less than I would have in industry to obtain a pensioned position. Many people wouldn't realize that half of the contributions to that pension fund come from my before tax income.
Not gold plated and not a gift.
Perhaps some government positions have a more lucrative pension, but not where I work.

Good on you guys that were able to make the retirement thing happen early and are still able to enjoy it.
Cheers!