Retired guys, what did you really need?

[Fast Freddy 944]

Heading up to retirement ain't in my future, nope Ill work until I bloody drop dead. Some folk can snap their fingers and get gold, I aint that lucky, and will never be. For my headed to the grave years, money, food, shelter and maybe a hot broad or 2.

[930addict]

I’m 49 and my last day of work will be April 1st . Four more days of work! How much you need is more a factor of what makes you happy. I’m a pretty simple guy and it doesn’t take much to make me happy! I’m lucky my wife is a simple gal. For the most part we’ve always lived below our means. My retirement income is nowhere near 60-70% of my peak. Closer to 47%.

I still have two kids in high school and I also still have a mortgage on the house. I’ve been tracking my burn rate over the last year. Mortgage, food, insurance, entertainment - all of our normal expenses my retirement income will more than pay for. Aside from my retirement funds we’ve managed to save a sizeable amount of money for vacations, home improvement, college, weddings (2 daughters), new cars, and other unplanned expenses. We plan on taking Social Security at 62.

I’m not worried about paying the house off since that extra money in the bank wouldn’t change what we normally do. We live in a beautiful part of the country so no need to get away from it all. My house is surrounded by the Rockies – a view out every window – and I have lakes all around me. Skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, off roading – it’s all in my back yard.

I will probably take up a gig here and there just to keep busy. The place I’m retiring from is already talking about bringing me back as a consultant. I’d be working part time earning twice as much. It’s nice to have options and I feel very fortunate.

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by einreb

I have trouble wrapping my head around the nostalgia of not making as much in my younger years and seemingly being just fine with it at the time.

That’s the thing isn’t it? You grow into your income. With no mortgage and only one expensive hobby, I wonder if I’ll need less than I think. I don’t want to work a day longer than necessary.

Taking almost a year off work really helped trim some fat out of the budget but I need to have a look at it again, figure out the overhead and then try and estimate what that hobby will reasonably cost.

[stevej37]

Someone should start a poll....Retirees only.
"Do you wish you would have stayed working longer?"

I can almost guarantee the majority of the answers.

[daepp]

Subscibed

[cstreit]

We live pretty simply if you take away the 20 years of racing and a few spendy cars. Im certain I have a much more modest house and lifestyle than most of my colleagues. Wife and I like to have one thing that we spend on, but it’s not houses, jewelry and keeping up with the Jones’s. It’s immersing in an experience/adventure.

It used to be racing…. …no regrets but I’ve done everything I set out to do there. Sailing the coasts and the Caribbean has been a lifelong itch that I think I’d really like to scratch.

[TimT]

I'm 61 and basically retired end of last year having worked for the same company for 38 years.. and have basically done the same thing for 43 years...

I had enough....

I've been aggressively investing in a 401k for 35 years or so.. and my company is employee owned.. so I have 38 years of growth in an ESOP plan.

I can pay myself my "salary" for the few years until I can get social security/Medicare..

So that's what I am doing..

I didn't plan this... one day at work I just thought eff this... and told my boss that I was done.. The company I worked for has generously offered to maintain my medical benefits for a bit..


So my plan is 3 years or so drawing down a fraction of m 401k... Apparently it takes a few years to get the ESOP payout... when that happens... Ill dump that into annuities or ETFs...

This retirement is all new to me and quite sudden....so I'm learning what I need etc..

[nota]

Originally Posted by cstreit

I’m thinking about a 35-45 foot sailing cat. Owners edition as it would likely just be the wife and I with guests. Ideally just take the winter to sail from one coast to the next (FL to Caribbean , Panama, then north or south) or some coastal hopping. So an RV on the water.

Basically it would be my winter home. My guess is I could keep that up from age 60 until 70 if I chose. After that I would have to see where the will and the body wants to be.

One option would be to start this before I retire as I can work remote pretty much anywhere 3-6 weeks at a stretch. Sail on the weekend and htie up in a marina or a secure location for the week.

CV-19 really kicked the boat market HARD
NEW waiting lists are long years not months if the builder is any good

used they sold last week for top dollar
get there yesterday is now too late


mid sized cats are about the worst price inflation point
a good used non-plywood ocean cat is priced in large fractions of a million and way up

docking is an other BIG WIDE PROBLEM hard to find and very high costs for the few that there are

best place to find maybe in odd places so be prepared to travel and get there FIRST

GOOD LUCK

[nota]

BTW
I had a 31 ft wharram cat plywood +lots of epoxy that sailed up from south Africa
then got a F-28 racers alloy mast and sails think hot rod when I had it [bay toy not offshore]

https://www.wharram.com/

very low buck way to cross oceans

[cstreit]

YouTube makes finding dock space look so easy. Good news is solar and LiPo can take the place of AC without a huge effort

[nota]

Originally Posted by cstreit

YouTube makes finding dock space look so easy. Good news is solar and LiPo can take the place of AC without a huge effort

I guess if you have lots of supporters paying your way it is

at anchor the wind cools so a/c is only needed when very calm and hot
12v car rad fans work to move lots of air at far less draw then a/c
wind scoops work in lite winds as the boat points into the wind mostly

many find a lux apt about the same cost as a dock in miami or worse if liveaboards are allowed
where we anchored for free is now 330 a month for a mooring ball
then you need a dink or two to get ashore

with your longer time line not buying today or this year is a good plan
as current market is nuts

[Joeaksa]

Well I retired 7 weeks ago, just a few days after turning 69. My problem is that I love flying airplanes and thats what I did, spending 22 years with the last employer. Tried to retire at 65 and he would not let me, instead he bought a new $26 mil jet and gave me a 30% pay raise.

Except for the house I have no debt of any kind. Refinanced it for 2.6% and the monthly payment with taxes and insurance is about $1000, which I can easily handle with social security. Am now doing some part time contract work ($1500/2000 per day) and thats doing wonders for the bank account. Now I have time to fuss with the cars, bikes and airplane, oh and to take a nap whenever I want!

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Well I retired 7 weeks ago, just a few days after turning 69. My problem is that I love flying airplanes and thats what I did, spending 22 years with the last employer. Tried to retire at 65 and he would not let me, instead he bought a new $26 mil jet and gave me a 30% pay raise.

Except for the house I have no debt of any kind. Refinanced it for 2.6% and the monthly payment with taxes and insurance is about $1000, which I can easily handle with social security. Am now doing some part time contract work ($1500/2000 per day) and thats doing wonders for the bank account. Now I have time to fuss with the cars, bikes and airplane, oh and to take a nap whenever I want!

I’m worried that at 70 my body won’t be in shape to do the dumb **** I like to do like off road motorcycles, etc…. …so I’m in a bit of a rush to retire earlier while I can still do those things. Taking a 4-5 day bike trip is good, but I want to take 2-3 week trips, etc…

[strupgolf]

I'm reaching 72 soon. I retired in 2015. With my 401 and other income sources, I can't spend my money enough each month. I love it that I h ave the money to buy what I want. I never earned what most of you did, but being like my paarents, saved a lot. Now the money is coming in faster then I can spend it. Think back to frugal. I'll die long before my money runs out and my wife will live a good life.

[Crowbob]

Strupgolf did it right.

I could have written that post except I retired at age 55 more than a decade ago. I kept moving the projected dispersal date for my 501K back. At some point the mandatory minimum dispersal will kick in.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by cstreit

I’m worried that at 70 my body won’t be in shape to do the dumb **** I like to do like off road motorcycles, etc…. …so I’m in a bit of a rush to retire earlier while I can still do those things. Taking a 4-5 day bike trip is good, but I want to take 2-3 week trips, etc…

Chris, thats exactly why I pulled the plug when I did. Age is starting to catch up with me and I wanted to retire while I could still enjoy life.

[zakthor]

I stopped because burn out 3 years ago. Didnt really think it was retirement. Took some trips then covid so i went back to work. Hated it so sincerely researched my financial situation and found id overshot. So ive quit again i think for good. Was a weird thing to realize i was free. Early 50s and my athletic recovery is becoming terrible so afraid ive only got a few years left to do cool stuff.

I imagine our costs will go way up since we will travel now that kids are in college. But maybe not increase by much since luckily we both like the dirtbag lifestyle.

[vash]

subbed!! nice to see some actual perspectives.

my home payments and career are on the same trajectory. both are ending in about the same time. i cannot imagine my life without a house payment!! it is a huge monthly nut. my issue, i have no plans of staying in this home when i am retired. my wife and i want a smaller place. so, i could feasibly sell this place and take the cash to buy a tiny place outright. in a place with much fewer wildfires for sure.

our health coverage is taken care of for life. part of my stipend for accepting a lifetime of smaller paychecks. we buy cars cash now so that shouldnt change anytime soon.

thanks for the insights. i have no kids, a younger hard working wife, a good retirement plan....and minimal hobbies. i do plan on living life. and that is never free.

from what i read, it is the impending health issues that put people in the poor house. i say plan for that!!

[cstreit]

Same here Vash. Downsize and simplify.

I’m ready to shed 80% of life’s accumulated stuff. …the prospect is daunting though. Maybe I just take my tools and basics, then have an estate sale…

[mjohnson]

47 here. Saved mightily since the last century and I (hopefully) also have a healthy UCal pension once I hit it, also mrs mjohnson makes a good (OK, better) wage - and I'm really eager to hang up the engineer hat and maybe work part time at our brewery/co-op. The grind's been a grind, and I'm ground up...

We've been so conservative in our budgeting that we don't even fall on the scale of the typical "what do you need to retire..." clickbait. Still the thought of a serious cash-flow change freaks me out.