Posted on 02/15/2024 8:00:45 PM PST by DoodleBob
Retired early and work is now a distant memory. But I had a savings ethic and plenty of interests and hobbies. I love being free and retired.
“I’ll have ‘Freedom 95’, if I live that long!”
Somebody always draws the short straw. Don’t let it get you down. I hope you enjoy what you do ..Be the BEST at what you do and know that everyday brings a new opportunity.
... and hey ... you might just hit that ticket
live long and prosper (ya star track thing)
Two kids have graduated college, two kids in college, a kid in a crib, and a baby in a bassinet.
Retirement may be a decade or two away.
My parents are hitting 80. So I might get some time to spend more time with the. My may/December marriage will mean my wife wi;l work 7 years after I retire. I may go find a job that excites me. Who knows. Making sure we can financially retire is on me. Wife really couldn’t care about planning. Complains her check is low due to 401K deductions.
Armani, Munger, and Buffet. They still work, so we should too. Wonder what a day at the office is like for them? LOL
Freakin’ unreal. Sounds like some Nikki Haley bullcrap.
“my employer has other ideas”
so ... you work for your wife ?
ya that could be tough
Are you kidding? I have been retired for almost nine years, and I have neither regretted it nor been bored for even one nanosecond. I was an electrical engineer for 32 years and was typically under a lot of pressure to “get the job done.” I do not miss that...at all!
No ...
It’s True. I stood on the Podium with Arie in 1997 and I have the Ring to prove it.
Pictures too.I was the ‘Wire Guy’. Team mate Scott Goodyear came in second for a
1-2 finish !
Wild Times indeed! If I was really concerned with “Retirement Finances” I should have stayed it That line of Work.
Seems that The Economist is/are Globalist scum
This is called coping with a lack of funds. Me, I just want to walk the dog over to the coffee shop in the morning, get my latté and browse the news on my phone. Having a regular job would interfere with that.
Being retired means doing whatever the hell I want. My oldest brother taught me well, and now, every day is Saturday. I have downloaded hundreds of books, and have even more physical books, and now I have the time to read them. I can read fast, or take my time. I can study stoicism, or reach for the stars with Robert Heinlein, Arthur c. Clarke, Asimov. I can read the amazing Will Durant histories. I can walk, run, bicycle and swim when I want to, instead of shoving it into a crowded schedule. I can drive across the fruited plain for months on end, or remain near home and sleep in. I can volunteer, or not.
As Jackie Gleason said, the world is my oyster.
I spent a lifetime helping, teaching,and inspiring thousands, and those thousands will go on to help and inspire millions, and all of it will echo through eternity. I received and learned much more, and will continue because I was lucky enough to have been born in the greatest nation on God’s green Earth.
The real deal here - I got out (just) ahead of when the other guys would start saying “the old man is slowing down, isn’t he?”. Some jobs or careers are like that. It was also terribly stressful. Mistakes, of any sort, by anyone, simply were not acceptable. A 60-something engineer is a dinosaur.
So what to do after that? A life of hobbies is what I settled on.
*I hate having to set my alarm clock,/I’m not one of those individuals that feels they have to be around people*
I’m happy for you. I still set my alarm early-5am. There aren’t enough hours in the day to enjoy. I let the nighttime dictate when I sleep.
*My May/December marriage will mean my wife will work 7 years after I retire.* Had an attractive girlfriend like that. While she’s at work I wanted to go to the sports bar for lunch, walk the dogs, prepare dinner and give her rubdowns when she got off work. After 60+ minutes of attention the plan was to ‘retire’ in my den-leave her alone. Unfortunately she was having none of that. A working woman’s space is more important. Can’t blame her.
*The most common lament is that we are busier now than when we were working full time.*
People that say that are just lying. Trying to make themselves look like there’s a lot going on in their lives. While it could be true they no longer have to live up to someone else’s standard-Same as a housewife.
Being able to retire and have some fun is the result of good planning during your working years. My wife and I are definitely not bored doing the things we always wanted to do. And, now that we have the time, we also do everything we can to keep the idiots in power from screwing up the world for our children. And, we have a good time doing it.
So we tell everyone you will own nothing, and now you will work forever. The same peeple tell you to vote democrap for hope and bailouts. Live in pods and eat the bug sandwich
“I have the Ring to prove it.”
Good on you buddy ... that is so cool.
It’s amazing the people you come across on FR.
I’v never been closer to a 500 then the other side of a boob tube, but I always thought that was real racing ...
much better than turn left.. turn left .. turn left
Every old man should have some memories and stories to tell...
I bet you have some good ones.... not that your an old man ..
Now I’m going to tell folks I know a guy ..... so I have another cool story ha ha
I've been retired now for about 8 years. Earlier would have been too early for me and I would have liked to phase out or work three or four years longer. I enjoyed my work, loved it in fact but the time came to hang up my spurs. The writing was on the wall in a transition I did not want to make. After 40 years I went back to the farm. That was always my plan but I considered others. I am happy I did this. I have a list of meaningful to-do for the rest of my life and hobbies I enjoy but seldom partake of. I see the result of my labor every day and it is good. Everything I do makes an improvement. I don't see my attitude changing just my ability to get things done. Meanwhile, I enjoy a good tired from my labor most evenings and some days I just do something else I want to do.
I have never played golf, never taken a cruise and don't want to, I don't own a single pastel shirt and I don't play any sort of games at all. In my work I traversed the world many times. My wife does not want to travel far, three days is about her limit, and with the mess that goes on traveling these days you could not pay me enough to get on an airplane. We have an Airstream but don't use it. The best part of any trip is coming in the front gate.
My late Dad planned to work to 70, he made it to 67 when his position was abolished. His secretary received the notification by fax from a guy he had mentored and sponsored. He lived another 10 years. They made a great bet on his pension. I don't have one, saved every penny myself and don't figure on being able to spend it all sanely. I started early and never let up but I do wish I had known a whole lot more about investing than I did. We inherited very little in possessions and I paid the heirs for 3/4 of the place I didn't already own. I do have the good reputation my parents left me and I treasure that as all I expected them to leave me. Time will tell but we have three levels of retirement savings and we live on one. I am not smug and not completely comfortable. I think it is important to maintain some tension. We still need to manage our investments.
I could have worked and built the company back after the last bust in the oilfield. I've done enough of that though. At least 9 busts in 40 years is enough. My engineering business was based on good work and relationships. My peer group had just about all left the business. The rules changed and I didn't need or want to play by them any longer. It all became a lot less fun.
One bucket for money, one bucket for crap. When one bucket gets full, you go home. So I did.
If you don't have something to retire to just don't do it. You either wear out or rust out.
If your are not self-driven you may need to stick with the carrot and whip as long as you can. It never was for me, being directed by others. Leave no doubt, we are all directed in some way by others just not all of us fit in that 30 years and a gold watch same ball and chain every day or taking a bullet in the back of the head and not even hearing the shot or knowing where it came from. In some places the financial rewards and being taken care of can be pretty sweet. I tried it for part of my career, not worth the price of poker eventually. I solved problems, hardly ever did the same thing twice in a row, I turned some jobs down that were just not worth doing or doing for someone I didn't need to deal with.
I have a friend who retired in 2018. He was in sales. I told him much of what I've just said. Retire to something most particularly. He didn't and he is dying.
I didn’t plan on retiring but I got Covid a year ago March 1. It was not a bad case, but the fatigue lingered for over a month. I quit mid March because the company had been sold and I didn’t desire to start a new job with a new company. I LOVE not working. I’m a Nester so I stay around the house a lot with my 2 pups. Home and car are paid for and have enough in portfolio to not worry about expenses, especially with social security. I’m not rich by any means but am so grateful I can do what I want, when I want. It’s a freedom I’ve wanted a long time.
When you're getting up, I'm just going to bed. I hope when you do get to retire, you are blessed with a long, and healthy retirement. The Lord has been good to me, that's for sure. Not all the people I worked with got to live to retire, and the majority of them were much younger than me.
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