Every meal a banquet,
every formation a parade,
and every paycheck a fortune!
Good times.
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Anyone else enjoying retirement as much as me?
- Thread starter Rydah
- Start date
every formation a parade,
and every paycheck a fortune!
Good times.
Only potential downside I see is if you haven't calculated your living expenses vs your savings correctly, it can be very difficult to get back into the work force after several years out, and being over 60 (or even older). At least to get a job at the same pay level you were at, or close to it.
xcaliber
0
full size range cards are but last I looked compact cards were not. Who you working with ? Wonder if I know him?Yessir. Switched back in July, I think.
And the ranges are compact, so I’ve adjusted (adjusting) to that. Haven’t checked lately, but newest range cards were not available yet so I made and laminated my own set. Big and heavy but it’ll do until I can order the correct set. Lol
i am co-coaching with a guy who has been teaching the BRC for 8 years and sticks closely to the MSF curriculum.
No downside, if you are ready. In my case for instance, I had to wait until 59 1/2 to get 100% of my pension. Any earlier, and I would have been foregoing 5% per year, so for your example, I would have been getting 85%. If that was enough for me, and I just couldn't stand working another 2 1/2 years, then yes, I'd have left.
There you go! That's about the best way to summarize all of this.
I retired in August of '20 and LOVE it. Unfortunately, I can't sleep in since my daughter is still in school, but it's so nice being able to be there for her and the wife thru this stage of life.
I thought I would ride more, but being alone on a bike isn't as fun as being with my family, but I don't regret buying my 2016 FJR1300 for my retirement gift one bit.
Did 22 years in the Air Force, (retired as an E-7) made a few smart real estate decisions and haven't worked a day in over 2 years. Being 42 now and I couldn't ask for a better life.
I thought I would ride more, but being alone on a bike isn't as fun as being with my family, but I don't regret buying my 2016 FJR1300 for my retirement gift one bit.
Did 22 years in the Air Force, (retired as an E-7) made a few smart real estate decisions and haven't worked a day in over 2 years. Being 42 now and I couldn't ask for a better life.
piglet
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Seventeen years so far. Wife has been retired nineteen years. We are going on a spir of the moment breakfast run as soon as I get through writing this. eighty Two miles one way. Yep we are enjoying every minute of it.
The wife and I both called it quits 6/5/2020 at the age of 58. We moved from Rosenberg, TX to East Tennessee to be closer to grandkids and so I can ride some of the best motorcycle roads in the US. We are very happy not working anymore. I got a call from my former boss wanting me to work part-time, remote, on contract, which I respectfully declined. I could not go back to a job I absolutely hated.
We spend less than when we were working. We don't go out to eat as much and are not flying 1100 miles to visit family several times a year. It is a very easy 5.5 hour drive now. Our biggest expense is health insurance which should drop once we reach Medicare age.
We spend less than when we were working. We don't go out to eat as much and are not flying 1100 miles to visit family several times a year. It is a very easy 5.5 hour drive now. Our biggest expense is health insurance which should drop once we reach Medicare age.
41 years of work after college - lots of time overseas - many years of 48 week-per-year travel. Been retired for almost 3 years, and it's the best job I've ever had!
We have found that we spend WAY less than we expected to. Of course, Covid hit in year 1 of my retirement, which put the kibosh on travelling. Truly, we spend about 40-50% of what we had expected. My financial planner had been telling me for the last few years of work that I could retire any time...but I wanted to be 150% sure. I realized that he was right after a couple of years of retirement. I should have...and COULD have done it sooner. The biggest lifestyle change is that I never pass up the good stuff like I used to. I fly first-class; I HAVE the appetizer when I go out to dinner; I have top-shelf bourbon, I bought a nice car with EVERY option available, etcetera.
It sounds like you have planned it out well.
Only fair…..retired 3 years ago. Probably to early at 61. Was full time RV’ers but Brandon blew a hole in our carefully crafted budget. It was fun hauling the GS around and riding in different places any day of the week. Looking for full time job now. Settled in Boerne and selling the RV. At least I’m smack dab in the Hill Country!!
I retired at 56 and two years later we sold the house and went full time RV, plus big annual bike-tent camping trips every summer. After a few years we un-retired to help our son develop a new business. Finally re-retired, but started doing a dozen computer/electronic projects for him, like "Radio Controlled Hay Bales" (search youtube for "Panther Branch Road" music video). I'm having so much fun doing engineering and riding my 2017 HD Ultra Limited (91,800 miles).
If you have a passion, you won't be bored in retirement. Medical insurance can be your biggest expense until you get Medicare. Don't go without it, as you're getting to the land of costly issues.
If you have a passion, you won't be bored in retirement. Medical insurance can be your biggest expense until you get Medicare. Don't go without it, as you're getting to the land of costly issues.
Attachments
Thanks to Brandon everything costs 20% more. For those thinking of retirement make sure you have $500k in cash or liquid assets, and EVERYTHING is paid for before you pull the plug!
Absolutely. I interviewed financial advisors in '20-21, solely to find one that would help me get my ducks in a row, for retirement. Not to manage my money, but to setup a good strategy for draw down and tax minimization. The number of clowns I talked to who totally ignored me telling them exactly that at the outset, is laughable. I finally found a great guy, paid him for a plan, and that was it. The good news is that there are more of these CFPs now that will do the one time plan.
As of today, I've been retired for a year and three days, and believe me, the offers will keep coming in.
So here's my story. I retired on 9/1/21, at the age of 60. Not as early as what you are talking about, but a lot earlier than the folks I grew up with. I've been retired for a year and three days, and will be going back to work on 9/19. Not because I'm bored, not because I'm broke, but because I was contacted by a recruiter for a contract firm, doing work for one of their clients, and work that I have done before and enjoyed. The job is 100% remote, which means my office is 37 feet from my bed, 53 if I veer into the kitchen first for coffee.
My reasons for accepting the job, besides the appeal of the position, are twofold. First, health insurance is ridiculous. I'm on COBRA now, at $650/month, but that will run out in March, after which it will go up to $1100/month, through my former employer. The prices on the marketplace are much worse, and getting it through my wife's plan is between my former employer and the marketplace. Insurance at the new job is $240/month. Did I budget for the uptick in health insurance when deciding if I could retire? Sure, but it's still a kick in the 'nads every month, writing that check.
But probably bigger than the health insurance is the state of the economy, and the recent free money campaign by the dude(s) in the WH. I received no stimulus checks, (either Trump's or Biden's), and paid my student loans back myself, but somehow the bill for that free money will come to my table. It's simple economics, print money, inflation goes up, people who don't have a job can't get raises, so their money buys less. There is also another principle that affects retirees, it's called "sequence of returns risk". I won't go into that here, everyone has Google, but in a nutshell, simple math proves that market conditions and timing can/will play a huge part in whether or not a retiree is eating that yummy pureed beets in the nursing home, or cat food. Retiring in the last year, and not modifying the drawdown rate, can lead to the latter situation. One way to minimize sequence of returns risk is to put off retirement, or go back for a year or two. I'll be 61 when I return to work, and am in great health, so (knock on wood) I'll be around for awhile.
Two sources of info I always tell people to check out, if they are retiring, or have already, is a Facebook page and a YouTube channel, both run by a great guy named Andy Panko. Both are free, (you actually can't pay Andy one red cent, as his client list is full). He has always provided this info free of charge to listeners, and it's good stuff and easy to understand.
Links:
YouTube
Good luck!
old1959
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I retired seven years ago at age 56; couldn't remember to retire at 65 or 56 so decided on 56... I enjoy not working and only downsides I have discovered is that one doesn't get sick leave or vacation pay.
What a great thread! Thanks to Rydah for the original post and to Tourmeister for the forum that lets us all connect. This thread started on Tuesday and it is already up to 6 pages!
I have taken several steps in the past few years to reduce expenses in advance of my retirement such as only keeping the bare minimum of vehicles, trailers, etc. Sold almost all of my livestock (meat goats) to reduce the time and feed/hay costs needed to take care of them. All of these actions dropped the costs of feed, hay, tires, batteries, insurance, and reduced the time bandit effect of having so much stuff that requires maintenance.
I no longer have any expensive hobbies such as racing bikes/cars, pleasure horses, boats, and water/snow skiing. All of these were once my hobbies, but all of them can get pretty spendy. My hobbies now are a little local hunting, using my table saw to make tables, etc. from pallet wood, and riding my T700. My T700 is the 12th bike that I have owned in a long life of riding and racing and it is the only cycle that I ever bought new. It was a pre-retirement present to myself in April of 2021 and should be trouble free for a long time. It brings me great enjoyment.
An example of my hobby plan now is what I did last month: I rode the T700 on a trip of 180 miles on a Saturday breakfast run through Eastland, Erath, Hood, and Palo Pinto counties using county roads and FM highways. Total cost was $11 in gas and $5 for breakfast. I left at daybreak and got home before the heat got too bad. I had a great time with the T 700 pulling through the hills of the county roads and carving the curves of the FMs. I am blessed to be located in central Texas where there is good local riding and where I am within striking distance of the Hill Country. In addition, a trip to Big Bend is 450 miles and a trip to east Texas is 250 miles. One daughter lives in Tyler which is near many places with outstanding riding such as the National Forests.
The bottom line for me is that I have done much to eliminate recurring costs of maintenance while having lowered my hobby expense in preparation for retirement. Seems to work for me; your mileage may vary! Lol
I have taken several steps in the past few years to reduce expenses in advance of my retirement such as only keeping the bare minimum of vehicles, trailers, etc. Sold almost all of my livestock (meat goats) to reduce the time and feed/hay costs needed to take care of them. All of these actions dropped the costs of feed, hay, tires, batteries, insurance, and reduced the time bandit effect of having so much stuff that requires maintenance.
I no longer have any expensive hobbies such as racing bikes/cars, pleasure horses, boats, and water/snow skiing. All of these were once my hobbies, but all of them can get pretty spendy. My hobbies now are a little local hunting, using my table saw to make tables, etc. from pallet wood, and riding my T700. My T700 is the 12th bike that I have owned in a long life of riding and racing and it is the only cycle that I ever bought new. It was a pre-retirement present to myself in April of 2021 and should be trouble free for a long time. It brings me great enjoyment.
An example of my hobby plan now is what I did last month: I rode the T700 on a trip of 180 miles on a Saturday breakfast run through Eastland, Erath, Hood, and Palo Pinto counties using county roads and FM highways. Total cost was $11 in gas and $5 for breakfast. I left at daybreak and got home before the heat got too bad. I had a great time with the T 700 pulling through the hills of the county roads and carving the curves of the FMs. I am blessed to be located in central Texas where there is good local riding and where I am within striking distance of the Hill Country. In addition, a trip to Big Bend is 450 miles and a trip to east Texas is 250 miles. One daughter lives in Tyler which is near many places with outstanding riding such as the National Forests.
The bottom line for me is that I have done much to eliminate recurring costs of maintenance while having lowered my hobby expense in preparation for retirement. Seems to work for me; your mileage may vary! Lol
Went to college at UT Knoxville 30 years ago - miss riding that area - so many great roads, you don't ever have to do the same one twice.
Please tell me about the NF riding near Tyler. Thanks.
There are four National Forests south of Tyler: Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, Angelina, and Sabine (I think) along with the Big Thicket. I have only had time to explore Davy Crockett and came in from the direction of Mission Tejas State Park. If I didn't have a place to stay at my daughter's in Tyler, I would camp in Mission Tejas and day trip into the forests. The NFs seem to be an interesting mix of national lands, very small communities, and churches with cemeteries. Gas stops are available in many places. The riding is a mix of pavement, county rock roads, and two trackers. All of these go on for miles and miles with a near constant overhead shade of huge trees. There are plenty of places to enjoy a packed lunch bag in some of the most beautiful parts of Texas. For a lifelong resident of central Tx, these NF public land areas are almost like another world of riding opportunities. I recommend these rides.
If you can't/don't want to spend on a CFP, you might check out Personal Capital. Started by the guy that started Intuit. You can plug in your financial info and it'll give you a read on your retirement plan down to a payout schedule and it's FREE. They'll ask from time to time to try and get you to let them invest some of your $, but a mostly gentle ask. I run all my financials through it and get a budget, income, net worth, and like I said, a retirement plan based on 5K Monte Carlo calcs. You can modify how conservative or not you make factors like taxes and inflation on the retirement plan. After using them for free for 4-5 years, I let them manage a portion of my retirement funds now.
www.personalcapital.com
Portfolio tracking benefits
hijack
sounds to me like Old Rocket needs to organize a camp and ride weekend!
OR, start a thread for your fall (or spring) camp and ride!
hijack over
Surely one or two of our East Texas TWT folks would be better as an organizer of this idea. However, come January we will see what scads of free time allows me to do for East Tx exploration. Hmmm..........
Lots of great stories. I retired 4 1/2 years ago. I still wake up early, dream about when I was working, get antsy when I am not doing something. Old habits are hard to break. BUT, I do enjoy doing things I choose to do when I want to do them. Best of luck to you guys who are almost there.
I still have dreams (nightmares) about work. I don't know why I can't get rid of them, So many other things I would rather dream about.
I can't say the dreams are necessarily "good" just reminders of a long time working. They are getting fewer and farther between, thankfully.
I hope they fade for me. I am tired of waking up in a panic that I have missed a deadline, etc.