Anybody here thinking about retiring early?

[tripods68]

I do want to retire from the corporate world early. I doubt that I'll ever retire completely from everything though.

I want to get away from W2 earnings and shift to more passive income streams. If I can pull that off I will be "retired" as soon as I make enough passively/semi-passively to live life.

I've read a lot of online blogs. I tell you the more I read, the more I become uncertain retiring early. Can I afford to retire early? We have the money, but have not reach that "number/goal" I've set years ago. But I'd like spend more time with my kids while they are still young. That's mainly why I want to retire early. At the same time, it's nice to have a pension as my safety net but IF i retire now, I will shorted myself with my less monthly pension than if I retire at 55.

My wife will continue to work for another 15 years. Most likely IF I decide to pull the trigger, I will be "working" in some capacity and excercise more. Not sure what would that, aka be a volunteer at my kids school. Maybe be a business owner, or be an UBER/LYFT driver for couple of hours a day while the kids at school. An extra $600 to $1000 a month would be nice, along with passive income. But I still not sure.

[Atretes1]

I will go at 56 with a State Pension. I am 41 now. Either way, I am going to do my best to max out my 457(b) and ROTH IRA between now and then. My base pay is 50K so we will see how that goes. I have 2 rental houses and unlimited OT to accomplish saving or buying more rentals. I will have to slow down on OT eventually but right now I am doing a crazy amount.

[tripods68]

I will go at 56 with a State Pension. I am 41 now. Either way, I am going to do my best to max out my 457(b) and ROTH IRA between now and then. My base pay is 50K so we will see how that goes. I have 2 rental houses and unlimited OT to accomplish saving or buying more rentals. I will have to slow down on OT eventually but right now I am doing a crazy amount.

Years ago, I worked lots of OT until I got burned out.

Keep maxing your 401K and ROTH, the pension is simply icing on a cake.

[aharp94]

My dad retired early and faced issues. NAhh i am not gonna do that

[Drake3287]

Although not early based on my career field, I retired at 54 and still luckily live off the same income level as I had while working. For me at least, retirement truly is a great thing especially while still being somewhat young.

Having seen many people retire and simply watch TV all day and waste away, I tend to be just as busy or busier then when I was working. The strange thing is I have friends from work that also retired at my age and they spend all day posting on Face Book about politics and such and never do anything with there life. These are the same people that never saved a dime and now can't afford to do anything let alone travel and such.

Preparing for retirement is truly a life long process, if you retire without enough finances or hobbies you mind as well keep working.

[disneysteve]

I tend to be just as busy or busier then when I was working.

This is exactly how I expect I'll be when I retire. I'm always doing something or going somewhere. There are so many things I'd like to be doing that I can't right now because I don't have the time.

[Gailete]

This is exactly how I expect I'll be when I retire. I'm always doing something or going somewhere. There are so many things I'd like to be doing that I can't right now because I don't have the time.

The trick is to find the time THEN! LOL As much as I can physically, I am non-stop doing something or other. I am never bored. To do everything that I really want to do I would need to live to be several hundred years old. I don't understand how people can sit around and be bored, and if they are bored before they retire, they are going to be in trouble when they do retire.

[tripods68]

This is exactly how I expect I'll be when I retire. I'm always doing something or going somewhere. There are so many things I'd like to be doing that I can't right now because I don't have the time.

They say that you should plan ahead 5-6 years before actually pulling the plug to determine and define, where you plan to retire, what's your passion of what you want to do in retirement, and why? It requires a much deeper thoughts to answer.

[amarowsky]

They say that you should plan ahead 5-6 years before actually pulling the plug to determine and define, where you plan to retire, what's your passion of what you want to do in retirement, and why? It requires a much deeper thoughts to answer.

I like the idea of retiring, then starting a part time job at Starbucks (or one of the growing similar part time places that help pay for school) and re-rolling a new career. Just without the primary motivator to be :making money.

I have a feeling I will (and probably most people) will be surprised to find out the type of income they'll make in almost any field w/ enough time invested into it.

My brother's a researcher, adjunct prof. , and applying for his PHD in bio/genetics. I would love to have the chance to be a researcher for him. But I think i'll have to get a BS in BIO to qualify, (although I'm not sure). The university would be either UofM Ann arbor or @ Wayne state. I thought either would be cool places to keep my finger on the pulse of some newer science research.

Just one of my many possibilities.... I'm really excited to follow my curiosity, instead of just a paycheck & promotion in a corporate world....

Although, more likely, is I'll change my mind 10 times before my goal @ age 40. At 31 now, 9 years is a really LONG time away.

[snafu]

amorowsky What stops you from researching what courses you need for B Sc? What's offered on-line, from your school? The other's you mentioned, any accredited school, anywhere in the world? This is the decade of life long learning and if you don't keep credentials up to date your field may shrink in a decade
I'm pretty sure politicians planning to run for mid terms are learning how to be a 'reality TV' character, catchy. repetitious slogans, key words for Tweets etc. 2018 is going to be a whole, new ballgame.

[~bs]

I like the idea of retiring, then starting a part time job at Starbucks (or one of the growing similar part time places that help pay for school) and re-rolling a new career. Just without the primary motivator to be :making money.

I have a feeling I will (and probably most people) will be surprised to find out the type of income they'll make in almost any field w/ enough time invested into it.

My brother's a researcher, adjunct prof. , and applying for his PHD in bio/genetics. I would love to have the chance to be a researcher for him. But I think i'll have to get a BS in BIO to qualify, (although I'm not sure). The university would be either UofM Ann arbor or @ Wayne state. I thought either would be cool places to keep my finger on the pulse of some newer science research.

Just one of my many possibilities.... I'm really excited to follow my curiosity, instead of just a paycheck & promotion in a corporate world....

Although, more likely, is I'll change my mind 10 times before my goal @ age 40. At 31 now, 9 years is a really LONG time away.

9 years is going to fly IMO. I think there's a decent chance I can retire by 40. As far as actually doing so, I kinda doubt it. I need to stay active, and am primarily motivated by money as a measure of success (not by other types of accomplishments). I have hobbies and stuff, but not ones I'd enjoy so much as to spend every day doing them. And I have a tendency to become super lazy when I'm not busy doing things or working.

And early retirement adds risk. With a greater number of years post retirement, you are at a higher risk of running out of funds due to the uncertainty of what's going to happen in the 40-50 years post retirement. Going forward, I think the health care issue is going to be a big one for anyone thinking of retiring a decade or two earlier than the norm.

[amarowsky]

amorowsky What stops you from researching what courses you need for B Sc? What's offered on-line, from your school? The other's you mentioned, any accredited school, anywhere in the world? This is the decade of life long learning and if you don't keep credentials up to date your field may shrink in a decade
I'm pretty sure politicians planning to run for mid terms are learning how to be a 'reality TV' character, catchy. repetitious slogans, key words for Tweets etc. 2018 is going to be a whole, new ballgame.

Nothing stops me, I'm reasonably aware of the classes I would need to pivot my BA into a BS of Bio or ~something similar. I love learning as a hobby currently, not professionally, like @ a university.

I find I have learned as much or more by just listening to interesting podcasts, reading books, or engaging in conversation with people that I ever did @ school, especially university.

It seems that school is X% knowledge, Y% general administrative understanding (due dates, requirements, barriers) and Z% proving you were willing to sacrifice (time, money, and delayed gratification).

I find that by cutting out Y and Z, which appear to be the lions share of my education assumption, I can enjoy the learning part w/ out the bureaucracy and cost. I'm considering taking some classes at a VERY slow pace, maybe 4 credits per semester towards my BS. But too much learning & hours at my current job. I don't think it would allow for me to.

Currently learning is so much more entertaining and informative when you remove the bureaucracy of Y and the insane cost of Z.

9 years is going to fly IMO. I think there's a decent chance I can retire by 40. As far as actually doing so, I kinda doubt it. I need to stay active, and am primarily motivated by money as a measure of success (not by other types of accomplishments). I have hobbies and stuff, but not ones I'd enjoy so much as to spend every day doing them. And I have a tendency to become super lazy when I'm not busy doing things or working.

And early retirement adds risk. With a greater number of years post retirement, you are at a higher risk of running out of funds due to the uncertainty of what's going to happen in the 40-50 years post retirement. Going forward, I think the health care issue is going to be a big one for anyone thinking of retiring a decade or two earlier than the norm.

A while back I started some research on part time jobs that pay health benefits. I was VERY surprised to see how many large corporations offer it! To name a few UPS, REI, Lowes, Costco, Home Depot, Starbucks, Trader joes, Caribou coffee, several large name banks etc....

This automatically gives most people and "out" if they want to leave career early. I know my in-laws retired farily early, and their insurance is nearly $1,500/ mo premium until they qualify for medicare. *Note - this is for HIGH deductible insurance.

One benefit from retiring early, would a more relaxed schedule to allow time to exercise more frequently and without such urgency. I would greatly enjoy that, as currently exercise (especially during the winter) isn't as high on my priority list as I wish it was. Hopefully this investment in time would ultimately contribute to lowering my annual health bill.

With the exception of medical bills, I don't really think running out of funds would ever be an issue.... But this is dependent on how you design your consumer choices.

If you put a high value on cars or obtaining a bigger home (usually more sqft than you need), then I don't think anyone can really retire prior to their 60's, unless they're making serious money.

My expenses are low generally.... My home is fairly cheap (bought for 75K), and my hobbies are socializing with friends & family, traveling, drinking, cooking, gardening, video games, and going to shows/playing music. All of which are way cheaper than buying any new car every 5 or 6 years, or upgrading from a 1400 sqft home to a 2000 sqft home. Ive been able to travel to Austrailia, Costa rica, hawaii, dominican republic, and south EU, all on very shoestring budgets for the most part. Some exceptions to the Austrailia trip*. All of these I afforded while spending on a similar disposable income that I had early in my career. Maybe designed around the income of approx ~45k a year. Everything I earn in excess of that I have just earmarked for taxable or retirement investing (as I have not needed it to consume what I want) . You don't need to make much more than that to live quite well in certain areas (I'm in Michigan which is very very low COLA compared to either coast or big cities).

I think between my investments and the ~20-30k I could make working part time, I could eclipse my current active career salary, and have much more free time w/ the same insurance protections. This is pending market stability and RE stability (have a rental, and am planning on adding a few more in the next 9 years).

Worst case scenario, I can enter the workplace again if the first year or two don't appear to pan out in my direction. Thankfully, automotive industry rewards "being unloyal" and jumping companies often. In all of my colleague, family, and friends experience, you are doing yourself a massive disservice in automotive industry if you stay at 1 or few companies. Which makes ABSOLUTELY no sense to me, but I would be dumb not to take advantage of, especially if (in the future) I have to re-enter the professional career path of life.

[~bs]

Certain things like relocating to a low cost of living area, owning house outright (owning rental houses),etc can help A LOT.

Below is the average household spending in the united states. Reduction or elimination of housing cost, transportation (not working), social security taxes (not working), apparel (no need for work clothes), food (cooked meals are WAY cheaper), debt payment - - will make it WAY easier to retire.




Expenditure Category Annual Average Cost % of Budget
Housing $10,080 16%
Transportation 9,004 14%
Taxes 7,432 12%
Utilities and Other Household Operational Costs 7,068 11%
Food 6,602 10%
Social Security Contributions, Personal Insurance and Pensions 5,528 9%
Debt Payments or Savings 5,252 8%
Healthcare 3,631 6%
Entertainment 2,564 4%
Cash Contributions 1,834 3%
Apparel and Services 1,604 3%
Education 1,138 2%
Vices 775 1%
Miscellaneous 664 1%
Personal Care 608 1%
TOTAL 63,784 100%

[amarowsky]

My goal is still age 40 to retire (from typical 40+ hour corporate work week).

According to my numbers and my Wife and I's goals, we are on track and possibly ahead of schedule.

I have started some initial discussions around my office, regarding transferring to part time later in my career. It seems like there will be a possibility to negotiate it.

My plan would be to negotiate for a "part-time" package. This would include:
1) Going from salary --> Hourly
2) 5 days a week --> ~3 days a week.


I'm forecasting what they will request as concessions for me going full --> part time. My goal would be to establish part time, and try and preserve as much of my hourly rate (compared to salary) as possible.
I'd be willing to negotiate on the following :
1) PTO. My yearly PTO allowance will be maxxed out at that point. And that will be 23 days PTO / per year.
2) 401k match - Currently they match up to 7% with $1:$1 contribution. Maybe this would have to go.
3) Pay Rate: In 9 years, I would forecast my salary would equal about $60/hr. Maybe I would have to negotiate a pay cut here, I'd probably accept any offer >$30/hr, but expect to maybe cut my pay like 10-20%, putting me in the $45-50/ hr range.
4) Remove health benefit options --> Only 1 option (high deductible plan).
5) Bonus - This mite be one of my strongest bargaining chips to offer away first up. Current bonus is up to 10% (it depends on company & self performance). While this is a great benefit, I have to face the facts that it will likely go away.

If all things worked out well, I would like to have a 3 day a week, $45 (or greater) hourly rate, while protecting my health benefits. I think this would be an ideal way to significantly decrease my work load, and maintain a steady income as long as I please.

45 * 3 * 8 * 52 = $56,160 a year, for working 3 days per week. I would save time because I wouldn't have to work overtime w/o pay (as I do currently). And will have increased my freetime substantially.

I think that would be an ideal and reasonable offer, for when I finally get to that point in my life.
(Ideally , I'd keep my rate at that time and all the benefits, but I understand benefits are there to motivate people to work full time. It is not logical to assume they would allow that).

I haven't struggled with income since I have made north of $40k, so I don't think this would do anything but allow for more free time to pursue interests and still keep 1 foot in a typical career path. It gets me excited just thinking about how nice it would be if i could land it!

And worst case scenario, and my projections for personal finance were way off, and I go back to normal full time work... I really don't have anything to lose from attempting this. Because worst-case scenario is current status quo.

[FLA]

So I got sick at 45 and ended up retired because one of the symptoms is low blood pressure with frequent falls. I fall a lot, too much for even a desk job. And there have been cognitive issues so I have not pursued an at home job. I live on SSDI and a long term disability insurance plan from work. Altogether, a low amt. For health insurance I have a managed Medicare plan, I spend a lot on medical.

Before getting sick, I had meticulously planned for retirement. I have 600k in IRAs and a small pension, I have to make that last for the rest of my life. I invest with Vanguard and because of my overwhelming fear of not having enough, I did hire one of their financial planners to help make sure I am on track. He says I'm more than ok and should never have to touch the principal. I was going to just keep following his plan and dump him but the uncertainty of the Trump years have me concerned enough to keep him for now. I've saved over 20k in an emergency fund. You can't invest in retirement accts once you become disabled, that sucks. I'd like to save enough to be able to invest more. I own 25% of the house that I live in and will get another 50% when my parents die. My father has left me his life insurance of 95k just to help ensure I make it.

So I'll probably be ok. I'm willing to live in income-based senior housing in a small apt when I turn 55 even though having been a home care nurse, I've been in and out of these buildings and know hardly anyone is 55 and I would be surrounded by the elderly. I'll live there but I draw the line at Bingo and mahjong. As long as I can have a little dog, I'll live anywhere.

The things I wanted to do when I retired have fallen by the wayside. I probably won't see the Louvre and the Hermitage, not handicapped accessible or affordable trips. But I live 3 hrs from Boston (my brother lives there and can help me get around), 3 hrs from NYC where museums abound. I'm going to Disney, probably the most handicapped accessible place on Earth and Disney always makes me smile. I have to set new retirement goals. Right now, my parents are too sick for me to take on or plan much, but I would like to find a way to volunteer, even if it's just doing a daily phone check-in with an elderly person. Deep down, I didn't believe I wouldn't be going back to hospice even though it's been three years, until a few months ago my cardiologist said point blank, "this is the best I can get you and you absolutely cannot be a nurse like this." I finally heard him and now I have to start thinking of myself not as disabled but as retired. Retied is a much better mindset.