Would you retire now if you could?

[edg126]

I would quit my job so fast if I could retire now. I have such a cushy easy job (work from home, great salary, flexible schedule, not very busy work), but I have always held the attitude that I work to 'survive' and if I have the means, I'd stop.

I have so many hobbies and interests I can easily fill up a lifetime. I'd still be a bit cautious about job skills in case something happened with the money, and so I'd probably do contract work or consulting for a month a year (maybe in wintertime) to stay sharp and keep contacts, but only because I'm young, and don't really mind doing what I do.

I'd love to retire, and working on keeping our spending levels down so our income levels will be lower with retirement.

The only downside to retiring, is that I have 2 young kids that are in daycare, and then I'd have to watch them, and it is incredibly exhausting taking care of them every day.

[cyreneq]

I wouldn't retire. I don't even know what to do with my vacation days.

I'm pretty anti-social outside of work and work is the only way I actually socialize.

[EEinNJ]

I've been reconsidering this very question in the last few weeks. I've had several life changes in the last 2-3 years, but my job is one thing that hasn't. After 8 years, I think I'm getting a little burnt out on it. Financially I could probably swing it, though part-time would be more comfortable for the next few years. In the past I've had stints of "early retirement" and realized after a while, I'd get bored (like in winter). I'm also alarmed by the high, and ever rising, cost of health insurance.
I'm going to get some professional advice.

[97guns]

you dont really know how great retirement is until you actually live it.

if you open your eyes you can see how unhappy some people really are that claim to like their job.

[srblanco7]

Unequivocally I'd retire we're I financially able. Still hope to retire in my late 50s.

So what's everyone's number? That is, how much would be enough for you to retire?

[hamchan]

I wouldn't retire. I don't even know what to do with my vacation days.

I'm pretty anti-social outside of work and work is the only way I actually socialize.

Same here. I have almost no social life outside of work. My coworkers are honestly all really great people. I would miss them a lot if I left.

[Patrick_OG]

In a word, yes

Ive worked about half of my life, and have seen nothing come of it. About 90% of that is my fault, having been into drugs and lacking knowledge on how to manage my money. When i taught myself how to budget and create a plan, things began to open up, and i started to view the world in a different light. The proverbial "if i had known then what i know now" holds true in this case. I did the math once on an old job i had and found that if i had budgeted my money correctly and didn't eat out a much i could have saved upwards of 30,000.

man that pissed me off. I could have taken that money and started my own business.

Oh well.

[johnt78]

You can get by with less if you'll have other sources of income. If that same 45-year-old has a typical old-fashioned check-a-month pension, for example, he might need only $432,000 in savings to be on track. If you expect to hold down a scaled-back job for your first decade of retirement, you can also get by with less.

[tripods68]

Love to retire if I could now at 46. Financially I can't retire at least 55 years old.

[bigdaddybus]

I would retire now if I came into a "windfall" amount of money, likely over 5 million.

I have a great job with excellent benifits and work/life balance so I am not really wanting to give that up, but if given the opportunity to have no financial concerns in my life, I could find more personally rewarding things to spend my time on.

[JasonSimms]

Normally, no one likes to retire without having enough resources to make their future secure. And if you are still in perfect physical and mental condition when you can afford to retire, there is nothing wrong in continuing to work. After all, nothing can replace the satisfaction that you get when you are working!

[97guns]

you do not comprehend how great retirement is until you've lived it

[DebbieL]

I would retire in a heartbeat if I could afford to. Absolutely. My job bores me most of the time, and I don't feel as though it is a "calling". I'd be out of there (and I will be as soon as I feel able to).

[dawnwes]

This.

I don't know for sure what I would do. I am not currently working but am a stay at home mom. I do plan to go back to working outside the home at some point. I loved my job (school counselor) and felt like I was making a drop of difference in the lives of teens.

Dawn

Normally, no one likes to retire without having enough resources to make their future secure. And if you are still in perfect physical and mental condition when you can afford to retire, there is nothing wrong in continuing to work. After all, nothing can replace the satisfaction that you get when you are working!

[MarkInCA]

Yes and no. I currently teach high school full-time, and while I do enjoy it, sometimes it can be exhausting. I'd love to be able to retire and just teach 1 or 2 classes (at high school or college) so that I have something to do with my time. That'd be ideal.