Just so there is no language barrier, when I said, "...you have not amassed enough to get you to the end of the bus route" means 'enough money until you are dead'. So did you really have a large enough net worth when you graduated from college that you didn't need to work another day?

You're taking the statement too literally. He just meant that he enjoyed what he was doing and it was sufficient to supply the resources he needed. For him it was the thing that was ahead of the 2nd place finisher. I'll also make book that his English is better than our Spanish; at least mine in any case.

Vaya con Dios.

 

You're taking the statement too literally. He just meant that he enjoyed what he was doing and it was sufficient to supply the resources he needed. For him it was the thing that was ahead of the 2nd place finisher. I'll also make book that his English is better than our Spanish; at least mine in any case.

Vaya con Dios.

His English is better than most Americans' English.

 

You're taking the statement too literally. He just meant that he enjoyed what he was doing and it was sufficient to supply the resources he needed. For him it was the thing that was ahead of the 2nd place finisher.

Let's see.

 

Hard for me to comment. I had it very good. I worked salary for a company with a salaried pension plan and we were ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). We were ESOP for about 10 years when we were bought by one of our prime customers, Babcock / Wilcox Nuclear Operations Group. They paid about 3.5 times face value of my stock. We also had a matching 401K plan. I had well over 100K in stock so that was sweet. They also assumed our pension plan. I retired at 63 about (9 years ago come May 2022). Today's employees do not have it that good.

Before retirement my wife and I made sure we were carrying zero debt. Currently we do fine on our retirement income not needing investments. However it's nice to take out some money every now and then for things like a cruise or buy another truck. We have owned our home for years and while modest it's paid for. Engineering has provided me with a great career and for that I am thankful. My brother is ten years my junior and lives in unending debt. He has a Master of Arts which doesn't really pay and likes spending money he simply does not have. Planning combined with some good fortune has played out well for us. I had planned on 65 but when looking at everything going out at 63 was a good move.

I figure you plan retirement and plan it well. Know your expenses and cost of living. Do not figure on double digit returns on investments. Figure on cost of things like supplemental medical if you live in the US.

Ron

 

You're taking the statement too literally. He just meant that he enjoyed what he was doing and it was sufficient to supply the resources he needed. For him it was the thing that was ahead of the 2nd place finisher. I'll also make book that his English is better than our Spanish; at least mine in any case.

Vaya con Dios.

What Papabravo said. Plus, I was being humorous. You said: " Doing something because you want to, when you want to, how you want to is retirement by my definition." ... and I've been doing that all my life simply because I happen to love what I do.

And I mean that in a literal sense. There's nothing else I'd rather be doing than the work that I've been so blessed to be given.

Of course, I need a vacation now and then, and sometimes I do have to make a few sacrifices to keep my business afloat. But in the general sense, I've always been doing what I want to do ... and hell, if I had all the money in the world, I'd still be doing the same thing... although probably in a different scale.

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Well, lets say i am 65, relatively healthy, i live in Canada and have no debts. I will have pension from my work that will be more than enough as I have no mortgage. $100k is more than enough.

If you have free healthcare and a pension - possibly, but not in the US. Most people don't have pensions and we don't have free healthcare. My pension (which was an experiment by the company I worked for and was discontinued) would have given me $500/mo for 2 lifetimes, but I cashed it out and put the money in my IRA. A lot of people with a few hundred thousand in an IRA think that will be enough. I'd hate to have to budget with that little money saved.

I'm on Medicare and health insurance (medical, medigap, prescription, dental, vision) costs me $5k/yr plus about $800 (potentially) in deductibles. My Wife is on the the health insurance exchange. She pays more than me and her deductible is in the $10-15k ballpark.