I am looking at retiring soon. Maybe in the next 2 years. I love the technical aspect of the job and really enjoy working with my team. But I absolutely can't take much more of all of the BS that goes with the job. The paperwork, the useless procedures etc.

Meet with my financial advisor today and I am now in a postilion that I could retire today and never have to worry. So money is not an issue. The only debt I have is a small mortgage. One of the reasons I want to wait a few more years to get that paid off or at least paid down. I want no debt going into retirement.

While I no longer want to continue my job, I am having a difficult time wrapping my head around no longer having someone else pay me and start paying myself. I have been working since I have been about 10 years old. And I have always been a saver. I watch what I spend to try and prepare for the future.

Now the future is here. So how did you retired guys deal with the fact that you are no longer going to collect a paycheck rather live off of all of the hard work you have put in for so many years?

 

I made the decision to retire early with much trepidation, but I didn't really have a choice because injuries from an auto accident prevented me from being able to continue working.

If you're not old enough to be on Medicare, you should consider the cost of medical insurance. If you have any dependents, you'll have to pay for insurance for them. Pay off all debt before retiring. It took me several years after I retired to pay off my mortgage; because I retired several years before my earliest planned retirement date. But, having the value of my home gives me some additional sense of security.

Money should concern you because you're only one idiot away from financial ruin. Any stupid politician can wreak havoc on your well laid plans. If you have your money in safe assets, you're hurting yourself. If you plan to live for decades, you need to be in the market because safe investments won't outpace inflation. Just don't put money you're going to need within the next few years in the market. Unless you have a 10's of millions in assets, you need worry about money and get a different financial advisor.

 

On a different view, it's good to get something positive to do, clubs / groups / hobbies etc. I have seen quite a few people go downhill fast when they retired as they basically just stopped! I know of others though who wonder how they ever found the time to work, They keep going. It is a major shock to the system though, that takes time to adjust to.

Tracy

 

I made the decision to retire early with much trepidation, but I didn't really have a choice because injuries from an auto accident prevented me from being able to continue working.

If you're not old enough to be on Medicare, you should consider the cost of medical insurance. If you have any dependents, you'll have to pay for insurance for them. Pay off all debt before retiring. It took me several years after I retired to pay off my mortgage; because I retired several years before my earliest planned retirement date. But, having the value of my home gives me some additional sense of security.

Money should concern you because you're only one idiot away from financial ruin. Any stupid politician can wreak havoc on your well laid plans. If you have your money in safe assets, you're hurting yourself. If you plan to live for decades, you need to be in the market because safe investments won't outpace inflation. Just don't put money you're going to need within the next few years in the market. Unless you have a 10's of millions in assets, you need worry about money and get a different financial advisor.

Well "not worry" are really my words. He showed me the projections. Baring some catastrophe, I will be fine. I learned way to late in life that while it is good to be somewhat prepared, you also can't obsess over what has not happened yet. I was miserable where I used to live but never moved because the place was paid off. I worried if I moved and lost my job I might not be able to make the payments. I finally wised up and bought a new place. It was like moving to a different world.

The guy with 10s of millions needs to worry too. What if there is a global financial crisis? A nuclear war? A meteor strikes the earth? Those tens of millions could turn out to be nothing more than make a nice fire.

If you are really worried then the best thing to do is to buy a bunker and stock it with a life time supply of food and go live there. Then you need to worry about protecting the place should the worst happen. That is no way to live. Just like staying at a place you hate is no way to live. I had a week off this Christmas and it was like an enormous weight was taken off of my shoulders. I didn't have to put up with all of the BS.

Of course I still worry a bit that I would be making a mistake not staying on. But then again I could be needlessly miserable for all of those years for no reason. Just like I was miserable at my old house when I did not have to be. And that mortgage would likely be paid off by now. Then again I might not have the money socked away that I have right now and retirement would be further down the road.

 

On a different view, it's good to get something positive to do, clubs / groups / hobbies etc. I have seen quite a few people go downhill fast when they retired as they basically just stopped! I know of others though who wonder how they ever found the time to work, They keep going. It is a major shock to the system though, that takes time to adjust to.

Tracy

I might get a part time job. I know at least I want to volunteer some place.

 

I retired five years ago and haven't regretted it for so much as a minute; life is good now. No more idiot boss making stupid business decisions and getting in my way.

(And electronics turns out to be MUCH more enjoyable as a hobby than it ever was as a job!)

 

I might get a part time job. I know at least I want to volunteer some place.

That’s what I did. I loved theater and have a part time job as the Technical Director for a local High School Theater Arts program. Plus, working with the High School students helps keep you young!

 

I retired five years ago and haven't regretted it for so much as a minute; life is good now. No more idiot boss making stupid business decisions and getting in my way.

(And electronics turns out to be MUCH more enjoyable as a hobby than it ever was as a job!)

My boss is great. It is the boss from the other team that I am not too crazy about and she influences him a lot. They are both new so have lots of new ideas. My previous boss was just more or less keep the lights on kind of guy. That is more my thinking. I am not interested in personal or career development at work. I just want to do my job and get through the next few years.

The worst is the quarterly department meetings. I swear I would rather have hot pokers jabbed into my eyeballs. They are excruciating. A bunch of managers talking about their projects that I have nothing to do with. I don't care what other groups are doing. I don't care about how they handle their projects. I don't even care what business the company is getting into. All I care is that I will continue to get paid and that they won't screw me too bad on benefits like they have been doing for the past 10 or 15 years.

So how did you deal with the fact that there will be no longer money coming into the "bank account", rather you would be spending what took you so long to save?

 

I might get a part time job.

I don't consider that retiring.

I know at least I want to volunteer some place.

I had planned to volunteer at the local schools, food bank, animal shelter, and get involved with some political issues (auto insurance was first on my list). Unfortunately, I'm not physically able to do that.

I really wanted to volunteer because the company I worked for gives $10/hour for volunteer work by employees and retirees at non-profits.

 

Well "not worry" are really my words. He showed me the projections. Baring some catastrophe, I will be fine.

That sounds more like it. Some financial advisors think they know everything, but the don't. No one has a crystal ball.

The guy with 10s of millions needs to worry too. What if there is a global financial crisis? A nuclear war? A meteor strikes the earth? Those tens of millions could turn out to be nothing more than make a nice fire.

If he puts millions into precious metal bullion and other physical assets, he'll be a lot better off than people who didn't have the money to do it.

Who would care if there's a nuclear war or extinction type meteor strike? Non-physical assets would be worthless. If that happens, I'd rather be among those who die. Infirm people who can't carry their own weight would be more of a liability than an asset to a struggling civilization.

 

I am looking at retiring soon. Maybe in the next 2 years. I love the technical aspect of the job and really enjoy working with my team. But I absolutely can't take much more of all of the BS that goes with the job. The paperwork, the useless procedures etc.

Meet with my financial advisor today and I am now in a postilion that I could retire today and never have to worry. So money is not an issue. The only debt I have is a small mortgage. One of the reasons I want to wait a few more years to get that paid off or at least paid down. I want no debt going into retirement.

While I no longer want to continue my job, I am having a difficult time wrapping my head around no longer having someone else pay me and start paying myself. I have been working since I have been about 10 years old. And I have always been a saver. I watch what I spend to try and prepare for the future.

Now the future is here. So how did you retired guys deal with the fact that you are no longer going to collect a paycheck rather live off of all of the hard work you have put in for so many years?

I read and re-read your post to make sure I understand what you are asking. I needed to do that, not because you have the communication skills of someone who has a '$' in their username, but because the general topic can reflexively generate a lot of output.

I am having a difficult time wrapping my head around no longer having someone else pay me and start paying myself.

So how did you retired guys deal with the fact that you are no longer going to collect a paycheck rather live off of all of the hard work you have put in for so many years?

If you plot your net worth, you may very well see it go down. If you have been working and saving and living at or below your means for a very long time, you are likely (barring certain situations) used to a positively accelerated net worth. That can be, indeed, a big change.

My answer is that you can accept it (you can deal with it) because you can get used to it with time. You deal with it like you deal with all the other changes that come with ageing - you have a certain amount that you can do about them and a lot that you can't...and shouldn't try.

But, please do not ignore the positive trade-off - freedom! What you are losing in the change in the slope of your net worth can be viewed as the price of a life with a significant reduction in that which you "have to do" and a huge increase (perhaps for the first time since you were 10) in that which you "do because you want to"! If the latter does not truly appeal to you, maybe you should re-assess your projected retirement to a point when it really does and there is nothing wrong with that either.

If you project the trend and it drops below a subsistence level, you must realize that it is really not a problem - as long as that point is well past your clock out date.

Having done the financial planning, you are in a good position to estimate that function, within reason. That you can even consider it makes you a member in a very fortunate club.

 

The worst is the quarterly department meetings.

Trust me, it's much, MUCH worse when they're weekly.

So how did you deal with the fact that there will be no longer money coming into the "bank account", rather you would be spending what took you so long to save?

There's money coming in, part of it from my pension accumulated during 21 years with the previous employer, the "Psycho Fortune 100 Corporation From Hell", plus what I get from Social Security, plus there was a big wad of cash from the pension at my final employer (the one with the idiot boss). The bank account is actually growing, albeit slowly; it would be growing faster if I did a better job restraining my impulse buying.

 

Trust me, it's much, MUCH worse when they're weekly.


There's money coming in, part of it from my pension accumulated during 21 years with the previous employer, the "Psycho Fortune 100 Corporation From Hell", plus what I get from Social Security, plus there was a big wad of cash from the pension at my final employer (the one with the idiot boss). The bank account is actually growing, albeit slowly; it would be growing faster if I did a better job restraining my impulse buying.

How about daily staff meetings with morons who couldn't run their nose if they had a cold! But, I digress (and am exaggerating as well).

When I read your post @OBW0549 it occurs to me that the word "pension" may soon join this list.

 

How about daily staff meetings with morons who couldn't run their nose if they had a cold! But, I digress (and am exaggerating as well).

Staff meetings. Project status meetings and reports. Long, long, LONG presentations by management covering in agonizing detail every facet of the corporate financial picture-- including the financials for corporate divisions we had nothing to do with. ISO9000 training and refresher sessions. Same for the Software Engineering Institute stuff, which even we hardware jockeys had to attend. It was truly maddening.

I don't include design review meetings in that list, as they were actually productive.

When I read your post @OBW0549 it occurs to me that the word "pension" may soon join this list.

I suspect you're right. Defined-benefit pensions, such as mine, already seem to be a thing of the past.

 

Trust me, it's much, MUCH worse when they're weekly.


There's money coming in, part of it from my pension accumulated during 21 years with the previous employer, the "Psycho Fortune 100 Corporation From Hell", plus what I get from Social Security, plus there was a big wad of cash from the pension at my final employer (the one with the idiot boss). The bank account is actually growing, albeit slowly; it would be growing faster if I did a better job restraining my impulse buying.

Well you are lucky then. I have no pension. I think retiring with a pension would be easier to deal with psychologically. Then again what giveth can be taketh away. It was happened many times before. I really feel sorry for the folks that were relying on a pension for retirement and then it went belly up.

At least what I have now is mine. Baring some catastrophe it will continue to be mine.

 

So here is another question. Back when you were young, when you took your first job was a retirement package a part of your decision on taking the job? I can tell you it never crossed my mind or I would have been more tenacious at seeking out a company with a retirement package. I really didn't have a job with a c0mpany with a decent retirement package till I was in my 30s. Previous employers were smaller companies that offered a pretty dismal IRA matching program.

I wish I had started somewhere with a better retirement package much earlier.

 

Back when you were young, when you took your first job was a retirement package a part of your decision on taking the job? I can tell you it never crossed my mind or I would have been more tenacious at seeking out a company with a retirement package.

It was never a consideration. I didn't care about any benefits. I just wanted an interesting job. I didn't start contributing to my company 401(k) until I was around 40. Prior to that, I invested in company stock. I was fortunate that my company contributed 8% of my annual earnings to a company managed retirement program. When I did start contributing, I contributed the maximum allowed by law and when I became eligible for catch up payments, I started making catch up payments. Unfortunately, I only started doing that a couple years before my unplanned early retirement.

If I had it to do over, I'd take benefits into consideration for any job (I only worked at 3 companies and two had good benefits). I wish I had had parents to offer guidance; though it's unlikely that they could have offered much because neither one of them made it to high school or worked in jobs that had any benefits to speak of (no medical, vacation, retirement, pension, stock options, etc). My children will have an opportunity to learn from my experiences; should they choose to do so...

 

It was never a consideration. I didn't care about any benefits. I just wanted an interesting job. I didn't start contributing to my company 401(k) until I was around 40. Prior to that, I invested in company stock. I was fortunate that my company contributed 8% of my annual earnings to a company managed retirement program. When I did start contributing, I contributed the maximum allowed by law and when I became eligible for catch up payments, I started making catch up payments. Unfortunately, I only started doing that a couple years before my unplanned early retirement.

If I had it to do over, I'd take benefits into consideration for any job (I only worked at 3 companies and two had good benefits). I wish I had had parents to offer guidance; though it's unlikely that they could have offered much because neither one of them made it to high school or worked in jobs that had any benefits to speak of (no medical, vacation, retirement, pension, stock options, etc). My children will have an opportunity to learn from my experiences; should they choose to do so...

Sounds like you and I are pretty much in the same boat. I too had parents that were not well educated. I had no one to give me advice. I too pick the job that seemed for interesting rather than offering security.

You were lucky to be able to contribute the max allowed. I still can't do that but then again I am pretty diversified. I have significant savings outside of my employers plan. Both pre tax an post tax. While some people want to make all of their money working for them with pretax investments, I liked the idea of just paying now as opposed to later. I also liked having that nest egg that I could draw on in the event I needed the cash pre retirement. It certainly came in handy when I bought the new house a couple of years ago.

I probably could afford to max out or near max out my 401K contributions but right now getting the house paid off is more important to me so the money goes there. It would also mean no more travel on vacation. I just don't want to make that sacrifice because it is something I enjoy and I am capable of doing it now. You can never tell wwaht tomrrow has in store.

 

So here is another question. Back when you were young, when you took your first job was a retirement package a part of your decision on taking the job?

Back when I got my first job in 1965 at age 16, and my Social Security card, I looked at the card and it said I could retire in 2014. Retire? What's that? And 2014? I couldn't even imagine 2014...

 

I could retire in 2014. Retire? What's that? And 2014? I couldn't even imagine 2014...

And finally be able to buy your flying car?