patrick.net

I'm retired technically at 41. Going to Mexico in a couple weeks. I'm spoiled and lucky though. Wife has a private sector job that pays mid 6 figures. She can work remotely. They don't count vacation days. Small company employee wise but big revenue.

Summers are golf and entertainment. Most of her clients are now our friends. Basically she doesn't have to work hard. Pays for stuff with the business money and just pops in "when are you gonna do work" and they do it. I'd argue she's retired, she just has to answer to people weekly.

I still work 12 hours or so a week. Not for a lot. But gets me out of the house and it's not with my ping pong group though I do that weekly if there are no kids sports. Haven't golfed as much this year as I'd like. Have a cruise for spring break. Probably go to MT in March for a concert and snowboarding solo. Wife will almost certain sit down and plan something for MLK weekend so the kids miss the least amount of school.

That's the hard part of being semi retired with kids. Travel is more difficult as they get older. The teachers get pissed. So does the school. The factor of jealousy in our lives is massive though. That would be one drawback. Your peers will be nice to you, but secretly hate you and take the occasional jab at you. You need a good friend network or it might be more stressful. Family that's not as successful will hate you and again be nice.

I have bad knees from athletics. I want to enjoy life when I'm somewhat in good shape. Enjoy time with the kids. 55+ and on I don't imagine will be pleasant physically. I'm going to enjoy the hell out of it now. I'm trying to get my kids to $20k before they graduate high school. Invest it all. I'm going to open them Roth accounts. Stack those first as an insurance policy they can pull out the gains after 5 years with no penalty. I plan more for them than myself.

@gabbar I agree with that screenshot completely.

For years, while sitting in stupid meetings which were wasting everyone's time so that a manager could justify his job, I would think about just getting up and leaving. What kept me there? Only the need for a certain amount of money, just enough to cover my likely expenses for the rest of my life. My savings kept going up and amount I needed to retire kept getting smaller as I had less time left to live. Then a few years ago I found I had enough, and I quit. I don't regret it at all. Not living in great luxury, but I have time to do what I want like working more on this site, collecting memes, reading, and printing genealogy books (see https://webfam.net/ for that project of mine) and that has all been great.

Well, you need to save up enough money to live a comfortable retirement, so usually that means you have to work.

I kind of retired in my 20’s. After college I didn’t want a stressful “adult” life, so I retired to San Diego and worked as a lab rat at an academic research organization and then a biotech company. I was only supposed to take a break for a couple of years, but somehow it stretched to 8. The academic lab job was a breeze - 5 hours of work got paid for 8. Cool people. Lived on the beach in a cheap studio apartment and took a bus to work that went right down the coast to Torrey Pines where I got off. Even the biotech company was pretty non-stressful and paid a little better. I had very non-serious friends - deadheads, anarchists, druggies, surfers, drug dealers, folks who jumped bail and were on the lam, but also post-docs from Oz who would always put me under the table with their endless beer drinking. I windsurfed, took up guitar, and smoked a ton of weed. Played a lot of tennis and got quite good at it.

But I had this nagging internal voice that I had to make money and get a career, so took the easy way out and got an MBA, full time, two years. And then got on the career treadmill, got married, yada, yadda. But I look back on those early days with a great deal of fondness. When I retire, I doubt that my life would be like that again. For one, my wife would not allow it. :>))

I work it out so I could retire at 38 (paid-for nice house, enough passive income to pay bills, plus savings) yet when I was able to I did not feel like retiring. Being financially independent did mean I could be selective about where I wanted to work.

You can dream your life away, but the body ages and before you know it, that nest egg hole nags. You can't make the world go away forever. Unless you are a trust fund kid, gotta buckle down and at least try to get those savings in line.

However, even in Santa Cruz, there are the old addled brain damaged hippies and mentally impaired who scrape by on very little and use all public assistance. The factory that manufactures the old gray beard long haired dudes cranked them out by the millions and it drives my wife crazy, she can't stand them.

For such an expensive place, she thinks most of the men are unattractive, the perpetual adolescents. There is one lady in the Section 8 apartments down the street who wheels out every day (weather permitting) in her wheelchair and chain smokes all day in the yard facing the street. That being said, most of the stragglers in Santa Cruz have some kind of outpatient money when you scratch the surface and talk with them. Trust fund kids and inheritors always like to portray their advantages as breezy insouciance and superiority while pretending to be 'humble'.

There are still rent controlled trailers in the county areas, and Guv will send out handy man once or twice a year and replace appliances every five years for free.

You can tell the homeless and old druggies by the way they have that stiff gaited Parkinsonism shuffle from long term drug abuse, you can spot them a mile away from their body language.

HeadSet says

I work it out so I could retire at 38 (paid-for nice house, enough passive income to pay bills, plus savings) yet when I was able to I did not feel like retiring. Being financially independent did mean I could be selective about where I wanted to work.

I think you're one of the few younger people on patnet with a pension? Former Airforce? My dad and uncle have those and uncle has an additional pension from the city of SA for doing IT work after AF retirement.

I tell them it's like they are multi-millionaires. I'm barely a multi but I don't feel like I could retire without at least one more. At least not this young being mid-gen-X. I GTFO out CA a couple of years ago too.

SoTex says

I think you're one of the few younger people on patnet with a pension? Former Airforce? My dad and uncle have those and uncle has an additional pension from the city of SA for doing IT work after AF retirement.

Not my super rich uncle, but another got the double dip pension delight. Superintendent of a school district and county president. He's been making $400k/yr doing nothing for about 20 years. His wife was a teacher as well. Another $90k/yr. Kids are grown and successful. House paid off.

Weird thing is they don't travel or do anything. And I'm not joking. They do nothing but sit at the house and I think read or something. They're likely sitting on $20M unless they've been giving it to my cousins or grandkids. They're healthy enough, but going back to the OP, they don't do anything because they're old. Doesn't invest because there's no more income besides SS money. That's funny money for them. He could take some risky gambles if he wanted. He is about 75 I believe.

It would be fun to be old with tons of money and just toss $50k on red at a roulette table and not worry about it as long as you have discipline to walk after the first loss or walk after 2-3 wins in a row.

Patrick says

That amount kept getting smaller as I invested more money and had less time left to live.

I think its important to keep in mind how much time you have left and plan one's life accordingly. I see my dad living as if he is going to live forever and I dont like it but he does.

WookieMan says

I plan more for them than myself.

This is a very noble way of planning

WookieMan says

They do nothing but sit at the house and I think read or something.

Maybe they are smart and they have already done what all they wanted to do in their lives....?

To each, their own. Retired folks I know like to travel. My wife’s aunt said do it while you can, while you are mobile and relatively healthy because a day will come when you cannot.

What's the point in retiring unless you can do it in Caligulan splendor?
I will work until at least 60, I think. The thing is that at the moment work is very easy and lucrative, so it's not like I have a big incentive to quit.

I think you should stop working for someone else as early as possible; then you can slow down when you want to retire since you have no boss.
I've always lived a pretty modest lifestyle, and I was a fanatical saver and investor for the last 40 years.
I overdid it because I didn't plan on receiving an inheritance in 2017, however it's increased my net worth more than I had planned for.
Now, I wish I had really had more fun doing things which cost money; I only now am loosening up.
Having children means you cannot quit working if they go to college; as the family black sheep I didn't have the huge expense, I never married.
The signiificant problem about delaying retiring or doing what you want to do whenever you want to, is age and health.
I was pretty spry until age 60; then I started to feel laziness creep up.
I would have liked to travel more but I'm becoming intolerant of airports and bullshit; when I was younger I didn't care.
I have good genes because people cannot guess my age, I appear somewhat younger.
Recently I discovered I had hip arthritis and I had never had such problems of any kind previously. Luckily, in Florida they fixed me up quickly.
In Florida, I saw a lot of people who came down from NY or NJ who had no outdoor interests; they'd be in bars watching sports on any given afternoon.
I think it's bad to do that with your free time, but I saw a lof ot it.
Our immune system starts to decline after age 60, so I'm worried about coming down with some random ailment now.

Ceffer says

the old addled brain damaged hippies and mentally impaired who scrape by on very little

Hey, like, wait just a minute, Man!

gabbar says

Maybe they are smart and they have already done what all they wanted to do in their lives....?

No. They just worked. My aunt would have summers off but didn't do anything. I think she may have even tutored. She speaks fluent French but from what I know has never been there. They're the classic definition of a legit nerds.

And not joking, I think they're scared to travel. My cousins come to them 95% of the time. One is 2 hours away and the other 4. Four grandkids. I guess their goal was to create a massive nest egg for them all and just sit there. I'm telling you it's weird. I wouldn't be shocked if they have groceries delivered.

Come to think of it that's what my grandma did for 25-30 years after retiring. Maybe that's where he gets it. Just sits in the house. My mom, his sister, is about 5 minutes away and she never sees him. He can hand down generational wealth, but his kids are already into the mid-6 figure territory annually themselves.

My kids are going to get rather large sums of money from my MIL and mom. I'm not a huge fan of that, but whatever. Unless she puts caveats on how they can use their inheritance.

I was well taken care of as a kid, but I personally didn't have "money" like a few other kids I knew. My parents kept it to themselves but did travel with us all over the place.

I have posted before that I work for the govt.

Best life decision I ever made. I wish I had listened to a friend who was advising me to go that route a few years earlier.

I’ll retire when I’m 57, if not sooner. There’s a lot I want to do and don’t have the time to do now. I remain constantly baffled by some coworkers who don’t want to retire. I’m taking they have enough years on that they would take home more in retirement than they do now while working. One guy actually rescinded his retirement when we were offered a cash incentive a few years back stating that he didn’t know what he would do with himself.

Fuck that. I retire means I have time to prepare all my own meals, I get to enjoy hobbies I like, I get to fucking sleep in every day. Growing up, my dad was up at 730 even on weekends(630 during the week). He was constantly on edge, and any little thing woke him up. Now retired for 16 years, he sleeps until 8-830. My mom doesn’t wake up until 10. I envy that. I’ve always been a night person and sleep has always seemed like such a luxury to me.

Travel is awesome. After long road-trips the last two summers, I want to just keep going and wifey is fully on board. She absolutely loved the American west. There’s a ton of places I’ve never been to and really want to go. Airbnb and vrbo have made it much easier and cheaper to do.

Honestly I can’t wait.

clambo says

Having children means you cannot quit working if they go to college

I disagree. Oxygen mask parenting. Teach your kids. Show them how to save and invest. Take care of yourself first. Any money we save is not earmarked for college for our kids. They already know that.

With 3 boys I'm not paying for them to just go and party at college and learn bull shit unless they're serious. Also I'm a community college guy. Go there for two years and get the basics out of the way. If you get that done then I'd maybe pay for a state school. Otherwise I'm in Puerto Rico or St. Thomas.

Off topic, but admissions to colleges are a joke now. It wasn't like when I was 17. You literally can get into most universities that will take your money. Even in 2000 for me I was accepted to Brown with average grades because of athletics. They just want your money at this point.

FuckTheMainstreamMedia says

Travel is awesome. After long road-trips the last two summers, I want to just keep going and wifey is fully on board. She absolutely loved the American west. There’s a ton of places I’ve never been to and really want to go.

Go everywhere. The Salt Lake City to Vegas national park trip is amazing. Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion. Could swing to the north rim of Grand Canyon. A bit overrated and you need to be in good shape to get to the bottom or get a donkey. The lodge there is cool and it's less trafficked and you get good views.

I preach here, but you have to go to St. John. St. Thomas, where you fly in, is rough around the edges, but the people are chill. Once out of Cruz Bay on St. John you just drive around and go to some of the most amazing beaches ever. About the only good thing a Rockefeller did well for the public. You'll need to rent a Jeep though. Some roads are rough.

On St. Thomas Magens Bay and Coki Beach are favorites. We stay at Margaritaville. On site restaurant is below average, think Chilis or Applebees.

I hate suggesting this, but Navarre Beach, FL. I don't want it to get crowded... But it's the best sand you'll see. If I recall you're in Tennessee now. Not a bad drive. Limited condo towers and it's not buildable to the east or west of the beach. So a low party vibe and on a calm day white sand and emerald water. If you like views the 6 or so towers on the island are nice. May is the best time of year when kids are still in school and no hurricane risk.

I could write about this all day. I know the OP is about age, but I think it's pertinent to the conversation. What do you do if you do retire early?