For the other retired guys::

[RSKY]

If you want to retire, ever, then don't borrow money for toys. Only borrow for necessities such as your home, primary vehicles, and tractors.

Once saw a TV show where they were talking about getting out of debt and this lady said they were about to loose their house because of the debt incurred remodeling their kitchen. The commentator asked why they had remodeled the kitchen and the lady said it was "out dated"! She thought the government should help people who had incurred excessive debt and could not understand why her problems were her fault. She kept saying but her kitchen was "out dated" and needed remodeled. The commentator continued to ask her if she could prepare food in her "outdated" kitchen and the lady never understood what he was getting at.

DON'T BORROW MONEY FOR TOYS IF YOU EVER WANT TO RETIRE !!!!

A couple of doctors I know cannot retire at 65 because they have too much debt. They bought too many unnecessary things and even with a half million dollar a year income they cannot stop working.

My wife retired at 55, me at 56. We have pensions, 401Ks, and I draw Social Security since I turned 62. We bring home more money now than we did when we were working. BUT it took years of planning and preparing. I also got a lot of good advice from some unlikely people.

We never had to keep a schedule until we retired. Now we check what is happening in the next week on Saturday nights and make our plans. With a 92-year old mother, still driving and very stubborn, and a 90-year old father-in-law, still driving but not so stubborn, two kids and four grandchildren all within a twenty mile drive we stay busy.

RSKY

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Now I have another question for all you much more educated and experienced guys and gals out there.

I'm 26 and don't plan to retire BUT I always have redundant back up plans just in case, I don't like to get caught off guard or find myself unprepared so what's the best gain for retirement?

What and where should I invest ext.

I basically know nothing about any of it, I have a 401k which I just match what the company will pay out which is 6% of my wages.

I have gotten into a bit of debt last few years and should have most of everything except the house paid off by the age of 30 (tractor, misc loans ext) the house I have another 17 years on and I pay $100 extra a month on that so in reality I'm looking at more like 15 years.

One question I have always had is: is it better to pay things off ASAP or pay it off slower and invest more earlier on?

As of now I plan to aggressively pay stuff off and at around 30 start aggressively putting into retirement, is that too late?

Also when my elderly neighbor is done with there house in less than 10 years I plan to buy there house, fix it up a little and rent it out, when I get older I want to transition to rentals and making my own schedule vs what I'm doing now which is work in a 24-7 building, getting thrown around shifts. holidays and 2 day consecutive days off don't mean anything around here but it's good money and more than pays the bills.

I have a daughter your age and I will tell you what I told her, you got to have a plan and stick to it. Pay off the credit card every month, as others have said do not buy toys you can not pay cash for. Set up an emergency fund so you can cover your cots of living for 6 months. Start saving for retirement NOW, max out your 401K, open a Roth IRA max is $5500, it is unlikely you will have a pension and social security may not be around when you retire. It is all about compounding interest the sooner you start the more you will have when you need it. When kids come it will be tight, do not take $ out of your retirement accounts, its that compounding thing do not touch it!

The best advice you can get is one you pay for. Hire a CFP look at this web site CFP Board and interview 3 CFP in your area, usually the first meeting is free. Make sure you tell them what you want ie a plan for retirement. They will come up with a plan tailored for you and provide guidance and recommendations. You can then go to a low cost company such as Vanguard or Fidelity and buy what they suggest.

I dealt with a financial planner for 5 years that I did not pay for his advise. Then I started to read and educate myself and did not like what I heard. I did the CFP thing and found out that free advise was actually costing me many $$ in fees. That was 20 years ago, since then I retired at 58, paid for both of my kids education and have a great time traveling. It took planning and sticking to that plan.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I appreciate the kind words, guys. My wife and I had all kinds of plans for things we would do when her father wasn't our responsibility any more. Now she's gone at 68, I have to rethink my future. I will, I just haven't had time enough pass to be able to wrap my head around my new situation.

I have all kinds of things to keep me busy on my 'estate', and as soon as old man winter leaves, I will be able to begin to tackle them. I've got kids and grandkids to ease me though things, too.

I'm already planning to take the grandkids somewhere on a vacation this summer.

I just want to let people know that when you get old enough to retire, your life can change instantly and permanently and there's not much you can do about it sometimes. So do all you can, as soon as you can when you retire. Live like there's no tomorrow, because there might not be.

Thanks again, guys.

 

[oldballs]

One of the TBN guys has a signature that reads..."Never had much, but still have most of it"....something like that.

Thus, retirement at age 74 was due to a lay off. Working that long, with good health (me), allowed us to pay off everything. So much for finances....Then the wife of 48 years died....that was about 9 years ago. Believe it, I still am overwhelmed with grief on occasion. But our little acres, a new Kubota, various activities, kid/grandkids, helping neighbors, good health keep me busy. I do live like there is a tomorrow
, however. Of recent, I even have a nice lady friend.

Cheers to the "oldpilgrim".
Mike

 

[RalphVa]

Been retired for 18 years. Nice to be able to go without clothes in the warm weather.

Only appointments I end up with are bowling twice/week and sometimes master gardener helpdesk one morning/week. Other than that, it's usually medical stuff and must-do shopping.

 

[Clay45]

Some great wisdom here. I suppose I'm retired via disability. I was always an early starter; first in the office last to leave kind of guy. My father was a self-employed oilfield contractor and growing up he worked every day except Christmas if he could. After college I transitioned into the white collar world via accounting & information services. Really don't mean to complain although I did some long stints in unemployment when the oilfield would collapse. Boom & bust is a common thing in Texas.

Then about 8-10 years ago I started having mobility issues with my feet; one oddball thing after another. And my balance began to deteriorate. And my carpal tunnel would flare up and my left sciatic nerve would light my leg up like it was on fire. Kept fussing with my primary physician until he reluctantly ordered an MRI of my lumbar spine. He was convinced my longterm type II diabetes was the culprit but 3 weeks later he called to let me know he'd refered my to a neural surgeon to address impingement of my nerve at L5-S1. Turns out that's extremely common but it was all new to me. The new "less than an inch incision" procedure may seem great outwardly but that's it. The surgeon informed me that just because it looked clean all the same procedures are still performed and all that internal damage still has to recover...and boy was she right. Since acquiring our little 6+ac "project" out in the country I've enjoyed 3 years of recovering from two back surgeries and edema, and lung cancer. (another saga in itself).

At 57 Social Security took note of all my medical issues, had me list who and where I'd received treatment, and informed me I had 35 good years of work. Once they determined I met their requirements for disability they rapidly paid a little back-benefits and started my tremendously reduced retirement payment. They also informed me that once I reached 66 the payment amount would continue at the same reduced rate except I would transition from the disability checkbook and rules to the Social Security Administration checkbook and rules. In spite of all the stories I'd heard I have to say I felt they treated me right. I feel ok as long as I remain seated which is most the time. Naturally I've gained a tremendous amount of weight and retirement is certainly not what I anticipated. So much I planned to do just isn't going to happen. But in the last year while I've been staying in the hospital or running to and from a cancer center my youngest daughter announced her engagement and subsequently married earlier than planned just in case I might checkout. My son and daughter-in-law had their 2nd child (our 5th grandchild) and I have my sights set on attaining my 63rd bday in February. Options for treatment continue to narrow and our 40th wedding anniversary seems a far target in August but I'm still going for it. Believe me; there are much much worse things out there and I try to tell myself to remember to thank the Lord for all my blessings every day. I know I worked hard for and earned my disability benefits. No charity to it and I resent when folks even suggest it. Retirement and retirement age is a target. You should never assume you'll get it. I enjoyed being involved in my employment and never really thought I'd retire because I'd never been employed long enough with a single employer nor enjoyed any descretionary income save for a few years early on. It can be pushed upon you overnight. My dad had a stroke at 57 that blinded him enough he never had normal vision enough to ever drive again. Lived the last 18 years of his life in a little fixer upper in a quiet rundown little lakeside community. After someone once told him he should be glad he lived in America and was able to still enjoy a retirement of sorts he turned to me and said "I know I'm still a fortunate man. But don't tell me I have a good deal." He died of lung cancer at 75. I can much appreciate his words now although I still feel that thanks to he and my mom, my wife and children, and 35 years of being a productive American citizen that I am a very lucky man that appreciates each new day.

 

[Looking4new]

I am 70 and only work in the summer time, so I guess I am semi-retired. Only 29 years to go until full retirement. The plan is called Freedom 99.

 

[newbury]

Been retired since 2011 Retired "early" because SWMBO had suffered two strokes, one nearly fatal, and had to retire. Since then he has fully recovered, but can only leap small buildings with a single bound. We had planned on retiring last year, when I reached 65, but the 5 extra years was well worth it.

What endears you most about not having to work for a living?

Being able to schedule my life for my wife's convenience and mine. Minor appointments at the doctor's - she would have drove herself. Now I drive her to the door, pick her up at the door.
Last summer we had many things happening. A few deaths of her relatives in Mississippi and she was an executor of an estate requiring her in Mississippi, an addition being put on a house I own, but not live in, in Virginia requiring me to be in Virginia. It was a 7 month long unplanned separation, the addition was supposed to be finished in 3 months, and the estate finished about the same time. The separation really drove home a few things. One was how much we missed each other. The other was how great it was to have the freedom to just take 7 months to get stuff done correct.

The contractor on the addition was good, but took a long time to get things done (he also under bid several others by about 30%). But since I could be there for deliveries, monitoring cement pours etc. Once we established that I could wait until hades froze over for him to do it correctly within budget things went fine and we pulled the project in at about a 10% discount off his original bid.

I often tell people I'm doing business with (appointments, etc.) that I'm flexible, I'm retired. But I also put a time limit on things so they don't stretch out forever because I've found some people will try and take advantage. So when I call to make a car appointment I'll say anytime but within two weeks.

 

[RNeumann]

Visit Dave's Ramsey site. Dave Ramsey Homepage - daveramsey.com .... He has a lot of good information about paying off your debts, and why you should knock out your smallest debt first. He will also give you some good investing advise .
He also will list people in your area that can help you with investing. They teach you the whys and the why nots. Had I not invested in IRA's And bought and held other stocks. I would have never been able to retire at 57

Can I just say Dave Ramsey changed my life. He gave my wife and I a plan that works. I can't say enough good about his "7 baby steps".
Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps ? the plan to win with money. - YouTube

Dave Ramsey Live 7 Baby Steps - YouTube

 

[SandburRanch]

What endears you most about not having to work for a living? I was thinking about that subject yesterday when I called our vet to make appointments for three of our cats, and told them to give me a number of days and times that would work well for their schedule and I would be there when they chose. Such works out well for both them and me...

Does anyone recall the movie back in about 1994: "Nobody's Fool" starring Paul Newman. I read a review of that that stated, quote: "Newman plays his role so well, he personifies someone who revels in his ability to be ALMOST IRRESPONSIBLE (emphasis added).

Yes...that is what basically endears me to being retired for nearly 15 years now. I can pretty much do what I want to, when I want to, however I want to. :thumbsup:

**********************************************************
Retired in 1999 and was quickly asked; what are you going to do. My response was, " whatever is fun and irresponsible. "