The accountant says we can retire early. Woohoo!!!

[kenmac]

I don't have all mine in the market .. I have some in private equities

 

[RSKY]

I wish some portion of investment basics was given more emphasis in school. It's too late to learn it later down the road... If we want folks to take care of themselves later (instead of the government doling out its pittances), we need to offer better tools for the task at hand.

In my opinion, naturally.

When my daughters were young I took their birthday and Christmas money and brought them individual mutual funds. The lady broker at the bank wouldn't cooperate unless I brought the girls in for a talk. So we made an appointment and I took them in. The lady pulled out a laptop computer and went through a presentation to them. At that time laptops were new and expensive so that impressed the girls. And they can recite some of the presentation thirty years later. Checks were written and they bought into some kind of mutual fund. A few weeks later one of the older girl's teachers made a comment in class and my daughter spoke up and told him, "that's not what my broker says". The reply was, "YOU have a broker?" Daughter went on to explain to the teacher and class that what he said was wrong and why he was wrong and he grudgingly accepted it.

She laughs about that incident today. But the thirty minute talk by that lady impressed those two girls and they now are invested in various ways and are putting money away for college for their kids and for their retirement. They also understand that the inheritance they will receive from their mother and me is generational wealth to be passed on to their children and not squandered.

RSKY

 

[kenmac]

When my daughters were young I took their birthday and Christmas money and brought them individual mutual funds. The lady broker at the bank wouldn't cooperate unless I brought the girls in for a talk. So we made an appointment and I took them in. The lady pulled out a laptop computer and went through a presentation to them. At that time laptops were new and expensive so that impressed the girls. And they can recite some of the presentation thirty years later. Checks were written and they bought into some kind of mutual fund. A few weeks later one of the older girl's teachers made a comment in class and my daughter spoke up and told him, "that's not what my broker says". The reply was, "YOU have a broker?" Daughter went on the explain to the teacher and class that what he said was wrong and why he was wrong and he grudgingly accepted it.

She laughs about that incident today. But the thirty minute talk by that lady impressed those two girls and they now are invested in various ways and are putting money away for college for their kids and for their retirement. They also understand that the inheritance they will receive from their mother and me is generational wealth to be passed on to their children and not squandered.

RSKY

hard to beat that compounded interest all those years !

 

[ultrarunner]

Recently I bumped into some of my retired friends at a retirement party and asked how's retirement?

I was surprised to learn several said they retired too early and inflation is taking a toll... food, cost of insurance, home repairs etc... at least they are somewhat property tax protected in California or they would be sunk... that 4k property tax bill could easily be 12-14k

One said he tried to pick up a part time job but not having any luck saying not a lot of demand for a 69 year old.

Most retired around 60-62... so they knew they would be paying out of pocket medical insurance... it's just inflation they didn't consider... none retired from a public sector position...

 

[riptides]

Recently I bumped into some of my retired friends at a retirement party and asked how's retirement?

I was surprised to learn several said they retired too early and inflation is taking a toll... food, cost of insurance, home repairs etc... at least they are somewhat property tax protected in California or they would be sunk... that 4k property tax bill could easily be 12-14k

One said he tried to pick up a part time job but not having any luck saying not a lot of demand for a 69 year old.

Most retired around 60-62... so they knew they would be paying out of pocket medical insurance... it's just inflation they didn't consider... none retired from a public sector position...

Medical costs....forced me back into the work force twice. Even with insurance coverage. And insurance was expensive to begin with.

 

[CalG]

the "average American Male" dies in less than three years after retirement.

Pick up a hobby!

Mine is moving rocks and making sure every last bit of worth in any piece of machinery or equipment, that I can use, and comes my way, get it's time in the sun!

 

[dodge man]

I’m beating the odds I retired over 4 years ago. I’m apparently living on borrowed time though.

 

[Torvy]

Definitely an individual decision. Despite inflation, we've spent less than we budgeted on recurring expenses.

We're only using passive income for expenses. When we start getting SocSec in a couple of years, it should cover the inflation part.

Key 1 is being willing and able to live a frugal life. We don't go 'out' much. Travel is mostly by car to visit friends/relatives.

Key 2 is understanding that SocSec is not retirement. It's a supplement. Too many don't save until it's too late to do much.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I retired in 2003, along with 22,000 other employees, from a major telecom company under a corporate buyout plan. Most were between 55 and 65 years old, I was 58. I still keep in touch with many of my former coworkers and the only ones who are struggling are those who chose the monthly pension over the lump sum buyout. The monthly pension increases have not kept up with inflation while sound investments have.

Those of us who took the buyout, left with close to $1 million, which was a combination of 401K$ and corporate incentives. All interviewed a series of financial advisors and invested the lump sum. The dozen or so that I keep in touch with, are all doing very well despite the 2008 recession.

I think the life lessons we all learned are these:

If you have a choice, don't retire too early.
In many cases, a lump sum or 401K distribution is better than a monthly pension.
Consult with a reputable financial advisor on how much you need in retirement.
Create a budget and live within your means.
Learn to live with the fluctuations in the financial markets and don't panic during a downturn.

This all may seem obvious and perhaps a bit oversimplified. It isn't a retirement recipe for everyone since every situation is different. I'm simply relating what has worked for over 20 years for myself and a great many folks I worked with.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

So far my wife's income exceeds our expenses... So brokerage growth and my side jobs are just icing.
Our HSA investments grow enough to cover medical expenses.