Retirement In Your Future.

[Amos Malone]

I'm tired today. Was tired yesterday. You could call it re-tired.
15 years until official retirement age. Had to start from zero financially at 40. Hoping to save enough to start retirement in 10-15 years. To do that I'll have to cut some toy purchases.
While health allows I'd like to travel a bit, then settle down in the garage fixing old bikes and stuff.

 

[MVI]

All my mates are retired, sans one. He is 67 and still working.

What I learned over the 4 day Thanksgivng break was my wife has a list of honey do's that keeps me rather occupied. The only rest i get nowadays is when I go to work

 

[Alan F.]

15 years until official retirement age. Had to start from zero financially at 40. Hoping to save enough to start retirement in 10-15 years.
While health allows I'd like to travel a bit, then settle down in the garage fixing old bikes and stuff.

I'm in about the same situation. I've been at the same job for 12 years now, I don't love it & won't miss it, but it's easy money. I could earn more, but I'd have to EARN it... An inheritance is on the way and I'll eventually buy a fixer-upper property, probably in Maine. It'll be nice to have a place of my own again, even if I stay here & work for another decade treating the place as a weekend and vacation project. I'd plant hearty fruit trees and set up a big solar array feeding the grid so it can pay the taxes on the place. If I'm careful I think I can manage it all without debt but research and accurate info are going to be very important.

 

[Mosefitch]

 

[Mosefitch]

I'm planning on next year. I'll be 63. Original plan was 45-50, got divorced when I was 48 instead. Went the one time buyout with the divorce so that set me back.
Have a riding buddy who's wife passed 15 years ago. He retired 3 years ago is 65 now. Sold everything, bought a Sprinter and outfitted it. Lives in his van hauling his bike around. He's out in Arizona for the winter. Spoke with him this weekend. When I told him I'm going to work one more year he said "got to keep working to make money to buy all the things you don't need." He knows I'm pretty frugal. He was pushing me to do it this year.

I voted for all except golf. Starting on an exercise regimen to stay in shape.

 

[oldschool]

I retired right after I moved 50 miles north of Tampa to a rural area. I wouldn't change anything because we got a place we love and I got the garage I've always wanted (well, within reason since I'm not Jay Leno), but the thing that clinched it for me was something I hadn't considered before we moved. I'd have still done it anyway, but we went from living in the general area of about a half million people (read: potential clients) to a county with only about 150,000 people. Business calls went in the tank, had to quit spending money on advertising and claim social security as soon as I turned 62. Getting far less because of it, but fortunately my wife did better than I did over the long haul (I spent a total of $96,000 on a child supported divorce for 14 years until 2010) so between us we're doing okay. It does limit what I can spend on my bikes, but I can definitely tell you... I really enjoy getting up when I wake up. And if I want to or have to spend most of the day inside running our forum or searching for parts for my bikes, I freaking can.

 

[EGR]

Thoughtful thread. It seem safe to confess. Planet earth out in the sun spring 1943. Economically responsible for self, 14YO. 1957. Incredibly lucky. Honest to God actual cowboy grandfather gave me two bits of life instruction. 1) how to deal with bullies. 2) NEVER borrow money.

Fast forward. We filed two W-2 and a schedule C and lived on less than one and never borrowed a penny for about 30 years. Not easy.

We both snapped in static lines and stepped out the door shortly post millennium.

For years daily bike time has been directly proportional to weather. The garden is a thing also.

 

[MVI]

Thoughtful thread. It seem safe to confess. Planet earth out in the sun spring 1943. Economically responsible for self, 14YO. 1957. Incredibly lucky. Honest to God actual cowboy grandfather gave me two bits of life instruction. 1) how to deal with bullies. 2) NEVER borrow money.

Fast forward. We filed two W-2 and a schedule C and lived on less than one and never borrowed a penny for about 30 years. Not easy.

We both snapped in static lines and stepped out the door shortly post millennium.

For years daily bike time has been directly proportional to weather. The garden is a thing also.

^^^ +1

 

[motocopter]

That's cool EGR! Fire wood for the heat, potatoes for the belly, and the Motus for the thrills!

 

[Tim C]

"Retired" Aug 12 this year. It took about 8 weeks and they were calling me asking if I'd be interested in working part time and 4 weeks to actually jump through all the corporate hoops to get me back in. Of course with the bump in pay since I'm contract labor is kinda nice getting better than full time pay for part time work. Now I'm in discussions with our division in Austria that manufactures the machines I work on (not KTM) and they've lost 3 people including me the last 12 months. Of the other two one was in Austria and the other in Brazil and they want me to take over most of the Americas service work directly to them as an outside vendor. Hopefully this will work out as I kind of miss the traveling. I like my job and the people there.

 

[JimVonBaden]

I turned 59 yesterday. Retirement is always on my mind. I'm set to retire at 62!

 

[MVI]

2 years, 364 days to go.

Buy a count down clock

Amazon product ASIN B08M6F4WQW

 

[Danno]

I mid life retired. Not really by choice but my old boss was welding custom hitches at 83 yrs old and he was a bad ass. Unfortunately after I left the shop and moved away he took his life with a rifle. I watched all his friends pass while I worked for the fam but uncle Russ was my true hero. My dad passed 2 years after retirement in his 60s and he was my finicial hero. An accountant and a wrench will never be replaced. Extremely large shoes to fill. Russ was like my dad for a decade. My mom's friend is almost 90 yrs old and still building wiring harnesses for classic mustangs. Goes to work 5 days a week. Ha another true warrior that loves life and has pride in his work.

 

[JimVonBaden]

I mid life retired. Not really by choice but my old boss was welding custom hitches at 83 yrs old and he was a bad ass. Unfortunately after I left the shop and moved away he took his life with a rifle. I watched all his friends pass while I worked for the fam but uncle Russ was my true hero. My dad passed 2 years after retirement in his 60s and he was my finicial hero. An accountant and a wrench will never be replaced. Extremely large shoes to fill. Russ was like my dad for a decade. My mom's friend is almost 90 yrs old and still building wiring harnesses for classic mustangs. Goes to work 5 days a week. Ha another true warrior that loves life and has pride in his work.

As they say, a person who loves what they do will never work a day in their life.

On the other hand, some people do not know how not to work. In some ways that is very sad.

 

[Camhead64]

We're working closely with our financial planner and due to meet again the first of January to make the call for next year being the last career year. I'll be 59 in June. I've been very fortunate, had an exceptional employeer with even more exceptional managers, who put an overwhelming amount of faith in me and my abilities and allowed me to rise as far as I wanted to go. When I joined the company just out of college in '86, we did 100 million in annual revenue, last year over 1.1 billion with two new subsidiaries. Sucess came with a cost, missed birthday's, anniversaries, weddings, funerals, holidays, vacations and lots and lots of time away from home. I look back on it and think what a ride, it was awesome, lonesome and according to some family members downright stupid, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat and throw even more of myself into it. It's the only way of life I know, the only one, if honest with myself, ever wanted. SO what to do now? No idea, my wife is exploring everthing and nothing, we are both struggling with the potential freedom retirement may offer. I'm sure we will get it sorted out time will tell.

 

[JimVonBaden]

We're working closely with our financial planner and due to meet again the first of January to make the call for next year being the last career year. I'll be 59 in June. I've been very fortunate, had an exceptional employeer with even more exceptional managers, who put an overwhelming amount of faith in me and my abilities and allowed me to rise as far as I wanted to go. When I joined the company just out of college in '86, we did 100 million in annual revenue, last year over 1.1 billion with two new subsidiaries. Sucess came with a cost, missed birthday's, anniversaries, weddings, funerals, holidays, vacations and lots and lots of time away from home. I look back on it and think what a ride, it was awesome, lonesome and according to some family members downright stupid, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat and throw even more of myself into it. It's the only way of life I know, the only one, if honest with myself, ever wanted. SO what to do now? No idea, my wife is exploring everthing and nothing, we are both struggling with the potential freedom retirement may offer. I'm sure we will get it sorted out time will tell.

Just a word of caution. Many military, police, and fast paced corporate people don't know how not to work, and they die not long after retirement. Don't retire without a plan on how to keep yourself occupied to at least half the pace you are used to.

 

[Danno]

As they say, a person who loves what they do will never work a day in their life.

On the other hand, some people do not know how not to work. In some ways that is very sad.

Unfortunately that was my father. 7 days a week and only made it 2 yrs after retirement. But Jim the harness builder loves going to work. And I appreciate that lifestyle. Many early mustang owners have his work making their dreams come true. He doesnt need to work he "retired" almost 30 yrs ago. Real cool individual.

 

[Hobo Jack]

First post, so this is a partial intro as well as thoughts on retirement. 15 months into retirement, and we moved to Western NY from North Carolina at the same time. Retirement has been incredibly busy, and filled with house renovations, some parttime work, and catching up on 30+ years of neglected stuff that got pushed to the side because of work. I'm fortunate in that I retired at 58 with a pension, so once I get caught up with stuff on the homefront I'd like to get on the road and start living up to my username of Hobo.

 

[FASTRacing]

WELCOME


Enjoy your Retirement... You've earned it !

 

[MVI]

First post, so this is a partial intro as well as thoughts on retirement. 15 months into retirement, and we moved to Western NY from North Carolina at the same time. Retirement has been incredibly busy, and filled with house renovations, some parttime work, and catching up on 30+ years of neglected stuff that got pushed to the side because of work. I'm fortunate in that I retired at 58 with a pension, so once I get caught up with stuff on the homefront I'd like to get on the road and start living up to my username of Hobo.

Welcome. Glad you are here to share your stories !