Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned

[Hay Dude]

When I asked my wife why productivity went UP when they all went to working from home, she rolled her eyes at me. Why? Because they were all stopping by each others' desks and chatting several times a day.

And those working from home arent goofing off playing candy crush or shopping for trinkets on Amazon?
There’s more potential for abuse at home, because theres no supervision like at an office, but I would imagine the office expense is so great, that an employee could probably work 1/2 day and theyd still make more money

 

[ultrarunner]

The lesson I wish I壇 learned when I was 26 was to always marry someone your own age.

I知 approaching 60. My wife is 55. She wants to work until Medicare age while i want to bail from my challenging job at 60. So that means she will be working 10 years more than me.

I don稚 want to wait 10 years for us to go do what we plan in retirement which includes a bit of traveling, but I don稚 want to travel alone either.

Still not sure what I知 going to do and haven稚 found anything I壇 like to do while I wait for her to retire.

I was surprised to learn some countries let women retire earlier then men with full benefits. When I asked I was told so they would have more time together retired...

This is in Austria.

PS... that gear you are holding sure looks like it took a lot of abuse!

 

[ultrarunner]

Try to find some data that contradicts it. I can't. I also found a survey that says about 43% of people want to continue working remotely, and only about 26% want to resume their pre-pandemic work schedule.

This has really taken a toll in San Francisco which is near the top in rent drops and business closure permanently.

Many businesses need the influx of commuters/workers to be profitable.

Office space is going begging and some huge leases were bought out for tens of millions.

Work from home keeps being extended but is still temporary.

Those that do are issued a company computer with support... may also have a cell because a few don't have Internet but Hot Spot works well.

Also a quarterly stipend of $200 has been going out to cover miscellaneous work from home.

One of my good friends, a RN opted to work from home 20 years ago as advice nurse... said it was the single best decision made... has a cup of coffee... house to himself during the day and making full wages without the commute... like finding an extra 2 hours each workday...

 

[drssg]

And those working from home arent goofing off playing candy crush or shopping for trinkets on Amazon?
There’s more potential for abuse at home, because theres no supervision like at an office, but I would imagine the office expense is so great, that an employee could probably work 1/2 day and theyd still make more money

If an employee manages to produce a good quality and quantity of work, then who cares how many games of Candy Crush he gets in? On the flip side, if an employee can't seem to get anything done, who cares if he is a really hard worker?

A remote manager has to be able to evaluate his employees, based on the end result.

 

[MikePA]

And those working from home arent goofing off playing candy crush or shopping for trinkets on Amazon?
There’s more potential for abuse at home, because theres no supervision like at an office, but I would imagine the office expense is so great, that an employee could probably work 1/2 day and theyd still make more money

People can play games and shop at work from their phones. Many of the same performance measurements used when people are working in the office can be used when they work from home, e.g., project deadlines, calls answered, etc. Most companies, I'd imagine, are primarily concerned with getting the work done. If that doesn't happen, their office expenses will soon go to zero because they'd be out of business.

 

[Hay Dude]

If an employee manages to produce a good quality and quantity of work, then who cares how many games of Candy Crush he gets in? On the flip side, if an employee can't seem to get anything done, who cares if he is a really hard worker?

A remote manager has to be able to evaluate his employees, based on the end result.

I guess it would depend on what employee expectations are. If you are supposed to be “ on duty “ answering phones, it is a problem. If you were supposed to be selling widgets by the hour, it would be a problem.
If its a quota job, then you would be correct, who cares.

 

[Doofy]

69 for me, wife is 59. I retired at 54-1/2 and the wife worked a year longer and we decided she didn't really need to work and I didn't like being home alone all day. Women are cut from different cloth and thank goodness they are because we could not handle what they do.

 

[JethroB]

If I had an employee that could get his/her work done and spend 2 hours a day on Facebook then their wagon wasn't loaded.

 

[ultrarunner]

There are still couples with only one breadwinner...

My brother and sister in law are this way... they worked it out early on and 9/11 sealed the deal as she was to go back to a very good job after maternity leave...

They sat down and decided she would stay at home with the kids and run the house as a full time job... he would concentrate on his career... 20 years later they are doing great... she was always the classroom mom, the kids team coach, etc... dinner was always waiting no questions as he was often out on sales calls...

On the flip side they took a lot of vacations every year... 3 or 4 weeks in Europe every other year, every Easter in Hawaii, Spring Break on the coast... winter ski holidays to Tahoe and anniversary get away every year without fail...

The kids are doing great with full scholarships, top grades, etc...

Some call it a throwback but it shows what two individuals working as a team can do...

 

[MoKelly]

then their wagon wasn't loaded.

I like that quote. I’m going to borrow it for the future!

MoKelly

 

[MossRoad]

If you have 10 employees doing the same thing and each persons productivity goes up by 10%, doesn稚 that mean you can fire one employee and still get the work done?

MoKelly

Something like that. People think they are overworked at their job. A round or two of layoffs later, and the company is still producing the same product, and you still have time to complain to your coworkers about how overworked you are...

 

[buck12]

I read the entire article. It left me with a lot of questions. 42% seems awful high and is it sustainable. There's a lot of shortages and disruptions right now. It would be sad to believe that only 26% of workers are 'essential', must be a lot of waste out there.

Edit: I just noticed the article was written last June (2020), so more understandable. The height of the early shutdowns.

From what have seen those numbers have shifted considerably since June.

 

[MossRoad]

I have been working home since mid March as had everyone in my company. I read that a company site, in a different state, is already rearranging the open office space, to support WFH. Not sure what they are doing as it was only mentioned in passing.

We have had the technology to WFH for many years and for a number of years it was encouraged. Management then took WFH away with the excuse of productivity and innovation. It was back to the office or loose your job. It really was about a method to get people to quit so the company would not have to lay them off and pay severance. We lost some really key people because of this...

Which is ironic, since we are now all WFH, and will continue to do so for most of this year, if not all year. I really do not see us returning to the office full time over the next couple of years. The company can save a bunch of money getting out of leases which they have already done. The interesting question is how will they sell buildings that nobody wants to buy but which they no longer have a use?

Later,
Dan

They sell them to a developer at a loss and write it off. Then the developer turns them into upscale work from home flats and there you go.

 

[MossRoad]

And those working from home arent goofing off playing candy crush or shopping for trinkets on Amazon?
There痴 more potential for abuse at home, because theres no supervision like at an office, but I would imagine the office expense is so great, that an employee could probably work 1/2 day and theyd still make more money

I'm sure that goes on. I have a niece that works from home and says it's pretty silly how little work she has to do. It all depends on the managers and their knowledge of the job and how long it takes to do tasks, etc...

 

[MossRoad]

This has really taken a toll in San Francisco which is near the top in rent drops and business closure permanently.

Many businesses need the influx of commuters/workers to be profitable.

Office space is going begging and some huge leases were bought out for tens of millions.

Work from home keeps being extended but is still temporary.

Those that do are issued a company computer with support... may also have a cell because a few don't have Internet but Hot Spot works well.

Also a quarterly stipend of $200 has been going out to cover miscellaneous work from home.

One of my good friends, a RN opted to work from home 20 years ago as advice nurse... said it was the single best decision made... has a cup of coffee... house to himself during the day and making full wages without the commute... like finding an extra 2 hours each workday...

Yeah, my wife works from home and it saved her a whopping 20 minutes total in commute time each day. :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

I guess it would depend on what employee expectations are. If you are supposed to be on duty answering phones, it is a problem. If you were supposed to be selling widgets by the hour, it would be a problem.
If its a quota job, then you would be correct, who cares.

My wife is on a help desk while she does other tasks for her employer. They know if she isn't available to take calls because all the calls come through her computer, not her phone. She signs in and she shows up on her supervisor's screen as available. It keeps track of all her calls, who they were from, how long she was on each call, the status of the issue, etc... her metrics are reviewed often, and her pay is based on her performance.

 

[tallyho8]

There IS a wealth building advantage in that you can take that extra money that you're paying down that 3% loan early with and investing it at 8% average return.

Where is a safe 8% return? Even most CDs earn a whopping 1/100 of 1% interest these days. I have made larger returns in the stock market at times but this is not really safe investing.

 

[Jstpssng]

My 401K took a hit yesterday... hopefully that's not an indication of what's to come.

 

[kenmac]

My 401K took a hit yesterday... hopefully that's not an indication of what's to come.

If you know someone's that didn't , let me know. I want to be invested in what ever stocks their invested in

 

[tallyho8]

Balance your life.

Working 60 hours a week...vs...spending more time with family and friends
Having that one extravagance now and then...vs...leaving a large inheritance to someone you barely know
Not retiring till 77 to live well the rest of your life...vs...Spending retirement alone after all your friends and relatives are gone
Making 10 million dollars...vs...Making 10 good friends
Having people love you for your money...vs...Having people love you
Loving money...vs...Loving people