Retirement

[Bison]

reading all these posts on retiring,what are you guys gonna do with all that free time on your hands?

i am 60 yrs old and me and my wife own a sizable ranch that i manage all by my lonesome.
I thought about selling the place and retiring a couple yrs ago allready,but i can't for the life of me not figure out what i should do to keep me busy.
i allways felt ranching was my hobby instead of work but some days i feel burned out,altough i'm healthy as a fish.

But to swap that for a job in town for a few day's!..I don't think so Bob!

I also think one has to have a reason to get up in the morning
I think i would get stark raving mad if i had nothing meaningfull to do.

It has also proved hard to find a trusty knowledgable fellow to look after the place for a few weeks so the wife and i could go places.

As a result we dont leave the ranch much more than a couple days at the time to visit our daughters who don't live close by.

Retiring!,i can't see it happen.

What's your collective vision on that folks?

 

[MJ's Design guide]

I know that story. Just create your own job when you can't find one. It works better that way anyway. Never have to worry about layoffs, just income.

 

[Mounted Madness]

Congratulations on your decision.

The fact that you worked at a stressful job for over 30 years, that you've survived and not divorced (you're right, it's not the best path to financial freedom)...nows the time to enjoy your life.

Make your own job. My wife actually read an article today that suggested 'boomers' are becoming employable again due simply to the fact that they have superior work ethic compared to the young people coming on line. PLUS, they have skill sets that cannot be taught in school but must be learned in the real world.

After 5+ years of retirement, I can guarantee you're gonna love it...

 

[RSKY]

Thinking about retirement has me thinking about my extended family and how long they lived or are still living.

What is he rambling about now you ask?

Family history means I must plan for a longer retirement.

I have a friend who is 70. He has lived 10 years longer than any male relative (father, grandfathers, uncles) that he had. If I were him I would spend like crazy doing everything I ever wanted to do and not worry about what happens after age 80. I work with a man that is 5' 10" tall and weighs four hundred pounds. What is his life expectancy.

In my family women (grandmothers, aunts) on both my mother's and father's side live to be from 82 to 102 years old with the average death age about 89. All have died natural, non accidental, deaths. Two, my maternal grandmother and a paternal aunt, lived over 100 years. Men, however, on both sides tend to be killed and not die naturally. My father was healthy as a horse, or so it seemed, up to about six months before his death. He worked in abestos one winter in 1966 and it killed him in 1982. His brothers were killed in wars, or by industrial posioning as he was. The one exception lived to be 95. Mom's brother lived to be in his late 80s and had cancer which I believe was caused by industrial exposure. My mother is the last on both sides. She is 87 and still active, bush-hogged her 69 acre farm by herself and helped me mow the 80 acre one.

My wife's family is not quite as long lived but women tend to live longer anyway. Her dad is 83 and still very healthy and very active. So it looks as if she has at least an equal chance to make it to her 90s.

So we must plan for our needs to at least 90. After that my daughters can take care of us.

Now about the money that we have stashed away. Should we hoard it, keep it safe for worse times. Or should we spend it while we are able to.

I would hate to live on white beans and rice for the last twenty years of my life because I did not save enough.

But even worse would be to turn eighty, be in bad health, and think "****, wish we had gone to Aruba scuba diving when we were younger", as I sit in my wheelchair and count my money.

So when I do retire I will live as frugal as possible but not hesitate to do the 'big things' when opportunity presents itself.

Any thoughts on this depressing topic?

 

[Ken]

Thinking about retirement has me thinking about my extended family and how long they lived or are still living.

What is he rambling about now you ask?

Family history means I must plan for a longer retirement.

I have a friend who is 70. He has lived 10 years longer than any male relative (father, grandfathers, uncles) that he had. If I were him I would spend like crazy doing everything I ever wanted to do and not worry about what happens after age 80. I work with a man that is 5' 10" tall and weighs four hundred pounds. What is his life expectancy.

In my family women (grandmothers, aunts) on both my mother's and father's side live to be from 82 to 102 years old with the average death age about 89. All have died natural, non accidental, deaths. Two, maternal grandmother and paternal aunt, lived over 100 years. Men, however, on both sides tend to be killed and not die naturally. My father was healthy as a horse, or so it seemed, up to about six months before his death. He worked in abestos one winter in 1966 and it killed him in 1982. His brothers were killed in wars, or by industrial posioning as he was. The one exception lived to be 95. Mom's brother lived to be in his late 80s and had cancer which I believe was caused by industrial exposure. My mother is the last on both sides. She is 87 and still active, bush-hogged her 69 acre farm by herself and helped me mow the 80 acre one.

My wife's family is not quite as long lived but women tend to live longer anyway. Her dad is 83 and still very healthy and very active. So it looks as if she has at least an equal chance to make it to her 90s.

So we must plan for our needs to at least 90. After that my daughters can take care of us.

Now about the money that we have stashed away. Should we hoard it, keep it safe for worse times. Or should we spend it while we are able to.

I would hate to live on white beans and rice for the last twenty years of my life because I did not save enough.

But even worse would be to turn eighty, be in bad health, and think "****, wish we had gone to Aruba scuba diving when we were younger", as I sit in my wheelchair and count my money.

So when I do retire I will live as frugal as possible but not hesitate to do the 'big things' when opportunity presents itself.

Any thoughts on this depressing topic?

Worked with a man who would wipe the face off George Washington before spending.
Would spend hours at Salvation before deciding on pair of shoes.
money money was the only conversation he had. Is now in nursing home and can't tell the left hand from his right. It is sad he never enjoyed the Roses.

 

[smstonypoint]

Now about the money that we have stashed away. Should we hoard it, keep it safe for worse times. Or should we spend it while we are able to.

I would hate to live on white beans and rice for the last twenty years of my life because I did not save enough.

But even worse would be to turn eighty, be in bad health, and think "****, wish we had gone to Aruba scuba diving when we were younger", as I sit in my wheelchair and count my money.


Any thoughts on this depressing topic?

The problem is to determine the safe withdrawal rate from your investment portfolio. A lot has been written about this problem. Here's a link that summarizes the issue and some of the literature on the topic.

Safe Withdrawal Rates - Bogleheads

Steve

 

[RSKY]

Another thought on retirement.

When discussing this with some 'others' who are considering the same thing, that is retiring early, it came up that people with long marriages tend to have happier retirements.

Mrs. RSKY and I plan to travel some. Putter around the house and yard some. Spoil our granddaughter and hopefully future grands. Help our kids. And take care of our parents and other elderly relatives.

Whatever we are planning we plan on doing together.

Except of course, a tractor only seats one!

 

[eepete]

If I knew the date of my demise, I assure you the check to the undertaker would bounce.

But the reality is the nieces and nephews will get some $$s. How you lived and what you did are all that matter, so the size of your bank account at the end is irrelevant.

RSKY, I agree you look at family longevity to help guide you. Also agree you should do some things while you can. We did the scuba dive thing, glad we did, it would be hard to do it now. I would say live as frugal as possible, but do some fun big things along the way. If you don't have any drastic changes as you slide into retirement, that to me means you've been doing OK during your life. Your finances in retirement are probably like they were in life- always changing and always adjusting.

As for the tractor only seats one, sounds like you need a cab with a buddy seat! (or not- sometimes I think a little time apart is more important than a lot of time together ).

Pete

 

[Uncle Doug]

reading all these posts on retiring,what are you guys gonna do with all that free time on your hands?

i am 60 yrs old and me and my wife own a sizable ranch that i manage all by my lonesome.
I thought about selling the place and retiring a couple yrs ago allready,but i can't for the life of me not figure out what i should do to keep me busy.
i allways felt ranching was my hobby instead of work but some days i feel burned out,altough i'm healthy as a fish.

But to swap that for a job in town for a few day's!..I don't think so Bob!

I also think one has to have a reason to get up in the morning
I think i would get stark raving mad if i had nothing meaningfull to do.

It has also proved hard to find a trusty knowledgable fellow to look after the place for a few weeks so the wife and i could go places.

As a result we dont leave the ranch much more than a couple days at the time to visit our daughters who don't live close by.

Retiring!,i can't see it happen.

What's your collective vision on that folks?

The problems we had as we aged was lack of good help around the farm. All our local help was off to college or unwilling to work more than a few hours a week. Handling livestock is a dayly chore that ties you to the farm. We ended up selling the livestock. This freeded us up to begin traveling more. We also volunteer much more than we did when we were younger. I expect that travel and volunteerism will also increase in retirement.

 

[jonyyuma]

Well this did not clear up the subject of retirement ages... personally I have not found something better to do right now. Insurance is the best topic here...I really want to travel around the USA. We probably have enough money to be independant into our 90's.

 

[Haoleguy]

Now that I have had my cancer surgery Jan 7, I am recovering at home. The bladder surgery did not go as planed and I have a bag attached for life, the recovery time will be much longer into April, I will in likely hood retire or semi retires. Although they say that I can do all that I did before. I may work part time training my replacement. Today the weather was halfway fair and I walked a mile to and from the barber shop. Still get tired but I am getting fit. This time last year I could lift 180#, now I just about make 10 which is more than 0. I was planning on putting in 25 yr but maybe it is time to tend to my needs. It is hard for me to do nothing now that I am limited being on the mend. I have to get my head into a new mode, being where the action is all these years is a addiction that is hard to break. Money is no problem.

Nice walk transit ! Keep pursuing your recovery. i think most of us lose some as we get older but we find work arounds and learn to live with some limitations. I use this argument with my spouse to add toys .... er...tools to my capability. Best wishes on your recovery....Gary

 

[beppington]

Any thoughts on this depressing topic?

Wow! "Depressing topic"?!? :confused2: I think it's great that you even have the option!!! :thumbsup:

 

[beppington]

For those of you that travel in your jobs, even only occassionally, why not roll a work trip into a vacation trip. I don't mean it has to be a big 2-week vacation, but rather than haulin' butt directly home, maybe stop at a campground or some little town you always wanted to see. Instead of flying to your work site, drive & make stops along the way, both comin' & goin' if you want. This way you'll be sure to see various parts of the US throughout your life, rather than waiting until retirement to do a whirlwind tour.

 

[Transit]

Much of my attitude for retirement was influenced by my families experience during the 1929-35 depression, one meal a day for 8 people. No safety net back then. Those posting appear to be successful. There are many that have not saved a dime and are completely dependent on SS. I know of a few that worked off the books, smart enough to avoided paying taxes, or were they? No taxable income = no SS, so you have to have a big shoe box full of cash to get by. Can not have investments, where did the money come from. We here are lucky to have means to fall back on, many were foolish not to have planed or could not plain for old age and they are screwed.

 

[Haoleguy]

My response is prompted by Transits last message. The employment game started changing about a half dozen years back when larger companies started dialing back retirement pensions, 401K contributions, and insurance coverage. I'm very worried for the younger folks that are not taking the initiative and realizing that saving absolutely has to start early for them if they wish to generate a nest egg for retirement, new business, etc. For our 3 kids we have sat them down with their spouses and discussed what's ahead for them and that early planning & action is essential for them to reach their goals. I hope that some fiscal responsibility sets in with the younger generations.

 

[beppington]

I highly recommend the book "Retire Early, Sleep Well" by Stephen R. Davis

Very concise personal finance book explaining what to do & how to do it.

You can choose to only read "what to do" or get into a little detail as to why. Very well organized book. Just 1 -3 pages per most topics.

Provides withdrawal rate information/ suggestions.

Amazon.com: Retire Early Sleep Well: A practical guide to modern portfolio theory, asset allocation and retirement planning in plain english, Second Edition (9780979303807): Steven R. Davis: Books

 

[eepete]

For those of you that travel in your jobs, even only occassionally, why not roll a work trip into a vacation trip...

Absolutely! Any time I went to a new area, I took an extra day or two. I planed a lot of my trips so they ran into weekends. It's amazing how many places are great to spend a day or two at, but you'd never pay to go there on your own. Well, then again I'm somtimes overly frugal .

Haoleguy, I don't know where I picked this up but ever since I started working I assumed that corporate and government pensions would get worse or go to nothing with time. I remember computing what the autoworkers contracts would cost down the road. Anyway, I've assumed I'm on my own and if other stuff kicks in, that's just beer money. There is also probably an independent streak in there somewhere, which it seems many on this forum also have.

Pete

 

[MossRoad]

One thing I like to point out to folks considering retirement is that a million bucks in the bank yielding 2% is only 20K per year. You need to keep investing some of your money in higher risk investments that yield higher returns. You may live to be 100. :thumbsup:

 

[ultrarunner]

One thing I like to point out to folks considering retirement is that a million bucks in the bank yielding 2% is only 20K per year. You need to keep investing some of your money in higher risk investments that yield higher returns. You may live to be 100. :thumbsup:

I remember the endless parade of 401k people presenting at work... they always had colorful charts or power point presentations...

The return always bantered about was 10% and the charts and graphs used 8% to be "Conservative"

My 5 year rate of return is 2/10ths of one percent.

 

[jonyyuma]

Ultra runner, you should look into an annutity. your return looks like just a savings account, you can go broke that way? they will treat you right and even furnish figures for your returns.