You Know You Are Old When

[Eagle1]

You know you are old when you retire. Last Friday was the last day.

75 days and counting....

Enjoy and don't be one of those that dies right away

 

[drssg]

75 days and counting....

Enjoy and don't be one of those that dies right away

When I was in college, I worked in a cafeteria on campus. There was an old guy that worked there for 30 years, loading the dishwasher. Within a few weeks of retirement, he was dead.

In his case, I think work was the only thing keeping him sober for a significant portion of the day. He had nothing else to retire to.

 

[California]

Enjoy and don't be one of those that dies right away

I thought long and hard about just that.

25 years ago I ran all sort of projections using QuickBooks retirement planning software. Realized by living simple and saving like mad we had gotten to where it was a gamble, but retiring seemed feasible. I could go back to work if I had guessed wrong.

Retired at 54 with a small government pension but most important, the pension included lifetime family medical care. This made retiring much less of a gamble. Started spending my IRA at $750/month (allowable back then IF you signed for a flat rate for the rest of your life) - to cover the period before I could draw SS.

That was 25 years ago. Things have worked out fine. Savings balance is about what it was when I retired if you adjust for inflation. That and two properties, is going to make a decent inheritance for the kids if we don't spend it all on in-home care in our final years.

I love playing Gentleman Farmer, even if I'm making hardly anything from the apple orchard. It's a great retirement hobby, as it was for Dad and for his father before him. This sure beats sitting indoors watching golf on TV like some retirees my age. Life is good.

In my opinion living simple and retiring early is a better alternative to working until you drop.

 

[masseyrider]

I thought long and hard about just that.

25 years ago I ran all sort of projections using QuickBooks retirement planning software. Realized by living simple and saving like mad we had gotten to where it was a gamble, but retiring seemed feasible. I could go back to work if I had guessed wrong.

Retired at 54 with a small government pension but most important, the pension included lifetime family medical care. This made retiring much less of a gamble. Started spending my IRA at $750/month (allowable back then IF you signed for a flat rate for the rest of your life) - to cover the period before I could draw SS.

That was 25 years ago. Things have worked out fine. Savings balance is about what it was when I retired if you adjust for inflation. That and two properties, is going to make a decent inheritance for the kids if we don't spend it all on in-home care in our final years.

I love playing Gentleman Farmer, even if I'm making hardly anything from the apple orchard. It's a great retirement hobby, as it was for Dad and for his father before him. This sure beats sitting indoors watching golf on TV like some retirees my age. Life is good.

In my opinion living simple and retiring early is a better alternative to working until you drop.

Retired early 40s. Similar situation. Investments returning enough to keep up with inflation.
When I see the traffic reports each morning and roll over for a couple more hours It's all good.

 

[Eagle1]

I thought long and hard about just that.

25 years ago I ran all sort of projections using QuickBooks retirement planning software. Realized by living simple and saving like mad we had gotten to where it was a gamble, but retiring seemed feasible. I could go back to work if I had guessed wrong.

Retired at 54 with a small government pension but most important, the pension included lifetime family medical care. This made retiring much less of a gamble. Started spending my IRA at $750/month (allowable back then IF you signed for a flat rate for the rest of your life) - to cover the period before I could draw SS.

That was 25 years ago. Things have worked out fine. Savings balance is about what it was when I retired if you adjust for inflation. That and two properties, is going to make a decent inheritance for the kids if we don't spend it all on in-home care in our final years.

I love playing Gentleman Farmer, even if I'm making hardly anything from the apple orchard. It's a great retirement hobby, as it was for Dad and for his father before him. This sure beats sitting indoors watching golf on TV like some retirees my age. Life is good.

In my opinion living simple and retiring early is a better alternative to working until you drop.

That's my plan -- live simple, tend to my livestock, garden, pond, etc. I don't need a lot of money just serenity and things to do, it's never ending here.

 

[ultrarunner]

Beloved High School Teacher of mine started my Sophomore year and retired a couple of years ago…

He was the real deal and never lost his zeal for teaching science and made it interesting.

Students gave him 4 tickets for Hamilton for retirement on the last day of school to see the show 2 days later…

Healthy, active guy died in his sleep from brain hermorage…

Several of his slightly younger contemporaries decided early retirement made sense…

That great pension and all those plans never came to be… he had lost his high school sweetheart wife 2 years prior to cancer…

 

[stuckmotor]

75 days and counting....

Enjoy and don't be one of those that dies right away

I've seen it happen far too often.

 

[CalG]

The wife was cleaning out a drawer today and asked if we should toss the Olympus "electronic" camera. I said "let me look at it first. Hooked it up to an old laptop. There were three pictures on it. All taken prior to 2010.
Now I've got some photo prints on my desk. All before 1990.

 

[ultrarunner]

In my grandfathers old suitcase was a very old camera with film inside…

It wasn’t easy but I found a place to develop and this was 20 years back.

Grandparents trip to Lake Tahoe with stops along the way in their 1955 Olds 88

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I've seen it happen far too often.

Stay busy and stay active. Do things (exercise), fabricate, hobbys, read, travel.