Retirement dreams and reality

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Genuinesarcasm
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Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Genuinesarcasm »

I want to hear your stories. Specifically:

What did you dream of in retirement. I.e. a beachfront property with your spouse watching the sunset, dining out whenever you want, Long walks, volunteering for your favorite charity etc?

What was the reality? What did you actually achieve in retirement? Was it close to what you thought? Did your goals change? If so, how?

Actionably- if you achieved your dreams, how? What financial discipline did you adhere to? What income goals did you set and achieve?

If you achieved your goals, or if you didn’t, what advice do you have for those of us not yet retired?

:sharebeer
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BolderBoy
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by BolderBoy »

Genuinesarcasm wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 9:35 pmIf you achieved your goals, or if you didn’t, what advice do you have for those of us not yet retired?
Don't presume that the health you may have now, will continue after you retire. (ie, don't put off until retirement, things you could well do now)
"Never underestimate one's capacity to overestimate one's abilities" - The Dunning-Kruger Effect
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martincmartin
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by martincmartin »

Before retirement I read some books about early retirement. In one, someone started playing golf every day, and quickly learned they didn't like golf. :) Another person actually wanted the stress of work, so in retirement bought and ran a farm.

The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
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martincmartin
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by martincmartin »

As for financial discipline, that's kind of my natural state. I don't like over paying for things, or buying things just because they're trendy. In my mid 40s, when I finally decided I should no longer buy the cheapest kind of car (think Toyota Corolla), and wanted an electric car, I went for a Chevy Volt rather than Tesla. I just don't have expensive tastes.

Tracking expenses is a bit of a pain, I spent a bunch of time classifying every credit card purchase in Quicken. There were no real surprises or changes to come from that.

I found lists online of expense categories for budgets.

When approaching retirement, I hired two different financial consultants to go over everything and give their thoughts on whether I was ready to retire. I also had my wife talk to them, so she could see the level of detail, and the size of any caveats.
jebmke
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by jebmke »

We thought we would spend a lot of time traveling and sailing. We do little of both in retirement. Don't get hung up on specific plans - stay flexible. You may find that either your interests change or other obstacles intervene.

I have a friend who planned to play golf all the time and a physical limitation has taken that off the table. He is lost. He sits around and watches TV mostly.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
CraigTester
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by CraigTester »

I've discovered that the extent you enjoy your retirement appears to be directly proportional to the extent you endured misery in your job.

I've known many people at both extremes on this spectrum who are now in retirement. And neither seems to be able to understand the other's perception of their golden years.

So please take this the right way, if you're ready to retire, I hope you endured much misery in your career.... :D
delamer
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by delamer »

The jury is still out.

We have been fortunate with our finances. We were able to stay employed at jobs that provided significant pensions, plus we saved and “stayed the course” with our investments.

But the pandemic upended some significant aspects of our retirement plans — ability to travel and ability to socialize.

Don’r wait until your retired to live your life.
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jh
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by jh »

I'll be retiring in a month at age 46.

I just want to live in a small house. Exercise and take a walk every day. Eat fresh home cooked meals. Pursue my hobbies and take up some new ones.

While working my living expenses topped out at $35,000. I don't expect that to change much.
Retired in 2022 at the age of 46. Living off of dividends.
LiterallyIronic
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by LiterallyIronic »

martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
What's interesting is that I say that I'm going to do the same thing in retirement (play video games all day) that I did as a teenager and people always look at me like I'm insane and tell me that I'll get immediately bored without working.
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by sailaway »

LiterallyIronic wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:25 am
martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
What's interesting is that I say that I'm going to do the same thing in retirement (play video games all day) that I did as a teenager and people always look at me like I'm insane and tell me that I'll get immediately bored without working.
I was a pretty serious teenager, so I don't think this advice would be very helpful. At least now I can dance.
fposte
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by fposte »

I retired at 58 in 2021; I had planned on that retirement date for several years. I liked my job very much but had had enough, and I either had to bring a lot of new energy in to do it right or gracefully move on, so I chose the latter.

Obviously the pandemic made it very different, both in what I could do and in what I wanted to do. Pre-pandemic I'd been looking forward to more international travel; the challenges of working through the pandemic mean that I don't have as much energy to deal with the greater demands of travel so I haven't done any (in fact I was going to the UK this month to see a friend but we've decided to postpone). Before my retirement I set up a spreadsheet, because I like spreadsheets, with pulldown menus in different categories offering different possible activities; I haven't followed it much, but it was useful to get me thinking.

My initial goal was to mark a big difference from work, and to explore all kinds of things that I could reach from home. So the immediate period was a lot of day trips, museums, one-off experience, state park outings, etc. Those changed up somewhat with winter and I also picked up a new musical instrument to learn and rediscovered an old one. I've also had some health problems that I'm very happy not to have to manage while meeting deadlines. After a while a rhythm has emerged that's got a mix of regular activities and spontaneous possibilities, and that offers some seasonal variation that makes it all the more enjoyable. I'm sticking to mottoes of "If not now, then when?" and "Why not?", making decisions about what I want to do from scratch rather than basing them on my historically being a kind of person who does A but not B.

I'm enjoying the reality as much as I did the dreams. It's annoying that I have a few lingering work obligations that I should be through with by the end of June, finally, and I'm looking forward to Retirement Part 2: This Time I Mean It. But I mostly go to bed very much looking forward to the next day.
jebmke
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by jebmke »

:sharebeer
Godot wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:40 am
martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am

The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
Seriously? Smoking weed and doing donuts in the parking lot?
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
Parkinglotracer
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Parkinglotracer »

Godot wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:40 am
martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am

The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
Seriously? Smoking weed and doing donuts in the parking lot?
They don’t call me parking lot racer for nuthin’. Well not the smokin weed part.
yoga
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by yoga »

jh wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:19 am Exercise and take a walk every day. Eat fresh home cooked meals. Pursue my hobbies and take up some new ones.
This is basically all I'm interested in as well.
Normchad
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Normchad »

jebmke wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:43 am :sharebeer
Godot wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:40 am
martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am

The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
Seriously? Smoking weed and doing donuts in the parking lot?
You need a friend? I’d be down for that, but more along the lines of EaTING donuts in the parking lot.
stoptothink
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by stoptothink »

jh wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:19 am I'll be retiring in a month at age 46.

I just want to live in a small house. Exercise and take a walk every day. Eat fresh home cooked meals. Pursue my hobbies and take up some new ones.

While working my living expenses topped out at $35,000. I don't expect that to change much.
Pretty much our plan, except wife and I also want to devote a lot of our time to teaching BJJ and muay thai classes at our MMA gym. There are currently two coaches at our gym doing exactly this (retired somewhat early and now teach/train martial arts in their spare time). At this point, skills are more of an issue than money...so we'll work (and train) another decade (I'll be 50, she'll be 45) and make it happen. At least that's the plan.
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LilyFleur
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by LilyFleur »

yoga wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:49 am
jh wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:19 am Exercise and take a walk every day. Eat fresh home cooked meals. Pursue my hobbies and take up some new ones.
This is basically all I'm interested in as well.
I can be content with this. I turned my dining room into a painting studio and have taken classes and made new art friends.

I am very glad I traveled with my young adult children in 2018 and 2019 to Europe. (We hadn't ever done that before.) It was pricey and well worth it and absolutely the right time to do it. I used part of an inheritance for that and also funded study abroad for both of them. It broadened all of our worlds.

Having done that, I'm grateful. I don't have a burning desire to visit X number of countries.
Dregob
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Dregob »

martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am Before retirement I read some books about early retirement. In one, someone started playing golf every day, and quickly learned they didn't like golf. :) Another person actually wanted the stress of work, so in retirement bought and ran a farm.

The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
I am pretty sure my wife would not like that!!
Broken Man 1999
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

Godot wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:40 am
martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am

The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
Seriously? Smoking weed and doing donuts in the parking lot?
I'm up for that!

Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
trallium
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by trallium »

martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
Yikes, I've spent my whole career doing what I did for fun as a teenager.

My plan is to start by taking the first year totally off from doing any programming and just focus on diet and exercise.
marcopolo
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by marcopolo »

Godot wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:40 am
martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am

The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
Seriously? Smoking weed and doing donuts in the parking lot?
You make it sound like a bad thing. :beer
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
smitcat
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by smitcat »

"What did you dream of in retirement. I.e. a beachfront property with your spouse watching the sunset, dining out whenever you want, Long walks, volunteering for your favorite charity etc?"
Yes and yes.
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TheTimeLord
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by TheTimeLord »

After 2 years I am just starting to get the hang of it. Needless to say the pandemic altered a lot of things the past 2 years. Looking forward to the future but I am pretty sure I will be making adjustments to my original plans.
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invest4
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by invest4 »

LiterallyIronic wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:25 am
martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
What's interesting is that I say that I'm going to do the same thing in retirement (play video games all day) that I did as a teenager and people always look at me like I'm insane and tell me that I'll get immediately bored without working.
I am not retired yet, but have never stopped playing video games and fully expect to continue doing so in retirement!
Wannaretireearly
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Wannaretireearly »

Genuinesarcasm wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 9:35 pm I want to hear your stories. Specifically:

What did you dream of in retirement. I.e. a beachfront property with your spouse watching the sunset, dining out whenever you want, Long walks, volunteering for your favorite charity etc?

What was the reality? What did you actually achieve in retirement? Was it close to what you thought? Did your goals change? If so, how?

Actionably- if you achieved your dreams, how? What financial discipline did you adhere to? What income goals did you set and achieve?

If you achieved your goals, or if you didn’t, what advice do you have for those of us not yet retired?

:sharebeer
Good questions. I’m not retired, however Covid/WFH has put us closer to that lifestyle. With work maybe occupying 30 hours a week, the rest of the hours kinda mimic retirement right now. Spouse and I have not killed each other, so that checks a box.

What I dream of in retirement:
1. Having more time to do as I please. At present kids/school PLUS work makes that hard.
2. Exercise consistently in the mornings. Something I can’t do unless it’s a weekend.
3. Get bored. Along the ‘when I was a teenager’ post, I had a great time as a teenager (esp in the summer) watching/playing sport, doing other nefarious actives, but then getting bored too and just daydreaming! Perhaps trying to figure out what I want to do next, on the fly…
4. Travel. Surprisingly for me, further down the list than expected. Right now we travel to get away from the day to day craziness. Perhaps there will be less drive in retirement? Maybe, more likely we’ll want to do some slow travel for a couple of months a year.
5. Look after/be with family. I sure do feel distracted when I’m trying to engage the family today :( see#4 for remediation while working.
6. Do a fun/part time job with zero commitment. Local liquor store/bar knows I’d work for beer. I’ve started talking to a few retirees working at the local hardware store. Becoming a Som could be fun/maybe not!
7. Volunteer. Try to help someone, or something outside my family IF my family doesn’t need me first.

Doesn’t seem like an arduous list does it? Shouldn’t cost much either, hopefully!

Edit: book die with zero, resonates with me. Unsurprisingly.
Last edited by Wannaretireearly on Wed May 25, 2022 2:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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VanGogh
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by VanGogh »

I concentrated on having enough money to live comfortably in retirement and spend time with family and friends. Money is not an issue. The thing that took me by surprise was outliving my younger siblings. I’m the oldest, last member of our family. I especially never thought I would outlive my youngest brother, my executor. Cancer and COVID have taken a toll. Losing people younger than me just never occurred to me. I have outlived my family members.
sureshoe
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by sureshoe »

BolderBoy wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 9:49 am
Genuinesarcasm wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 9:35 pmIf you achieved your goals, or if you didn’t, what advice do you have for those of us not yet retired?
Don't presume that the health you may have now, will continue after you retire. (ie, don't put off until retirement, things you could well do now)
This right here is such important advice. I understand the fear of eating dog food when you're 90, but I see so many people save and worry about leaving inheritance, etc... at some point you gotta live. I'm not ready to retire yet, but those are some of the conversations wife/me are having. We're blowing some money now while the kids are young that probably impacts retirement for a few years, but what's the point of waiting until everyone is grown and have a pile of money.

The key is figuring out that balance between being the grasshopper or the squirrel.
sureshoe
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by sureshoe »

martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am Before retirement I read some books about early retirement. In one, someone started playing golf every day, and quickly learned they didn't like golf. :) Another person actually wanted the stress of work, so in retirement bought and ran a farm.

The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
Ernest Borgnine definitely went back to his favorite teenage activities.
sureshoe
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by sureshoe »

LiterallyIronic wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:25 am
martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
What's interesting is that I say that I'm going to do the same thing in retirement (play video games all day) that I did as a teenager and people always look at me like I'm insane and tell me that I'll get immediately bored without working.
The games now though... oof, they can consume an entire life. I was a video game junkie as a kid, but it was all Nintendo. About 15 years ago, I started playing EverQuest and seriously lost 2 years of my life. I have abstained since.
TheNightsToCome
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by TheNightsToCome »

VanGogh wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 2:55 pm I concentrated on having enough money to live comfortably in retirement and spend time with family and friends. Money is not an issue. The thing that took me by surprise was outliving my younger siblings. I’m the oldest, last member of our family. I especially never thought I would outlive my youngest brother, my executor. Cancer and COVID have taken a toll. Losing people younger than me just never occurred to me. I have outlived my family members.
I'm sorry for your loss. I'm also the oldest sibling, but none of my sibs have died. I can't imagine how tough that has been for you.
VanGogh
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by VanGogh »

TheNightsToCome wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 7:08 pm
VanGogh wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 2:55 pm I concentrated on having enough money to live comfortably in retirement and spend time with family and friends. Money is not an issue. The thing that took me by surprise was outliving my younger siblings. I’m the oldest, last member of our family. I especially never thought I would outlive my youngest brother, my executor. Cancer and COVID have taken a toll. Losing people younger than me just never occurred to me. I have outlived my family members.
I'm sorry for your loss. I'm also the oldest sibling, but none of my sibs have died. I can't imagine how tough that has been for you.
Thank you.
Bummels
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Bummels »

If you do not do things when you are young, you probably will not do them when you are older. Find interests and developer them throughout life. Dad retired and went to the office as a volunteer for 20 years after retirement, as was his interest. As his hearing and eyesight failed he lamented of the things he wanted to do in retirement but could not. I did not remind him he spent his retirement working, but took the lesson to heart.
Stoic9
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Stoic9 »

What did you dream of in retirement? I focused on 3 pillars: Relationships, Health, Finance centered around not working

What was the reality? Close to the five year mark and so far it's reality. I have not worked. I have actual metrics to evaluate this. Relationships B+, Health C, Finance A+

What did you actually achieve in retirement? (see above)

Was it close to what you thought? At first it was an abject failure, upon retirement I was declared nuts and proceeded to go off the rails (Health). I was able to get help and get back on track.

If so, how? I'm a planner so at first it was hard to see my plans fall apart, by mid way through year 2 I got back on track and like I said I'm now seeing the reality.

Actionably- if you achieved your dreams, how? What financial discipline did you adhere to? What income goals did you set and achieve? I assume you're most interested in the Finance part. I had four branches under the Finance pillar. 1) Portfolio currently 88/12 (401K/tIRA/ROTH/Taxable), 2) Real Estate (portfolio of single family houses attained in the 90's) 3) Passive income (pension/rents/dividends) I assumed 4% inflation, Pension has cola, rents have only gone up and up, add to this large future salary bumps at 70 (My SS spousal benefits) and RMD's at 72. 4) zero debt. I studied economics and then made financial planning my hobby after a scare in 1990. At that point I focused on FI for my family. We are minimalist.

If you achieved your goals, or if you didn’t, what advice do you have for those of us not yet retired? If we are talking Finance; study Finance, Develop a reasonable goal, make a plan (develop well tested assumptions, war game your plan), be flexible.
LMK5
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by LMK5 »

I had always planned on retiring at age 62. A couple of months before I hit 60, I was laid off due to Covid affecting my workplace. I decided I would make an earlier-than-expected retirement trial run. I had a good severance package that helped me for 6 months, followed by some unemployment benefits. My wife was working from home (she's much younger). My 50/50 portfolio, run through numerous tools, indicated that I could retire with confidence.

My wife and I quickly developed this routine where we'd watch an episode of a chosen miniseries every morning upon waking up. This has been delightful for both of us. I also started riding my bike again for the first time in 25 years, taking 4 rides per week in the mornings, going 10 miles per ride. I was able to move each of my three kids to new living quarters, something I couldn't have done while working. I also converted lots of old analog family videos to digital files. I was able to go to Costco when no one else was there (2PM on Thursdays).

The one thing that I realized, surprisingly, was that the days went by much faster than they did when I was sitting in the workplace under the fluorescent lights. My wife and I took lots of walks. I helped more around the house. I have found that I don't have the zest for travel that I once did. I think the stresses of airports and air travel have a lot to do with that. I've always been fortunate to enjoy small things: a sunny day; a walk with my wife; a minor league baseball game; a walk by the beach. I don't need to be dazzled to enjoy myself. I was surprised that I wasn't reading more, which I'd hoped to do.

After one year of the retirement trial, my company called me back to work. I negotiated flexible hours so now I'm in the office for about 30 hours per week. Why did I go back? By gaining the flexible schedule I knew I'd be able to retain much of what I was doing in retirement, but at the same time I would stop working on my own terms, very likely when I turn 62 in one year. It feels good knowing I can work 20 hours this week without having to fear that it will anger or disappoint a superior. Not needing the job is a wonderful feeling, and to me, that kind of option is what financial independence is all about.

As far as advice goes, what I tell my kids is to put away as much as you can as early as you can. You won't miss it. Time does wonders for investments. Try to forget about your investments to keep emotion out of the equation. Live life simply and realize that happiness will not be found at the mall or in a daily Starbucks drink or in anything made by man. They all have investment accounts and hopefully will keep it up. I told them that saving to own your own home is critical, for controlling your living costs is vital later in life.

In conclusion, unless your job is your hobby, retirement is great. Retirement brings a certain freedom and a certain stress relief. The negatives? I felt more vulnerable in retirement. I also felt like I wasn't part of the economic world out there, like I was watching the action through a window. Seeking an identity is important, whether you achieve this by aiding someone less fortunate than you or by other means. You need to feel like you have some stature, and some of that may be lost in retirement. In the aggregate, it's a definite thumbs up.
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VictoriaF
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by VictoriaF »

The realities of my retirement:

1. Black Swans happen. In my case, it was COVID-19 that derailed my travels and taught me that I need to strengthen my local connections. I have close friends in different countries and different parts of the U.S. but friendships via Zoom don't work.

2. In retirement, careful planning and strong habits are even more important than during the working life. Before COVID, my frequent travel kept me active and focused. During COVID, my life has lost all external constraints and I had to build internal ones. I follow Cal Newport's ideas about productivity and related topics, see for example, his podcast https://www.calnewport.com/podcast/ .

Victoria
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delamer
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by delamer »

VictoriaF wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 4:23 pm The realities of my retirement:

1. Black Swans happen. In my case, it was COVID-19 that derailed my travels and taught me that I need to strengthen my local connections. I have close friends in different countries and different parts of the U.S. but friendships via Zoom don't work.

2. In retirement, careful planning and strong habits are even more important than during the working life. Before COVID, my frequent travel kept me active and focused. During COVID, my life has lost all external constraints and I had to build internal ones. I follow Cal Newport's ideas about productivity and related topics, see for example, his podcast https://www.calnewport.com/podcast/ .

Victoria
Balance is important. A life that incorporates a variety of interests and activities will prepare you better for the almost inevitable changes that life brings whether due to aging, financial constraints, external circumstances, etc.

All that said, this pandemic would have been infinitely harder to cope with if the internet hadn’t been available.
One thing that humbles me deeply is to see that human genius has its limits while human stupidity does not. - Alexandre Dumas, fils
1moreyr
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by 1moreyr »

I am in month 4 of retirement. I am 58 which some consider early others don't.

1. not having a steady paycheck continues to be unnerving, it would have been as difficult in a flat to up market. I keep saying "all the money I have is all the money I have"....

2. I am spending more than I expected. It's probably ok. I had planned for 2.75% ..... It's actually 3%+. I understand its not enough to worry about but it's unnerving with the down market and item 1.

3. We have been to Florida, Hawaii and New Orleans in the last 3 months. I have two more trips planned and thinking about a 3rd by September.

4. I don't want to go back to work but when Linked in sends me jobs in my field, I can't help but look and think about it. Speaking to friends who are still working usually cures me... :D

5. When i am not traveling walking the dog with my wife , lunch with my wife at the local diner or riding my motorcycle down to see mom and dad can make a great day. I just did a bunch of things on my list that I would never have gotten to. it felt good to get it all done.

It may not be butterflies and rainbows but it beats everyday at work
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GerryL
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by GerryL »

I did a lot of planning before I retired and really thought about how I would spend my time. Even interviewing friends who had been retired for a few years. I had every intention of upping my volunteering and thought I would be holding down two volunteer gigs, one day each a week.

That has not happened. Just hitting the eight-year mark, and I am actually doing much less volunteering than I expected. Much less. When I looked into different opportunities, I found some were poorly managed and/or not very responsive. I also found that some programs I volunteered with changed over time and were no longer interesting to me. (I retired from a 26-year stint at the local zoo for that reason.) I still do an occasional one-off volunteer project when asked, but I have become very stingy with my time.

I have found enjoyment in thinking about traveling, planning travel, and actually traveling. Before I retired, I started a list of ideas -- large and small -- of things I could do if I found myself getting bored. Once every year or two, I pull out that list, but I have never felt bored enough to need it.
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Artful Dodger
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Artful Dodger »

I'm one of those who still work but am self-employed with a flexible schedule. Some weeks it's 30 hours, some 20, but with lots of extra days and weeks off. But, it is nice still pulling in some income while seeing the effects of inflation. The market drop doesn't bother me as much. I experienced the 08/09 downturn and decided to move to a more moderate 50/50 asset allocation. Right now is a slower period for me. On an average day after getting up I'll read about an hour, then do 40 minutes of yoga, then do 60 to 120 minutes of gardening, yard work, or some other household chores. If it's a busier work week, I'll skip or shorten the gardening / chores. After, I'll head to the office or meet a friend for lunch. I'll usually do 3 to 5 hours of work and often 1 to 2 hours of charity related work, then to the gym for weightlifting or cardio, or meet my wife for a walk. Usually a weekend trip every month. (Heading to Louisville for a Beatles fest tomorrow). Have plans for a long weekend in New York some time this summer. Have booked a two week trip to Italy in September. Bogleheads Conference in October :D .
delamer
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by delamer »

GerryL wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 7:23 pm I did a lot of planning before I retired and really thought about how I would spend my time. Even interviewing friends who had been retired for a few years. I had every intention of upping my volunteering and thought I would be holding down two volunteer gigs, one day each a week.

That has not happened. Just hitting the eight-year mark, and I am actually doing much less volunteering than I expected. Much less. When I looked into different opportunities, I found some were poorly managed and/or not very responsive. I also found that some programs I volunteered with changed over time and were no longer interesting to me. (I retired from a 26-year stint at the local zoo for that reason.) I still do an occasional one-off volunteer project when asked, but I have become very stingy with my time.

I have found enjoyment in thinking about traveling, planning travel, and actually traveling. Before I retired, I started a list of ideas -- large and small -- of things I could do if I found myself getting bored. Once every year or two, I pull out that list, but I have never felt bored enough to need it.
One of my volunteering stints turned out not to be tasks that I was interested in doing for the long run, but I stuck it out for a year so they would get a reasonable return on the time they spent training me.

There were some hard-core volunteers that were there every day for several hours and I’ve wondered what happened to them when the pandemic shut down the whole operation (although some of it could be done online).

I’ve started a new gig recently that seems to be a better fit.
One thing that humbles me deeply is to see that human genius has its limits while human stupidity does not. - Alexandre Dumas, fils
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Garco
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Garco »

I never had dreams about retirement. I did expect to have more time to travel for site-seeing, to relax, to tend to my roses, to visit my family. That has all happened.

I haven't missed my old place of work or the work itself. After 40+ years in my active career, I was ready to depart. I had achieved a lot. Some of my former work colleagues were ********.

I could retire when I did in part because I had accumulated a good 7-figure nest-egg in my retirement fund. That fund has grown a lot since I retired 8 years ago, even though I am taking RMD's from the account.

The negative side is that I'm old and I've accumulated some frailties. I am fortunate to have had excellent health care funding from my old employer. Out-of-pocket health-care costs for me and my spouse have been negligible. But over time parts of the body and mind get tired or screwed up. That's an argument for retiring at an earlier age. So far my current age is equal to the current average life expectancy of males in the USA. However, conditional on being this age now, according to health statistics I have about a 75% chance of living another 9 years. I'm gonna go for it.
DurangoWino
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by DurangoWino »

I retired back at the beginning of 2021 due to the Covid induced crash in the oil industry. My company took it as an opportunity to layoff 25% of us. Oh well, now I am glad that I had the opportunity to be paid to leave. We built a small home in a retirement community north of Houston to keep a place near our son and DIL and their two dogs and cat. We also have a home in Durango that we spend about 2/3rds our time. I love hiking and backpacking and did some amazing area hikes getting in shape to do half of the Colorado Trail last August/Sept. Skiing is nearby in the winter.

We recently got the cutest little dog to keep us company and partner up with me on day hikes. We love good food and love the two Farmer’s Markets in town during the summer months. Interestingly our diet is much healthier in CO than back in Texas. Many days are spent just hanging out at our house and having sitting time on our porches enjoying the amazing weather here. Fun to watch a neighbor’s wife pull in at 5:30 and say a prayer of thanksgiving for no longer having to work. Look forward to some travel in the future - SW CO is so close to a lot a neat places.

To me retirement is like recess back when we were in school.
heyyou
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by heyyou »

My "retirement dream" was to no longer go to my job, and the "reality" has been wonderful. Bailed out during age 55, into the best years of my life. DW and I then traveled to great tourist places in their off seasons.

Volunteering at litter pick up at the local national forest campgrounds suited me, as did backpacking to do hiking trail maintenance deep in the local mountains. Note how both activities have immediate positive feedback from the work performed, even with the necessary repetition.

Using a hammock to sleep in the forest was my key to backpacking in retirement.
Same as I had seen in my Dad, somewhere after age 65, a full day's labor is followed by a day of rest.
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bampf
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by bampf »

Godot wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 11:40 am
martincmartin wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 10:27 am

The best advice I had was: look at what you did for fun as a teenager. That's the sort of thing many people naturally gravitate to in retirement.
Seriously? Smoking weed and doing donuts in the parking lot?
I think some of you had a lot more fun than I did as a teenager....
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oldcomputerguy
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by oldcomputerguy »

A series of posts suggesting illegal activity were removed. See: Serious Violations
Certain violations, in particular posting or linking to spam, threatening, abusive, illegal, or obscene material, will result in removal of the message and may lead to an immediate and permanent ban of the poster.
Please keep the discussion focused on actionable suggestions.
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buystoys
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by buystoys »

Our retirement was nothing like we had planned. DH and I married late in life and he had always planned on retiring in NY. His house was there, most of his family was there, and he'd lived there all his life. When we got married, I was fine with that plan, so just assumed we'd retire in NY.

In 2013, a number of things happened that changed our plans. My family all lives in TX and dad's health began to deteriorate. Mom needed more help than my sister or brother could offer, so DH and I decided to move to TX. The plan was for me to be a SAHW and for DH to get a job. Unfortunately, DH's COPD became worse and he ended up on disability. So on to plan B. I'd get my back issues addressed and go back to work. That didn't happen either. My back had deteriorated enough that I couldn't get out of pain even after surgery. So I ended up on disability.

The good thing is that we both had invested and planned for retirement, so the disabilities didn't create significant financial issues for us. All our needs and many of our wants are covered by SSDI and DH's small pension. Our annual withdrawal is <3%, so we're in good shape there. Now that we're both on Medicare, our medical expenses are minimal. We still do our best to enjoy life and have actually become more socially active than we were pre-retirement. It's been a good run so far and we both look forward to what life will bring us next.
dcabler
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by dcabler »

Retiring in a few weeks at age 61 after 38+ years working after college. Career has been financially rewarding in tech, but the industry has become less personally rewarding as time has gone by as it has slowly and inevitably moved from being extremely exciting and entrepreneurial to something more "mature" and significantly more bureaucratic. As others have noted in the forum over the years, at some point, it's just time to let it go and move on to the next chapter.

Near term plans include
- Continuing my fitness journey that started during Covid. Cycling 3 times a week @ 20 miles each time and once per week at 50-60 miles
- Taking care of a lot of deferred maintenance on our house in anticipation of selling it and downsizing
- Figuring out where we're going to live next as we start to list what we want in our next house and what sort of location. Will likely pursue short term rentals in several areas during different seasons as a sort of "test drive" to help us figure that out. No big rush but we don't want to take more than a couple of years to find our landing pad.
- Having a detached art studio built for my wife, wherever it is we end up living, so that she can continue to pursue her passion.
- Helping our daughter get launched as she finishes university later this year, unless she goes to grad school which is a distinct possibility.

After that, more of the things we've always enjoyed such as domestic and foreign travel, getting together with friends, cooking, volunteering, gardening and both of us continuing to pursue life-long learning in a number of areas we both have interests in. Can't wait!!!!

The good news is that thanks to Covid and me working from home, it turns out that we can actually stand to be around each other 24/7. :D

Cheers.
james22
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by james22 »

Overestimated finances.

1. For most things, entertainment returns diminish very, very quickly. A private golf club is not much more fun than a public course, a GT3 no more fun than a Miata, etc. (I also find maximizing return to be entertaining.)

2. Costs are wildly disproportionate to entertainment return. I run 10 hours a week for $200/year (shoes). I'll boat maybe 5 hours a week for $200k (boat) + $500/month (slip) + $400/month (insurance/maintenance/etc.). They are equally fun.


Underestimated time.

1. Most entertainment requires work. For example, I'd thought I'd get into flying (sport pilot license) and buy a plane (LSA). But that meant dealing with study, licensing, registration, maintenance, hanger rental, etc. That all costs time.

2. Entertainment itself has an opportunity cost: if flying, aren't boating, etc.


It took me a while to get over the sense that should be spending as much as could (4% WR) to maximize entertainment. But is both entertainment return inefficient and don't simply have the time to enjoy. Freeing once I realized I didn't have to.
Gemini1962
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Gemini1962 »

I retired at 59 and planned to take it easy. But then I encouraged my Son to buy his first house which we helped him with and for the last year I've been renovating it working 5 days a week. So I'm now working harder than when I was at work getting paid for it!

However, I decided I would rather retire earlier with less than to carry on working as you're a long time dead :(
Apathizer
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Re: Retirement dreams and reality

Post by Apathizer »

My retirement dreams are very modest. I'm 50, can probably retire at about 57, but definitely no later than 60. I just want a simple, clean, modest apartment in a walkable area. I plan to exercise regularly. I'll probably eventually do occasional gig work like pet-sitting, and maybe volunteer to work with animals since that's my primary love. Oh course I'll travel and eat out quite a bit.

Maybe I'm different from most here, but experiences interest me more than stuff. I like being car-free and have no interest in expensive toys like boats, ATVs, etc.
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