If you're young enough, get a job in government (teaching, fireman, police officer, etc.) there is nothing better than a defined pension at the end of your career. Government employees, don't get rich, but it is made up later when they pay you for not coming to work.

I'm paying $1275 for 6 months on a 2013 Lexus SUV with 26K miles. I've looked around several times. Cheapest I could get. Maybe its different in Florida due to hurricanes?

I remember my parents trying to get me to work at the post office. Same pitch as yours above.

You won't make as much money in the public sector compared to the private however people I have known retired at 55 instead of 65 and have benefits paid for. It really makes sense now that we 'get' to contribute to our own retirement fund instead of having a company provided pension as part of our compensation. All I can say is start early on your 401k and put in as much as you can because it doesn't hurt your take home pay as much as you would think.

Thats the basic stuff people should be doing. Most are not thinking retirement at 30. Starting early makes for a bigger pile on money at the end.

Also buy a house ASAP that has potential for growth. in prices. The equity can be a source of income if you run into trouble later. It builds wealth.

We paid the same price for a house in Florida as my house back in Lees Summitt. But, in the 10 years I've lived in this house its almost tripled in value. Lees Summitt house, maybe 5% growth. Do your research and make the leap.

Could be a lot things. Driving record? Liability ceiling?

Mine is for 3 vehicles and the newest is a 2014 Prius. We just changed yesterday, so it's all pretty fresh on my mind.
One thing I have learned is you have to change every three or four years as they all keep jacking it up once they think you are comfortable with them.n

Yeah, about five years into my job, my manager at the time came to me and said they were thinking about giving me a team so they could show management I was ready to be promoted. I asked her how many and she said, "Oh, 3 or 4. I don't want to stress you."

"Lori, I was pushing 3-4 people around 12 years ago* in the Army. If you're worried that'll stress me, then please do not consider me for the job. I've been management (aka senior NCO) and I don't like it. I don't like paperwork and I don't like useless meetings. I like tech writing/editing." That's when I told her about my time as the Operations Sergeant with 84 people. "Honestly, I think being asked to lead 3-4 people would be a big step backward for me."

"Oh. So, how's the tech writing going?"

"Great."

"Good to hear. Any suggestions for who might be good at this team lead slot?"


*12 years before that conversation I was a Specialist serving as a squad leader. My first squad as a Sergeant was 23 kids right out of Basic Training . . now that was an experience to say the least. Eventually, they assigned half of them to another Sergeant which did NOT make me cry.

I’ve been thinking about retirement a lot lately. It’s different when you work for yourself. You keep telling yourself that you can do this another year, or keep a few clients of whatever. I’m 57 and could have easily retired at 50 - so $$ is not the issue. It’s the what’s next. I’m not afraid of dying, but I am afraid of growing old.

Working keeps my brain active and inspires me to get out of bed and get moving. I’m wrestling with the idea of what will motivate me everyday going forward when work can no longer be the motivator. I think the answer might be to never fully retire, and to keep a client or two (or a project) for as long as my brain and body hold up. Lots to think about in the coming years. I have a project I’m committed to for the next 3 years that will require about 10-15 hours per week. My thought is to maybe just do that and nothing else and see if that satisfies my need to stay busy/relevant. :)

Live your hobby/passion and teach it to others, you'll wonder why you didn't retire sooner.

To be honest, Chi, I don't think you're ready for retirement yet. It's a mindset as much as it is a lifestyle change. If you're having second thoughts, you'll keep having second thoughts and not be able to enjoy your well-earned time to do what "you" want to do.

The problem I see with a lot of people is they've spent so much time "at work", even when they're not at work that they haven't developed things they like to do and would love to have more time to pursue - whether that's wood working, gardening, golfing, traveling, etc. - because they were either thinking about work when they weren't there or they felt guilty that they weren't at least planning for the next business day.

Since you're not in a position to be forced out at a certain age, you've got plenty of time to think about life after work. If you don't have any hobbies that really interest you, then try some new ones. Like you said, maybe cut down on a few projects if you can afford to and maybe do some traveling. You don't have to plan an around-the-world trip - just go visit a historical site or go to a concert in a different town and leave work behind without guilt for those few days. See if something resonates with you that you'd enjoy having more time to enjoy fuller.

THAT'S when you'll know you're ready for retirement. :thumb:

Next June I can retire at 62.

I'm having a great time and success in the AI related company I am working for and if a couple of the big sales I have been working on close, I will ride off into the sunset on a real high note.

As long as I don't have any major setbacks, I'm looking forward to stepping away and enjoying what time I have left in life. I have worked so many extra hours and overtime since my first fulltime job in 1981, I have easily worked enough for two people.

I have traveled to nearly 40 countries, 38 states, played about 200 golf courses, scuba dived in the Great Barrier Reef and Cayman Islands, skied Chamonix Mount Blanc and Kitzbuhel and Squaw Valley among others, I witnessed the Hong Kong handover to China on July 1, 1997.

Been rich and poor and homeless at times, met a shit load of celebrities, have a wonderful brother and sister and nieces and nephew and cousins, a close handful of best friends, a load of good friends and global business connections, a few awards for sports and business, had some fancy new cars such as a 1986 Jaguar XJ6 and 1984 Cadillac Eldorado and some used clunkers, lived at Jersey Shore and Northern Virginia and Toronto Canada and San Fran and Mountain View in Silicon Valley and now Phoenix area.

I smoke the top cigars including Cuban cigars while in Cuba, eaten at some of the best restaurants, drank top beers and wine, I've dated great women except one and slept with over 300 women around the World and about 20 escorts and a few Asian massage parlor hotties, attended 30-35 fantastic concerts Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins and Genesis and Meatloaf and Duran Duran and Brian Setzer with the Strat Cats, comedy shows including Rodney Dangerfield and Steven Wright.

I've seen the KC Chiefs win 4 Super Bowls watched the Chiefs on Christmas Eve on the 50 yd line w Gblowfish and his lovely bride, I've seen the Pittsburgh Pirates and Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazaroski and Will Stargell and Dave Parker and Barry Bonds all play.

I had a few articles and letters published in magazines and major newspapers, I led a takeover attempt of a publicly traded REIT company that is now on the NYSE with the same CEO I dealt with, I've given away 100 lunches to the homeless riding around NYC from my car on Thanksgiving several times and worked for The Foster Hope Foundation for foster kids here in AZ, I've owned a hardwood flooring store and had my own consulting business, was fluent in Spanish and learned basic Mandarin, and have even been on TV and radio a few times.

I'm not really sure what more I need out of life other than be happy and content, which I am at the moment. The only thing left is to get my health back on track and see Patrick Mahomes live at Arrowhead.

Doesn't sound like you got cheated. Sounds like a life well lived.:clap:

I did this last year. I've been basically self employed my entire career, didn't like how retirement was looking so I made the change. Benefits and defined pension easily make up for what I walked away from. Plus I now work from home on Monday's and Fridays. Seems like I'm cheating...

I know many here have wonderful wives and kids but I never wanted kids.

The single life has allowed me to experience a great deal.

I saw a lot of older guys I worked with in the newspaper pressman's union back in the 80's work their whole life in the business from 15 or 16 years old until mid to late 60's, retire and then drop dead within a few years. It always made an impression on me to not get cheated in life or try to do everything you want in life AFTER you retire.

Sometimes people don't make it that far.

I think sometimes, or at least in my case, you have to force that mindset onto yourself. After 40 or 50 years of work, there's a habit built up to work, and like any other long-standing habit, it's hard to break. That's not just from a work perspective, but also a financial perspective. I've been running on positive cash flow for a long time, and have defined progress as a larger amount of savings at the end of each year. It was hard for me to tell myself that I had enough, and that I need to switch to a "spending it down" mindset. That's always been a sign of a bad year to me in the past, but now it's the new normal, and it's not a bad thing.

I've been retired for a month, so I'm actually still in positive cash flow since I got some vacation pay and a few one-off windfalls. I'm sure I'll be a bit traumatized the first time I have to move money from savings to checking. But I just need to recognize that that's what the money is for.

Retirement is a big deal because I think it involves three major changes: no longer working, shifting one's financial mindset, and figuring out how to use the sudden flood of free time. I've tried to prepare for these changes, but it's going to take a little time to learn how to navigate in these new waters.

I have years to go for retirement, but I've thought about a semi-retirement plan... just getting by on something I really want to do that will either get me out of the shitty parts of IT or out of IT completely.

OTOH, I've already seen that backfire for my dad, who went back to work part time/remotely and now complains just as much about all the BS he gets roped into after saying he'd only come out of retirement do so much and only the things he wanted to do, and it would only be on his time, etc.

OTOOH, people tend to think you are who you are by the time you're 40 or 50 or even 60, but studies have shown you change just as much or more as you get older... so, you never know what you could pick up as a new interest, and trimming down hours in one thing may open the door to acquiring new passions elsewhere. And of course it wouldn't feel as jarring in terms of figuring out what to do with life.

You're not wrong, but I certainly wanted kids, was blessed with two wonderful sons, and made sure my work/life balance was balanced enough to be the father I wanted to be, make the salary to provide for them while experiencing many wonderful things while they grew up, and retire early enough to be able to do my passion at a reasonably high enough level to have no regrets.

I think everybody makes the choices that are right for them and I've been blessed throughout life to have been mentored by great parents, great military and civilian leaders, and a family that has little moss growing on it.

Live your life and never worry about anything others might say about it.

I did not have a pension plan at work. Just the typical 401k. I was so obsessed with accumulation to be able to retire early and have a nice long financially secure retirement. You are absolutely correct the transition from Accumulation to spending down is disconcerting.

I would fret every time I made a withdrawal for my accumulated pile. The funny thing is the first 3 years my net worth continued to grow. I am tracking to have a decrease this year as we spent a pretty good chunk of money on our property.
But after 4 years of livin the dream I am plenty confident that we are good to go.

I am now officially retired. Just returned home from the happy hour my co-workers had for me. It is still hard for me to comprehend but I am ready for this new phase in my life.

346 days ago I said the same thing. Enjoy it my man, retirement if ****ing AWESOME!!!

Where's your first trip to?

Welcome to the club!

I'm 66 and the idea of building birdhouses to sell at the local craft fair terrifies me.

Retiring just because it's the norm has made no sense.

If you are self-employed and enjoying your work, keep doing what you are doing. YOu control your future. You can only play so much pickleball or golf.

A friend sold his Utah company 5 years ago for big bucks. He's now starting a plumbing company because he got bored.

Hard to put racehourses out to pasture.

My wife is still working for a bit so laying off any big trips. I do plan on in late spring 2025 to hit up some passes in Colorado and maybe Utah for some trails. I have some other projects for the homestead that are higher on the priority list. At least I can work at my own pace now.

Cool. Mrs. GloryDayz is still working too, I get it, but I'm traveling a lot anyway, she can catch up... :D

I'll probably call in the morning I croak.

I am still six years from my full retirement age and may continue working two years beyond that just to get more money a month. However, I really have not done anything to prepare for it so are there any suggestions at this point in my life?

Yikes... I'd start with throwing the legal limit into a retirement fund, then seriously look at other ways to save every penny not needed to live.

Yeah, probably a combo of maxing out a 401k, putting all savings/"emergency" money into an account like Discover that you can get to it fairly easily but it's making 3-4%, and then if there's some left maybe some kind of like 10yr equity or what not that won't lose you money, but will gain a little.

Like others said, max out the 401K. don't worry about the articles that say you cant retire unless you have at least $1 million in cash. figure out what you want to do in retirement. then budget your life to meet that goal.

Thank you all for the advice. I really hadn't any clue. I work for a non profit and started a 403(b) plan about a year ago, I'll start upping the amount that goes into it each month. I have about 13,000 in KPERS that is really just sitting there. I thought about putting it into an Edward Jones account. Not trying to bring "DC" talk here but I fear the prospect of the unrealized gains tax.

Giving that I'm retired I don't follow the limit anymore, but a quick search says that the limit for a 401K or 403B in 2024 is $23K, so if you can max it out to the point of pain, that would be a good start. For 2025 it looks like the limits will be $23.5K, so see if you can budget ~$1,950 a month for all of 2025. If you can, great, if not, put as much in as you financial pain threshold will allow. Remember, 401K and 403B contributions are pre-tax, or they were, so that's a little relief for you...

Hope this helps...

It does help. Thank you!

Congratulations on your retirement....welcome to the club!

The first few days of your retirement are odd...your body will wonder why you are sleeping in and not getting ready to work.

I'm retired because I have worked all my life to get here. I am puzzled that some people think you should work until you drop dead.

I agree. I just want to have a few years before health issues could start happening and be able to do somethings I didn't have time to do while working.

We had a plan. One of the reasons I took the job in Florida was because we were tired of snow and ice. Just go into Quick Trip and you slip on some ice and bust your ass. Had enough of that.

Now, I had to retire a couple of years early but the plan still was in place. We bought at the bottom of a crashed housing market. Set us up for a successful retirement. Now, the hurricane insurance may make us move away from the water but we still stay down here.

Have a plan. Things change. Be flexible.

Seen too many friends continue to work past retirement age....and regret it.

I have health issues...one's that make the thought of working a silly thought. I don't want to be the guy whose wife gets a call saying "sorry Mrs. Mosbonian, but your husband had a heart attack at work and didn't make it to the hospital".

Two days... Feels really weird... Like this is the last Thursday and Friday of work and then every day is Saturday forever. No more asking for the day off, after hours support or planning things on the weekend so I can be back on Monday.

The end of one thing is the beginning of another.

My brother in law wants to work until he is 70 to maximize his SS money. They were on the first leg of a trip in Arkansas, he tripped on a trail, fell, landed on a big rock and broke his hip. Now his vacation is surgery, physical therapy and recovery. I hope this wakes him up because life can and does change in an instant.

Truth brother.. And I think retirement also allows a person who needs to, to get healthy.

Since we are talking about 401K's, I'll just kick this out there. I've been self-employed since 2003. Shortly thereafter, I started contributing to a SEP IRA. It's an awesome way to save on paying taxes, and a great way to put some money aside. You can put up to 25% of what you make, or in 2024 ('23 Tax basis) it's $66,000 max. If you are self-employed, make sure you are doing something like this.

He needs to take a look at how little the benefit is waiting until he is 70...the difference between what I am earning now vs what I would make per month then is not really that much.

In fact...I started drawing mine at FRA and still worked another 18 months. So the SS I was getting was just money I could put away extra. Better in my hands making it work for me instead of it in the governments hands..

Sorry what happened to your B-I-L....it sucks that these things can and do occur.

Imagine working your last day of work....your friends have a going away dinner for you and your spouse at a nice restaurant. On the way home a careless/drunk driver plows head long into your car and your wife survives and you don't?

That happened to a peer of mine in the industry I worked in...

Good advice! Every dollar you put away to work for you is a little wage earner. Do that long enough and you will have an army of earners!

I will add for anyone capable of maxing or at least contributing to Roth IRA's and HSA'S do that as well. When my employer added the High Deductible Health plan and an HSA I took advantage of maxing out my HSA. Being a healthy guy we paid out of pocket for the little health care we used. We still do. We are saving the HSA and allowing it to grow until it is really needed in our later years.

What I failed to do was invest in a Roth. I have around a 14-16% effective tax rate in retirement. Nothing sucks more than to pay Uncle Same $1600 bucks for every $10K you withdraw from your IRA.

Just thought I would bring this one back up to the top in case anyone new has retired lately.

The really nice part about retirement? When you have the Sunday Night and Monday Night games, there is no real rush to get up early in the AM to have to get to work. :)

Starting on week 4 of retirement. I have enjoyed sleeping in that is for sure but I really need to get myself on a schedule to get up earlier and get to the honey-do list although I have knocked a few items out just to keep the honey happy.

I'm one year and four days retired and LOVING it... Trips to Roatan to dive, Green Bay for Chiefs, Northern Iowa to teach Ice Diving, Cozumel for diving, Cayman Brac for diving, Cozumel #2 for diving, Roatan #2 for diving, Sint Maarten/Saba/Saint Kitts for Diving, Egypt/Red Sea for diving, Cozumel #3 for diving, and about ready to leave for Bonaire for five glorious weeks for diving... Then I have dive trips scheduled for Cozumel (kinda my 2nd home), Hawaii/Fiji, The Maldives, and Roatan setup for Jan-July 2025. While I'm retired I LOVE leading dive trips (saved a LOT of my nest egg...), so I guess I'm not 100% retired.

No matter what, I LOVE my retired life...

From what I understand they can only tax the GAINS in an IRA since you contribute to it with after tax money.

A Roth is pre tax dollars. So there is no tax on withdrawals. Your money grows tax free. A traditional IRA is pre tax dollars so every withdrawal is taxed.

And you can get in an afternoon nap so you can stay awake until the end. :skip: :D

My nephew came down here about 4 years back to get some dive courses....he takes his diving seriously just like you seem to.

For me it's a trip to my past, my current and my future (for as long as I can do it). It's my thing, Mrs. GloryDayz gets it and supports it, so I do it. Everybody who retires should "do their thing" and love every minute of it. In my case I do it and teach it, I'm giving back and hoping to share my passion with others who might find the ocean as wonderful as I do. But if a person is into, let's say, trains, I pray they share their passion in their latter half/third of life and let others find their passion.


It's a good thing...

I'm feeling it right now, late game is so much more enjoyable!

I retired in May at 62 and I've never been so happy. My favorite thing is having time to go at a slow pace with no set schedule. Especially time and energy to exercise and go hiking. I'm running 3 miles a few times a week and often doing mountain hikes on other days. Physically I feel amazing, and being outside and exercising so much is great for my mental health too. Can't recommend it enough!

Well, I am taking the plunge folks.
After 36 years of employment with the same outfit it is time.
My last day will be February 28th. We then go to Mexico for 2-3 weeks...maybe longer right???
Looking forward to going into this with Spring on the horizon. Got travel plans ready and in my head thinking of all I want to do!
I am pretty excited. 3 Months ago I was wishy washy about it, but now I am convinced, I am ready.
I may re-enter the work force as a consultant as folks have already reached out asking. I am not going to immediately commit until I have a 2-3 months of retirement under my belt.
BIG CHANGES on the horizon and I am pumped for the change.

Great plan....take some deserved you time. But dont wait too long to take the cinsulting work or they will forget who you were faster than you imagine

Congratulations and good luck!

I think you meant to say the Roth is post-tax, while traditional IRA is pre/tax contributions.

Just a few ideas from this old guy:

- If possible, contribute as much as you can to the Roth. The money can grow to a billion dollars and you will not be taxed on any of the gains when you withdraw.

- Roth is a great vehicle because you can withdraw your PRINCIPAL contributions tax free (since you paid taxes on that one already). So for example if you contributed $100k, and it grew for several years, you could then withdraw any of the $100k without early withdrawal penalties or taxes.

- Look into the “backdoor” IRA -> Roth conversion. (Insert obligatory CP joke here). Or the “mega”Roth backdoor conversion. If they’re still around. Been awhile since I researched those.

:clap:

Congrats and well-deserved. Enjoy it all!

I still get calls for consulting companies, remote work etc. I just tell them I'm retired. Wellll until the next hurricane whacks my house. :)

We tool our last annuity out of the stock market. We just have them in CD's getting 6%. Staying ahead of inflation.

The housing and insurance markets, politics, A.I. and all the uncertaintly coming with this new presidency. A lot of chances to see the stock market crash or slide significantly. If I was 30-40 I'd leave it in because it will wventually recover, But at 66, I've become risk adverse.

I've been retired for about three months, going on a trip to Arizona in March. I had thought that I might want to consult however the further in the taillights my work gets, the less I want to spend the time I have left for the benefit of someone else.

Get the Medicare, Social Security, 401k and pension stuff out of the way because it all takes time and is, at least for me, a source of frustration. The hardest thing for me so far is changing the mindset to spending instead of saving.

My plan is to retire (shut what remains of my business down) at the end of 2026 (I'll be 59). However, I plan to open a small consulting business that will allow me to keep 2 clients that will essentially pay the majority of my bills - my mortgage will be paid off in Dec of '26. I'd only have to "work" less than 6 hours per week to keep that up. Zero business travel and no office required. I'd most likely keep doing that until I'm physically/mentally unable to do so. The next 2 years are gonna be ball-busters, but they are also going to be 2 of the best years financially of my career. So, I'm gonna rack it up while I can :)

Great attitude... "Maybe I'll stay longer" is my retirement slogan...

I'm happy for you..

I have been retired now for 9 months and have absolutely no desire to do anymore consulting...when I first retired I thought I would enjoy doing some consulting but the further I get from what I used to do the less desire I have.

Plus....now I am doing things I LOVE to do...found out that being a volunteer can be so rewarding.

My last 3 years I made the type of money I'd never made previously in my life. I wanted to work until FRA. I was still at the top of the food chain to finish my career. Still enjoyed the work. But, you need a fully functioning short term memory to do my job.

You never know what may come up in your brilliantly conceived retirement plan. Plan accordingly.

100% with you. I still get the occasional call to help, and sometimes I do, but more chatting on the phone. ANd like you say, I'm doing what I love, I don't have time for stress. I still teach scuba so I guess some (my wife) says I still work, but it's a passion, I don't it when, where, and how I want, and I pretty much do it for free. But you're spot-on, once you retire and the stress fades, life gets amazingly awesome.

I am on the final week countdown!

Well, just went over my first year of retirement. So far, I've become the primary chef in the family and have learned that while I doubt any Michelin Chefs have to worry, I'm actually not too bad (reflected in my Christmas presents of a brand new knife set (very swanky) and a cast-iron skillet (my first).

Gotten quite a bit of writing done - finished a novel, three novellas, and six out of eight short stories for a collection. Worked with some absolutely wonderful artists for illustrations for two of the books and have several more novels/novellas I hope to finish in 2025.

Also survived my first go with tax season. Learned my 401K wasn't taking out enough for state taxes, but luckily, I had the foresight to put X into a special savings account to cover any tax shenanigans and there was more than enough to cover it.

Going to try and have some fun this year - got several conventions that I'm going to attend around the eastern US (and one in St. Louis this fall). Being retired means I don't have to take leave to go and can take a day or so longer to get there/back without stressing or driving 14 hours straight.

Also, got the first email from work asking if I was interested in coming back. I tried really, really hard not to send them a snarky reply back. I guess I should be flattered that they thought I did a good enough job to reach out, but no thank you. I'm not bored or frustrated with my retirement. I'm having a blast and am going to enjoy my freedom as long as the ol' body holds up.

Congrats. I'm down to 36 days.

My boss is asking me to stay an additional 30 days as they have yet to find a replacement for me. He hasn't sweetened the pot for me to stay, so my answer to date is "No" ;)

I've spent the last several months closing down our family business that we've ran for over forty years. It's ran its course and gave us a comfortable life but it's not fun closing it down. Everything is taken care of except closing down our Profit Sharing which is almost completed. At this point I am effectively retired at 63 which means I'm paying for my health insurance out of my pocket for a year and eight months.

We are in the process of selling off some property we operated our business on. That will give me a cash infusion to increase my investments and also a wad to blow.

I have no bucket list or anything like that. No real desire to travel and see the world.(The wife might differ on that) I'm just a tumble weed rolling along with the wind. Any way the wind blows!

Thats cool. finish line in sight. :thumb:

So long old guy I never knew or worked with?

As any good retirement begins.:thumb:

Wow, that had to be tough emotionally with all the memories etc.

Congrats on your retirement!

Best of luck to you and it sounds like you have a good handle on things. :thumb:

I have mixed feelings about it for sure but I'll make the best out of it. I regret not having a business to pass on like my dad did but I'll do my best to leave a nice inheritance behind.

Try a little travel, you might find it pleasantly addicting...

Be careful with that "can you stay" mantra. I did that and it took them 18 months to find my replacement. I finally had to give them a firm deadline that I was leaving.

I hear ya.. I'm sticking to my guns so far that April 1st is my last day.

28 days and I'm getting pretty pumped about it.

End of April

I'm seriously considering retiring from the dental gig and getting some part time "reason to get out" job. I've applied at the dental school so I'll see where that goes. $ wise, I'm good. Plus, wifey still works. Looking to hang em up this summer.

95% of all my cooking is done on cast-iron. I have 4, and depending what I'm cooking, I pick which one.

I can hang it up June but I am at the finish line of a huge deal that has taken 18 months to get to today, contracts being negotiated.

Largest deal in our company's history and a lot riding on this.

If it closes, Dec 31 will likely be it for me. God forbid something goes bad and it doesn't close, then I am hanging it up in June. Won't be raining money but I have had enough of work.