I decided to retire after my Mom died from cancer, 2 mths later my Father died in an accident, about 4 months after that my Aunt was diagnosed with lung cancer and then my sister was diagnosed with cervical cancer - my sister is OK, my aunt now has a couple of months left to live.
I want to live and explore and enjoy my life - I couldn't do that at my job. My job was a soul sucking hell hole - it paid well but that's the only good thing about it.
I did get some money when my Father died, enough to pay off my bills and make a down payment on a 5th wheel/truck combo.
I'll have to workamp to make ends meet but I'll be living, not just existing.
Money is not everything - you need it to get by, but living your life and being happy is much more important to me.
Don't let money be the only consideration in your decision -
Good luck
For us the decision to retire was always about as soon as we were eligible. DH got an early out three years ago and 1 year before I retired I made a spreadsheet of what our fixed monthly expenses were. Then I found out what our after tax retirement income would be and that is what we lived on. Learning to live on retired pay before I retired made me aware of how much money we threw away on stuff we really didn’t need. Banked the rest of my salary for a nest egg. So we are comfortable with the income, although we would like more. We do have a 401k which we can tap into but we don’t use it to supplement our income. We live on half of what we made while working but alot of that went to taxes and 401k.
Also in retirement "stuff" just doesn't seem to matter like it use to.
Just happy to have my time be my own.
* This post was
edited 07/08/08 06:56pm by Kbix *
Paul and Karen
New to us 93 Pace Arrow
01 Tracker Toad
I took advantage of firedudes spreadsheet and it helped enormously. I added in items he didn't have (that I knew I would), and figured it all out that way. I will be living on what I made in my last year of work (100% of not very much) and it will never go up. Because I know inflation will nip at me over time, I will also be engaged in work I love...being a book scout for a rare book dealer (I just knew I couldn't stay away from garage sales!) and working on a book I hope will be published (but I am not counting on it - the book scout work will do.)
My next door neighbors had such plans for retirement. When he finally was able to retire, she got cancer and departed this world. He came to me in tears and said "don't wait to enjoy life. Do it now."
I am, however, surrounded by naysayers who are pretty free with their criticism of my "crazy" idea of full-timing (and oh how they love to throw the price of gas at me....as though heating their homes didn't cost anything).
Do what you want to do. Now or later. Just make sure you get to do it.
Why Full-Timing? Because at my age, I have maybe 40 more chances to see flowers bloom. CrusinSusan's Blog!! 2006 Winnebago View 23J
First of all, for most people if they wait to retire until they have enough money, they never retire!
I bailed out at 57, the very first day that I was eligible for our early retirement program. I now believe that it was the wisest decision that I ever made! We have now been retired and fulltimers for more than eight years.
We live quite comfortably on about 40% of what we were making. Of course we also don't have a huge house with huge mortgage payments anymore, huge property tax bill, huge heating and cooling bill, etc., etc., etc.
You can actually do with out a lot of things that you think you have to have when you have a S&B and are working. Not only won't you be paying SS, making 401K additions, etc., but you will be in a lower tax bracket, so lower taxes. And you don't need "Work" clothes. I spent several thousands of dollars each year on clothes. Had complete 4 season wardrobes, etc., now I practically live in 3 pairs of jeans and a few t-shirts. Bought 2 blouses and a nightgown this year - the only new clothes this year. We don't eat out 3-4 times a week anymore.
I am a cancer survivor and my husband survived a stroke and had 3 stents implanted the week we started fulltiming. For us, we went the minute that we had worked long enough to get our health insurance paid for as retirees. We want to enjoy this part of our life, for however long it may be, not drop dead on the job as, unfortunately, so many collegues had done over the past few years. 58 seems to be a really bad age for men to discover a heart condition whose first symptom is a massive heart attack and death.
Barb
* This post was
edited 07/09/08 03:31pm by BarbaraOK *
Barb & Dave - full-timing Traveling catpanions Kit (age 18) and Shadow (age 11) Figment II (2002 Alpine 36 MDDS) Mischief (2004 Subaru Forester Toad) FMCA - F337834, SKP #90761 http://homepage.mac.com/barbaraok/ Our blog
Very intriguing question. So many diffeent answers. Our situation about the same as some, we worked like slaves to get where we are, and after the 2nd heart attack, decided we had all we would need for the rest of our lives. Was it worth it? At this point in life, I personally do not think so. I would give up half the money to have what little health I had before the heart trouble. (Might even bargain with the MAN, if possible)
These are the things one must take into account when deciding when to quit the rat race. Are you prepared to live on what you have and what you will get? Are you sure you want to be worthless? (At least that is what the govt thinks of us retirees).
Most retirees, myself included, find something to do that trips our trigger, rather than sit in the rocking chair all day . Since retiring in 04, life has been a ball. Darn it , wished I had done it years earlier.
My opinion would be if you want to retire and you can afford it, by all means do it. But find something to do that you really enjoy.
Mollysmom wrote: I decided to retire after my Mom died from cancer, 2 mths later my Father died in an accident, about 4 months after that my Aunt was diagnosed with lung cancer and then my sister was diagnosed with cervical cancer - my sister is OK, my aunt now has a couple of months left to live.
I want to live and explore and enjoy my life - I couldn't do that at my job. My job was a soul sucking hell hole - it paid well but that's the only good thing about it.
I did get some money when my Father died, enough to pay off my bills and make a down payment on a 5th wheel/truck combo.
I'll have to workamp to make ends meet but I'll be living, not just existing.
Money is not everything - you need it to get by, but living your life and being happy is much more important to me.
Don't let money be the only consideration in your decision -
Good luck
I am so sorry for your losses. I so appreciate this post and agree whole heartedly. You will do great. When we changed our mind set to experience this lifestyle, we learned that money doesn't play the most important role in our life. We live very simple and workamp. We are happy and have met so many awesome lifelong friends on this journey. We have yet to go hungry or run out of gas or fuel for our rig! The bondage to things, stuff, and the almighty dollar, rob many people of the most amazing experience once could want. Freedom. Amazingly enough, everyday just gets better and better and the little things just take care of themselves.
LDO USN RETIRED
Suck, squeeze, bang, blow...down the road we will go A wrinkle only goes where a smile has been
There are so many good answers. For us we live off an income of 60% of what we made while working. Fire dudes budget, as mentioned is a good place to start. It all depends on what you like to do, if you eat out often you need more money.
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