Anybody here retire early?

[gregintenn]

I think, barring an unforeseen catastrophe, I have my ducks in a row to retire before I'm 50. Anybody else here retire early? I'd love to hear your story and any advice you'd care to share.

 

I expect I'd be bored, and will find something productive to do, but look forward to turning this page in my life.

[Omega]

Not early per se, but when I retired from the military, after a foreign assignment, I was home for about three months and it drove me a bit stir crazy.  Same thing happened a few years later when we had a contract issue and I lost my job, I just had to get a job to get out of the house.  Though I tried to get myself into my hobbies, they just weren't the same as having a job.  My plans are still to retire as soon as I can get SS, but I may not if I still feel the same as I did those two times when it comes time.

[gregintenn]

1 minute ago, Omega said:

Not early per se, but when I retired from the military, after a foreign assignment, I was home for about three months and it drove me a bit stir crazy.  Same thing happened a few years later when we had a contract issue and I lost my job, I just had to get a job to get out of the house.  Though I tried to get myself into my hobbies, they just weren't the same as having a job.  My plans are still to retire as soon as I can get SS, but I may not if I still feel the same as I did those two times when it comes time.

I fear I'll face the same thing, but do not intend to work for half what I'm currently making. (That's what it would amount to when I reach retirement eligibility.)

[Omega]

2 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

I fear I'll face the same thing, but do not intend to work for half what I'm currently making. (That's what it would amount to when I reach retirement eligibility.)

Not sure what you mean by that; you mean SS would be half?  Currently I am operating (bills and stuff) from my military retirement, all my job checks goes to 401k and savings, so I am training myself to be retired permanently.  SS is just a trigger if you will, I am no relying on that to live.

[Garufa]

If you retire before 50, at 50, or whenever, what are your plans for health insurance?  

[DWARREN123]

The sooner you take SS the less you get. If you like to stay busy then perhaps retirement at a younger age is not for you.

Look at everything before deciding to retire then relook twice more!

[gregintenn]

1 hour ago, Garufa said:

If you retire before 50, at 50, or whenever, what are your plans for health insurance?  

It would be part of my retirement package.

Guys, I said I intend to retire before I am 50. Social security is a fairy tale to me.

 

Edited October 3, 2019 by gregintenn

[gregintenn]

1 hour ago, Omega said:

Not sure what you mean by that; you mean SS would be half?  Currently I am operating (bills and stuff) from my military retirement, all my job checks goes to 401k and savings, so I am training myself to be retired permanently.  SS is just a trigger if you will, I am no relying on that to live.

Social security is nothing but an onerous farce in my opinion. I do not count on ever seeing a penny of it.

My employer will pay me roughly half my salary once I reach 30 years of service. They will also provide health insurance at that point. I have to pay 20 percent as I do now.

Edited October 3, 2019 by gregintenn

[Garufa]

9 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

Social security is nothing but an onerous farce in my opinion. I do not count on ever seeing a penny of it.

My employer will pay me roughly half my salary once I reach 30 years of service. They will also provide health insurance at that point. I have to pay 20 percent as I do now.

So you basically have a pension.  Take it if you have the reserves built up not only for sustenance, but catastrophes, and go work at Home Depot or something like that part time if you get bored.

[Erik88]

I'm a long ways behind you but I hope you pull it off. Good on you for saving while so many others are not. 

Only a handful of my 30 year old friends seem to understand it. 

[Garufa]

2 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

I'm a long ways behind you but I hope you pull it off. Good on you for saving while so many others are not. 

Only a handful of my 30 year old friends seem to understand it. 

They probably expect to retire off social security, if they even understand how that works.

Edited October 3, 2019 by Garufa

[gregintenn]

2 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

I'm a long ways behind you but I hope you pull it off. Good on you for saving while so many others are not. 

Only a handful of my 30 year old friends seem to understand it. 

My wife and I have made it a priority to save for kids’, education, retirement, and bought term life insurance. We’ve done this since we’ve been married.

[Erik88]

4 minutes ago, Garufa said:

They probably expect to retire off social security, if they even understand how that works.

God y'all are harsh on millenials sometimes. They actually don't think we will see S.S at all. I've never heard them say thats their plan. They just aren't good at saving. 

Most people do not prioritize saving in their 20's or even 30's.

It's not just us. 45% of boomers have zero retirement savings....ZERO.

 

[Garufa]

4 minutes ago, Erik88 said:

God y'all are harsh on millenials sometimes. They actually don't think we will see S.S at all. I've never heard them say thats their plan. They just aren't good at saving. 

Most people do not prioritize saving in their 20's or even 30's.

It's not just us. 45% of boomers have zero retirement savings....ZERO.

 

Lighten up E, lol.  This Gen X boy wasn’t even thinking about it when I turned 30.  I was more focused what people that age usually are.

[Morgan88]

Greg that is fantastic. I'm thinking it is due to good judgement, planning and sticking to a plan. I am very happy for you.  You ask for guidance?   One thing I was told was to have your part time job or volunteer work going for 6 months to a year before you do the final good by.   I was told not to  due the typical " I am gonna take a month of then look for a job" thing.   I hope this helps and nice to hear sticking to a plan pays off.

Morgan88

[RED333]

I am going to work as long as I can, till I die if I can. The longer I work the more I can save for the day I cant work. I am not one to ride a camper around the country, I am a home body. I do not even go on vacations, more of a staycation guy.

[Ronald_55]

Retirement is not something I can even hope for. Yeah I have a 401k and stuff, but it takes ALOT to live for even 10 years as retired. Well unless you live on a very  low cost life with no medical issues. . 

[peejman]

Before 50, wow. 

My Dad semi-retired at 52. He got laid off with a decent severance with 24 years in. He did a few consulting type things for a while. Mom kept teaching until 65 so they had reasonable insurance until Medicare kicked in. They've been frugal and while I'm not privy to the details of their finances, they appear to be fine. Dad complains about minimum required disbursements now.  

I don't ever expect to retire, certainly not how my parent have. I still have some fleeting hope that I'll be able to quit working full time before I'm dead, but the traditional retirement is out of the question.  Social Security and Medicare won't exist in their current form.   I've got a decent 401k, but I have no illusions of being able to live off the interest. I make a decent wage, but raising a family on 1 paycheck just doesn't leave much wiggle room. 

[Alleycat72]

So glad I don't have to pay social security

[gregintenn]

6 minutes ago, alleycat72 said:

So glad I don't have to pay social security

I’d sign a paper saying I’d never collect a penny of it if I could quit paying it today.

Edited October 4, 2019 by gregintenn

[Alleycat72]

3 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

I’d sign a paper saying I’d never collect a penny of it if I could quit paying it today.

I did.  21.5 years ago. No regrets at all.

[Jeb48]

I took some good advice when I was in my mid 20's and started putting money away for retirement and increased the amount with each raise. My plan was to be ready to retire at 55 if I wasn't enjoying work and I was ready at that point. I told my boss if he wanted me to continue to work to keep me happy and he did. At 57 1/2 the company was looking for volunteers to reduce the size of the company and put out an offer of a years severance and bridge medical to 65 and I jumped on it. I decided that since they were paying me well that I would not consider retiring till I knew I could make it without going back to work part time for smaller wages and I haven't. I did do eBay to sell a bunch of junk I had accumulated for a few years, was something to fill some time but was never enough money to say so, a few thousand in the best years. When the sales were less than minimal wages for the time I was putting in I stopped. Still have a bunch of crap I should sell.

I have not regretted my decision one day. I already had several hobbies that kept me as busy as I wanted and was involved with Habitat for Humanity till I moved to TN, was on the local board for 25 years. Was also on the board of the local gun club till the move. Also involved in a couple of car clubs and still am. 

I would only recommend early retirement if you really hate your job or you have the money and activities to keep you busy. I would rather work an extra couple of years that take a lower paying job to make ends meet.

Just as a PS, I'm finishing up my 14th year retired in December and loving life, even more since moving to TN.

[Omega]

Nah, I'll take whatever SS owes me back.  At 54, I'm well into it, I won't depend on it, but I will take it.

[Tuffus]

I retired at 51 when I reached 30 years of service and started drawing my pension that day. Took a year off and got a part time job since my wife was still working and keeping our insurance paid up through her job. Worked another 8 years and gave it up for good. Waited to draw my SS until age 65 since we were doing fine on my pension and her salary. The key is to stay out of debt, if i can't pay cash for it, I don't really need it. As I understand it you need to pay into SS for 35 years to get maximum benefits. I spend a lot of time on my bicycle, motorcycle and playing my guitar. We take several trips every year too. Some short, some longer. Good luck with your retirement.

[10-Ring]

I'm reading this thread purely seeking advice.  Almost 37, and spent my 20s mostly goofing off.  I consider my 20s to be a retirement decade on the front end of my life.  Although it will delay my actual retirement, I got to do a lot of cool things that my body won't be able to do when I'm actually retired, and I don't regret it.  I have a 401k and plan to get into a mutual fund soon and contribute monthly, just because I can afford too and I honestly won't miss the money.  My goal is to retire by 60.  I'm honestly not worried about missing work.  I don't have enough time to hunt and fish as it is and I enjoy farming.  That's more than enough to stay busy.