Realistically, when do you think you can retire?

Decent thread revival 9/10

I agree with both. It's not impossible but very tough, and not easy or simple to time the market. If you are young, buy and buy and buy VTI or ITOT or the like. Save 20-30% of every penny that comes in. This is key and starting young, too.

OTOH, if you are in or near retirement (say in 2023, not 2029) and you have say 75%+ in the wide market (or worse, a few stocks) reallocating would have been smart. But those who went to bonds and such got slaughtered, so no haven there of course.

Me? Happily retired. Did mutual funds and such, then when self diversified to this date. Doing just fine. Invests in buckets (look that up) and TRULY diversified - not just in investment types, but philosophies as well. It works, but the time allocation is a bit much, used to love it. Still like it.

 

29 and this right here is going to be key for me and the wife. DINK greatly accelerates (in conjunction with living below our means) retirement. I hope to retire around 50 as well.

 

We save about 75% of our take home pay. Both 32. Any tax advantaged accounts are maxed out then the rest in mutual funds, ETFs, money markets yada yada. We live well below our means and don’t feel like we are missing out on anything. We have two small children and have never felt like they were some sort of financial burden. maybe just a burden in a general sense . But they give purpose to our life in a way money never can.

The best investment we make is creating a life where we are content and don’t feel like we want to retire all the time and dwell on how quickly we can do so. I love to work hard at work worth doing. There’s a big safety factor in knowing you could retire if you wanted to and that’s something I look forward to, but it’s not my main focus in life. I try to have joy in the here and now.

 

We were single income no kids but with many side gigs to keep us in fun money.

Retired at 52, 2 years ago. Still have side gigs, but not working them that hard.

 

I've been talking about leaving the workforce for at least a year if not longer.

My first career was a 25 year military service commitment that began at 19 years of age.

I've been retired 12 years now and I'm on my 8th transitioning job...current position is the longest tenured job.

Ideally, I would like to work until 60 which is 3 years and 2 months away.

My Tacoma will be paid off before then and the only big outgoing is our mortgage which is set to payoff in 2036.

Until then, it's all about funding my 401K, Roth & Traditional IRAs and Savings.

EDIT: Agreed with the thread revival comment! And on a Friday too!

 

You obviously have a healthy income, which helps with kids.

Kids are just not a personal goal of mine. I love being selfish and having more money. I also firmly believe I'd be a bad parent.

We are doing the same though. Investing as much as we can to be financially independent as soon as we can. I want to live to work not work to live. I also want that financial security should anything bad happen (like an accident that makes one of us disabled and unable to work). We are in our 30's as well (32 and 35). We should be financially independent and able to retire by 40 and 43. We want to pay cash for a $1.5M+ home though so that will likely delay the retirement until 50 but if anything disastrous happens, we will be just fine.

What do you guys do for a living and are you in a LCOL area?


PSA:
Invest whatever you can as soon as you can. I don't care if it's $10 a pay period at 20 years old. Do it. Exercise the muscle and increase as time goes on. In your 20s you'll see how that money grows and it will motivate you to keep it up. It's SHOCKING how after about a decade of even 15% of your income away builds up.

I'm doing just fine but I wish I put some money away sooner. And like $50-$100/mo away sooner. Not even anything crazy significant just something.

My nieces and nephew's are getting Roth IRAs for their graduation presents (even if it means being hired as my slave gardener for a year).

 

Probably never. I was not very smart with my $$$ in my 20. I calmed down in my 30 and it helped alot to buy an house, just before the skyrocket price increase. Now i'm near the 40 year mark and seeing freshly (2-5 year) retired people returning to work because even if they saved for 30 year the new economic situation is so fu** up they can't meet their goal or worse they are so anxious if they live longer than they literaly burn themself with 2-3 partial time work and they can't enjoy the peacfull old age.... I know this will just get worse so.

 

Whenever everyone does decide , or is able to retire , STAY BUSY . Ive seen quite a few people that I used to work with just lay around and do nothing , go to McDs and tell lies to their buddies , they arent around very long .

 

We're DINKs as well. Plan for us is retire 2032. I'll be 47, wife would be 45. That'll be when our houses are paid off. First house I bought before we were married, and just as the market was starting to climb, so I got LUCKY. Randomly came across a house, condo actually, we thought we might like to retire to and it already had decent short term rental income. Between the two mortgages, it's still less than some of my friends are paying on a single home. We made sure we could afford the second even if $0 rental income, but luckily it has done well.

We JUST got to where we are now maxing both of our 401k's after my last raise in March. Already funding Roth. Also, we are paying WAY extra on the two homes. No car payments. No CC debt.

The best thing about it is the piece of mind. Even if one of us lost our jobs, we could just stop paying all the extra into the homes and it would just push our retirement back. Even if our plans get pushed back 10 or 15 years, at least we are more likely to be able to retire than a lot of people.

Since my wife has moved jobs, she's actually found she LOVES what she does, and it can be done 100% remote. She works in Workday, which is a wildly popular HR system, that has also grown into a financial system. Last year I thought we may move to Arizona for my job (cool opportunity with my employer that didn't pan out), she was able to get a new job before I got my second interview. Super in demand. So we may have me retire, and she'll continue working remote, or possibly take 6 month contracts each year (which there are countless of them). Obviously things can change, but things are looking bright. It's a great feeling.

 

My Grandfather retired in his 60s... only to be bored outta his mind. Started cruising timber and did that for another 2 decades. I think he made his last timber deal about 2 years ago. He's not long for the world at this point, but he was still working (because he wanted to) into his late 80s.

 

Does help a lot, though it's parried somewhat in my house because we are older (and she is older than me).

My grandpa was retired as long as I knew him, not sure what age exactly he packed it in. He was able to drive still at age 93..very well too. Walked every day rain/snow/shine/etc for 30-60 minutes. LIved to 94

 

I just can't fathom retiring and have nothing to do. That's just nuts, I'm sorry.

I am as busy as I want to be, which means more busy than when I was stupidly working for the man.

I've got so many projects, send some retired guys over with nothing to do! But the nice thing is I can pause whenever I want!

 

In June so excited 53 so a few years later than planned. Wife is retiring from 28 years of teaching. Planning on taking some time to travel then something like part time at Lowes or something, to young to just do nothing. But definitely more family time and enjoying life. So so blessed. God is good.

 

Me too.

But I think in reality “have nothing to do” is a stand in for more complex reasons difficult for some to articulate.

For some, work really becomes a significant part of their identity. This is sometimes a form of cognitive dissonance resolution that is necessary for the person to even make it through their working years - “why the hell do I put up with this job, because it is who I am.” This coping mechanism then becomes a trap when it is time to give up the job - “I could never retire, I love this work, it is too important not to be done, the organization needs my experience.”

Basically one gets to the point of “I matter and am important and am valued because of my work” being what both helps one survive their working years and what then traps them working. They are saying “I have nothing to do” but what they mean is “I have nothing to do that validates my self image as an important person.”

You see this often in senior staff who while well compensated do often have very demanding positions (with respect to their time if nothing else). Surprisingly you can see it in some of the most mundane positions as well, but of course the more your job sucks the more you have to rationalize doing it which is how almost any worker can fall into the “my work makes me important and valued” trap.

Certainly this doesn’t apply to everyone who says “I have nothing to do” but it seems common and overlooked to me.

 

Interesting. Never thought about it that way. I mean I know people get "stuck in the job", and this indeed is an extension of that.

I didn't hate my job, but I hated going to work if that makes any sense in that scenario. After one lay off from my "real job", I started my Amsoil business (still have and love that), and after a 2nd lay off I started Sick Bike Parts LLC, which no longer exists because it was basically taking too much time (sold off inventory, closed down, "retired").

I've always been busy - seems like now I'm more happy busy. Still have a bunch of projects but finally done with the raised garden beds. I have some potted trees to plant. Need to run a water line around the shop. Finish building the gate on the back side of the breezeway. Chop up 5 huge cottonwood rounds.

Screw it, going camping next week. New for us, we are renting a little trailer to try out.

 

Cancer will kill us all, unless something else does first.

The work force numbers don't support the current generation of soon to be retires. I don't know how it will work for the next generation of retirees after that? Maybe there will be some retirement, pension, or ss fund that influencers pay into.

This is dark humor BTW.

 

That, right there is the most-used response I get when I talk about leaving the workforce. (Having nothing to do)

Identity - I'm slowly wanting to hand the ball off to the next Surgical Materials staff member. There's a reluctance to take the reins because I've been assigned to one area within Surgical Materials for almost 5 years. (Product locations is factor)

Valued - Clinical staff have expressed to me the value I bring to the department but on the flip side have said they wouldn't want my job.

My thought is, I will do this job until I don't enjoy it anymore.

Right now, I feel a financial obligation to fund retirement at least for the next 3 years when I turn 60.

There's plenty to do for any individual who leaves work for retirement--go find out what that is.

It's important to stay active/engaged in those later years--all the best to everyone in this endeavor.

 

just retired a couple months ago.

as said im 55 & have 36years in my trade.
was supposed to be able to retire at 48 w/30years service. Then along came the Pension Protection Act & the claims that we have a longer life span now days & it got bumped to a combined total of 80. then bumped to 85.... then bumped to 90.

the first day i could get out? got out before they can change it again. after 36years of heavy/hard construction work? theres just not a lot of good parts of me left. it brings you to these important questions that you should ask & they are nto always the ones you think of=

1. is the money really the thing at this point?

2. can you "make" it with what you have coming?

3. what quality of life do you have left & how long do you think you have?


now this is just for "me" but its real life things you have to be honset with yourself about.

1. no the money doesnt matter. she will spend every dime thats available. so working longer to get more is just giving up time that "i" cant get back for nothing.

2. yeah. it will not be the free wheeling spending & everything will be on a budget, but ive actually been on a budget my entire life so that everyone else could have the best of everything. now THEY will be on the budget too.... or they can go bring in some income.

3. THIS is the kicker. my body is wore out, broke down & some pretty significant health issues going on. in my profession, the average lifespan after retirement is only 5-7yrs. every day longer "i" work or try to put a nickel back? is another day that might not ever happen on the other end.

^^^^^^^^^^ so for me the decision was easy. i wanna try to have those few years for as long as i can stretch them in good enough shape to take care of myself. over staying a party is never a good thing, so gonna do my best to enjoy the time while its possible.

 

I’ve had steady employment with no gaps for 45 years. I don’t hate my job, I’m just sick of work.

Remember summer vacation as a kid? The freedom? I want another taste of that while I still have the health to enjoy it.

One day there’ll be no more some days.

 

Nailed it