Early retirement involves culture shock.
Of course spending your days not reporting to anyone but yourself and doing whatever you like is exciting. But giving up a regular paycheck — no matter how much money you have saved up — can be scary at first.
Business Insider spoke with eight people who retired early about how their finances changed after they took the leap and left the workforce for good. Turns out, their financial lives generally improved after retiring early. Many early retirees ultimately lowered their cost of living and are far less concerned about money than they were while working. |
I was reading a Business Insider article on eight people, who have retired early and how that has changed their way of thinking about money, and one thing that I noticed about every single one of them was that they all had some kind of a website/blog regarding their retirement. I'm not sure how much passive income these websites bring in for them, but would it really be considered retiring if they're still earning some level of income from doing work on these websites?
As an almost 40 year old with three little ones, I wouldn't mind retiring early to just relax and enjoy my family. However, in addition to just not being financially ready at this point, I would be reluctant to leave my field early since the work I do is interesting, and I can see myself getting a little restless, especially as my kids get older and want more independence from my wife and me. As a single income family, we're on a good pace to retire around the traditional retirement age.
For those of you who have either retired early, retired at the traditional age, or are approaching retirement, how have you changed your approach to money, living standards, and just overall direction of your life? Does anyone have passive income that helps you out beyond the retirement investments or pensions? How do you keep yourself from going stir crazy?
Retiring Early - (
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Oh...I wasn't really serious about retiring early. I was just thinking out loud after reading this article and all those people with their websites/blogs.
I have no outside income - to lazy - and a limit on what I could earn by my pension health care plan ($40K).
So I play golf, we travel and have barely cut back on what we do. (Momma still works a bit to cover her clothes bill and keep from killing me.) I probably should cut back a little, but God doesn't guarantee you tomorrow. Fine line between ensuring $$ to the end and enjoying what you earned.
Passive income sounds like a good idea - properties/rentals (many of my colleagues have done this). Even $1G per month would be a nice little stipend - covers bills/gas/beers.
I would strongly recommend a college plan for both tuition and dorm for all the kids.
Max your 401k or Roth or both.
Get the house paid off.
Perhaps look into an income tax free state to retire into - (truthfully they probably still get their 15% through fees, sales tax, property tax, etc)
My instincts were right as the business lost a lot of clients after the sale. I picked up a couple of jobs afterward, but they were not very rewarding. In fact, they were basically a pain in the ass. So, I decided to just retire at 59 and I haven't looked back.
It's liberating. I can do what I want even if it's nothing. Since I have all this time we don't eat out as often so we save a lot of money by eating at home. I keep active playing sports. I love it.
Max your 401k or Roth or both.
Get the house paid off.
Perhaps look into an income tax free state to retire into - (truthfully they probably still get their 15% through fees, sales tax, property tax, etc)
Glad to see that you're enjoying your retirement.
We've done OK and are on track to be very comfortable when we retire (at normal retirement age) even if my wife never goes back to work (she's been a stay home mom since our oldest was born 8 years ago). Maxing out the Roth IRA and 401(K) among others.
I can technically retire from the reserves in five years (I have several broken years otherwise I would be able to retire in 2.5 years) at 20 years at O5 level; however, I plan on staying in until they kick me out (maybe even squeeze out an O6 out of the Corps). While I won't see any retirement pay until I hit 60+, but it's a good thing to look forward to.
We've done a pretty good job of doing 529 for our three, although I'm hoping that at least one would go to my alma mater (or my brother's) and get tuition free. With that being said my youngest has a very rare and incurable medical condition that she was diagnosed with last year that may end up making college impossible for her. We're hoping that her condition is on the milder side, but we won't know until she gets older.
We're just plugging away at this point, but thinking about some kind of a passive income is definitely in my wheelhouse right now.
Congrats! And as always, thank you for your service, rebel.
Have you thought about doing something with teaching or instructing? I hope that one day when I retire, that is what I'll do.
In my case, retirement has brought some freedom but the reduced income means I don't have the money to spend on traveling and other things that I now have time for. And, like many retirees, I've gone back to work on a part-time basis.
Here's a much more realistic article on the subject:
This is what life without retirement savings looks like. - ( New Window )
We both make solid incomes, have 1 kid in daycare, have a mortgage and some student loans. Otherwise we aren't big spenders but it still seems like saving should be a lot better - hopefully it will be when daycare ends in 12 months.
If you can retire, go for it. But if you like your job then "woking" doesn't seem so bad. When your kids are in school you won't see them, and when they are teenagers they are going to be all over the place. If anything find a way to maybe do part time so you don't miss a thing as far as their after school and weekend activities.
By the way, congrats on your baby boy! Hope you're getting enough rest these days. And yes, kids are expensive as hell.
Too far away to tell at this point if that will be a reality (I'll be 37 in a few months).
After our second was born, brought the wife to a financial planner to start getting our future in order. 529 college plans for both. Other than that we have our mortgage and some minimal credit card debt we'd like to completely erase.
I have to say though, with a family (a 2 year old and 6 month old) this topic keeps me up at night.
I don't want to get to age 55-60 and regret anything thing I did or did not do.
What they will do is help you see realistically a solid financial picture of your life goals.
Do you want/intend to pay for your kids education?
Do you want/intend to fully retire at a certain age?
Do you want/intend to buy a second home?
Do you want/intend to start a business?
they'll help put together projections on how much you need to earn, what you can spend, how to diversify your investments to help maximize returns and protect from downside, etc.
it's sobering - at least for me and i wish I'd started sooner.
I learned all my goals were achievable except college for my kids. I was under-funding my 529s by 100%. I was putting $100 per kid per month (3 kids) into 529's. I'm now around 350 per month per kid and will likely be able to pay half at most of each kids education (depending on the school and financial package they get).
Anyway, I don't always follow the advice blindly - I opened an annuity which they advised against b/c my upside was limited, but it's done exactly what I want it to do and it gets baked into the plan. I also was hesitant for a whole life policy as an "investment", but for the return to help diversify from a traditional market vehicle and provide a tax free distribution counter in retirement it made sense.
I had a boss who made a killing in the 90's stock market boom, retired 14 years ago at 50 years old. Every time I see him he's smiling. Sonofabitch did it right, has been loving every minute of it.
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years of Naval service. I found myself pondering some of this, but with a generous federal pension, full medical coverage and other income streams I'm not at all concerned with the financial aspect. What concerns me more is what I'll do to fill my free time. That said--so far I'm loving doing almost nothing daily. I feel like a 100 pound rucksack has been lifted from my shoulders...and I suppose in many ways it has.
Congrats! And as always, thank you for your service, rebel.
Have you thought about doing something with teaching or instructing? I hope that one day when I retire, that is what I'll do.
RC--I definitely have. Right now I'm just taking some time to navel gaze and ponder life. I've had so many retired Navy buds tell me not to rush into anything. I've already been offered a few high level (GS-13/14) civil service positions, but I'm in no hurry to jump back into that fire. I'd love to volunteer at the local schools or work with some youth groups. I know I'd derive much more joy. At this point it's not the compensation that will make me any happier in life--it's giving back!
I like my job but I feel like I want to start a new adventure. Or at least go to work on any given day because I want to and not because it's required. Maybe I'll take an adjunct job and teach a class or something. Otherwise, I think the thing that is going to drive me into retirement are the upstate NY winters. I really want to move south.
That's me in a nutshell. I have 8 years until my daughter is off to college then I'm out of here (buffalo).
1. Got a 15 year loan on my home and paid it off in 13 years (3 years ago).
2. Got my kid's college paid for. They are done and that is also behind me.
3. Started three websites and may start more. So far, one of them is bringing in enough to live on if I had to. Way more than what I will receive from social security, pension and 401k combined.
4. Investing any additional cash in real estate wherever possible.
5. Up until this summer, we never took expensive vacations.
That being said, I get extreme anxiety when it comes to my finances. I never feel as if I am "okay". I worry about my kids. They graduated and still do not have a career job in their field. The constant worry will likely keep me from retiring. I may need to find the right meds.
Finding something to do in my retirement will never be a problem. I can always start another website in between fishing trips.
No...after leaving active duty almost 10 years ago, I became a federal contractor. Been doing it ever since, although I get an offer to go civilian every now and then.
I’m giving myself some time to fully realize that I am free to do anything I want, even if that is nothing. There have been a few days where I felt the complete freedom and openness to possibilities that I did as a child...I’m hoping for a lot more of that.
I have no financial worries . Neither my wife nor I are big spenders. My biggest concern is to have meaningful time as I grow older. Being a therapist was very rewarding for me, and I’d like to find some worthwhile stuff to do in retirement that isn’t as draining to do going forward.
We are expecting our first grandchild soon, so that may do the trick!
I retired 11 years ago and have not regretted a single day of not being at work. (BTW, writing camp reports was never work).
Now,3 years into retirement & living alone(divorced in 2006 & that's a whole 'nother story starting w/PTSD from it),I do find it very hard to make each day relevant & many times days can pass w/o doing much of anything.Sports,Music,Netflix & Hulu are my everyday distractions. When I looked at retirement years ago,this certainly wasn't how I thought it would be on a personal level. Now,I realize that I'm luckier than many in that my income/medical are taken care of. I guess my only advice would be to make sure the decisions you make now, both professionally & personally,are ones that you can live with if some of those decisions don't go how you want them to & become irreversible.Happiness & Peace of Mind should always be a large part of your ultimate goals in approaching retirement!
I really have enjoyed it and have no real regrets to speak of. The one I would point to if asked is that my children never got to know any of that “me”. One of the greatest gifts I received from my father was a terrific work effort and I hope I have still been able to instill that in them through other less traditional methods, but I’ll have to wait and see how they do as adults to fairly judge.
As far as getting bored it hasn’t been close to an issue for me. I crammed in enough work for a lifetime in those years, and accomplished enough where I feel satisfied. I easily have found enough things to involve myself when wanting to and enjoy the extra leisure time now afforded to me. While my wife is a stay at home mom I have really enjoyed being so actively involved helping raise my children. It would be hard to imagine not having been home all these years with them But I still will purposely will spend enough time “out of the way” so that my wife and they have a pretty standard “mother - children home experience”.
As far as finances, there is always some stress because having been self employed I don’t have any pension or guarantee, just my investments that I built up and still risk to some degree to generate our income. But this was the path I chose when going the self employed route to begin with so no changing that. Healthcare cost and having to pay it all myself has been the biggest cost factor than I had originally guesstimated it would be but that’s the same for a lot of people in this country.
The one crossroad I face is as they are beginning to get closer to college age, and since it’s looking like private college is where they are interested in which will be a lot more than a state school I am considering possibly starting a little side business to help offset some of the cost. But not really sure I want to go down that road either. This is the first thing I have been a little torn about which way to go since retiring. I will probably tinker with some things and see how I feel.
Anyone who tells you that you spend less in retirement than before is kidding you. It is really tough to downsize your quality of life in terms of spending less.
I also found that I like to work. I just didn't want to work 5 days a week and I really didn't want to commute. So if you can find that happy space and time of working 3/4 days a week from home that could present a nice transition into full-time retirement.
The other thing to be considered is how one deals with unexpected expenses if you are pretty much reliant on a fixed monthly stipend.
You really need to build up a nice cushion and I applaud those that paid off their mortgage and other liabilities.
And for those that are downsizing my advice is don't overdo it. It is good to have some space as a refuge for me time no matter how much you get along with your partner.
She has an excellent early retirement with The
Permanente medical group ( the doctor part of kaiser Permanente)
Pension. 30% of salary ( we probably save 40% of her salary in various retirement vehicles)
Full post retirement medical for both of us
We both max out 401k
I am a CPA who probably does 55 hrs during tax season and around 25-30 hrs off season. ( tax season lasts 3 months if you count 2nd tax season, which is now thru oct 15)
She says I work part time now but it does burn out my brain
I will try to transition more as I get older to ease my brain some
Although I feel like we can actually live better in retirement ( since I try to save a lot of our salary now) I am still very cautious
Tpmg pension fully funded but I trust no one as far as pensions. Single payer could ruin them. Nurses strike. Doctors don’t. They get the brunt of less $$$ to providers. Long market downturns. I assume only a 2% real rate of return going forward. Pretty conservative but I rather be pleasantly surprised with upside. Also I plan for 30 + yrs in retirement Not likely but who the hell know
The one issue. Wife’s work is frying her. More and more asked for doctors every yr. playing god with a 15 minute time span for appt and have to do emr too is draining her. Video visits, phone visits, emails off hours are pretty ridiculous
So bottom line we should be good if she makes it to 60
Daughter all grown, she had her at 15. Child is 33 now at 10 yrs out of college. No student loans. We paid them all off
We just need good health and now single payer lol
We have readjusted our "plan" and now intend to wait until I am at max SS age of 70 1/2. The business is not physically taxing and allows us to travel and to be flexible with our time.
geez your a better man than me
I am all for helping people but I am not sacrificing my retirement
Even my wifes parents, who blew all there money gambling and had no plan. Besides obvious stuff like some stuff for apartment, cash xmas and birthday gifts etc no way am i supporting that
she doesnt expect me too but of course she still feels bad
Hoping the market does not implode between now and then...or if it does that I have enough balls to take my money off the table. I have just been letting it ride for the past 20 years in S&P 500. It's worked out well, but if we have another 2000/2008 type retraction, my ass will pucker.
Anyhow, barring catastrophic circumstance, I figure to be fine, with no change in lifestyle (I'm thinking I'll need to increase spending to hit zero when it's game over).
You need to be realistic about how much money you'll need, but I say retire as early as possible. At any age TravelZoo or equivalent is your friend.
If a family matter was tough enough, I wold get involved and try to work another yr or 2 to make it up
sometimes rough things happen
In case of certain family members being irresponsible and expecting a bailout after I have tried to save smartly most my life, heck no.
good luck and hope it works out for you and the family
Keep well.
Anyone who tells you that you spend less in retirement than before is kidding you. It is really tough to downsize your quality of life in terms of spending less.
I also found that I like to work. I just didn't want to work 5 days a week and I really didn't want to commute. So if you can find that happy space and time of working 3/4 days a week from home that could present a nice transition into full-time retirement.
The other thing to be considered is how one deals with unexpected expenses if you are pretty much reliant on a fixed monthly stipend.
You really need to build up a nice cushion and I applaud those that paid off their mortgage and other liabilities.
And for those that are downsizing my advice is don't overdo it. It is good to have some space as a refuge for me time no matter how much you get along with your partner.
Great post.
I think retirement for me (I'm 52 now) will be doing a job that really love, and can't wait to get there every day.
A job like that ultimately will pay less, much less, than I earn now.
I've been in health insurance hell since retirement. You either pick high costs or shitty coverage. There is no in between. Can't wait until I'm eligible for Medicare.
and that was an HSA which I used up to get dental work done pre tax
I hear the horror stories try to remind myself that I have been beyond lucky I do know friends who think they cant retire until 65 of medicare
it is possible the qualify for ACA depending on what/where your income sources are from ( and how high) pre 65 yrs
supposedly, old geezers get a decent star credit on school, but I'll believe when I see it. And there's still county/town/fire, which is a good bit of coin.
the step grandkid will keep us here for another 10 yrs, but then we'll look elsewhere for an abode.
I have to mosquito taxes. We barely have them out here
Got ny in my blood but wouldn’t relocate back for retirement
Looking at places like Henderson NV ( some of those master planned over 55 communities look interesting) Can drive to flagstaff or Reno ( or SoCal) during hot summers for vacations. Also like outside of Phoenix
Wife doesn’t want cold. Not thrilled about 110 to 115 for 3 months but have lived in az and vegas before. Taxes and home prices so much better. Could probably retire on pension and 2 social security checks to cover 90% of retirement needs
I have to mosquito taxes. We barely have them out here
Got ny in my blood but wouldn’t relocate back for retirement
Looking at places like Henderson NV ( some of those master planned over 55 communities look interesting) Can drive to flagstaff or Reno ( or SoCal) during hot summers for vacations. Also like outside of Phoenix
Wife doesn’t want cold. Not thrilled about 110 to 115 for 3 months but have lived in az and vegas before. Taxes and home prices so much better. Could probably retire on pension and 2 social security checks to cover 90% of retirement needs
Live in nor cal also, the state taxes are crazy. Thinking about maybe moving to Nevada.
for 500k, probably half the price of my stupidly priced bay area home
No state taxes house paid off extra money to travel close to vegas but not in vegas
4 hr drive to flagstaff
reno/tahoe nice to visit etc
Not a panacea but cost and crime sicken me here
even in tri valley area, never seen so many car break in's carjacking , even bankrobbing right here in alamo CA
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Glad to see that you're enjoying your retirement.
We've done OK and are on track to be very comfortable when we retire (at normal retirement age) even if my wife never goes back to work (she's been a stay home mom since our oldest was born 8 years ago). Maxing out the Roth IRA and 401(K) among others.
I can technically retire from the reserves in five years (I have several broken years otherwise I would be able to retire in 2.5 years) at 20 years at O5 level; however, I plan on staying in until they kick me out (maybe even squeeze out an O6 out of the Corps). While I won't see any retirement pay until I hit 60+, but it's a good thing to look forward to.
We've done a pretty good job of doing 529 for our three, although I'm hoping that at least one would go to my alma mater (or my brother's) and get tuition free. With that being said my youngest has a very rare and incurable medical condition that she was diagnosed with last year that may end up making college impossible for her. We're hoping that her condition is on the milder side, but we won't know until she gets older.
We're just plugging away at this point, but thinking about some kind of a passive income is definitely in my wheelhouse right now.
Hey Ron, I was and still am moving #3 into her 3rd apt in 3 years up in Tallanasty. 2 years to go with the last one.
Sorry to her the little one has problems. Constant worry.
None of mine was the least bit interested in the Alma Mater.
Sounds like you have it under control, which does not surprise me.
The wife staying home is important and we were lucky enough that mine did too (it was me gone all the time!). Now she is piddling along is a small part time job to earn shoe money!
Hopefully they bump you to 06. A friend 3 years behind me at KP did almost 10 as Submariner. Has made it to 06, with at least 20, plus his retirement from the merchant marine gig. He got fed up like me and walked away, too. So stay there and get that 20 years, every little bit helps when you pull the plug. What does it cost you, one weekend per month and one 2 week period per year ACDUTRA?
Sock it away when you can. Look to be in a newish home before you retire (saves on repair bills - roofs, appliances, AC etc...)
Single, no kids, just curious.
I figure if I’m down south 65k could do.
Single, no kids, just curious.
I figure if I’m down south 65k could do.
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How much money would a guy my age, 35, need to be able to have to live off interest?
Single, no kids, just curious.
I figure if I’m down south 65k could do.
interest off 65K? Or 650K?
How much money do you need? Figure 4% as a safe return.
I really have enjoyed it and have no real regrets to speak of. The one I would point to if asked is that my children never got to know any of that “me”. One of the greatest gifts I received from my father was a terrific work effort and I hope I have still been able to instill that in them through other less traditional methods, but I’ll have to wait and see how they do as adults to fairly judge.
As far as getting bored it hasn’t been close to an issue for me. I crammed in enough work for a lifetime in those years, and accomplished enough where I feel satisfied. I easily have found enough things to involve myself when wanting to and enjoy the extra leisure time now afforded to me. While my wife is a stay at home mom I have really enjoyed being so actively involved helping raise my children. It would be hard to imagine not having been home all these years with them But I still will purposely will spend enough time “out of the way” so that my wife and they have a pretty standard “mother - children home experience”.
As far as finances, there is always some stress because having been self employed I don’t have any pension or guarantee, just my investments that I built up and still risk to some degree to generate our income. But this was the path I chose when going the self employed route to begin with so no changing that. Healthcare cost and having to pay it all myself has been the biggest cost factor than I had originally guesstimated it would be but that’s the same for a lot of people in this country.
The one crossroad I face is as they are beginning to get closer to college age, and since it’s looking like private college is where they are interested in which will be a lot more than a state school I am considering possibly starting a little side business to help offset some of the cost. But not really sure I want to go down that road either. This is the first thing I have been a little torn about which way to go since retiring. I will probably tinker with some things and see how I feel.
That's the path I chose although I don't plan on retiring. Vancouver is an impossibly expensive city and I don't expect that will change anytime soon. I think the traditional age has been moving back with every generation and the kids in their 20s and 30s should be incredibly pissed off that their parents/grandparents didn't do more to manage their expectations.
So again, no plan for retirement because if not for me, for my kids and their kids.
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How much money would a guy my age, 35, need to be able to have to live off interest?
Single, no kids, just curious.
I figure if I’m down south 65k could do.
interest off 65K? Or 650K?
No, as in how much of a principal would I need to earn enough off interest to live, I figure single guy in the south I’d be fine earning 65k a year.
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In comment 14533126 Rover said:
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How much money would a guy my age, 35, need to be able to have to live off interest?
Single, no kids, just curious.
I figure if I’m down south 65k could do.
interest off 65K? Or 650K?
No, as in how much of a principal would I need to earn enough off interest to live, I figure single guy in the south I’d be fine earning 65k a year.
Gross or net? Hoping net. $5k per month. You need to know your health insurance, taxes, state taxes, will you be sitting on the porch sucking suds? Traveling? Do you own your house, are you renting?
Lots of really hard questions you need to have answers for.