Little Background, DW and I are about 10 years out from retirement, We are self employed, so may go longer. We love our work
Kids are raised, doing well, we have no debt, other than a 1K house payment, which we could pay off tommorrow if we wanted to. (hard to do though with interest in the 3's, and with the tax deduction)
If we never saved another dime, we would have about 55K in retirement per year. And the house payed off. ( so house payment is not part of the equation)
So my question is this, we think for the next ten years, we should travel more, take some more time off. In general make the next 10 years a little easier than our prior 35 years. In other words spend more save less
What concerns me is this, I am worried if we wait to do these things we may end up too old, too sick, or too dead.
For those of you that have been there done that, May I humbly ask your opinion of our plans.
I loved what I was doing but I have never regretted retiring at 52 which was about 12 years after I had originally set my goals. Everyone is different and what works for us may not for you. Just remember you have no do overs and if there is something you want to see or do, do it because you just don't know what tomorrow brings, especially health wise.
A close friend once told me "You will run out of time before you run out of money"..He died a couple of years ago..still had plenty of money.
I quit at 61 and never looked back. If I could do it all over again I would never have worked, I would have just retired. This is the greatest my life has ever been. I really feel sorry for those that hate being retired. I just haven't found the downside to it...
B.O.
2011 Big Country 3250TS...2010 Ram CC Laramie 4wd Cummins
15k Super Glide, Firestone Ride Rite, TrailAir Tri-Glide
Michelin XPS Ribs. Just say no to Chinese tires.
Twin Cities Mn.
winnietrey wrote: Little Background, DW and I are about 10 years out from retirement, We are self employed, so may go longer. We love our work
Kids are raised, doing well, we have no debt, other than a 1K house payment, which we could pay off tommorrow if we wanted to. (hard to do though with interest in the 3's, and with the tax deduction)
If we never saved another dime, we would have about 55K in retirement per year. And the house payed off. ( so house payment is not part of the equation)
So my question is this, we think for the next ten years, we should travel more, take some more time off. In general make the next 10 years a little easier than our prior 35 years. In other words spend more save less
What concerns me is this, I am worried if we wait to do these things we may end up too old, too sick, or too dead.
For those of you that have been there done that, May I humbly ask your opinion of our plans.
I am not retired, still a ways off, but wanted to chime in that if you are self employed and you are not in a situation to have to worry about punching the clock, what could be the downside to taking more time off to travel ? Sure, it would be great to not take as many trips and tuck that into savings, but like you said...why save up for a time when you might not be as able to enjoy it.
I am all for saving and being prudent - to a degree. I want to enjoy my years as much as I can each year I am living them vs saving it all for a rainy day. If I were self employed with an income that would sustain me even if I took more time off, I'd do it.
Everyone is different. It is the time vs. money dilemma. We aggressively saved in our 401K and was fortunate to have one pension between us. Retired at 57 in July, 2011 and never regretted it. Both of my parents died at 68 years old so I wanted an early retirement. If you haven't done so, get with a financial adviser who will offer some guidance. We are traveling a lot now since we know if will become more difficult as we age.
It sounds like you are on the right track, best of luck!
Jim & Nicky
2012 Forest River XLR MBV 29
2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel
Motorcycles!
Yes, take time and travel or do whatever you like.
I retired on my 54th. birthday. We took on some projects and put off traveling. When I was 61 our 35 year old son died. We're now raising our grandsons and traveling is very limited, not to mention the other unexpected expenses.
Fly while you still have your wings. You don't know what tomorrow will bring.
Well,I'm in the same exact situation only 7 years ahead,self employed,same house situation,kids older and gone,very similar in all the same things....I will "retire"(love my job to!) in about 3 years,not going to fulltime,just not for me (us),the wife and I decided about 8 years ago,let's try and enjoy ourselves in these 10 years before we get too old,or maybe have health issues,and when and if we get to the retirement years,we haven't wasted time waiting to retire,Trucks paid for,5ver paid for,we average about 40 days of camping a year and have the money to do it while we are working,we are not rich by any means,but have really been able to enjoy ourselves, Just go for it!Just don't get into debt up to your ears to buy a fancy rig that eats up all your fun money! Enjoy...Jack
2011 Palomino Sabre 31RETS,5th Wheel,Triple Slide,4000W Onan Genset
2006 Super Duty,XLT, V10, 6 Speed, 4.10, Tow Command, Tow Pkg. 4X4,Dual Exhaust,K&N,Reese 15K,Air Bags
I'm far from retiring, but my folks have been retired for the last 11 years or so (Dad retired ~ 58 years old)
He has a great portfolio and he retired with some benefits too..
Now that he is bumping on 69, he is glad he and Mom did what they did in their early 60's... They are in great shape and very active to this day. Dad plays 3 full rounds of golf a week and hits in the high 70's! Still walks the course most of the time too! Mom does Hula dancing and keeps her garden trim and clean! He even picked up flying RC airplanes again.. I can't even do that!
Anyway, he's figuring on another 10 'good' years or so of what he's doing now, but you just never know what tomorrow brings!
I figure I'll never be able to fully 'retire'... Not that I'm not saving anything... I am... It's just that what it takes to live goes up every year! I'm making good money, but I'm not rich by any means and it'll be a scrape to retire in my 60's.. (I'm 49 now).
Good luck!
Mitch
*Anything I post is for entertainment purposes only and what usually works for me.. Your Mileage May Vary..
Two weeks ago I buried the best man at my wedding 24 years ago. He was 56. I've seen too many people who never got a chance to fully enjoy a retirement, so I'm planning to get out as soon as I can. If all works out, I've got as few as 4 years and as many as 6 to go, then we're out of here, hopefully. I have no problem workcamping if I need to. As a matter of fact, I might do that even if I don't "need" to. Life is too short. Your plan sounds great; go for it!
Go for it we retired 3 years early and wish we would have done it sooner. Good advise above, I have known too many people who died or got sick before they got to enjoy their retirement.
2012 Winnebago Journey 36M Cummins 360
131 Campgrounds since we retired in July 2009
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