Topic: Early Retirement....anyone done it?

[Stretch]

I retired a couple years ago at 55. I worked for the University of KY for almost 23 years and my wife worked there for 38. UK started manditory retirement program years ago we put the max that they would match (up to 5% at 2 for 1) and paid extra on our mortgage for the entire time. Now we are debt free and I work a seasonal job at the local throughbred track because it only runs for about 2 months, twice a year. That income and my dividends from investments are more than enough to keep us in our lifestyle. I still haven't taken any money from our IRAs. The next big question is do we start drawing SSI in a few months when my wife turns 62. Right now we don't "need" the money so we may wait but there's that question about the SSI system's solvency. I cant see the .gov defaulting because of the effect on the economy if they default on anything, especially SSI.

I'd probably still be working at UK if Aramark hadn't taken over the food service. I've never worked with a bunch of dumbasses like that in my life. I'd probably be dead or broken down if I'd kept that up. 1.5 years of 70 hour weeks really takes a toll on your body. Then there was that week when I kissed my daughter good night on a Sunday and didn't see her again until Friday night. She's autistic and I want to be there to help my wife with raising her. I don't like asking people to watch her for several days at a time while my wife and I go away, plus the inlaws are getting too old for that. At that point I really took a look at what was important.

Working when I want to instead of because I need is great. I do get board with nothing to do. I restore old bikes, mainly V4s and repair others when I want to. Its like therapy for me but I hate dealing with tight wads with broken down POS so I'm selective what work I take on.

For the past 14 years I've been meeting with a bunch of friends in NC and usually another get together during the year. Last year I spent 10 days in CO seeing and riding the big hills. This spring I'm going to go to TX to get a bike and I'll probably take a week or so getting back to KY.

Being debt free is really what has allowed me to do what I'm doing. Making essentially 2 mortgage payments for 13 years was tough but it was well worth the sacrifice. I'm not a big vacation person and when we do we don't end up spending a lot of money. What I can say is don't get caught up in spending money on stuff you don't really need.

I don't ride as much as I though I would have been. I spend a lot of my time tinkering with the old bikes and keeping mine running. Its nice to work on them when I want to. Riding solo is great but I've seen most of KY and taking multi-day rides by myself isn't always what I thought it would be.

[BobbyR]

You had a great plan and executed it well. Bravo!

[70CB750]

I retired a couple years ago at 55. I worked for the University of KY for almost 23 years and my wife worked there for 38. UK started manditory retirement program years ago we put the max that they would match (up to 5% at 2 for 1) and paid extra on our mortgage for the entire time. Now we are debt free and I work a seasonal job at the local throughbred track because it only runs for about 2 months, twice a year. That income and my dividends from investments are more than enough to keep us in our lifestyle. I still haven't taken any money from our IRAs. The next big question is do we start drawing SSI in a few months when my wife turns 62. Right now we don't "need" the money so we may wait but there's that question about the SSI system's solvency. I cant see the .gov defaulting because of the effect on the economy if they default on anything, especially SSI.

I'd probably still be working at UK if Aramark hadn't taken over the food service. I've never worked with a bunch of dumbasses like that in my life. I'd probably be dead or broken down if I'd kept that up. 1.5 years of 70 hour weeks really takes a toll on your body. Then there was that week when I kissed my daughter good night on a Sunday and didn't see her again until Friday night. She's autistic and I want to be there to help my wife with raising her. I don't like asking people to watch her for several days at a time while my wife and I go away, plus the inlaws are getting too old for that. At that point I really took a look at what was important.

Working when I want to instead of because I need is great. I do get board with nothing to do. I restore old bikes, mainly V4s and repair others when I want to. Its like therapy for me but I hate dealing with tight wads with broken down POS so I'm selective what work I take on.

For the past 14 years I've been meeting with a bunch of friends in NC and usually another get together during the year. Last year I spent 10 days in CO seeing and riding the big hills. This spring I'm going to go to TX to get a bike and I'll probably take a week or so getting back to KY.

Being debt free is really what has allowed me to do what I'm doing. Making essentially 2 mortgage payments for 13 years was tough but it was well worth the sacrifice. I'm not a big vacation person and when we do we don't end up spending a lot of money. What I can say is don't get caught up in spending money on stuff you don't really need.

I don't ride as much as I though I would have been. I spend a lot of my time tinkering with the old bikes and keeping mine running. Its nice to work on them when I want to. Riding solo is great but I've seen most of KY and taking multi-day rides by myself isn't always what I thought it would be.

I know you   

We met on a Godzilla run in Beckley.  Glad to hear you are doing well. 

[Stretch]

I know you   

We met on a Godzilla run in Beckley.  Glad to hear you are doing well. 

I remember you and that day. I had a great ride over and a very relaxing/entertaining lunch. I still have the pictures, somewhere. Anytime you want to do it again I'm game. That turned out to be a 500 mile day for me.

BTW, I got absolutely soaked going home. It rained a little so I stopped and put the suit on. The sun came out and I roasted so I stopped and took the suit off. I hadn't gone 10 miles and I ran into a gully-washer of a storm and figured what the heck, keep moving.

[WhyNot2]

Well, I had purdy much done zactly what stretch had done above.

However, my son fell on some hard times, so here I am 63, and still working, with the 401K nearly drained.

But at least the house is paid off.

[Scott S]

 I've been talking with my financial adviser and moving some money around. He says I can do it. I'm shooting for 2021; age 55 or maybe 56 if I'm not quite prepared.

 My plan isn't to fully retire, but to work part time doing something that doesn't disgust me. I'm sick and tired of swing shift, of 12 hour rotations, of working weekends and holidays, of night shift,  of overtime. I can't wait to not be "owned" by this company and this job.

 We've been doing a lot of updates around the house. It will either be nicer for us to stay in or worth more if we downsized or relocated. I've also continued "the purge", getting rid of clutter and extraneous "stuff".

 My advice, especially to the younger guys here, is save, save, save, and stay out of debt.
 Either that or buy a van and hit the road. Leave "normal" life all together.

[CBJoe]

I've been talking with my financial adviser and moving some money around. He says I can do it. I'm shooting for 2021; age 55 or maybe 56 if I'm not quite prepared.

 My plan isn't to fully retire, but to work part time doing something that doesn't disgust me. I'm sick and tired of swing shift, of 12 hour rotations, of working weekends and holidays, of night shift,  of overtime. I can't wait to not be "owned" by this company and this job.

 We've been doing a lot of updates around the house. It will either be nicer for us to stay in or worth more if we downsized or relocated. I've also continued "the purge", getting rid of clutter and extraneous "stuff".

 My advice, especially to the younger guys here, is save, save, save, and stay out of debt.
 Either that or buy a van and hit the road. Leave "normal" life all together.

Good luck Scott    You've kicked my planning into gear...this thread made me think more about officially planning on early retirement.  I'm on track to have zero debt aside from our house by next year (age 39).  14 more years on the house if I don't pay it off earlier.

I've been with my company for 18 years now and I'm only 38....I'm hoping to shoot for a retirement at age 53 at the earliest.  My company has a health coverage thing where if I have 32 years with the company they will cover a big chunk of healthcare premiums until medicare age...then they pay the difference between.  But not for my wife...so its the health care costs that scare me

We'll see...I'm just hoping the ACE hardware store down the street is hiring part time when the time comes

Joe

[bear]

I was forced into retirement after my accident in 2011.
I now realize it's not enough just to plan for your retirement at some date in the future.
We need to have a template on hand in case it sneaks up and bites us on the ass before we get to our target date.

I was lucky enough not to be carrying any dept at the time but my family and employees suffered needlessly because I had not put a few simple procedures in place to allow my family to manage my affairs if I was incapacitated rather than deceased.

Cheers,
Brian

[Scott S]

 I have a will (that I should probably update).
 
 I have a living will.

 My mother has power of attorney (and vice versa. )

 I currently have no debt, other than my mortgage.  But I'm thinking about a car/van before retiring.

 If you have a mortgage, see if you can do half the payment every two weeks. That gives you one extra payment a year and will cut years and thousands off a 30 year mortgage.
 I also make a small principle only payment every paycheck.  Most people probably spend more on dinner and a movie, but that's enough to get me another 1 1/3 principle only house payments a year. That's 2.33 extra payments a year for me and will literally save you tens of thousands over the life of the loan.

[chewbacca5000]

Everyone has different goals and retirement means different things for different people.

At 46 I am more concerned with financial independence than retirement.

My plan is to work 2 to 5 jobs 7 days a week for two years then buy investment property.

I can buy a house with 5 to 9 rooms and be cash flowing up to $3,600 on one property, and all I got to do is fix stuff and collect rent.  I estimate that it won't take more than 10 hours a week after the initial build.

$3,600 / 40 = $90 an hour.

Then buy a second one, a duplex, or multi-unit.

I have rented out rooms before and given that 50% of Americans make less than $30k a year and 40% of the population is single demand for rooms should be on the rise.

If my plan works I can retire by 50, do odds jobs, hobby businesses, ride my bike, or whatever else I feel like.

[Gurp]

I'm 28 saving to buy a home.
Put 5% ROTH into a 401k make roughly 40k a year.
The ole lady inherits 3 rental houses from her dad when he dies.
My plan. Save save save as much as I can. Deal with life as it happens. Buy a 40k house or less. Payoff early with Taxes from having 3 kids. Be rent/mortage free by age 50.  Retire at 60 possibly with 3 rentals.

Will it work? Maybe...
I got alot of time to make adjustments as needed.

[Scott S]

 Tonight is my last night of working night shift ever again!

 While I will be taking retirement from my current job, I won't technically be fully retiring. I was on an 18-24 month plan to retire, draw my piddly frozen pension, work part time and make small draws from my 401K. Anything to get out of the overtime/swing shift/12 hour rotation lifestyle.
 
 But I was recently presented with a full time job opportunity that I just had to take. On June 24th, I start full time employment with the city. "Only" 40 hours a week (compared to 12 hours and all the OT I work, that IS part time....sorta), but the benefits are excellent and I can start accruing a second pension. By the time I'm 60 or 61, I'll be fully vested and will have a second retirement income (I'm 52 now, turn 53 in July).

 It's a BIG pay cut, probably 50%, but that's pretty much what I've been living off of anyway, since I save so hard in my 401K. And with it being 40 hours, I can do it without touching my 401K.
 So, instead of starting small draws on my 401K at ~55, it can sit there for the next 8-10 years, earning interest while I earn a second pension.

 It's scary and exciting. I do worry about the cut in pay. But I have no debt other than my mortgage and I figure if the #$%* hits the fan I'll just use part of my 401K to pay off the remainder of the mortgage and be truly debt free and truly retired.
 The new job will be SOOO much less stressful, and I'll have to get used to having a "normal" work/life schedule.

 I have enough vacation time that I can take a month off and still double dip for the first 3 or 4 weeks on the new job.

[Don R]

 Good for you. Enjoy the change.

[ken65]

As Don said , enjoy.

[CBJoe]

Ditto...good for you Scott! 

[Fezzler]

Sounds like a plan.  I bet once you make the adjustments, you'll wish the opportunity presented itself sooner.  And, one door closes and another one opens.  You never know what opportunities may come in your new job.

Best wished.

[flatlander]

congratulations! that sounds like a very healthy choice.
any plans for your month off?

[Trevor from Warragul]

I will retire in 4 1/2 months (just before I turn 55).  I've been working for the Australian Government for over 36 years.  I stayed in the old superannuation scheme (on the advice of a grumpy old bugger I used to work with), and will reap the reward of a ridiculously large annual pension ($20k more than my current salary).  It is commonly referred to as "54/11".  Most people say "You're so lucky", but luck has nothing to do with it.  My family has suffered financially so I could contribute as much as possible to the scheme, and I've put up with a truly soul destroying job for many, many, many years.  I've also taken less recreational leave for the last few years, and I let my Long Service Leave accrue, so I can cash out 18 weeks worth.  Most people say "Won't you get bored?".  Nope, that's what motorcycles are for!

Cheers

Trevor

[Scott S]

congratulations! that sounds like a very healthy choice.
any plans for your month off?

 Relax. Work on some motorcycle projects.  Little bit of yard work.  Hike with the dogs. Spend a few days at the beach (probably Wilmington,  NC area....never been there before).

[flatlander]

sounds good. that should prepare you for what to do with your free time, with the reduced working hours.

[Kevin D]

After what you have been through Scott, a 40 hrs week will seem like you are on vacation!

[PeWe]

Costa Rica? I have seen TV shows were US peple move to Costa Rica for a better life living on the pension funds.
Check a blog '2 weeks in costa rica' or similar. Everything you need to know.

[dave500]

ill never get to retire,being a dumpster driver is more a way of life than a job!

[bear]

ill never get to retire,being a dumpster driver is more a way of life than a job!

Some times life doesn't give you the option Dave.

Cheers,
Brian

[dave500]

ha ha im nearly 61 now,ill drive till im 67/68 if they'll let me!i just aint got enough stashed away to quit,id go nuts anyway,unless we win lotto?i forget im a bit older now sure don't feel it and just keep going,got great equity in our home though,cash it in later and live in a hut,dont bother me so long as I got a good shed a wife and a dog!
EDIT..UMM not necessarily in that order!