retirement, good or sucks

bigv

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Also stay active, active, active. I hate to scare anyone but how many times do you see a person retire then die a short time later. Not sure what that retiring does? Keep a small part time job to for as long as possible. Think it forces you to stay organized, moving and planning which keeps your mind off other stuff. I can retire in 8-9 yrs at earliest. I always thought a part time gig at Runnings, or Fleet would be ok.
 


gonefshn

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The one piece of advice my retired friends have given me is DO NOT retire if you're a bit short on funds and will have to work some here and there to make ends meet. They all say if that's the case stay in your current job another year or few years. The chances are your current job is going to pay you way more per hour than any supplemental job ever will. Just working a year or a few more at that higher salary will usually far and above outweigh any amounts you'd get by still working some part time jobs here and there.
 

Mort

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Retirement? Whats that? Not even sure whats in store for me, started late in life getting a 401K going, as when I was younger had one hell of a time with employment, so was not offered any retirement type plans so to speak back in the day, I currently have roughly 40G in my 401k funds and my yearly gains don't add up to squat ola and probably won't be enough funds to live on come that so called day to retire.

I have been thinking of find a way to increase my gains, is there such a thing? Never talked with a financial adviser, are they worth it or do they rob you blind and laugh at you? Will be 57 in Feb....have no clue at what age I'll be retiring.
 

luvcatchingbass

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35 now and can hopefully retire in a couple years, after I win the lottery. One tough part is I don't usually play the lottery so my couple years is probably more like a couple decades, oh well.
I agree with any comments about keeping an active lifestyle as much as possible vs siting around too much as seeing what that has done to my parents it is kind of scary to see how things change both mentally and physically.
 

1lessdog

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I think retirement is great, I just dont see myself retiring and never working again. I work 40 hrs a week and have every Fri and Sat and Sun off. When you have 3 day weekends its nice. I remember working 48 hrs a week and had to work on Sat. When you have one day off a wk its not enough. Im sure thats one reason I like my job so much. Plus the pay is pretty good to. Tough to get burnt out of a job when you only work 4 days a week. Plus after tomorrow I dont come back till the 6th of Jan. By then I will be ready to come back.
 


Dirty

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I'm 41 now and don't even want to think about what my "retirement age" will be. If the way I treated my body from about age 20-35 doesn't catch up to me first, I'm assuming there will be no such thing as a retirement age when I reach it anyway.

While my wife and I do save and are nearing debt free status, I'm enjoying my family, my friends, and my hobbies as much as I possibly can now because you never know what tomorrow brings, much less 30 years from now. In fact, looking at the changes I've seen in the past 5 years, I don't even want to imagine 30 more down the road.

To those of you who actually reached a retirement age and are able to enjoy it, I will raise a toast to you next time I get a chance!
 

guywhofishes

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I think retirement is great, I just dont see myself retiring and never working again. I work 40 hrs a week and have every Fri and Sat and Sun off. When you have 3 day weekends its nice. I remember working 48 hrs a week and had to work on Sat. When you have one day off a wk its not enough. Im sure thats one reason I like my job so much. Plus the pay is pretty good to. Tough to get burnt out of a job when you only work 4 days a week. Plus after tomorrow I dont come back till the 6th of Jan. By then I will be ready to come back.

please message me the particulars - I'd like to apply and try to get your job
 

eliminator

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Retired at 57 and no we didn't have a million dollars to do it. Sat down with a financial person and went through everything and went ahead with it. Both wife and I retired that early and don't regret it at all. Also, I am now 72 and still enjoying retirement. I worked part time for a while because I wanted to and don't regret that also. You will find that you don't spend as much as you think when you are retired as compared to when you worked. I think the biggest thing is when you retire to not have house payments etc. We didn't travel the world before we retired and still don't but we do spend our summers in North Dakota and our winters in Arizona. You can keep plenty busy if you want to when you are retired.

Whatever you do, enjoy it and good luck.
 

Big Iron

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twitter retirement.jpg
 


SDMF

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please message me the particulars - I'd like to apply and try to get your job

You could have a job with hours just like his if your boss wasn't such a slave-driver!!

One of life's most difficult balancing acts. That between "having" and "doing" as well as when to do which.

Do you retire later with more $$ when you're physically able to do less? Or, do you retire earlier with less $$ when you're physically able to do more?

At what point are you able to "cut the cord" to children? Do you even want to?
 
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shorthairsrus

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my experience with people - -(not saying i am or that i suggest one to do so)----- the longer they work the longer they live and more importantly the longer they work the more they seem young. Hard to think that is the case. Of course it depends on type of work etc.
 

BrokenBackJack

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Been some tough years health wise the last 15 or so. Lucky we planned ahead, made good investments, own ND farm land, and when my bride retired we moved off the farm and sold the farmstead and bought a house in Bismarck. Then the winters were tearing me up from all my surgeries so we decided to spend our winters in AZ. Was going to be just winters and then have the summers in Bismarck. Then the stroke came and we sold the Bismarck house and full time it now in Payson.
Luckily came out of the stroke fairly well as Doctors thought i was headed for the old peoples home. Anyway we do some traveling when we want and are able, meaning when my body allows it anyway. We have met many good people down here and still have good friends back home. Also my 2 kids are happy for us and tell us to enjoy ourselves as we worked hard all our lives.
I say to people enjoy your life while living it and growing up but also save for your future. Too many have to have new vehicles, toys, and houses instead of driving things longer and living in the same house for longer times. You can save lots of money by not trading vehicles and toys every so many years. If you can afford it and want to do it, have at it if that is what you want but don't complain when your age gets up there and you don't have enough put away. You have to sometimes make hard choices and often we still make the wrong choices, Also what works for me might not work at all for you.
Life is tough enough without the wrenches that are thrown in every now and then that totally screw up your planning but that just makes you tougher as my Dad used to say. He said learn from them and they are lessons, if you don't learn and do the same thing again then it is a mistake.
Heck i don't have all the answers by no means and have made and continue to make mistakes but one big thing i have is a caring and loving bride and children and believe me that makes me rich beyond what i would think i should be entitled to! I do wish all of you well and hope life is good to you all.
DB things will work out for you and your bride. For now relax and enjoy what time you two have left and enjoy your memories!
 

db-2

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Mort to add to your numbers.

In 68 i was done with college, age 21 and looking for work. All asked about my draft status which was 1A so they said get your service out of the way and come see us. Two years later, service done and still no jobs. Work many of jobs for 1.25 to 1.50/hour and wife at 1.70/hour. No kids, no debt so it was okay.
At age 30, in 1977 found a life time job that at first paid $12,000/year. F/S showed a net worth of $3,868, debt of $7,132 and cash on hand of $1,700. Net worth was the car we bought and still have. Wife had about 5 part time jobs which enable us to make it to the end of each month. Two kids with three more coming in short order.
30 years later at age 60 had debt of $95,000, net worth of $195,000 with cash of $144,800. Friends were retiring but we still had kids, college and debt to pay, along with obtaining more funds into savings to retire on. There was no pension or the like from jobs so there was a need to keep working. Besides did love the job and would look forward to each morning.

At age 66 and 62 we both started drawing SS and along with some salary started putting those funds into savings and paying remaining debt of $65,000 off. Goal was to save what we felt was enough to retire on, decent vehicles and no debt with 75% of our current monthly income from SS. Goal was completed in those eight years. 70% of our savings was made during those last 8 years.

I was always felt that I had fail to provide for our retirement and at age 50, had a party but still could not see a ending and would have little for old age. But it did work out without establishing goals until age 66. Yes, work longer than many, do not have as much as some but more than some.
Lucky to have my health, badlands this fall could still climb the hills just a little slower and longer to do than those I hunted with but I still made it to the top every day. db
 

BrokenBackJack

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You could have a job with hours just like his if your boss wasn't such a slave-driver!!

One of life's most difficult balancing acts. That between "having" and "doing" as well as when to do which.

Do you retire later with more $$ when you're physically able to do less? Or, do you retire earlier with less $$ when you're physically able to do more?

At what point are you able to "cut the cord" to children? Do you even want to?

We know quite a few people that have kids in their 20's, 30's, and some knocking 40 that are still living at home or have moved back home. I don't have a problem if they would need help and need a place for a few months to get back on their feet but either never left home or moved back and won't move out. Some are either not working or working part time and don't help out at home or with the home expenses. I don't get this as they aren't doing their kids any favors as sometimes you just have to do the tough love thing. What are they going to do when their parents pass away?
Glad i don't have to go through this now at my age.
 


Bfishn

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These topics are always interesting and probably don’t get discussed enough because people are always scared to talk about money. I’m still a youngin in my mid 30’s but was fortunate enough to have parents that instilled financial skills at a young age. I think this is one area majorly lacking in our public schools, there should be finance professionals teaching real world skills starting in middle school.

I started investing in my 401k right out of college and then started maxing a Roth shortly thereafter. I don’t know if retirement was really on my mind as much as just being secure and knowing if I lost my job I’d be fine for a while. Now as I start to creep near 40 I think about it, mostly if I can retire at 55, would I want to, and would I get too bored? I think a guy definitely needs to stay active mentally and physically because as others have said, you hear way to much of people that retire, don’t do anything and then drop dead a year or two later.

In the next 10 years I plan to pay off house and be completely debt free, max all retirement accounts, hopefully keep job, and I would really like to start generating some passive income of some sort. I at least want the option to pull the plug at 55 even if I decide at the time I don’t want too yet. I also know life has a habit of throwing a wrench in your plans and plenty of people who have a retirement plan never get to realize it. A guy has to remember too enjoy today and not get too caught up in looking forward to retirement.
 
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Wirehair

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Retired in 2017 @ 63 after 40 years as a drug pusher (legal). Staying busy has not been a problem. 2 kids and 6 gkids in town keep us busy. Great having time to spend with grand kids as they all enjoy the great outdoors. Keep busy doing some rod building and wood turning between fishing / hunting seasons and that helps as well. Only decision now is when to start drawing SS.
 

eyexer

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Do a couple big drug deals a year. Low risk and it should supplement your income enough for your needs.
 

Bed Wetter

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Dad finally retired at 71. That’s enough motivation for me to put a LOT more into my retirement savings every paycheck. Im focusing on tax avoidance strategies and investments with super-low expense ratios. And guns. Lots and lots of guns.
 

Allen

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I'm 41 now and don't even want to think about what my "retirement age" will be. If the way I treated my body from about age 20-35 doesn't catch up to me first, I'm assuming there will be no such thing as a retirement age when I reach it anyway.

While my wife and I do save and are nearing debt free status, I'm enjoying my family, my friends, and my hobbies as much as I possibly can now because you never know what tomorrow brings, much less 30 years from now. In fact, looking at the changes I've seen in the past 5 years, I don't even want to imagine 30 more down the road.

To those of you who actually reached a retirement age and are able to enjoy it, I will raise a toast to you next time I get a chance!

Huh...while I always knew I was older than you, I didn't realize I was also that much better looking.

I suspect you will be fine. Worrying at a younger age seems to always give a person more worry-free time at a later date.
 


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