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You are a good example as you are moving closer to the retirement implementation stage and are from what I can tell at the nervous stage as you are about to dip your feet in the water.
It's sort of related to being at the transition stage, in that what touched this off was my first meeting with a retiree group that my church sponsors. I was shocked to see who else was at that meeting. There were people I had attended financial planning classes with, people who had sworn that the best plan was to stay employed until 65. Until I went to this meeting, I assumed they were continuing with these plans. Very shocking to see so many people dumped by their employers in their late 50s. I knew it was happening to some people, but it was literally ever other person attending this meeting but me--about 50 people! And these were all smart people with fairly high level jobs for government contractors, not the sort of people I expected to see in such a pickle. People who seemed smarter than me when we were attending the financial planning classes together--why did their employers dump such smart people? It was very eye opening to go to that meeting.
Meanwhile, what can you do? Keep planning, keep living your life, keep doing what you were going to do anyway because it's still the best course of action. I guess I just got rubbed the wrong way by this idea that we have some sort of choice to work until 65. Times are getting strange, and we may have fewer choices than we realize.
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Originally Posted by TuborgP
I am five plus years in and I can tell you my answers have changed big time. I recently posted in the have you become more frugal when you retired thread and my answers reflect those changes. I can tell you that I have noticed changes in some posters and they can change with the stock market. Having retired January 1, 2008 I can assure you my first year reaction was much different than the next two and the last two much different from those two. So in some ways my retirement was the worse of times as far as cash resources because of the market crash and the best of times because we sold early in 2007 and captured most of the housing market peak. It is all a roller coaster path but as we age we can see the end of the ride better and we don't worry as much about the ups and downs.
Thank you for these comments, it's very reassuring.
It's sort of related to being at the transition stage, in that what touched this off was my first meeting with a retiree group that my church sponsors. I was shocked to see who else was at that meeting. There were people I had attended financial planning classes with, people who had sworn that the best plan was to stay employed until 65. Until I went to this meeting, I assumed they were continuing with these plans. Very shocking to see so many people dumped by their employers in their late 50s. I knew it was happening to some people, but it was literally ever other person attending this meeting but me--about 50 people! And these were all smart people with fairly high level jobs for government contractors, not the sort of people I expected to see in such a pickle. People who seemed smarter than me when we were attending the financial planning classes together--why did their employers dump such smart people? It was very eye opening to go to that meeting.
Meanwhile, what can you do? Keep planning, keep living your life, keep doing what you were going to do anyway because it's still the best course of action. I guess I just got rubbed the wrong way by this idea that we have some sort of choice to work until 65. Times are getting strange, and we may have fewer choices than we realize.
Thank you for these comments, it's very reassuring.
being smart in financial things does not mean you are a good worker or can even hold down a job.
i remember the show they had on about silicon valley . i have to be honest. they looked like the biggest bunch of unmotivated job seekers on a high level i ever saw.
quite frankly if i was interviewing them there was not one they had on that would have passed muster.
a company always has its core of best of breed employees . these are employees no company would ever let go unless they are going out of business.
these employees never see a day of unemployment most of the time.
there is not a company around that would not snatch them up and let one of their own 2nd tier go.
we have been hiring in my company since 2008 and still are. we have hundreds come through the door that are not hired.
to them there are no jobs but the truth is there are jobs but they are going to those that have that reputation of being that best of breed. we hired 21 people from competitors who failed over the last 2 years alone.
everyone of them was that coveted employee and they were hired even before the street knew they needed a job.
everyone likes to think they are or were part of that group but the truth is most are not.
that is why it is so important to keep yourself on the competitors radar.
when i switched jobs 2 years ago i got so many calls i was interviewing them. it wasn't that i am that good . it was the fact i made sure i was a thorn in their side as a competitor for decades.
they would rather have me with them then against them .
Last edited by mathjak107; 01-20-2013 at 08:03 AM..
Some of those numbers didn't make sense. $100 for car maintenance....are you planning on having a 45 year old car or something? Even junk cars, usually don't need $100 a month for maintenance. $40 for an oil change every few months....maybe a $450 tire change for 4 tires, but they last several years.
Actually new car. right now we have a 2009 Honda Civic with 40,000 miles but in another couple years when I retire we want to pay cash for a new Toyota Accord with the extras and heated leather seats which will be our last car most likely. I don't know if we will keep both cars yet but most likely we will get rid of the Honda and use a golf cart for local in town travel.
Where we are golf carts in town are street legal as long as you stay off state highways (duh?) and lots of people use them for local hospital, shopping and doctor visits in town.
We don't get snow or ice.
So yeah, the $100/month is high and most likely with less driving, we might hit $30 average with oil changes.
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Clothing is ridiculous too. Who spends $200 a month on clothes...even for two people! That just seems out of the norm unless your rich maybe and want to spend that much. $200 a month when your retired every single month? Unless your wearing new clothes every week that just seems pretty crazy.
Yeah, I got all the suits I need and for 8 months out of the year I could wear shorts, tennis shoes and a normal shirt and be happy. Same with my wife... we could probably cut that down to $300/year for both of us.
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Food like you said seems way high too unless your living in the heart of NYC for example.
Actually the food budget was for everything including non-food items like toilet paper, paper towels and trash bags. We try to eat very healthy (I am a controlled diabetic and my wife rules my diet with an iron fist) so we avoid the cheaper foods that have all the carbs.
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I get overbudgeting....we do it too with gas every week, but your probably 10-15k over for the whole year. That's like me expecting to pay $125 in gas per week for one car, when I spend $40 perhaps.
If you eally live like this and spend these amounts every month....you are doing damn good compared to the rest.
I am scared to death on running out of money once I do retire so i guess I tend to overbudget a bit.
When I retire I want to take up working in the yard and in the back yard I want to build me a man cave of my very own.
This thread has been interesting, but like I said before, most are not quite ready to cut the cord, or, their Company has not decided to give them the ax yet....The one point that upstages all others is for everyone there is a different plan, need, choice, demand ( spouse ) not all fits its not one size for all.
For some of you there is that daydream of retirement, that new fishing boat and lazy afternoons out on the lake with a line in the water. That gold watch you will get will be left in a drawer, never to be used again, time will all be yours ! For others its not so much a dream, but an obsession to survive whatever comes their way and they are dam sure the goal is to never give up the steering wheel that will drive them into another world, the world of the unknown, retirement.
The degree to how far some go to prepare for that day varies a lot mostly related to your lot in life the work a day world. I have a friend, now 74 who took an early retirement from Chrysler, in fact the Company encouraged Him to do so as he started work there out of College and never left. . needless to say He was a valued person after all those years. retirement only meant he would get more income than while working. Still got free new cars often, all health benefits., etc. The one thing he did that was very wise was as soon as the ink was dry on his retirement, he pulled his retirement out and invested separately from the Company. Today he has more money than he can spend, unlike me, his ventures in the markets payed off big, and it left lots of time to enjoy extensive travel and intense hobby interest( which were also very profitable ). I bring this example of one guy who planed big, lived big, and did all the bucket list things, which he is still doing. All it takes in money, and thats my point here with this story. Life in retirement as well as before so, its still all about what you make and invest. The Guy that was making a million a year in say upper middle management never has the need to budget. Its everyone else that comes up short at the end of the month for a good part of their lives, little changes in retirement.
I stress this time and time again on these forums. Those with lots of dough have margin for error, the awe craps of life and for things in your planning to go wrong
It is the rest of us that have to learn to maximize whatever we do.
All this planning theory,methods,data and ideas i post is not for the wealthy.
It is to help everyone who needs to put a plan together that gives them at least the best odds on their side out of the gate.
The less you have and the longer it has to last the more important this stuff becomes.
The challenge for many Gov't contractors is remaining current with new technology and skills. It may be a challenge to be better than the recent grads at twice their salary. My son and I have had this conversations about this topic and the DC job market.
I can not speak for the rest of the country but as most here know i am in a very high tech business with factory automation and motor controls my specialty.
A problem with many union contractors is that they are great at the traditional electric work but very few are well versed in the high tech arena.
It has become the nitch of the smaller non union shops.
More and more i find the large companies and government projects are using these little non union guys since the large contractors are lagging behind the times.
We are hiring electrical engineers out of school, giving them some factory schools and their knowledge is superior to these old time contractors out there slinging wire and pipe but no high tech skills.
I think the key to retirement spending is if PRE-retirement you learn how to live well below what you take in. We've done that - forever.
We do OK on $2500 a month - shoveling the rest to retirement savings. So much so that post retirement we hope to do the same which will make our money last alot longer.
You say you expect a retirement income from all sources of over $48k/year, but I didn't see anything showing a deduction for payment of income taxes.
Retired people should not be taxed again and again its wrong, at lest up to a percent level of income, like say 100,000. I know a lot of income is now deferred from taxes, more should be. Its sorta strange that in Most of the Modern world where there are many more social programs that the older people pay less in taxes than here in the US. Yes someone needs to pay, and that must be so, first we start with the very rich and close all their offshore scams then soak them for all we can, for nothing more that they have been screwing the people all these years by paying no taxes at all ! Next , everyone who is in their working prime years, should pay more, not a lot, but enough to help fund our retired people so they can lead a reasonable happy and fair existence for the time we have left. ( Note: I do not support business taxes where we wind up paying twice and have to create five or six LLCs to get out of paying ). Just a flat tax, one time, should do, for everyone, every year, except us old farts, we need our meds and our walkers !
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When I retire
