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I hit my "minimum amount" savings number about a year and a half ago.
The second week of this year, I as 15 grand from my "comfort amount" total and then we had the bad week in the market last week .
I was so psyched about hitting that number. Of course that would just have been the "first time" my balance touched that number and I expect to cross over and below that number several times on my way to my "retiring well amount" that I hope to hit by the end of 2014.
My question to everyone here is this. How much more (percentage) do you wish you had saved before you actually pulled the trigger and retired?
20-20 hindsight is always better than foresight! IMO, even the folks who are comfortable with their retirement nest egg, still look back and think "I wish I had saved, rather than spent, so much of my available resources.'
A funny thing about the 'present' is that it always seems so much more compelling than the past or the future. I think more people retire when immediate circumstances reduce the answer to their "How much is enough?" question to a 'manageable' number.
Let's hope you do not drop dead in the near future. You will have missed a year and a half of retirement.
I wish I had retired earlier. Not working saved me a huge amount of money not spent on incomes taxes, not spent on social security/medicare taxes, not spent on work clothing, not spent on commuting, etc. After retiring we cut back on expenses plus we saved all of the above. Financially I was better off retired than when I worked.
I hit my "minimum amount" savings number about a year and a half ago.
The second week of this year, I as 15 grand from my "comfort amount" total and then we had the bad week in the market last week .
I was so psyched about hitting that number. Of course that would just have been the "first time" my balance touched that number and I expect to cross over and below that number several times on my way to my "retiring well amount" that I hope to hit by the end of 2014.
My question to everyone here is this. How much more (percentage) do you wish you had saved before you actually pulled the trigger and retired?
I gave up waiting for the stock market to stabilize.
Don t want to miss one of my 'good' days.
Only so many of them left.
Ignore daily ups and downs, watch long-term trends. The Stock Market has done well.
Bingo! Volatility has always been a part of the stock market, and computerized trading by the major players has only increased that volatility. Watching and worrying on a daily basis is a good way to ruin a good day.
We're all different, but I cannot imagine planning for retirement without the stock market. In today's environment, relying on pensions and social security seems to me to be a much bigger risk. The stock market allowed me to "retire" at 51 and begin a part-time business doing something I really loved. I sold that business three months ago after I turned 66, but the vast amount of my net worth remains in a prudent mix of market investments.
To answer your question, it will always have been nice to have had a bundle more, but I've never regretted one day of pulling the trigger when I did. Keep investing wisely, and don't get too high on the market's good days or too low on the market's bad days. Life is good.
Location: Prescott Valley,az summer/east valley Az winter
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl
Hello All,
I hit my "minimum amount" savings number about a year and a half ago.
The second week of this year, I as 15 grand from my "comfort amount" total and then we had the bad week in the market last week .
I was so psyched about hitting that number. Of course that would just have been the "first time" my balance touched that number and I expect to cross over and below that number several times on my way to my "retiring well amount" that I hope to hit by the end of 2014.
My question to everyone here is this. How much more (percentage) do you wish you had saved before you actually pulled the trigger and retired?
Considering you are that close you will make it. Just keep at it. Contrary to what some people believe the stock market is the place to keep your money as bonds that are as safe pay so little you couldn't live on it.
Just retiring with "minimum amount" leaves so little cushion you cannot relax in retirement and something usually comes up to really put the scare into it.
Actually took a few years of frugal retirement before that "comfort amount" was reached but glad it happened.
As far as the savings of less wardrobe, no commute expenses, less taxes~~ those items escaped me. My clothing costs, commute expenses and taxes have all gone up since I retired.
And yes, I did retire about 3 months earlier than I expected due to a workplace accident but it all worked out. Finish out your not quite a year~ you will probably be glad you did...the job wasn't s hard knowing the end ws in sight. PS ~ think we are in for a dip but expect a good rally before end of year.
Let's hope you do not drop dead in the near future. You will have missed a year and a half of retirement.
I wish I had retired earlier. Not working saved me a huge amount of money not spent on incomes taxes, not spent on social security/medicare taxes, not spent on work clothing, not spent on commuting, etc. After retiring we cut back on expenses plus we saved all of the above. Financially I was better off retired than when I worked.
I don't agree with the logic of saying that we "save" money on taxes when we have a lower income. Of course I understand (and agree) that the total taxes we pay are much lower if our income is much lower, and that the deduction for social security taxes is not taken from retirement income. But making more money is always worth it (from a purely financial point of view) despite higher income tax rates because the rates never reach 100% nor do they come anywhere close to that.
I'm glad you realized considerable savings in retirement, but not everyone does:
1. Work clothing: Depends if you needed specialized work clothing. I wear the same clothing now that I wore while working, so I have no savings in that department. Very little dry cleaning then, still very little now.
2. Commuting: Depends if you had a long, short, or medium commute to work. I drive more now than I drove while working because I have more time to go places. (Yes, I was fortunate to have had a short commute during the final 21 years of my full-time career.)
3. Entertainment and travel: I spend more on entertainment and travel now (as a retiree) because I have more free time to indulge in those things.
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and then we had the bad week in the market last week 
. 
It depends.
