<p>Wow, packmom. Congrats to you. Although our kids are the same age as yours, we’re older than you and not ready to retire. DH is self-employed, so no employer pension to count on. We’ll also have the parents of the groom expenses too, jym626. But that isn’t really factoring into our retirement decisions.</p>
<p>Congrats, PackMom! I can’t imagine retiring at 51…that would be next year for me. I am really jealous!</p>
<p>Congrats PackMom - you’re living MY dream! I hope your retirement is everything you’ve hoped and dreamed,</p>
<p>I just trained 4 years for and began a brand new career I love one year ago. I am 50 and have no plan to retire any time soon. I feel like I had a lot of time to myself when the kids were school age and I was not working. Retirement is over – now it’s back to work!</p>
<p>Congrats, PackMom!</p>
<p>LBowie, I’m in the same boat with you. I think I have 20+ years of useful work life ahead. As I mentioned, Mr B is never going to retire, so I do not plan on any retirement prior to 75. :)</p>
<p>I figure I am in the 3ish year range which put me at 65, maybe to 66 but with DH older we want to be able to do things together still. I figure that if clients don’t renew their contracts I won’t replace them and I will slowly wind down. However, none seem ready to quit so far. When I retire my expenses will go down since I won’t be contributing to retirement and I won’t be paying 15+% SS tax on earnings. Kids are out and we need to put some money into deferred maintenance on the house now. But in 3-4 years we should be clear. </p>
<p>For those afraid of retiring…why?>>>>>>>></p>
<p>I’m unmotivated at home. I’m not a putterer. Since I still work full time, I don’t have a list of projects at home, but I suspect I will have to organize this when I retire. And make myself a schedule so I don’t just do nothing all day, all the time.<br>
Also, at this time, I do really love my “work family”. If I had issues in that respect, it would make it a lot easier to imagine getting away from them!</p>
<p>Congratulations, PackMom! Retiring at such a young age is quite an accomplishment. Like BB, I have no plans to retire any time soon, and I am 64. I would not be able to stand the thought that my field is moving on and I’m not part of it. I am hoping to work forever. But I understand that not everyone feels that way.</p>
<p>PackMom…how??? LOL. Phenomenal. Now…what are you going to be doing every day for the next 30 or 40 years?</p>
<p>I’d like to retire early and then have a “second act.” Problem is that I don’t know what that would be! I have a friend who is studying to teach ESL and will do that after retiring. Do you guys know of other examples of things you can do flexibly or part time after retiring? </p>
<p>^^ I have the same question…</p>
<p>Family just left after Friday evening HS graduation of our younger DD. It does make you think about aging, retirement, etc. Someone said ‘see you at next funeral’ (DH’s 92 yr old uncle’s funeral the week before).</p>
<p>To comment about AARP, I think they wanted to include as many people as possible to make their group very big (getting all the baby boomers - not sure when AARP started, but I joined when I turned 50). I think they endorse many insurance products etc that are not great for people, but are good income for AARP. The good thing about AARP is that it is a big group for older people’s issues - so it is a helpful lobbying group. I like reading their publications.</p>
<p>We continue to enjoy our home we built 22 years ago, but will be preparing it to sell when DH retires. If I return to work force, I may enjoy working locally and may enjoy transferring elsewhere (RN and graduate business degrees).</p>
<p>One does have to declutter. You decide what you care about in your phase of life. By the time we retire, DDs will take all they want and we can also downsize more then.</p>
<p>Got a huge bookcase ‘decluttered’ when we got new flooring in family room; I had tons of school files from the kids’ grade-school. Fun to look through their work, but it gets time consuming!</p>
<p>If H and I both live into our 90’s (likely for H with family longevity), staying very healthy and busy now will help us continue to have healthy mind and body. H and I are both getting healthier - I have a bit more weight to lose to go from overwt to not. Still see medical and radiation oncologists, and continue cancer free. I like the shorter term goals for any form of a ‘bucket list’ - esp as DDs are just 18 and 20. </p>
<p>So, I don’t know if I should post here, or in the “Parents caring for Parents” thread. We just bought the house beside my father’s house, so we can care for him as he ages in place, but it is also our retirement location. Also, reading the “bag a week” club, as retirement house is less than 1000 square feet, so we have to downsize. So between these three threads, that is all I need from CC now. (D is freshman in college, S is senior in college, but not graduating due to gap year.) DH will work as long as they will keep him, but he is hoping to work from the retirement house in a few years - no commute, no snow shoveling, etc. </p>
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<p>For those of us who are a bit ignorant here on the subject, what exactly is the manipulation you’re talking about? </p>
<p>Sure wish @PackMom would tell us how her and her husband can retire so early, we are all so jealous!</p>
<p>I can think of a few ways that someone might do it. Perhaps by retiring from a civil service job, where you can get a great annual retirement payout at a fairly young age. Or a family member leaving a great inheritance. Or maybe if you bought your house many years ago, it appreciated like crazy, and now you’re moving to a low cost area. Or actually taking up a second career after retirement, so it’s not actually a retirement. Probably not just from having a high salary and saving it, because most people don’t have the self control to live that far below their means.</p>
<p>Then again, a very rare person may be able to save like crazy, invest extremely well, and feel comfortable enough and not fearful of retiring.</p>
<p>We’d love to know how she did it!</p>
<p>I guess I just don’t get the idea of having a plan to retire by a certain age. I am not worried about having enough money to retire. More the desire. I guess working just makes me feel youthful and necessary.</p>
<p>And I CAN think of how one could retire early: 1) being very frugal since a young age putting money aside and 2) getting a windfall from the sale of a business or a company in which you have substantial ownership, or have a such a company go public, then sell.</p>
<p>I’m going to retire within the next 3 years (I am 49) and my H will in the next 5 years. Nothing magical, just high salaries and living waaaay below our means and saving like crazy. </p>
<p>We plan to become super-fit and travel a lot and enjoy the things we can while we are still young. </p>
<p>Congrats Packmom! Sounds like a huge change and best wishes on the new page for you and hubby! </p>
<p>When we bought this house it was really hubby’s choice not mine. It’s too big, on a big 4 acre yard. I have a weekly cleaning person, with severe allergies and 5 bathrooms that I have no desire to clean. I’m the one watching house hunters with condo envy. I see high rises and I just sigh (I seriously feel like Green Acres here sometimes) However, I’m probably completely unfit for more compact living now. I’ve never mowed the yard in my life, I’m not about to start now. I tell hubby, if something ever happens to him I’ll be putting the for sale sign up on the way home from the funeral. </p>
<p>I always make sure when my employees go in on the lottery pools that I do too - the last thing I need to happen is for them to hit it big and retire and leave me alone at my company without them. </p>
<p>Vladenschlutte, some posters here have a loooong history of posting contradictory facts about their finances. Ignore it if you haven’t been part of it.</p>
<p>Correct, dragonom. </p>
<p>Vladenschlutte, go take a peek in the “500K debt” thread for a timely discussion on this.</p>