@DrGoogle , Congratulations on your decision!
As the cost of artificial illumination went down, so did average hours of sleep.
I no longer have the insomnia problem, which I did when I exercised less and (more importantly) traveled across time zones regularly. Melatonin does work to recalibrate the body clock.
Those geniuses who didnât sleep much? Genius and mania are not strangers to each other. For must of us, though, weâd just be manic mediocrities.
After cancer and at my age (almost 59) I find if I can sleep 5 1/2 hours w/o waking up, that is a great nightâs sleep. Part of the problem is the medication that has me hot or cold and therefore throwing covers on and off - less of that problem now as I have adapted somewhat, however the med is keeping me from cancer re-occurrence (estrogen blocking Tamoxifen).
Being on hormone therapy is not female exclusive - FIL has experienced the same thing with some of his prostrate cancer treatment.
Some people have never needed much sleep.
Most find the quality of sleep goes as we age.
jym- you are hysterical!! :))
I really love sleep. Sleep is everything, how I feel all day, whether I want to lounge around or get up and exercise, motivation. I have the misfortune of working a lot of nights, which really messes with your sleep. I just had a month off of work, and my sleep is so wonderful now. Of course exercise helps, but also the right amount of melatonin, and progesterone (bioidentical hormones) are fantastic.
Congrats @drgoogle - keep posting your progress and how you are enjoying and making retirement enjoyable.
DrGoogle isnât retiring until December, unfortunately. Still a long ways to go.
@busdriver11, so happy that youâre using bioidentical hormones rather than synthetic. I guess HRT is part of retirement, eh?
Well I think when you see the retirement so near, can enjoy the planning too and enjoy things about the job and also say âI wonât miss this particular activity or person or drama when I retire!â 6 months is a lot closer than my Hâs 6 years! Congrats with the decision! Taking baby steps till the final leap.
âI no longer have the insomnia problem, which I did when I exercised less and (more importantly) traveled across time zones regularly. Melatonin does work to recalibrate the body clock.
Those geniuses who didnât sleep muchâŠâ
- not to argue, but the above is NOT for everybody. First, I do no have insomnia at all. I feel great after sleeping 3 - 5 hours. Second, I exercise 1.5 - 2.5 hours every day depending on the season and at least one hour outside. I do not travel across time zones ever. I have tried melatonin, yes, it works, it makes me feel totally miserable, it does not make me sleep longer at night at all, instead, it makes me much more tired next day and so do other ânaturalâ sleep aids like valerian and combination of them. I have tried them when I was told repeatedly that I have a problem, but then I quit, realizing that I do not have a sleeping problem at all, I just sleep less than others. Lastly, I am not a genius by any measure, very ordinary person. That is why I disagree with the advice of sleeping 7-8 hours. I say, sleep as much as your body needs and do not worry about it.
Thanks everyone, retirement is the end of Dec.
Lack of sleep is one main reason why my husband and I want to retire.
I always think it is silly to expect broad generalizations to apply to ALL people. We are very different and the QUALITY of sleep is important. Many folks I know wake several times a night to go to the bathroom while others can sleep soundly all night until they wake. Some folks wake refreshed while others wake tired and unrefreshed. I think itâs important to KNOW YOURSELF and what your body needs and how to help your body get what it needs. 
I think as one get older one needs less sleep.
General retirement spending plan for those who do not have pensions:
(1) Collect annual DI and CG distributions â already considered taxable income in the current year, so spend those
(2) Taxable Accounts: hereâs the tricky part â
Using Specific Lot ID (thank you @IxnayBob), identify and sell the shares with least unrealized capital gains so as to minimize LTCG . Leave most highly appreciated assets until the end in case of premature death or likelihood of leaving assets for step-up basis treatment for lucky heirs.
(3) Determine SS claiming strategy but most likely defer until 70 to maximize benefits.
(4) Tax-deferred Accounts: leave untouched 401k and IRAs to continue receiving tax deferred treatment of gains. Consider Roth IRA conversions only insofar as analysis of current vs. later tax rates on RMDs vs. tax rate of beneficiary(ies) determine it makes sense to do so.
(5) Tax-free Accounts: if there is a Roth IRA in existence. Spend last.
Any thoughts and further analysis are welcome. Thank you.
DI= Disability Income?
CG =?
I thought there was some potential advantage to using some Roth money to keep SS un/less taxed, or to stay in a lower income tax bracket?
DI is probably DIVâdividends. Roth funds can be used as desired but then you lose the ability for them grow tax free.
CG - Capital Gain
We have no pensions, but also almost nothing in the way of taxable accounts. Almost all of our assets are either in real estate or tax-deferred accounts.
So for us it is more like:
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Prior to retiring, pay off some of the mortgages on the rentals to free up the almighty cash flow.
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At retirement, collect a big pile of rent checks every month
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Every paid off mortgage = pay raise! Figure out how to optimally pay the rest of them off.
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Determine optimal SS strategy - claim at 62 and delay IRA distributions until 70? Claim at 70 and take IRA distributions at 62 or whenever? Take both at 70 and get a huge âpay raiseâ at that point?
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Figure out if a Roth conversion makes sense along the way.
SS will be a considerable amount for us. Between the two of us it could easily exceed $60K/year depending on when we start collecting.
When to retire is a constant discussion. Iâm hoping to pull the trigger within a couple of years, and let DW keep working if she wants.
@notrichenough , your rental properties could be seen as your category of Taxable Accounts. The decision on which to pay off and sell carries similar tax and gain analysis.
One additional (though unpleasant) thing worth mentioning in the tax analysis: the step-up in basis between spouses if assets are titled properly and the concomitant rise in income tax rate when the widowed spouse later has to file taxes as a Single Filer. Adding this twist makes the Roth conversion more compelling some times.
I suppose you could look at it like that, the income is taxable as regular income after all.
Donât plan to ever sell any of them, though. I could never replace the income stream.
Step-up in basis between spouses is interesting, I havenât really given that much though. As for single vs joint, I think we will be solidly in the 28% bracket no matter what. Not sure that will really be a big impact.
The smartest thing to do would be to 1031 the rentals when the depreciation runs out so I gain the benefit of another round on my taxes. We have a lot of time and money invested in fixing them up and I donât know if I want to go through that again. I know what I have at this point.