@shawbridge How did you know I had Allbirds? My kids laugh but I wear them to drive around town. Haven’t seen any men wearing them, mostly a female thing. Might be guys wearing them in CA. Still though they are the MOST comfortable shoes, they are clearly very uncool looking per my kids. They were a gift.
I think I read they were coming out with non-sneaker styles. I heard all about their story on a PBS news hour thing and it was very interesting.
@threebeans Have had this current FA for 7 years, same firm different person another 5 years. We like the philosophy of the firm and the way it operates.
Current FA is very unlike us. Much more of a person who thinks about things and reiterates. We are big picture people. One of us is in high tech and both of us understand some unusual tech so had some great early investments. Our FA has been able to transform our portfolio into a lot of diversified interests. Talks us out of being too cautious when there are crazy times ( has happened twice, once this year and once about 5 years ago). And generally has done very well for us. We did have an FA at the same firm after the first one, the guy only talked about baseball and was not very birght, at all. We asked to have him changed. He pushed back. We said, nope. We would have left rather than keep someone we didn’t like. I don’t think the age of the FA matters. I’d want someone to have at least 10 years of work experience but otherwise, I don’t care much.
It’s your money. So I think you have to let the FA do their job but also watch the returns vs. the overall market.
@TooOld4School : And too old for school? I never think it’s the case being too old for learning given the fact that there’re plenty of online-learning platforms/resources for you to take advantage of.
To me it might be *too expensive for school* unless my company agrees to pay for it.
“People who keep learning and stay social may be less likely to get Alzheimer’s disease. It’s not completely clear yet, but the mental stimulation may be like a workout for your brain.” (Source: WebMD.com)
May everyone here in the forum and your loved ones, to learn something new everyday that keeps AD away! 
@aMacMom Did the illustration have you take your SS at 62, and then your spousal benefit at FRA?
I usually keep 3-5 years of my assets in cash. However, I’m pretty aggressive on the balance of my portfolio investing it mainly in equities. I see it as kind of a barbell investment strategy. I have a fairly high tolerance for risk, partially because that cash balance allows room to ride out most market gyrations. I’ll also note I’m an early retiree so no incoming cash in the form of employment generated income.
Haha! Two degrees in my 40’s , and with my new employer paying 
, probably another one in my early 60’s! Plus the endless certifications , etc, etc, etc. We have mandatory professional development at work which includes up to $5K per semester for tuition, which covers most every on-line program available.
I’ll probably keep learning until I meet my maker. That’s why retirement is a little scary - I’m not sure what I would do with myself.
Allbirds have been VC staples in the Bay Area: https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/11/with-50m-in-fresh-funding-allbirds-will-open-new-stores-in-the-us-uk-and-asia/.
You can keep learning in retirement and the best part is it can be on any subject that interests you, doesn’t need to be connected to a career.
If you have a curious, inquisitive mind, learning doesn’t stop at retirement. I learn new things every day. 
I like the barbell analogy. We had more cash until we purchased our new place. Dh was also an early retiree, but started a new job in May. Not nearly at the pay level he was before but not an insignificant amount either. I think through those changes, we are trying to determine where we want to land cash-wise.
We are kind of equity heavy as well, simply from growth over time.
@somemom The analysis had me applying for Spousal Benefits when H starts receiving SS benefits (68).
Allbirds have been VC staples in the Bay Area: https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/11/with-50m-in-fresh-funding-allbirds-will-open-new-stores-in-the-us-uk-and-asia/.
I wear Allbirds & H wears a similar casual shoe from TravisMathew. He’s probably more on trend than me. (Wait, am I in the wrong thread?)
Back to your crystal ball number crunching…
What is equity heavy like? 100% equity? 90%?
Going back to the original question - however much I have at the end of March 2021 will be enough, and I plan to retire at 59.
My husband will retire at 62, in August of 2022, with however much he has then.
We will both get pensions, and have been assured by multiple financial planners that we have enough…
but they aren’t the one’s who may be eating cat food when they’re 80 :). (As my husband said, our cats may eat better than we do).
I haven’t told my employer officially, but COVID, and the ability to “practice retirement” has helped me decide that I’m ready.
If I have a really bad day between now and the end of March, my retirement date may be sooner.
I’m still waffling about retirement, going back and forth. Had Sept of next year set as our plan, we’ll be 58. Then Covid hit, I started working double time, and I just don’t know. I like my job, but I’m tired. I don’t know what else to do and I enjoy it. Health insurance is crazy expensive. I imagine I’ll keep waffling until it becomes obvious either way. We might even have my husband retire first (he is ready to go, has plenty of projects) and I can cut way down on work and practice retirement.
Probably different for different people. In my case, over 90%.
@busdriver11, I’ve been thinking about retirement for a couple of years, but now it “feels right.” I can change my mind up until the day I retire, but I don’t think I will.
I had heard about Allbirds, and fashionista DD knew all about them. I haven’t made a purchase. I just sort of like to keep up with trends.
The reason there is a cap is because there is somewhat of a connection between what you put into the system and what you get. Since you can only get a certain maximum amount of social security benefit, it seems fair to me that there is a cap on what you have to put into the system.
You cannot get a social security pension from your OWN earnings if you have not worked at all. But you can get it through other venues if you meet certain stipulations. If you were married to someone who is entitled to social security, it is possible to get eligibility that way. My cousin’s mother never worked, and married someone who also did not. Both were mentally ill. They did not get a social security pension, but because they were deemed disabled, received what is called SSI. Upon the husband’s death, my friend’s mother did qualify for a social security pension because she had been married for more than 10 years to her first husband who did qualify for a social security pension. He was deceased at that time , so she received a widow’s pension based on his earnings. So, a person with no work history can get money from social security through death benefit, spousal benefit, disability benefit.
Correct. Once the cap is removed/raised significantly, it will mean that today’s 20-something high earners will pay more into the system than they will ever receive. The last time the program was really tweaked, even the strong liberals like Senator Ted Kennedy was against making SS akin to a ‘welfare’ plan for fear that it would be treated as such with future benefit reductions when budgets got tight.