As I left Missoula, MT on business a couple of weeks ago, my hotel shuttle bus driver was a retired HS English teacher widower. I think he just enjoyed getting out of the house, driving around town and getting to talk to different types of people. He was quite a promoter of the area, even handing me maps.
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At one of our recent weddings, the hotel desk clerk had gone to HS near my home town - he was a retired school counselor. After traveling in retirement, he realized he needed to work a part time steady job for a variety of reasons. He was very good in his job - very helpful and friendly.
There are some jobs that donāt seem like āworkā to some people. They like the schedule, the social interactions, decent work environment.
Unfortunately my ājobā is to get healthier - ālove exerciseā enough to get the benefits out of it; learn to eat a lot less. Has to become a priority. I do best with a āroutineā. Cannot keep getting bigger.
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Yeah, I know getting a flying gig would be easy, thereās a large demand and not much supply, one could get hired by anyone right now. But I left the best flying job around, as far as pay and seniority, so thereās no way I would want to go back to a far worse job.
Iām just thinking about something to do part time in the future when I have more time, that has flexibility and health insurance. Definitely not driving a bus of any sort, though!
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That makes sense. Not everyone wants a big mortgage, but a small mortgage can seem acceptable, particularly if you can get a lower rate. I canāt imagine getting a loan now, with inflated prices and interest rates.
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Iāve thought a lot about the āpart-time gigā during āpre-full retirementā years. Of course itās a numbers game (to have enough to afford to cut back to part-time) but it does seem like an interesting option. My only concern would be hating the part-time gig and then cutting more into 401k.
busdriver11 - I donāt blame you not wanting to drive a load of kids around. Iād love to be around kids but having that level of responsibilty for their lives would be incredibly stressful for me!! Plus just not a fan of driving, generally, lol.
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I always have one pro bono activity in my mix. Sometimes it is creating something or working as part of a team to end a civil war. Was on an NGO board for a while, but left because I didnāt think it used my skills/talents well. Current focus on a project designed to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. All of my projects use my distinctive skills/talents.
My retirement will involve increasing the amount of my time that I give to these activities relative to other work.
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@busdriver11, how hard is it too stay licensed/certified to do occasional medical transports (of patient or organs)? Might not offer the same pay/seniority you left, but the feelsā¦
Unfortunately, itās a lot more complicated than that. I am qualified on just one aircraft right now (though I would still have to go through a couple of weeks of training to get up to speed), and itās a very large aircraft. It would take a lot of body parts to fill that up. 
For that kind of work, Iād have to retrain on an entirely new aircraft, which would take months (and nobody would pay for me to do that, and then fly an occasional flight).
Wow - itās been awhileā¦
Just popped in to say Iāll take a big āupā day for the market, even if I hope not to need the money for at least a couple of years.
My husband retires at the end of this month (he will leave his decades long career, but he will likely get a part-time contractor job).
So, we wonāt be contributing to our retirement nest eggs any longer - and really hope the market doesnāt go down much more.
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It will go down, and it will go up. Thatās the hardest thing to get used to, but itās the nature of the market. Itās important to put a financial plan together that takes that into account. I had trouble sleeping for the first few months after retiring, but I eventually got to a point where I am comfortable with the way things are going.
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āWe are a long way from inflation normalizationā - and this is going to have the widespread impact it is now having IMHO.
āMany are feeling the effects from the worst inflation the UA has seen in 40 years.ā People like us do remember that in combination with high interest rates (very high fixed interest rates on homes for years when homes were more modestly priced). We trudged through it - that was before 401k and any knowledge on how to build wealth, as well as investing. We learned along the way.
āA recent survey shows 7 in 10 consumers have changed how they save money in response to rising inflation.ā Heck there are a lot of people that have had to adjust many spending categories due to higher fuel costs and groceries.
We retired prior to the events with Jan 2022 stock market drop. We have decent cash flow w/o tapping into the 401k funds that have gotten ābeaten upā.
We are not nervous for us, but a bit nervous for our kids.
I am not putting my hands on a recent article I read about someone who has analyzed financials - the stock market swings, etc. over I believe 5 major downturns, and that actually had me feeling more calm about things.
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Iām feeling like inflation is so out of control that itās going to really impact the entire economy a lot. Weāve seen prices on many things double (in particular things like food at the farm stand). Eggs used to be $2.50, then went to 3-4 during Covid, now $5. Bacon is insane. And we donāt live anywhere near CA. If you want quality bacon you buy 8 oz (often 6 pieces). Iām not sure what people with young families are doing. Weāre in a high income bracket and still noticing the insane prices.
Ours are nearly flown. We have to get them through college but I feel like weāve in fine shape for that. I donāt see people without houses being able to buy soon. Every time I look the price of my house is up. The realtor report expects another 12% this year. And Iām not happy about it as property taxes will rise too.
Iām a person who invests for the long haul. But Iām also a person who looks at the underlying fundamentals. Unless/until inflation and energy costs get under control we have a huge problem for nearly everyone. I havenāt felt this negative about the economy since 1991. Even 2008 seemed more manageable to me.
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H moved his 401k into target age funds last September. Laddered them so that they mature at age 70 (2030), 75 (2035) and 80 (2040). New money is going into the 2040 fund. So far, that has worked out reasonably well. It has cushioned some of the market hit. Iām about 2/3 market, 1/3 bonds. Considering putting some $$ in I-Bonds, as inflation has made the return better than a money market.
I have put together a spreadsheet with all of our accounts and retirement info to assess replacement ratios and to see what weād no longer have pulled from his paycheck after retirement (and itās a LOT). Also want to see if we really need the full term life policies we are still carrying ā his premiums are high, but he wants to keep it to protect me. Had to remind him that it expires at age 70 and with the pension, 401k, etc., it may not be necessary. The risk exposure was a different story when we were 30 and bought our policies!
Heās thinking of retiring at the end of 2028 when he hits SS normal retirement age (and end-of-year is the best time to retire in the fed govt). Thatās the first time heās ever put a date on it. I suspect heāll wait til 70 (2031) and postpone taking SS til then as well. Will depend on how the market performs and his health. If heās able to still WFH several days a week, itās a nice way to keep working, but also ease into retirement life. He NEEDS to find hobbies and friends. I canāt be his sole source of entertainment!
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Although we are seeing inflation, Iām trying to remember that we had a once in a century pandemic that completely upended global supply chains. And a war predicated by a global oil producer.
Iām honestly not that worried and have trust that once our supply chain issues are resolved that inflation will ease. This is a global problem caused by recent global issues.
I have other things Iām worried about than inflation. Which I wonāt go into.
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Maybe some of these points will help offspring, and maybe one can also see a way to do better against inflation:
This is interesting for those who believe supply chains are the cause of inflation. Might be bad news though. While I am personally not in that camp, I do see supply chain issues regarding energy and poor shipping is making things harder and more expensive for businesses and being a major factor. Good read below:
(Supply Chains Unlikely to Stabilize Until First Half of 2024 or Beyond - Monitordaily)
If this is the case, then inflation is going up not down.
I find it interesting that the US dollar is also going up against the Euro, which means that US prospects are seen as better than some other alternatives. Makes me think my 401K wonāt fall as much as some are predicting. Thoughts on next few months?
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Core inflation (beyond volatile price increases related to such things as energy) was still trending up. So its not clear that inflation has peaked. Some states are talking about making payments to residents to help them deal with inflation. On the whole, that will increase inflation.
If I knew where the market was going over the next few months, I would quit my day job. 
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What is a good number to use in planning scenarios for estimated inflation? We worked with a financial advisor who always estimated lower than I felt comfortable. But web advice varies considerably. The longer the time frame, the higher the yearly average seems to be. Nothing is guaranteed, but you need to start somewhere with both estimated returns, and estimated inflation when testing different scenarios.
Well, weāve always run the numbers with very low inflation (since that has been the reality until 2020). Now, we run it with three scenarios. Standard ( based on actual numbers last 20 years, I can find the #), medium-high and off the charts. I personally think it could get very bad so have the financial person run it that way in the last/worst case. The medium is fine.
As you know, inflation can make long term retirement savings literally disappear. Again, inflation to me is the worst case scenario for retirement. No more earnings, higher taxes (due to current spending) and high inflation.
Everyone has something financial they worry about, for me, itās run away inflation. Otherwise, weāre in good shape.
Hereās the historical chart 1929-2023.
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