Some of us with office jobs or the "professional class" forget that many working Americans have physical jobs they've done for years. Folks, the body does start to wear down for many. If you've been a plumber for 45 years, stooping down under kitchen sinks, you've earned the right to retire and start a new chapter in life at 62 if you so wish...but I agree with Jared, have a plan.
I've been a subscriber for over 5 years and I like this one.........I did not take SS until I was 70; I worked until I was 72 because work was both interesting and stimulating; the number of hours I've watched Fox News over the last 5 years I could add up on one hand. If the PE guys did not gut and abandon the 30 year old company I was working for, probably still be working today.......... Keep On Keeping On!
When people retire, they die. So I didn't retire. I took my pension and changed careers. I produce videos of antique machinery for fun and profit. Mostly fun, because there is no profit.
One of our yoga teachers at the Rec Center just retired, it lasted a month. She is 80. There seems to be a chasm between retirees who stay productive and those who don't.
I did the math on taking SS at 62 versus 72. If we take it at 62 and invest it, instead of spending it, the compounding makes early withdrawal lead to more money, not less. Would the government really encourage us to do what would cost them the most? For those who don't save, waiting is better.
Retirement is an opportunity to sit back and explore new ways to be productive. My husband retired the first time in his 30's and had the privilege of learning how much he loved working.
I was misdiagnosed with herpes on my knee, it was actually shingles manifesting differently. There is some chance you had shingles. If it follows a nerve line and is only on one side of the body, it is likely shingles. My first eruption was back in college in the 80's and I was correctly diagnosed about 10 years ago. It is my canary in the coal mine to tell me if I have let myself get too run down.
Probably the case that the people who watch Fox all day long, managed to get through life without developing multiple hobbies. By "hobbies", I don't mean some activities that you enjoy doing on the weekend in your free time, I mean activities for which you have true passion.
This hit home. Last March I left a startup after 4 years of stress and going full tilt. I got a nice severance and fully romanticized taking extended time off for the first time in my life at 41. I was miserable after a week. I didn’t have a plan, I just “winged” it. Having almost unlimited free time with no plans turned into an existential crisis that lasted a few months. Another life lesson learned and I don’t think I’ll ever “retire”.
Jared, I really don't think someone like you has to worry about this (newsletter subscriber so I know a bit about you). You won't even notice when you hit retirement age. You will notice that Medicare + Supplemental (for gawdsake do not do Advantage) is a LOT cheaper than Obamacare, assuming your buds haven't gutted it and that it hasn't already cratered from underfunding.
One thing you didn't mention about SS is that it's stupid to take it before full retirement age if you have significant income, because it gets significantly docked and you don't get that money back.
What everybody else here said is right - do whatever it is you value and enjoy.
My father retired early from corporate management and built wheelchair ramps for Habitat until he was taken out by Parkinson's. Never regretted it.
My mom was a homemaker and finally caregiver for my father, and after he died she moved into a retirement community and had a blast. She was the cornhole champion for the whole complex just a year before she died.
Personally, at 60 a really terrible boss gave me the opportunity to turn my Side Hustle into my Retirement Job, and I've been having a great time ever since, and not too much reduction in yearly income. The only reason I'd stop is because my wife is older and wants to travel while she still can. She wants me to write instead (here I am now), and I've recently been exploding with ideas, some simmering in my head for 20 years.
So nothing to be afraid of here with the right attitude.
I was making a lot of money at my job, but I could see conditions were changing that would (1) make my job harder and (2) also make it less lucrative, so I started seeing if I could retire at 50 and not worry about money. I found out I could, so I did. I also made a plan for doing things I really wanted to do after 50, so I did volunteer work for 19 years, mentored students from my university through the alumni office, and traveled with my wife. I'm very glad I retired when I did because my wife, an intelligent, educated, athletic Amazon, developed Alzheimer's about 5 years ago, completely changing our retirement life. Bottom line lesson I learned: do what you enjoy when you can, because you never know what can happen.
- "I got the idea for my story “Night Moves” by visiting a friend in Miami. I got the idea for my story “Amanda” by going to Las Vegas with my brother"
- "I just spent a weekend in New Orleans, in Marigny. If you’ve never been there, the best way I can describe it is French Hoboken" ....... "I can now write about New Orleans capably"
Hmmm. I see a pattern here. Maybe It's not so bad.
I have been thinking a lot about how writers, Podcasters and/or comedians are getting boring/"out of touch" because all they do is sit around and talk. They get repetitive. It gets old and boring. They need to live life, as you say.
Some of us with office jobs or the "professional class" forget that many working Americans have physical jobs they've done for years. Folks, the body does start to wear down for many. If you've been a plumber for 45 years, stooping down under kitchen sinks, you've earned the right to retire and start a new chapter in life at 62 if you so wish...but I agree with Jared, have a plan.
I've been a subscriber for over 5 years and I like this one.........I did not take SS until I was 70; I worked until I was 72 because work was both interesting and stimulating; the number of hours I've watched Fox News over the last 5 years I could add up on one hand. If the PE guys did not gut and abandon the 30 year old company I was working for, probably still be working today.......... Keep On Keeping On!
When people retire, they die. So I didn't retire. I took my pension and changed careers. I produce videos of antique machinery for fun and profit. Mostly fun, because there is no profit.
Yum, Quigley's
One of our yoga teachers at the Rec Center just retired, it lasted a month. She is 80. There seems to be a chasm between retirees who stay productive and those who don't.
I did the math on taking SS at 62 versus 72. If we take it at 62 and invest it, instead of spending it, the compounding makes early withdrawal lead to more money, not less. Would the government really encourage us to do what would cost them the most? For those who don't save, waiting is better.
Retirement is an opportunity to sit back and explore new ways to be productive. My husband retired the first time in his 30's and had the privilege of learning how much he loved working.
I was misdiagnosed with herpes on my knee, it was actually shingles manifesting differently. There is some chance you had shingles. If it follows a nerve line and is only on one side of the body, it is likely shingles. My first eruption was back in college in the 80's and I was correctly diagnosed about 10 years ago. It is my canary in the coal mine to tell me if I have let myself get too run down.
Probably the case that the people who watch Fox all day long, managed to get through life without developing multiple hobbies. By "hobbies", I don't mean some activities that you enjoy doing on the weekend in your free time, I mean activities for which you have true passion.
The CNN watchers are just as bad. My Mother-in-law is one of those Fox watchers and it makes me nuts.
This hit home. Last March I left a startup after 4 years of stress and going full tilt. I got a nice severance and fully romanticized taking extended time off for the first time in my life at 41. I was miserable after a week. I didn’t have a plan, I just “winged” it. Having almost unlimited free time with no plans turned into an existential crisis that lasted a few months. Another life lesson learned and I don’t think I’ll ever “retire”.
But we learn so much in the process if we let ourselves. Have a midlife crisis early and often. Those have led to some of our greatest adventures.
Excellent advice.
Jared, I really don't think someone like you has to worry about this (newsletter subscriber so I know a bit about you). You won't even notice when you hit retirement age. You will notice that Medicare + Supplemental (for gawdsake do not do Advantage) is a LOT cheaper than Obamacare, assuming your buds haven't gutted it and that it hasn't already cratered from underfunding.
One thing you didn't mention about SS is that it's stupid to take it before full retirement age if you have significant income, because it gets significantly docked and you don't get that money back.
What everybody else here said is right - do whatever it is you value and enjoy.
My father retired early from corporate management and built wheelchair ramps for Habitat until he was taken out by Parkinson's. Never regretted it.
My mom was a homemaker and finally caregiver for my father, and after he died she moved into a retirement community and had a blast. She was the cornhole champion for the whole complex just a year before she died.
Personally, at 60 a really terrible boss gave me the opportunity to turn my Side Hustle into my Retirement Job, and I've been having a great time ever since, and not too much reduction in yearly income. The only reason I'd stop is because my wife is older and wants to travel while she still can. She wants me to write instead (here I am now), and I've recently been exploding with ideas, some simmering in my head for 20 years.
So nothing to be afraid of here with the right attitude.
I was making a lot of money at my job, but I could see conditions were changing that would (1) make my job harder and (2) also make it less lucrative, so I started seeing if I could retire at 50 and not worry about money. I found out I could, so I did. I also made a plan for doing things I really wanted to do after 50, so I did volunteer work for 19 years, mentored students from my university through the alumni office, and traveled with my wife. I'm very glad I retired when I did because my wife, an intelligent, educated, athletic Amazon, developed Alzheimer's about 5 years ago, completely changing our retirement life. Bottom line lesson I learned: do what you enjoy when you can, because you never know what can happen.
- "Traveling doesn’t really do it for me"
- "I got the idea for my story “Night Moves” by visiting a friend in Miami. I got the idea for my story “Amanda” by going to Las Vegas with my brother"
- "I just spent a weekend in New Orleans, in Marigny. If you’ve never been there, the best way I can describe it is French Hoboken" ....... "I can now write about New Orleans capably"
Hmmm. I see a pattern here. Maybe It's not so bad.
I have been thinking a lot about how writers, Podcasters and/or comedians are getting boring/"out of touch" because all they do is sit around and talk. They get repetitive. It gets old and boring. They need to live life, as you say.