Lazyass

I'm 53 and except for being a full time grandkids babysitter I haven't worked a day since 2014. I hear the baby shark song in my sleep. Life is good with a nice pension, smart planning and proper money management. It would have to suck to have to work your entire life to keep from being homeless. When I'm no longer needed to babysit I'll probably find some part time job just for something to do. It would have to be an outdoor job.

KPREN

Been semi retired for 24 years now. Probably work an average of 4-5 hours a week. Age 66

John E

The key is to secure your financial freedom. Once you no longer need the paycheck, work is a lot more enjoyable, with the knowledge that you can quit, retire, or change jobs any time. No material possession can provide you with as much satisfaction as financial independence.

Rolla

Amen! I fully retired at 58. Now three years later, I know I made the right call. I don't have a big house, but it's paid for. I don't have a boat, a country club membership, a summer house, an RV, or a swimming pool. What I do have is the time to do all cycling I want, play all the guitar I want, and go car camping whenever and wherever I please. If I were to give anyone any financial advice, it would be to to start a 529 college fund for your kids on the day they're born, read The Millionaire Next Door when you're in your 30s, and follow the authors' advice to live a simple, un-extravagant lifestyle. Live well below your means, and you will live well.

missinglink

For those with uncertainties about retirement, early retirement, related financial questions, healthcare, etc, there is a forum of very knowledgeable people willing to discuss and advise.
https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/

I'm aware of several members of Bikeforums who are members there as well.

rumrunn6

overwhelmed by work right now. I guess that's a good thing

TiHabanero

"...read The Millionaire Next Door when you're in your 30s, and follow the authors' advice to live a simple, un-extravagant lifestyle. Live well below your means, and you will live well."

A teacher and bicycle mechanic that lived well below income level, don't drink foo-foo beers and wine, don't eat foo-foo dinners, went on two vacations in 32 years, and raised two kids who are both debt-free three years after graduating from college and are very successful in life and work, is proof enough the above advice is solid as rock. Live no like no one else so you can live like no one else!

Kabuki12

Last year I reached full retirement age (SS)and with my small retirement check from an aerospace company it changed my financial situation dramatically . I have had my own shop for 37 years and about 10 years ago I decided no more employees. I live well below my means and still work but less hours. For me , I say I’m semi retired(part time) . If I left Southern California like my siblings did I would not have to work at all but I love where I live and I love what I do for$$. I may be bought out at some point by my main customer but for now I’m fine.

JanMM

Month 32 of Retirement. Had worked in hospitals from age 20 until just shy of 69. Final 32 years as RN with large healthcare system. Wasn't semi-retired but did work only Saturdays/Sundays for 7 years when my sons were little. And then worked Sat./Sun. plus one weekday for 12 years. Twelve hour shifts with every weekend hour paid time and a half for those 19 years. Very nice to work fewer days on than days off for all that time. Final ten years of work moved from patient care to quality and safety for the system working Mon-Fri 8 hour shifts. Quite a change. Retired because I could - timing coincided with wife becoming Medicare-eligible. She had worked in hospital labs for a long time and then moved into 'hobby jobs' in quilt shops, both in sales and in teaching. Neither of us working at all now..........except that we take care of our two grandsons every Tues-Thurs during the day while their folks work. That gig won't last forever. Between SS and employer retirement plans we are OK financially. House and cars (neither newish) paid for. Only 4 bikes between the two of us. Yes, we ride a lot together, especially during year one of the pandemic. Still riding together much but doing more club rides this year, too. Hope that can continue but, because of our concerns about Covid Delta Variant, we just cancelled our trip to the Midwest Tandem Rally 2021 Labor Day weekend.

Flip Flop Rider

still working 5 days a week. Need the money, but fully support those that do not

jackb

I retired at 60, the earliest I could have retired to receive pension benefits. I would have retired earlier if I could have. I have so many interests and the world is full of interesting things to do, that even now I don't feel I have quite enough time to do all the things that interest. But everyone is different. some people get great satisfaction from working right into old age. There is nothing wrong with that if that's where one's happiness lies. Do whatever you do with gusto, whatever that is.

Biker395 

Not really good but better than the alternative ... at least if you need the money or the activity.

rumrunn6

thank you. it's a seasonal anxiety. things are better now. I'm calmer when I'm working & recently plowed thru everything in front of me. I know there's more coming but it's nothing I can't handle

caloso

I'm technically eligible to retire now, but since I just got a promotion and raise, I won't do so for at least another 12 months.

rickm45

Working from home 100%, could have retired early this year at 65 but wasn't sure it was quite time. I can drop down to 20 hrs and still have health insurance, so I went to 32 hrs. Been really busy the last month and that is enough to say I'm done. I will go to 3 days and retire early next year. I feel that I am hanging on because of that supposed "work ethic", something that I used to think was a good thing.

DiabloScott

My brother was offered a nice package to commit for a full year before retiring... nice position to be in.

I've seen companies lay off people without any advance notice though, so my idea of loyalty has changed somewhat... entirely conceivable that given the right conditions, I would quit without notice and be gone the same day.

OldTryGuy

My financial freedom was obtained when I married the right gal in 1973. I do not mind being a KEPT MAN.

John E

I married the right gal that same year (June 23, same date as two of her YWCA dorm roommates). She had just finished her 5th year (teaching credential) at UCLA, and I was one year into what would become 6 years of grad school there. We had met in late Sept. 1968, at the start of our freshman year, and we started out married life as the proverbial starving Bohemian grad students, in a one-bedroom apartment the size of a two-car garage. We both grew up as aerospace brats, and that entire industry had tanked after this country won the Space Race in 1969, so we paid for our own wedding, and the reception was carrot cake and punch in the church basement social hall. To bring this back to bicycling, that was our means of transportation for the first four years, and because of continued bicycling, we did find on one car for the next three years.

I am thankful that she has always tolerated and supported my inherent frugality (Scots DNA), enabling us to save and invest our way to financial security. As mentioned above, "The Millionaire Next Door" is still highly relevant today.

TiHabanero

I am embarrassed to announce it, but I will anyway. The part time gig has become full time. They can't find anyone to work so I stepped up to the plate. I enjoy the job so I guess it is ok for now. Won't last forever that I do know.

OldTryGuy

WAY COOL!!!


June 2nd for us but we met in 1st Grade September, 1956 going all through schooling with barely talking. Fortuitous meeting 4 years after H.S. Graduation and BAM!!!

John E

You do have a history!
You remind me of my maternal grandparents, who knew each other as kids in a small mining town in western Colorado where both of my grandmother's parents and one of her brothers served terms as mayor. WWI came along, and my grandfather went to France with the army, while my grandmother, a registered nurse, took a job at a dental office in La Jolla. After the war, a mutual friend told her that Alex was living with his mother and brother in Los Angeles, while recovering from kidney disease contracted from a shrapnel wound. She found a Los Angeles phone book and tracked him down (third try out of three identical name listings), they got married in Colorado in 1928 and settled in Los Angeles, and my mother was born a year later.

John E

Been there ... done that. It is nice to be wanted, and, as you say, if you enjoy the work, why not?

One of my neighbors is trying to convince my younger son to take over his physical therapy practice, so that he and his wife can retire. There are a lot of opportunities out there for young people with gumption, ethics, a positive attitude, and the right training.