Retired life, not how it was described to me..

[Ed_K]

 You younguns listen to the "watch your net worth" it can come down on you hard. I was forced into retirement at 62 by cancer, I never planned on retiring I loved being a gypo logger. It was hard work but I stayed ahead of the banker by living inside my means. I worked for 14 yrs for a major nozzle company was in charge of a 5 axis cnc machining center. Kept 3 people each working on 3 shifts. I made good $$$ and every yr when the nickel raises came out it when into the 401. In Feb 1999 I quit drinking a month later I realized why I had been drinking and quit. Went to work logging was one happy camper, worked hard enough to get the equipment I needed to do the work even bought a band sawmill. 2016 the bucket o poop dropped on me and that 401 is gone. Wife worked at a candle company from 1995 till she retired Dec 31 2020. She is my only saving grace, if she hadn't scrimped an saved we'd be in a world of hurt. I truly wish I could go logging, there's days when I feel great and get the itch but she's right there to say lets take easy. I still have all the iron just in case. 

[mike_belben]

I bet i know both companies and the crock of bull that comes with them.  Glad youre still with us Ed. 

[aigheadish]

Retirement sounds pretty lovely. I'm still relatively young, at 44, with a couple of kids that are almost grown but who knows what'll happen with my newish wife, who doesn't have kids other than her beloved stepkids. I have a very comfy job and it pays ok but I've traded a grueling work environment for money and a job with a very nice environment, there is a cost involved in that and I was fortunate to do some crappy jobs when I was young, so I knew what a good job looked like. That being said my job is still a job working for the man, even though I love what we make. Part of me would love to either force myself or be forced into early retirement as I think I'd be much happier doing something for myself, but I have no idea what it is. I'm one of those who is ok at most things but great at very little, so it's tough for me to get inspiration from anything. 

Unfortunately, my dad passed away, unexpectedly, a few years back and left me a small but still substantial inheritance which has helped improve both mine and my family's lives. It's helped me be debt-free more quickly than I could have been otherwise, which, I agree, is the smart way to live. 

We'll see how soon I retire and it'd just be from the corporate world not from working. It sounds exciting to work for yourself but also terrifying. I've been extremely fortunate in my life and it's hard telling if that'd continue but it's mighty tempting to try.

[mike_belben]

It is almost impossible to rid yourself of first world comforts. Youll cling to them despite the high cost month after month as years go by.  

Once theyre forcibly stripped and you spend some time in what starts off as crisis, it doesnt take too long to realize a lot of that junk was expensive baggage you can do without. I think the hardest part is not being able to predict whats on the other side of that fence until you cross it, and not being able to go back once youve crossed to stock up.

  Id have gotten so much more cheap metal up north if i knew what i do now. 

[thecfarm]

I guess I am the odd one here. I would like to retire now!! But insurance I need now. I take a fist full of pills each morning and need help with the cost of them. Guess I will have to wait for Medicare or Medicaid.

[21incher]

I will say insurance was the biggest bill. Over the first  12 years before  I hit retirement age we blew a little under 24k a year of our savings. That went to basics. Health insurance,  property taxes, home insurance  and auto insurance.  Also averaged  in there was 19.6k for a new car, vet bills, electric, my wife needed several  root canals and crowns plus home repairs.  My wife has about  9k a year retirement from her job and that all went to food, household supplies,  clothes, and gifts.  I also blew a lot on doubling the size of my pole barn, a kubota BX, sawmill, cnc plasma table, metalworking and woodworking machinery, a pontoon boat, dump trailer,  and weekly  trips to Harbor freight that was about another 100k but not really  required. So in the end we got to enjoy money  that would  have just been left to the kids anyway .  When we hit 62 and 5 months social security started  covering everything plus our property taxes dropped to 6.5k a year with the senior  discount. Then at 65 Medicare kicked in and we just need a supplement policy so life is good now and I still haven't had to hit our retirement plans. 
Our lives definitely  changed over that time with the best part being my wife  learned to cook. Instead of going out and buying an 8 dollar loaf of artesian bread she can now whip one up in a couple hours.  We have not been in a restaurant in over 10 years and she prepares healthier meals so we are better off. Then I learned to grow most of our veggies for the year from seeds. Also heated only with wood for the last 15 years and I have learned to do all home repairs. Built all furniture  we wanted from wood grown in the backyard also. No more cruises, camping,  or vacations on islands but we had enough when younger and every day now seems like a vacation. I would  definitely do it again. Being able to spend everyday the last 16 years enjoying life with my best friend was priceless.  Glad I spent most of my life saving  for old age that made it possible. Best part was not paying  one penny in income taxes for 12 years.