Do I get to take the knowledge I have now back to the past with me? If yes, I would go back to middle school in a second. If not, I'd just make the same mistakes all over again! I would pick sometime in my twenties. I was healthy, having a good time and my future seemed limitless. Notice the word "seemed"! I had limits, I was just blissfully unaware of them! I often wish it was the 1970's now, but I'm also aware that some things were better back then and some things are better now.
I just retired at 63 1/2. Unlike many people in this form, I didn't like my job and my line of work doesn't transition well to part time. I had pursued a good career out of High School (and college) so that I could have an easier life and retire early. Not super early. I think I had 62 in the back of my mind. When I turned 62, I thought about my father who had retired at 62.5, so I thought I could make it another 6 months. About this time I saw a financial consultant who said my plan was unconventional but I should be OK. I kept reading about how much money people had saved, which seemed like too much, and worked another year. For me, I felt like there was a bigger risk that I wouldn't have the time to enjoy my savings then the risk I would run out of money. There is no way to know if I made the right decision until it is too late, and anyway, so many things are beyond my control. The somewhat interesting thing, is that there are so many variables, that there is no "crossing line". For me, I had to pick a time, and that is somewhat arbitrary. I found it more stressful than I thought it would be.
I'd like to make a few points. Government pensions have been slowly reduced and employees have to contribute to the plans. Some people make more in similar government jobs to private and some people make about the same and some people make less. Pensions are part of the benefits package. People stay or join knowing that. There are no stock options in the government. Government salaries are set by OPM. So one of the ways to attract talent is the pensions, as agencies, for the most part, cannot pay more. Not increasing salaries and eliminating pensions, would mean less qualified public servants, such as attorneys, scientist and engineers. I don't want less qualified people making policies. One last point, how is that we pay senators $174,000/year and the CEO of Coke's package is $25 million. Which one has a bigger impact on our lives? I think we need to focus on other issues than reducing the compensation packages of government workers. That isn't the real problem.
This is a great post and I don't know how I missed it. I have several questions, but the first one is pictures. Once you scan the picture, do you really throw it away? It's easy to toss pictures of deer or a mountain, but what about your great grandparents or your kids when they were young? I just can't seem to bring myself to do it. I have pictures backed up on a hard drive and another hard drive in a different location than my house, so I guess I'd never lose them. I would say I have about 4 boxes of pictures with old pictures, my pictures and my wife's pictures. I haven't used film since about 2000, so all my new pictures are digital. I'm not sure if my fear is losing them, or just if there is something special about the original. I'd like to know how other people think about this.
I agree, people must be retiring all the time without the golden nest egg that this form and other media suggest. It must be that way, if the median is $200,000, the average is meaningless. What I don't see discussed is that half the people who save 1.6M saved too much. Actually more than that. It all depends on how old you live. The majority of people on this form are very risk adverse. Also many people on this form enjoyed their jobs. Great for them, but they are only about half of American workers. For those of us who have to work, we are trying to figure out when we can retire. In this case, there is risk, the risk that you worked longer than you had to. It's not as simple as income vs expenses, as a person can slowly withdraw their retirement savings. Again, for those who don't mind working, what I'm saying doesn't apply. For about half of Americans, it's risk of running out of money vs the risk of running out of life. By the time one runs out of money, they likely are too old to return to work. Though many people will not experience this as they will die first..For those who live longer then the average, it would be interesting to know what people do. I think most of them downsize their life until they are living in a trailer park.
Just wanted to add that if I felt I could spend it, I would buy a new car. New cars are safer, have better stereos, they are quieter - like a Lexus, they have technology that will help me from getting in a crash, they don't squeak, and I don't have to spend time hunting down an issue. I could list several other reasons I'd like a new car. I wouldn't buy one to impress anyone or because it is shiny. I know many people do buy cars due to an image, but that isn't the only reason.
Comments
Do I get to take the knowledge I have now back to the past with me? If yes, I would go back to middle school in a second. If not, I'd just make the same mistakes all over again! I would pick sometime in my twenties. I was healthy, having a good time and my future seemed limitless. Notice the word "seemed"! I had limits, I was just blissfully unaware of them! I often wish it was the 1970's now, but I'm also aware that some things were better back then and some things are better now.
Post: Hitting the Pause Button
Link to comment from January 1, 2026
I just retired at 63 1/2. Unlike many people in this form, I didn't like my job and my line of work doesn't transition well to part time. I had pursued a good career out of High School (and college) so that I could have an easier life and retire early. Not super early. I think I had 62 in the back of my mind. When I turned 62, I thought about my father who had retired at 62.5, so I thought I could make it another 6 months. About this time I saw a financial consultant who said my plan was unconventional but I should be OK. I kept reading about how much money people had saved, which seemed like too much, and worked another year. For me, I felt like there was a bigger risk that I wouldn't have the time to enjoy my savings then the risk I would run out of money. There is no way to know if I made the right decision until it is too late, and anyway, so many things are beyond my control. The somewhat interesting thing, is that there are so many variables, that there is no "crossing line". For me, I had to pick a time, and that is somewhat arbitrary. I found it more stressful than I thought it would be.
Post: What Age Did You Retire—and What Made You Decide It Was Time?
Link to comment from January 1, 2026
I'd like to make a few points. Government pensions have been slowly reduced and employees have to contribute to the plans. Some people make more in similar government jobs to private and some people make about the same and some people make less. Pensions are part of the benefits package. People stay or join knowing that. There are no stock options in the government. Government salaries are set by OPM. So one of the ways to attract talent is the pensions, as agencies, for the most part, cannot pay more. Not increasing salaries and eliminating pensions, would mean less qualified public servants, such as attorneys, scientist and engineers. I don't want less qualified people making policies. One last point, how is that we pay senators $174,000/year and the CEO of Coke's package is $25 million. Which one has a bigger impact on our lives? I think we need to focus on other issues than reducing the compensation packages of government workers. That isn't the real problem.
Post: What Age Did You Retire—and What Made You Decide It Was Time?
Link to comment from January 1, 2026
This is a great post and I don't know how I missed it. I have several questions, but the first one is pictures. Once you scan the picture, do you really throw it away? It's easy to toss pictures of deer or a mountain, but what about your great grandparents or your kids when they were young? I just can't seem to bring myself to do it. I have pictures backed up on a hard drive and another hard drive in a different location than my house, so I guess I'd never lose them. I would say I have about 4 boxes of pictures with old pictures, my pictures and my wife's pictures. I haven't used film since about 2000, so all my new pictures are digital. I'm not sure if my fear is losing them, or just if there is something special about the original. I'd like to know how other people think about this.
Post: Frugality, Minimalism, and Aligning Values
Link to comment from November 14, 2025
I agree, people must be retiring all the time without the golden nest egg that this form and other media suggest. It must be that way, if the median is $200,000, the average is meaningless. What I don't see discussed is that half the people who save 1.6M saved too much. Actually more than that. It all depends on how old you live. The majority of people on this form are very risk adverse. Also many people on this form enjoyed their jobs. Great for them, but they are only about half of American workers. For those of us who have to work, we are trying to figure out when we can retire. In this case, there is risk, the risk that you worked longer than you had to. It's not as simple as income vs expenses, as a person can slowly withdraw their retirement savings. Again, for those who don't mind working, what I'm saying doesn't apply. For about half of Americans, it's risk of running out of money vs the risk of running out of life. By the time one runs out of money, they likely are too old to return to work. Though many people will not experience this as they will die first..For those who live longer then the average, it would be interesting to know what people do. I think most of them downsize their life until they are living in a trailer park.
Post: How Much to Save to Retire?
Link to comment from September 11, 2025
Just wanted to add that if I felt I could spend it, I would buy a new car. New cars are safer, have better stereos, they are quieter - like a Lexus, they have technology that will help me from getting in a crash, they don't squeak, and I don't have to spend time hunting down an issue. I could list several other reasons I'd like a new car. I wouldn't buy one to impress anyone or because it is shiny. I know many people do buy cars due to an image, but that isn't the only reason.
Post: The Illusion of Wealth
Link to comment from July 7, 2025