I simply can't get mired in the social media slop, I find it a bit sickening. Plus now I don't trust most of it. More and more the stories are AI fake crap and the commenters could be some of that as well. There is no way I would ever engage in trying to debate with whatever that crap is. I have no time or mental space for the grievance mentality that comes through on social media.
I retired at 53 and I do not regret it a bit. I've now been retired for 8 years.I started my saving/investing journey very early so have a substantial amount. More importantly is the retired military benefits from my husbands 23 year service in the Air Force. We get military health care which works fabulous for us at very little cost - we are in excellent health as well. My husband also gets a military pension that started when he was 42, and is COLA'd, plus some VA benefits. My pension begins at 65 and we plan to take SS at 65 and 67, thus we are fortunate to have many sources of guaranteed income. I have always been very athletic and upon retiring I devoted a great deal of time to cycling, getting to my goal of 8000 miles this year. We have had great trips that often combine cycling in amazing locations. We bought a townhome in Tucson in 2025 and now find ourselves among many friends on group rides and post ride social gatherings. I also volunteer with a senior agency in our state providing Medicare counseling at the local senior center. Work seems like a lifetime ago and I have never been more fulfilled in life with the activities to do, and many great friends and an amazing family. I don't need many luxuries or possessions (other than a couple very nice bicycles), I am blessed with everything I need, and I am quite content.
We have more than enough as well but I can relate to some worry. I have always been frugal and wise regarding spending and it has been tough to flip to a free spender with ample funds. I did enjoy the Die with Nothing book and try to take points to heart. I also believe that the antidote to being overly frugal is to give more away - generosity. However given the sweeping changes in our society and things happening that I would have never believed before, I seriously occasionally worry that the security I feel from having wealth could be pulled out from under me in some strange unforeseen chain of events. We have all the protections in place but there is still a bit of underlying anxiety.
One of my early money memories that has stayed with me is when our family went to the Black Hills of South Dakota when I was about 8 years old. I don't recall how I had earned/been gifted the cash that I now had in my 'big girl purse'. I left that purse in the bathroom and lost everything. An 8 year old that doesn't normally carry a purse is not wise! I recall being crushed by the loss. Since this is such a vivid memory it may have contributed to frugality and loss aversion in my future years?
Two income family here, although DH worked in schools after retiring from military so had summers off with the kids and hours that aligned closely to their schedule. My income as the working mother (engineer) was substantially more than DH. Since I didn't take time off with the kids I retired early - military health benefits helped a lot! We now have 2 pensions and military pension has COLA, 2 SS payments, and 1 VA disability payment, plus a substantial retirement portfolio. Thus in a similar situation to you but 2 incomes resulted in multiple pensions/payments. (Actually 3 pensions for us; I forgot a small one DH gets from school system - his second career.)
I have also chosen to forego alcohol because it does not add anything positive to my life. Even a glass or two of alcohol was enough to negatively affect me the following day. There are many good non alcoholic options these days also. I have many friends that overindulge and I think the health risks of that are not worth it for me either. To each his own.
Jonathon - my heart hurts for you and your family having to go through this. Grateful to you for sharing your journey, even though it sucks. You continue to help me think about what is important in life and hold those I love close. I hope you and those you love will be blessed in your time together this holiday season, and on.
When things are 'free' and consumers don't have some skin in the game it tends to make them less responsible. If all my care is free then heck yes I will go ahead and get all the expensive tests and care that I can. But if I know that I am responsible for part of the cost then I will be more discerning about what care I really need. This (along with personal well being) also provides incentive to try and live a healthier lifestyle. This is a common sense principle that makes perfect sense in many areas of life, but many would still call it unfair. I am in agreement that 'free' is not a good solution. If consumers think Medicare for All means 'free' they will be surprised, plus imagine how much more health care demand there will be if everything was free.
I retired at 53 with no regrets and loving life the past 6 years. Worked for 30 years as a female engineer in the oil business. While I mostly enjoyed it, the industry was dominated by men and a good majority of them had spouses that managed their kids & lives while the women there often had double duty. There was very little flexibility - no working from home or part time options - and the years juggling kids and family were difficult for sure. I was the bigger wage earner in our family at the time and staying home with the kids was not really an option. My husband was working in the schools and had every summer off. Yes I was a bit resentful, and so when the job became soul sucking and we had plenty saved I was ready to have some time for myself and just the unpaid job managing our home/family. My husband is great but I still handled too much of the duties as mothers often do. I often said I didn't stay home with the kids so I was taking that break on this end of life. Since we were prodigious savers along with military benefits we have more money than we will need and I am super happy to have this time. I have had no problem filling my days with volunteering, cycling and hiking, traveling, home projects, coffee groups, helping my kids a bit, and so much more. I really understand what retirees often say - how did I have time to go to work?
My husband and I both retired in our 50s (now 59 & 61). We benefit greatly from my husbands military service. As a military retiree (23 yrs Air Force) the pension, and included health care are huge for early retirees. Military pensions begin at the time of retiring from the service thus this started when he was 42 and has a COLA. An amount of VA disability pay (tax free) also started a couple years ago. Combining this with a substantial taxable savings amount that generates significant passive income covers our expenses. We manage the taxable savings such that we sell an amount each year to take full advantage of the 0% rate and a bit of the 15%, and drop it into a money market so that we have a significant amount for travel/home improvements etc.
Comments
I simply can't get mired in the social media slop, I find it a bit sickening. Plus now I don't trust most of it. More and more the stories are AI fake crap and the commenters could be some of that as well. There is no way I would ever engage in trying to debate with whatever that crap is. I have no time or mental space for the grievance mentality that comes through on social media.
Post: Social media and our financial security. Move along nothing to see here.
Link to comment from December 29, 2025
I retired at 53 and I do not regret it a bit. I've now been retired for 8 years.I started my saving/investing journey very early so have a substantial amount. More importantly is the retired military benefits from my husbands 23 year service in the Air Force. We get military health care which works fabulous for us at very little cost - we are in excellent health as well. My husband also gets a military pension that started when he was 42, and is COLA'd, plus some VA benefits. My pension begins at 65 and we plan to take SS at 65 and 67, thus we are fortunate to have many sources of guaranteed income. I have always been very athletic and upon retiring I devoted a great deal of time to cycling, getting to my goal of 8000 miles this year. We have had great trips that often combine cycling in amazing locations. We bought a townhome in Tucson in 2025 and now find ourselves among many friends on group rides and post ride social gatherings. I also volunteer with a senior agency in our state providing Medicare counseling at the local senior center. Work seems like a lifetime ago and I have never been more fulfilled in life with the activities to do, and many great friends and an amazing family. I don't need many luxuries or possessions (other than a couple very nice bicycles), I am blessed with everything I need, and I am quite content.
Post: What Age Did You Retire—and What Made You Decide It Was Time?
Link to comment from December 29, 2025
We have more than enough as well but I can relate to some worry. I have always been frugal and wise regarding spending and it has been tough to flip to a free spender with ample funds. I did enjoy the Die with Nothing book and try to take points to heart. I also believe that the antidote to being overly frugal is to give more away - generosity. However given the sweeping changes in our society and things happening that I would have never believed before, I seriously occasionally worry that the security I feel from having wealth could be pulled out from under me in some strange unforeseen chain of events. We have all the protections in place but there is still a bit of underlying anxiety.
Post: Why I worry about money. How about you?
Link to comment from October 15, 2025
One of my early money memories that has stayed with me is when our family went to the Black Hills of South Dakota when I was about 8 years old. I don't recall how I had earned/been gifted the cash that I now had in my 'big girl purse'. I left that purse in the bathroom and lost everything. An 8 year old that doesn't normally carry a purse is not wise! I recall being crushed by the loss. Since this is such a vivid memory it may have contributed to frugality and loss aversion in my future years?
Post: My Money Memories
Link to comment from August 7, 2025
Two income family here, although DH worked in schools after retiring from military so had summers off with the kids and hours that aligned closely to their schedule. My income as the working mother (engineer) was substantially more than DH. Since I didn't take time off with the kids I retired early - military health benefits helped a lot! We now have 2 pensions and military pension has COLA, 2 SS payments, and 1 VA disability payment, plus a substantial retirement portfolio. Thus in a similar situation to you but 2 incomes resulted in multiple pensions/payments. (Actually 3 pensions for us; I forgot a small one DH gets from school system - his second career.)
Post: In retirement a pension is a advantage. Are two family incomes during working years an advantage as well?
Link to comment from August 6, 2025
I have also chosen to forego alcohol because it does not add anything positive to my life. Even a glass or two of alcohol was enough to negatively affect me the following day. There are many good non alcoholic options these days also. I have many friends that overindulge and I think the health risks of that are not worth it for me either. To each his own.
Post: Why I Don’t Drink
Link to comment from December 31, 2024
Jonathon - my heart hurts for you and your family having to go through this. Grateful to you for sharing your journey, even though it sucks. You continue to help me think about what is important in life and hold those I love close. I hope you and those you love will be blessed in your time together this holiday season, and on.
Post: Staying Alive
Link to comment from December 20, 2024
When things are 'free' and consumers don't have some skin in the game it tends to make them less responsible. If all my care is free then heck yes I will go ahead and get all the expensive tests and care that I can. But if I know that I am responsible for part of the cost then I will be more discerning about what care I really need. This (along with personal well being) also provides incentive to try and live a healthier lifestyle. This is a common sense principle that makes perfect sense in many areas of life, but many would still call it unfair. I am in agreement that 'free' is not a good solution. If consumers think Medicare for All means 'free' they will be surprised, plus imagine how much more health care demand there will be if everything was free.
Post: Quinn thinks “free” is a dirty word.
Link to comment from November 18, 2024
I retired at 53 with no regrets and loving life the past 6 years. Worked for 30 years as a female engineer in the oil business. While I mostly enjoyed it, the industry was dominated by men and a good majority of them had spouses that managed their kids & lives while the women there often had double duty. There was very little flexibility - no working from home or part time options - and the years juggling kids and family were difficult for sure. I was the bigger wage earner in our family at the time and staying home with the kids was not really an option. My husband was working in the schools and had every summer off. Yes I was a bit resentful, and so when the job became soul sucking and we had plenty saved I was ready to have some time for myself and just the unpaid job managing our home/family. My husband is great but I still handled too much of the duties as mothers often do. I often said I didn't stay home with the kids so I was taking that break on this end of life. Since we were prodigious savers along with military benefits we have more money than we will need and I am super happy to have this time. I have had no problem filling my days with volunteering, cycling and hiking, traveling, home projects, coffee groups, helping my kids a bit, and so much more. I really understand what retirees often say - how did I have time to go to work?
Post: Time’s Up
Link to comment from November 16, 2024
My husband and I both retired in our 50s (now 59 & 61). We benefit greatly from my husbands military service. As a military retiree (23 yrs Air Force) the pension, and included health care are huge for early retirees. Military pensions begin at the time of retiring from the service thus this started when he was 42 and has a COLA. An amount of VA disability pay (tax free) also started a couple years ago. Combining this with a substantial taxable savings amount that generates significant passive income covers our expenses. We manage the taxable savings such that we sell an amount each year to take full advantage of the 0% rate and a bit of the 15%, and drop it into a money market so that we have a significant amount for travel/home improvements etc.
Post: Bridge the Gap
Link to comment from November 14, 2024