Another What would you do Question?

[j-bird]

When you are young you typically have everything but money, when your old typically all you have is money - take advantage during that breif time when everything comes together! It won't last long enough - it never does! From what I have seen as long as you keep your eye on the ball it isn't the money that runs out.

 

[foggy]

If I can ask, how was it to go from working all the time to not? I am afraid to just quit. You don't miss working?

I'm not sure about how everyone else transitions into retirement....but here's my deal:

I sold my biz ten years ago.....and I became a "consultant" for a three year period. Drew a nice check for that job and designed some good products....which I watched them just fritter away. Also watched the buyer basically ruin my "brand".....and, that was hard. BUT....I got PAID in full. Then I started a retirement biz (figured I could write off some travel and expeses).....making some molded plastic products.....just in time for the economy to tank in '08. Could hardly give any product away. Got my money back out of that deal and decided I really didn't want to work any more....especially in light of the way we run this country these days. (I have been in manufacturing most of my life.....and the incentives to do that have been drying up for a long time.)

My folks and In-law folks were in failing health....and I helped work thru those "end of life" issues.....not easy, and lots of time spent in that role......as I sold my biz real estate (CFD), bought some deer property, sold a cabin, bought some land, built a new home in MN, and now am building a new home in AZ. All the while I have been clearing my land and working to make it better, while adding things like a pole shed, box blinds for my family members, and adding (and maintaining) all the equipment needed to operate. Meanwhile I sold an estate, sold a farm, was the executor for two family member estates, worked with my financial planner, sold a cabin, sold a house, sold another piece of land, moved from both places (home and cabin), and had a farm goods auction, and two estate liquidations. Plus vehicle purchasing, trading horses, insurance, finance issues, and stuff like that. Sill find a little time for some travel, golf, fishing, hunting, shooting, reloading, making war with relatives and the QDMA folks. ;) Then there is time with our family, soccer and lacrosse games, graduations, confirmations and time to play. Phew......no lack of stuff to do. What retirement?? ;) Busy, busy, busy.

 

[foggy]

Well then you may have to talk to Duffy about a life ins policy;) lol JK

Just wait.....Duffy will be selling the folks over at the Dark Side some reverse mortgages pretty soon. ;) Will go nice with the whole life insurance plans he preaches about. :confused: Grin.

 

[foggy]

Holy crap foggy, I don't want to retire if I have to be that busy! EEK!

Yeah....well just take a few minutes to review what YOU have done in the past ten years. It may surprise you. I have really simplified my life.....and did so in order that my kids don't have to do this schmidt for me one day. It was allot of work.

 

[j-bird]

I was in the middle of commenting about trying to get things in order and not leaving your kids a mess when you replied to Foggy. Mo - you make me laugh!

 

[foggy]

With all the crap I have going in 3 states, plus 35 years of farm crap accumulations, my wife is worried I am going to leave a huge mess for our kids to clean up. I just told her they will be well compensated for there trouble. Tough titty!

My mother-in-law was born on the farm she died on. Her family had that farm since the land was ceded back in the 1800's. Still had moldy crap in the attic from those times. We had over 30 hay-wagons of micl stuff to sell...plus the furniture and such. Still.....all the accumulated stuff from the farm brought only about 30k......and was so much work to prepare. One good extra tractor would be worth 2x what all the crap was worth. Lots of sentimental value in some of that stuff.....but there is a cost of possession. I still shudder when I think of all the work that went into that sale. Ish.

My wife and I have gotten "rid" of much of our excess "crap". AS was said above, assets and possessions will become the least of your problems as you get older. Seems sad to report.....that a steady income, a warm blanket, a few good friends, and good health care will replace the need for stuff. Just sayin.

 

[foggy]

It seems I spent most of my life trying to accumulate "enough". That doesn't seem so important as it once did. Seems there are a few things worth collecting as they store easily. Guns, jewelry and gold come to mind. ;) But most other stuff is not very long-lived and not too portable. Still.....you can't take it with you.....none of it! :)

 

[Jordan Selsor]

This is an interesting conversation... Im in a totally different chapter of my life then most of you guys but still love to hear of your life journeys. My hole life I have tried to look at the way others have done things then try to analyze it and do things the best way possible. It has paid off thus far

 

[fuldraw]

Some of the carpenters I know took early retirement when the economy crashed and went right back to work for the same company and started working on there pensions again so with the hours being low they still had a check to offset their income .
I know your not going to swing a hammer any more .
I would take it early if I could afford it since you never know how long your health will be good.
I'm only 45 so I still have along way to go.

 

[West Branch]

It seems I spent most of my life trying to accumulate "enough". That doesn't seem so important as it once did. Seems there are a few things worth collecting as they store easily. Guns, jewelry and gold come to mind. ;) But most other stuff is not very long-lived and not too portable. Still.....you can't take it with you.....none of it! :)

I just can't get myself into gold or jewelry beyond having it as a "gambling" part of a portfolio. And the gamling part is currently 0%! *Likely <5% long term.) I like what Warren Buffet said about gold a few years ago when it was at a high:

To illustrate the point, he asked readers to picture the world’s entire gold stock melded together into a cube 68 feet (21 meters) on each side valued at $9.6 trillion at then- prevailing prices. For the same amount, an investor could have purchased all the farmland in the U.S., 16 replicas of Exxon Mobil Corp., and still have about $1 trillion of “walking- around money.”
A century later, the farmland will be producing valuable crops no matter the currency, and dividends from the companies would probably added up to trillions of dollars, Buffett wrote.
The 170,000 metric tons of gold “will be unchanged in size and still incapable of producing anything,” he wrote. “You can fondle the cube, but it will not respond.”

I may not agree with many of his political views but it is hard to beat his investment ideas.

But maybe this quote will provide MBC the best guidance:

“I spent half my money on gambling, alcohol and wild women. The other half I wasted.”

 

[bwoods11]

Agree on gold. I do have some silver bought at under $10. Farm land produced an income every year as does the dividend stocks.

 

[foggy]

^ Yep.....I'm not saying to put all your eggs into any of those baskets. Just saying some of those baskets are more portable than others. I still have a reasonably high confidence in real estate, stocks, bonds and financial assets. One of my many careers was as a financial planner and I had some securities licenses and experience and training in that area. (I hated selling securities to peeps....they always wanted low-risk guarantees.....wow).

I have an acquaintance with a guy.....he owns LOTS of old, antique "hit and miss" engines and lots of collectable stuff of that sort. Quite an investment actually. He told me the reason he owns it....is that none of that stuff has title cards. Upon his death.....his family has his instructions for those items to just "disappear" so as they will avoid his estate. Dunno....lots of ways of looking at things...and a different mix for many folks will work. ;)

 

[Reagan]

I see someone beat me to the smart ass Duffy comments.

I would take it now. The market will crash again and the fund will likely be back in jeopardy. Take it now and use when you know you can. Many good reasons for this were already mentioned.

If you had nothing and really depended on this income for you and the Mrs. I would consider waiting. But that is not your situation so enjoy. If you have too much money, feel free to adopt a 41 year old Buckeye. :)

 

[Jason]

what is this thing you call a 'pension'? never heard of it...

 

[foggy]

The longest I ever worked for any company was 9.5 years.....and to qualify for their pension you needed ten years. When I applied for SS they (the SS administration) wrote and said that I was eligible for a pension at my old company. I doubted their word....but applied anyway. Lo and behold.....they started sending me a check each month. Not huge....but enough to go out to a nice dinner a few times each month. FOUND MONEY!

Evidently when the company was sold to another....the had to re-write the pension rules, which qualified me. I had enough bad luck in life....lots of education at the school of hard-knocks......but, sometimes you qualify for some good fortune too! :D

 

[foggy]

I remember what a fellow told me some years ago. Bunch of us guys were teasing him about selling his biz and his early retirement...and how he could go fishing all the time (We were all a bit jealous.). He said....." I still have a lot of problems.....money just ain't one of 'em."

Never forgot that...and it's true about folks. Problems just come in different ways....for everyone I've known.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

what is this thing you call a 'pension'? never heard of it...

We have been working very hard to obtain a pension plan with the 911 district that I work for. They are a very solid defined benefits. Much better than your typical Ira. They do not fluctuate with the market so much as long as people behind you continue to put money in the kitty, hinced "defined benefit" A good pension being run correctly is over funded so it can ride out the tough times or even sustain itself through its gains. I hope we can get one put together but it's tough to convince a tax payer that most likely doesn't have a pension to fund ours. I hate paying taxes as much as anyone but still gonna try like hell to get one. Whoever has one consider yourself lucky!

 

[foggy]

The problem with a pension plan is.....sooner or later, the folks that manage the pension plan decide to leverage it or borrow against it or somebody tinkers with it or otherwise absconds with the funds. It'd be better if we all just managed our own money.....but most folks just don't do any long-term planning. It's like they figure someone else will look out for them......like the Govt. It's worked so far....but I wuddnt bet on it much longer. ;)