# What is your target retirement age?



## FrugalTrader

Lets kick off the new retirement forum with a question. What is your target retirement age?

I don't have a set age for retirement, however, my goal is to have enough passive income to cover our family expenses. At that point, I will have serious discussions with my wife about my work direction. I would say that it will be some time in my mid-late 40's.

How about you? Do you have a target retirement age?


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## mfd

My retirement age is 55. Thats arounds the same time my fiance can collect her full pension. At that point if we have kids they'll be out the house and we'll still have the energy to travel

I also wanted to add I want to open a B and B to be able to earn some extra income and to be able to travel during the off season.


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## Jon Chevreau

I like to make the distinction between Retirement per se and Financial Independence. That of course is the premise of my financial novel, Findependence Day, and of the prior poster's concept of "My Findependence Day." 

Face it, after the Crash, very few baby boomers will be "retiring" any time soon. But they may have a baseline of financial independence -- call it Findependence 57 or Findependence 62, whatever -- around which they will consult, write, blog, tweet, paint, compose, play for pay etc. They will turn avocations into vocations and find a way to earn additional stream of income.

Traditional employment with a single source of income will likely fade but very few will "retire" in the classical sense.

More on this of course in the book: www.financialpost.com/fd

Or www.findependenceday.com


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## stephenheath

Maybe I'm being too conservative, but I can't see how I could possibly retire before age 65... actually, considering the setback of last year's drop in the market, at the moment I'm looking at 66. My family history is lots of people that live well into their 90's, with the exception being those who got cancer from smoking which I never did, so my plan is not to retire until I would have enough saved that I could live entirely off the interest/dividends because the principal would be the only emergency fund I'd ever have and it potentially would have to last a LONG time. Assuming an average 3% inflation rate for the next 28 years (I'm 38 now), I figure that means I'd need about $2.4 million in 2037 dollars to be able to retire with the current standard of living, not counting the paid off house. I'm assuming an average 6% return (3% after inflation) to be conservative, and assuming CPP/OAS will be drained by the time I get there. 

It's barely doable and that's with a significant amount of our income going to savings (and mortgage payments at the moment, but when the mortgage is done those same payments will shift to savings). I would love to retire at 45, or 55... I'd just worry that I'd run out of money at 80 and live my last 15 years in poverty.


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## Patricia

I have been retired for 2 years but did have a target in mind when I was working. My target was 55 but I didn't realize my target until I was 57. I contributed to a defined benefit plan (HOOPP) while working for 35 years and so have been fortunate. Several reasons contributed to my decision to delay my retirement. The primary reason was that we wanted the mortgage paid off. The second reason was that we had a daughter in university in Nova Scotia( she graduates this April). We paid off the mortgage and then I retired. 
My husband still works part time and it has been his wages which funded our daughter's education. Now that he is free of that responsibility he has decided that he will scale back a little on his hours but continue to work for another couple of years until he is 65
( this is not a high income job he has). Next year I will start collecting CPP and we plan to use it to fund our TFSA's. He is already collecting his CPP which isn't much as he was the stay at home parent for many years but the combination of both CPP pensions should allow us to fully fund our 
The advent of pension income splitting has been very helpful in reducing our taxes owing and we still have room for RRSP contributions. 
When I retired I told my husband who was very concerned that we could manage on my pension that I was determined 'to make this work'. So far so good.


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## Sampson

I have always thought of it as a target for FULL retirement, however, I'm starting to realize that 'partial' retirement is more reasonable.

We are quite on track to reach full retirement by 55, with no help from external sources - with a pool of $2.4M in liquid assets.

I'm really starting to reconsider, and think that we could maybe work 30-50% of the time when we reach 45-50 or so. This way, we could slowly ramp down the amount of work, and eventually retire fully when we are older (65-70). This would give us 20 years of 'living it up' - working at what we enjoy - and having plenty of time to spend with kids and our hobbies.

Seems a lot more complicated to model this type of retirement though. I'd hate to HAVE to go back to work later because I planned it poorly.


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## mesaana14

Let me start by saying I have a defined-benefit pension (I'm a federal govt employee). I started a bit late, but I get my full pension at 60 (providing I stay at my job, which is not certain, but let's just say I do for now). I started saving only a couple of years ago, so I don't have a lot put aside yet, but I'm hoping to retire at 55, and not have to touch my government pension until I turn 60 (which should be doable). By the way, I'm turning 40 in a few weeks.

I'm trying to balance putting money away and enjoying life now. My father had to retire from work early due to health issues and did not get to enjoy his retirement much until his death. I want to make sure that I have a fair chance of being young and healthy enough to enjoy retirement and take some time to travel and do other things now, because you never know...


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## DrStan

Unless the world collapses around us, it will be at age 56, on March 11, 2033. Seems like far away, but really, it isn't. Only about 8800 days left! I should put a countdown calendar in my office... it would be a hoot!


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## Rickson9

My wife and I do not have a particular target retirement age. So far, we enjoy working. We're young, however, and you know how things change with time...


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## Retireat50

Well, I am one of the lucky ones with less than a year and a half away from retirement at 50 and have an indexed defined benefit plan. With our additional savings both registered and non registered I don't see myself putting it off past this date.


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## jambo411

In 52 months and 17 days on my 59th birthday. It is the earliest that I can retire without a penalty on my DB pension. This "retirement" means that I will only have to work at my three home businesses. This will drop my hours from 50+ a week to about 20. Lots of time left to fish, motorcycle, fish and travel to fish.


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## Hazelnut

I DO have a countdown clock on my blog and right now its reading 1907 days, 12 hours and 6 minutes, give or take  AND I'm taking an early retirement because $$ isn't that important to me. Like others here have mentioned it doesn't mean I'll never work again, in fact 1 or 2 days of supply teaching per month would more than make up the difference in my reduced pension. Or I could work part-time at Chapters and take advantage of their discounts and free book-loaning to staff, or I might raise bees or alpacas, or indulge my creative side as a woodcarving potterymaking phototaking artiste (currently hobbies). Who knows? That's the joy of it!


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## 2 yen

Jon....totally agree and am looking forward to your future writings. My goal is age 50.


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## Hampton N/S

My husband and I are 50 next year- so retirement is a more relevant topic to us now than it has ever been.
we hope to retire from full time work at 60. 
we both enjoy our work - and do not feel that will be a chore. we expect to work some part time afterwards as well. 
we started our family later than many so our youngest won't be through university for 9 yrs from now - and we plan to cover most of those expenses for an undergrad degree.
I have a small DB pension from 11 yrs federal service, my husband is self-employed and only has max rrsp's for 20yrs, and what is there for OAS and CPP. Our pre-retirement cf will allow for more savings and investments pre-60.


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## ethos1

Hazelnut said:


> I DO have a countdown clock on my blog and right now its reading 1907 days, 12 hours and 6 minutes, give or take  AND I'm taking an early retirement because $$ isn't that important to me.


that is so cool.

I thought that I was the only one who did that

I don't know which one it is that you use, but I use the following which is on my desktop & with just one click away, at times is a great stress reliever for me

http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/customcount.html

Like your attitude on the $$ not being that important. 

Enjoy life to the fullest


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## Mintycake

My goal is to actually "retire" from the rat race at age 37. We're planning to start a family and I figure that's when my mat leave will be up, at which point I don't plan to return to full time work. I haven't decided whether I will stay at home full time but right now part time work is the goal, with eventual full retirement at 55.


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## Jon Chevreau

There's another aspect to this topic, which is how much you enjoy your job/work. The original concept of Retirement is a relic of the industrial age, when people's bodies wore out and could not indefinitely sustain hard physical work, like farming or mining.

In the information age, many of us are so-called "symbol manipulators" -- journalists, executives, creative artists, novelists, screenplayers, musicians etc. Those who truly enjoy their work aren't too worried about doing it into old age. Richard Russell still publishes his Dow Theory Letters well into his 80s because he enjoys it. I have an aunt of a similar age who still goes into the law office she owns five days a week: it's her life. I know a 92 year old at church who still works part-time in accounting.

If your job is so soul-destroying that all you can think of is escaping it some far day in the future, perhaps you should rethink your attitude to work and that particular job and find a new profession you can truly enjoy.

We're a long time working. Life is too short to work at something you hate. 
Again, this theme of enjoying your work is part of the book you can find here: www.financialpost.com/fd


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## Retireat50

Jon Chevreau said:


> There's another aspect to this topic, which is how much you enjoy your job/work. The original concept of Retirement is a relic of the industrial age, when people's bodies wore out and could not indefinitely sustain hard physical work, like farming or mining.
> 
> In the information age, many of us are so-called "symbol manipulators" -- journalists, executives, creative artists, novelists, screenplayers, musicians etc. Those who truly enjoy their work aren't too worried about doing it into old age. Richard Russell still publishes his Dow Theory Letters well into his 80s because he enjoys it. I have an aunt of a similar age who still goes into the law office she owns five days a week: it's her life. I know a 92 year old at church who still works part-time in accounting.
> 
> If your job is so soul-destroying that all you can think of is escaping it some far day in the future, perhaps you should rethink your attitude to work and that particular job and find a new profession you can truly enjoy.
> 
> We're a long time working. Life is too short to work at something you hate.
> Again, this theme of enjoying your work is part of the book you can find here: www.financialpost.com/fd


Sorry, but reading Jon's last post, really seems to not match the reality of the majority of people working out there who are working to make a living at what will pay the bills and feed the family. If it were so easy to "find a new profession you can truly enjoy", that would be great, but truly not reality.

While true, the original concept of retirement was due to the fact that our bodies may have wore out physically, but now the stress of modern day life may in fact wear us out even more effectively.


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## Mintycake

I agree with the previous poster. Jon's arguement is one that my husband and I have had. "why don't you just find a job you love?" because the job that I would probably want to do would put us at a poverty level of income and by the way dear, you do enjoy living in a house and our vacations and our car? 
So in order to compromise we've cut down our spending considerably and plan to cut down even more once I've changed career tracks. However, with me being the higher earning spouse right now, I've warned him that a shift in job, though it might make me look forward to my employment moreso than now, will come with the attachment that our lifestyle will change.

I know this because my husband gave up his soul sucking corporate job 4 years ago to start his own business. He loves his job. His income is variable. He's learned to live with it.


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## George

I honestly have no idea when I'll truly "retire" in the sense of stopping work. I'm only 31, and for the time being I'm happy to focus on raising a family and maintaining a good work-life balance. I'll stop work when it feels right for me, and I don't really expect to know when it's "right" until I get to my 40s and 50s.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I'm not working hard to create the *possibility* of retiring - "findependence" as Jon Chevreau calls it. For that, my goal is to reach findependence day by age 50-53 or so. I'm lucky enough to have a government pension that will max out when I hit age 58, but I'd like to have enough invested to walk away with my savings and a reduced pension at age 50 if I choose to do so.


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## michika

Like George mentioned, I'd like to be able to have enough set aside and invested to just "walk away" at 40. I doubt I'd ever truely retire in the true sense of the word, but I'd crave change, and I'd always want to be busy.

Most likely though I'll have a magic number of sorts, and I'll keep working at it until it becomes a reality.


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## johnsazzr

in 10 yrs by age 51..I may still work p/t ...but I wan't to be in control..thank goodness I am not in a DB Pension Plan...and also that my RSP is pretty conservative..only down 10%.....


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## brocko

johnsazzr said:


> in 10 yrs by age 51..I may still work p/t ...but I wan't to be in control..thank goodness I am not in a DB Pension Plan...and also that my RSP is pretty conservative..only down 10%.....


I say thank goodness I am in a DB. While nothing is impossible I know our plan is fully funded and with the nature of business I am in I feel quite confident all will be well. I am neither a teacher nor a government worker. Our DB plan switched over to a optional DC plan with a core DB of 1% and without having to stop at 35 years of service. I have now 33 years in the old DB and I am hoping for 3-4 years in the new core plan to supplement my main DB pension. 
I have not begun to think of retirement as really I do love my job and all that goes with it. I think I am one of those who will be in trouble not financially but with nothing to do such as hobbies I will be really lost once the house painting and back yard work is done. I may go into some form of advisor or consultant work to keep busy but it wouldn't be for the money.


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## Tim

FI Target = 45 (+/-5 years depending on the market).

I have a low cost lifestyle and it's easy to keep my happy for the most part. I'll likely keep 'working' post FI, but more for I like doing some of my hobbies and happen to make money at them.

I keep my target date firm, but I understand life happens so hence the huge +/- range. 

Tim


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## Mockingbird

Definitely on target to "Freedom 55", but aiming for 50 to slow down. Slowing down is pretty much depend on the market condition of the next 10+ years. We do not have any pension plans aside from RRSP, investments, and personal savings. CPP and OAP are bonus if we get them.


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## Spidey

I'm also aiming at freedom 55, providing my poor battered portfolio survives the next 5 years. I would consider working to 60, if the small company I work for wasn't so inflexible with holidays and time off.


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## Dividend Growth Investor

I actually plan on never fully retiring. I could retire this year, but I enjoy working and keeping myself active on projects. 
Watching TV and doing nothing is fun for a couple of months, untill you can no longer stand leisure time and crave working.


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## Retireat50

In my opinion, if you have everything paid off and you cannot do well in retirement with 60 to 70 percent of pre retirement income, there are spending issue that need to be addressed.


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## Four Pillars

I have a loose plan to retire at 55 but given all the assumptions in any future planning - it's not written in stone.


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## cannon_fodder

My wife and I are early-mid forties and we'd like to be findependent at 55, or almost 12 years from now.

At this point, we have both had excellent health records so we believe that, as we watch others around us, we won't retire at 55 but do more volunteer work, and perhaps have an easy part-time job. What neither of us want is to be burdened like my our parents were as full time nannies. Grandparents, sure, but surrogate parents, no!

We are forecasting these plans based on having our fair share of CPP + OAS. If OAS and CPP don't come through, we still should be OK with our RRSP's, TFSA's and non-registered portfolio.


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## Grampy

*Retirement Age*

My wife and I are going to retire at when I turn 61, I'm 60 now. We are debt free, no morgage, loans, or credit cards. We have managed to save enough to provide a income of 50k per year.


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## FrugalTrader

Grampy said:


> My wife and I are going to retire at when I turn 61, I'm 60 now. We are debt free, no morgage, loans, or credit cards. We have managed to save enough to provide a income of 50k per year.


Grampy, I'd be interested to see your calculations on how you came to the $50k per year. Are you using the 4% withdrawal rule?


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## Rickson9

Grampy said:


> My wife and I are going to retire at when I turn 61, I'm 60 now. We are debt free, no morgage, loans, or credit cards. We have managed to save enough to provide a income of 50k per year.


Very nice! Congrats!


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## Grampy

*Retirement*

My thoughts on how I came to 50k per year.
we saved about 850k rrsp and cash
I am eligble for 7.5K from cpp
My wife will be eligible for about 4.5k in two years
We will both recieve oas at 65
Wewill draw down some of the princible in the early years of retirement and reduce the amount as government pensions become available. we are using about 4.5 growth in the beginning and reducing later on. 
We can suvive on about 22K, after taxes currently if we had to.
Looking foward to retirement A bad day fishing beats a good day at work!!!


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## FrugalTrader

Grampy said:


> My thoughts on how I came to 50k per year.
> we saved about 850k rrsp and cash
> I am eligble for 7.5K from cpp
> My wife will be eligible for about 4.5k in two years
> We will both recieve oas at 65
> Wewill draw down some of the princible in the early years of retirement and reduce the amount as government pensions become available. we are using about 4.5 growth in the beginning and reducing later on.
> We can suvive on about 22K, after taxes currently if we had to.
> Looking foward to retirement A bad day fishing beats a good day at work!!!


Looks like your retirement is in great shape, congrats and thanks for sharing.


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## ethos1

Grampy said:


> My thoughts on how I came to 50k per year.
> we saved about 850k rrsp and cash
> I am eligble for 7.5K from cpp
> My wife will be eligible for about 4.5k in two years
> We will both recieve oas at 65
> Wewill draw down some of the princible in the early years of retirement and reduce the amount as government pensions become available. we are using about 4.5 growth in the beginning and reducing later on.
> We can suvive on about 22K, after taxes currently if we had to.
> Looking foward to retirement A bad day fishing beats a good day at work!!!


_*"My thoughts on how I came to 50k per year"*_

Tut-tut


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## steve41

When I ran those numbers, I came up with just over $52K ATI. Pretty close.

Mind you, that was living in BC. If you are in Quebec, you come in at $48.8K

Go west young man!


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## brad

I'm another person who doesn't plan to ever fully retire. In part because I lived paycheck to paycheck most of my working life and didn't start saving in earnest for retirement until I was in my 40s, but also because I can earn money doing things I love (writing, teaching, playing music) and intend to spend my "retirement" years doing that....health permitting of course.

My brother's prospects are much more worrisome: he's 60 and has only $40,000 in retirement savings, which he keeps in a regular savings account earning a few tenths of a percent in interest. I hope I convinced him to at least switch that account to ING so he can get a better interest rate, but clearly he's never going to be able to retire. He lives in the US, so there's the added complication and expense of health insurance. Fortunately he likes his work and can do it from home.


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## steve41

I've seen a lot of plans, and believe me... not starting to save until later in life is very common. When you run a typical plan and include a home purchase, then it is quite normal to see low or no savings whatsoever until the mortgage is paid off. At that point, you can max and/or catchup your rrsp and even save additional outside (nonreg/tfsa) your RRSP max.

The other issue, is that for the normal salaried/working paradigm, income in the early years is quite low compared to later years, and not just because of inflation... wages increase due to merit increases and career advancement.

This 'start saving when you are a teen-ager' stuff is all very well, however I would bet that those savings end up going to a house down pmt and that meaningful savings for retirement (or partial retirement) don't kick in til later in life.


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## robert99a

Target age : ~70 years old. I'm 30 now.


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## RedRose

At this point I am thinking 67 yrs. I am only working a couple of days a month so easy peasy. 

$$$s are always great to have huh? :encouragement:


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## fraser

My target was 62. My company decided it was 59. I was ready. And the termination settlement made the difference go away. Could not be happier with the outcome.


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## Jon_Snow

I probably mentioned it already in the thread - too busy check right now.

Anyway, 42 for me - next year in fact.

Okay, checked thread out... It's an old one, predates my arrival here!


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## Itchy54

Thinking 57 (next year)....I am sure we are ready but hubby seems to second guess a lot. I would like to continue with my part-time, very part-time, job at the university--holiday money!! I would like hubby to retire, he will get a moderate pension which combined with savings and my very small pension will give us around $50,000 after tax, much more than we spend right now (around $36,000). When we hit 65 life will look pretty good if CPP and OAS are as they are today, or so we hope as you never know what health issues lurk in the background. 
My CPP will be very small as I stayed at home with our son and then only worked part time to be home after school, something I would never change. What a great young man he turned into!! Hubby will lose his bridge benefit at 65 but that will be replaced by CPP. Still considering if it's wise to take that early....

This is an old thread....maybe some of the original posters can re-post with updates....


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## skiwest

53, 47.5 working days from now , Nov 29. I guess you could say that wife retired at 49, about 18 months ago.


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## FrugalTrader

As per Itchy54's post, for those of you planning on retiring soon, what is your target income?


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## Eder

skiwest said:


> 53, 47.5 working days from now , Nov 29. I guess you could say that wife retired at 49, about 18 months ago.


Wow...I remember my 1st day of retirement...I was in a dream on the way home. I hope it's a big day for you as well, congratulations!


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## marina628

I have given this some serious thought recently and I have decided that I will be retiring in 9 years when I am 55 years old unless God has another plan for me.Financially I can retire now and owning a web based business I can easily move to the beach now to do my work but I enjoy my work right now and some days it is what saves me.My younger daughter will be 19 at that time and my oldest will be 30.With any luck one of them will be interested in running the business or I will sell out .


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## uptoolate

Going to be either 52 or 53 depending on whether I pack it in at the end of April or wait until June next year! Very much looking forward to it!


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## Plugging Along

I am planning either 19 or 24 years from from now, which is when my youngest is finish university for her first degree and has been it i the work force, or a little later if she decides to pursue a graduate degree. I will be somewhere between 59 to 65. 

I am planning my retirement when I believe my kids will be financially out of the nest. Who knows, I may be be there much longer.


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## My Own Advisor

Working towards being "findependent" at 55. That's another 15 years.

Working towards having $1 M portfolio + paid off home by then.

Hopefully, work pensions will also be there, 25 years each for my wife and I.

Not including CPP or OAS.

We figure that should do it.


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## Nemo2

Looking at quitting work at 46............oops, should have said "looking _back_ at quitting work at 46".....I'm just reminiscing...I hit 71 this Friday. :encouragement:


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## Spudd

I'm hopeful to quit my job within the next 2-3 years, age 43-44. Once "retired" I will likely find some kind of part-time gig to bring in a few bucks and pass the time. This all depends on how much we can get for our house, if the housing market crashes I will have to work longer. 

My Toronto house is on the market right now, if it sells we will rent until I quit and then move someplace cheaper for retirement.


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## jimbob.seeker

*A moving target?*



FrugalTrader said:


> Lets kick off the new retirement forum with a question. What is your target retirement age?
> 
> I don't have a set age for retirement, however, my goal is to have enough passive income to cover our family expenses. At that point, I will have serious discussions with my wife about my work direction. I would say that it will be some time in my mid-late 40's.
> 
> How about you? Do you have a target retirement age?


When I was in my 40's my target retirement age was somewhere between 50 and 55. Of course I knew that this was not entirely realistic but it was fun to imagine that between 40 something and 55 I would find a way.

Well I'm well over 55 now and still waking up to my alarm clock  However, I think I can do "it" in about two years. So my new target retirement age is about 59. With a little luck nothing will get in the way and I will finally be able to put my alarm clock in the drawer.


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## peterk

By age 35 I hope to have around 800k-1.2m capable of giving me ~60k in annual dividend and option income. I could conceivably pull the plug at that point but will probably work until ~40 depending on lifestyle choices and how fancy my tastes get!

I'd also like to develop the skills to make some online income so that I can pull in an additional 10k-30k working part time without being tied down to a particular city for work. 

There's a good chance I won't be able to handle Fort Mac for this whole 10-15 year plan. If I move away after 5 years to a lower income city that will push back these plans by a few years.


Nemo2 - Any regrets pulling the plug mid 40s? What have you been up to the past 25 years? Finding guys like yourself to talk to is difficult... Most very early retirees online are recently retired, and thus still in the honeymoon period of not working. Would be interested in hearing what life is like for a young retiree 5+ years after pulling the plug. Did you run out of things to do? get bored? have trouble connecting with friends / people your own age?


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## Nemo2

peterk said:


> Nemo2 - Any regrets pulling the plug mid 40s? What have you been up to the past 25 years? Finding guys like yourself to talk to is difficult... Most very early retirees online are recently retired, and thus still in the honeymoon period of not working. Would be interested in hearing what life is like for a young retiree 5+ years after pulling the plug. Did you run out of things to do? get bored? have trouble connecting with friends / people your own age?


Hi. Some of your questions might be answered in this archived screed on _boomer & echo_, and the two subsequent responses I made to people who were kind enough to comment: http://www.boomerandecho.com/the-effect-of-serendipity-on-retirement/

Bored? No...certainly not as bored as I was when I was 'gainfully employed'. :wink: Friends? I have a few old friends, all in other cities, that I see infrequently, but generally speaking, my lady & I entertain ourselves....(due to osteoarthritis (no cartilage in either knee) I'm no longer able to run, but for some reason (for which I'm thankful) I'm still able to stair climb, and this I do for an hour or more most days, (my wife does a little less).......plus we undertake other 'old fart' exercise ventures such as the elliptical trainer and Nordic Track ski machine)......so really not bored at all.....we're off to Barcelona in 10 days, and in 17 days will catch a repositioning cruise from there to Florida, (all at discount rates).

In the early days of 'retirement' my late wife and I put a lot of effort into finishing/landscaping the spec house we purchased on Salt Spring Island....plus I had a Border Collie to cater to, and THAT takes a substantial amount of time/energy.

Life is indeed what you make it.


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## skiwest

FrugalTrader said:


> As per Itchy54's post, for those of you planning on retiring soon, what is your target income?


target income $60k for lump oh cash required , estimated income required $55k high end


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## skiwest

Eder said:


> Wow...I remember my 1st day of retirement...I was in a dream on the way home. I hope it's a big day for you as well, congratulations!


Well I was going to work in Dec to make the target end of year but so few working days in Dec not cost effective plus starting retirement with a Cat skiing trip. Won't be doing a lot of those but will be doing a bit of work on side for the perks in first couple of years.


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## peterk

Awesome blog post Nemo, thanks for that!


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## kcowan

Thanks for the life's story Nemo. Now I feel so inadequate. Been at retirement for 11 years. Starting to get good at it.

Early happy B'day as I may forget later. You are 2 months ahead of me. :encouragement:


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## Nemo2

kcowan said:


> Early happy B'day as I may forget later. You are 2 months ahead of me. :encouragement:


Thanks Keith....I'll try and remember yours!


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## My Own Advisor

Enjoy the big trip Nemo2! I expect a trip report here on CMF when you get back!


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## pacman

Ok, I'll add my story. 53 now. Could retire, but don't want to yet. Still enjoy my job. I have started slowing down, going from 5 days/week to 4/days/week. Will slowly move to 3 days then 2 days. Maybe completely retire in 5 years or so. This is a perfect scenario for me. Have enough saved right now. My target after tax income is in the $60k range for the first 10 years, then down to $50k thereafter. I have found Steve's software program invaluable in planning.


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## atrp2biz

pacman said:


> Ok, I'll add my story. 53 now. Could retire, but don't want to yet. Still enjoy my job. I have started slowing down, going from 5 days/week to 4/days/week. Will slowly move to 3 days then 2 days. Maybe completely retire in 5 years or so. This is a perfect scenario for me. Have enough saved right now. My target after tax income is in the $60k range for the first 10 years, then down to $50k thereafter. I have found Steve's software program *invaluable *in planning.


Complete sidebar, but this just reminds me of this. :biggrin:


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## Jets99

Where can I get my hands on Steve's software program? Thanks.


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## leoc2

Jets99 said:


> Where can I get my hands on Steve's software program? Thanks.


vvvvv See link in my signature vvvvv


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## Jon_Snow

My Own Advisor said:


> Working towards being "findependent" at 55. That's another 15 years.
> 
> Working towards having $1 M portfolio + paid off home by then.
> 
> Hopefully, work pensions will also be there, 25 years each for my wife and I.
> 
> Not including CPP or OAS.
> 
> We figure that should do it.


+1 on the million dollar portfolio plus paid off EVERYTHING being the ticket to retirement for most frugal leaning types. Of course to do it at 42 like myself you need other things in your favour. Hard to say after a gruelling 12 hour shift of manual labour, but I'm frickin blessed. So tired though....


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## My Own Advisor

If you have that Jon, you are lucky and very blessed.

I have no chance to retire like you (or others in CMF) in my 40s, so 55 will have to do...


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## Jon_Snow

But MOA, at least you somewhat like what you do. Complaining about ones job, especially when the pay is quite good as in my case, and at a time where many don't have jobs, comes across quite poorly I realize. But it is HELL, to be honest. I could probably retrain myself and find something better, but I have enough saved invested now that I don't need to. I won't rule out part-time work in something that I actually enjoy doing but pays far less. This concept of enjoying one's work is quite alien to me.


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## pacman

atrp2biz said:


> Complete sidebar, but this just reminds me of this. :biggrin:


in·val·u·a·ble [in-val-yoo-uh-buhl]
adjective
beyond calculable or appraisable value; of inestimable worth; priceless: an invaluable art collection; her invaluable assistance.

I don't get it


----------



## Toronto.gal

Nemo2 said:


> I hit 71 this Friday.


*Nemo:* I would like to wish you a very:










Sorry, I could not afford the candles, but here is a lil gift, that will come in handy next week: 










Also wishing the interesting world traveller + wife, a most wonderful holiday!

Buen viaje, but please stay away from any Plaza de Toros and/or running with the bulls. Olé. :chuncky:


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## Nemo2

Toronto.gal said:


> Sorry, I could not afford the candles





> "You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake."
> 
> Bob Hope


Thank you!


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## My Own Advisor

Cool pics.

Happy BDay!!


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## dBII

Well, I am quickly coming to the conclusion at 55 that there really isn't much more point in working. It's odd, but with the employment situation the way it is, I question whether pulling myself out of the income stream won't allow some poor younger sap to take my job. So, I've accumulated about $500k in rrsp's and cash, 3 rental properties that net me about $2k/month and no DBP. I own a newer home and have no debts or expensive hobbies. Net work is about $1.3m. I'm finding that my wife and I are not struggling to survive off about $3k/month. I am still an employee, but due in part to the poor financial situation of the mining industry, I have voluntarily reduced my hours to a maximum of 2 days per week. The benefits are still being paid and it would be tough to give it up.

I am spending huge hours here and elsewhere learning the hoops of investing in DRiPs and other investments and just finding out if I can adjust to retirement. I only have one foot in so far (Rentals and pt work notwithstanding) and will probably not put the other one in until 65.

I would love to hear some comments or criticisms.


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## My Own Advisor

"I question whether pulling myself out of the income stream won't allow some poor younger sap to take my job."

Hard to say. If you can finance your expenses with investment income, rental income, other, excellent. No point in working if you don't have to, unless you really love your job. No debts, 3 rentals and $500k in investments should do it. Well done.

I think if you can keep up the 2d per week, that's good since your benefits are paid for. Do that until 60 or so, then you can collect CPP early to offset and benefits coverage as you retire.

BTW - You're more than welcome to check out DRIPping page 
http://www.myownadvisor.ca/drips/

Drop me an email via my contact page if you have questions. 

Cheers!


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## Jon_Snow

dbII, if I were in your shoes, I would be gone... but I sense a bit of trepidation in your post. I think MOA is right in suggesting you work part time for a little while longer for your peace of mind, if nothing else.


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## dBII

I thought you WERE gone.... 

And yes, there is trepidation, mostly because I haven't really come to terms with what retirement means or what I would do to stay "busy". That's why the one foot in, one out definitely makes sense and it certainly helps maintain my level of sanity, and a reasonable income level. I am feeling better now that I've had the entire summer - and a beautiful one it has been out here on the wet coast - to work way less and do some navel gazing.

Thank you Jon, you are an inspiration.


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## dBII

Thank you MOA. I have had a look at your site and sent you a PM there.


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## My Own Advisor

Got your email!


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## Jon_Snow

Not gone yet dbII! I am thinking 2014 will be my last year in this my current, all consuming job... I do not fret about what will "fill up" my days after I retire. The list of stuff that I haven't been able to do has been growing steadily while my career has been sucking me deeper into its grasp. I have heard many stories of early retirees who are more than ready financially to make the leap, but cannot handle the suddenly wide open schedule in their lives... My post working life is full to the brim - and I think that is the key for success.

For starters, I need to learn how to build a cabin (my carpentry skills are currently lacking), how to install a septic field for said cabin. I used to be a long distance runner, would like to get back into that. I would also like to learn how to cook at a high level... classes maybe. Then there is the really fun stuff like kayaking on the west coast, recording underwater whale sounds.... I have a nice Dobsonian style telescope that I would like to use more often - viewing the distinct rings on Saturn or the necklace of Jupiter's moons is amazing.... really want to improve on my Spanish because we spend alot of time in the Baja. 

I could literally keep going on here. To all early retirees I would say develop some interests and hobbies and enjoy them with passion!!!!


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## Nemo2

Jon_Snow said:


> I have heard many stories of early retirees who are more than ready financially to make the leap, but cannot handle the suddenly wide open schedule in their lives...


I recall a guy in Saudi, when the company started 'downsizing', who along with a bunch of others was offered a 'buy out package'........according to what some of the others told me he kept asking them "What would you do? What would you do?".....he apparently wanted to know where he'd be and what he'd be doing at any given point in the day......finally one of them told him that he wasn't ready for retirement.

Doesn't sound like that's going to be your problem...._Bonne chance!_ :encouragement:


----------



## sprocket1200

Jon_Snow said:


> Not gone yet dbII! I am thinking 2014 will be my last year in this my current, all consuming job... I do not fret about what will "fill up" my days after I retire. The list of stuff that I haven't been able to do has been growing steadily while my career has been sucking me deeper into its grasp. I have heard many stories of early retirees who are more than ready financially to make the leap, but cannot handle the suddenly wide open schedule in their lives... My post working life is full to the brim - and I think that is the key for success.
> 
> For starters, I need to learn how to build a cabin (my carpentry skills are currently lacking), how to install a septic field for said cabin. I used to be a long distance runner, would like to get back into that. I would also like to learn how to cook at a high level... classes maybe. Then there is the really fun stuff like kayaking on the west coast, recording underwater whale sounds.... I have a nice Dobsonian style telescope that I would like to use more often - viewing the distinct rings on Saturn or the necklace of Jupiter's moons is amazing.... really want to improve on my Spanish because we spend alot of time in the Baja.
> 
> I could literally keep going on here. To all early retirees I would say develop some interests and hobbies and enjoy them with passion!!!!


we just crossed seeing the Southern Cross off our list. great reason to 'retire'!!


----------



## jordan_paul

I'd like to say I'd start to wind'er down before I'm 40. Start to work long enough to get my hours for pogie and live off that until it runs out, then a few years later work a couple of weeks a month then after that a couple of days per week. Essentially I'd be able to pick and choose the jobs I do. I don't see myself totally retiring though, I'll probably work on a limited scale until they put me in the ground.


----------



## wendi1

I'm 54, and I'd like to retire more or less when my current contract runs out next year. Hubby will probably keep working, but I think I have enough saved up for retirement. I'm planning to get a little more involved in the local music and theatre scene.

Not enough for a yacht, but enough for food and shelter and fun. From time to time, I might take a contract or two if I need to.


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## cjay

It's great to see how others have managed their retirement so I thought I'd chip in another story. Wifey and I are 51, and have early retirement on the mind. Our target is to be done with paid work by age 56. We are in "fake" retirement now, living on our target of 60K after-tax and the rest goes to savings or helping our kids through their last couple of years in university. Getting used to this income level by the time we retire is important, more so than the size of our nest egg I'd say. So far it seems like enough and if we had to we could reduce our yearly spend by 20K but that would suck. No DBP or external help, no debt, paid off home and just over $1m currently saved (50/50 registered/non-registered). I'll pull the plug when nest egg is $1.5m which should be enough if I haven't made a mistake in my retirement income projections :uncomfortableness:


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## janus10

For some reason my wife and I are growing increasingly fed up with working. I'm now working harder than I ever had while making less than I've done in at least 13 years.

I'm hoping that in a little more than a year from now when I'm 50 and my wife is 52 we could downsize our $850k home, either rent for a bit if we haven't figured out where we want to live, or buy something for about $400k. Definitely outside the GTA but probably stay in Ontario if the kids are still here.

We would use the rest of the money to eliminate all debts and that should give us about $1M in cash and investments mostly in dividend paying stocks held in Canadian (non registered) and US (RRSP) portfolios.

We aren't even thinking about what OAS and CPP might provide. CPP would take a big hit from retiring early for sure.

I need to spend some time calculating our monthly expenses but I imagine that $45k after taxes would be enough. There may even be an opportunity to work from home for my current employer to maintain benefit coverage and take home $45k.

The other thing I think about is how little my parents enjoy living in their 70's. Health issues are the major factors. My wife and I are ok with the idea of passing in our 70's.


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## Daniel A.

Keeping busy is a problem for many once they leave work.
I've found that for me not working shift, weekends, bureaucratic company stuff, staying in bed if I don't feel well and not actually needing to phone someone is great.

I don't miss the dark short day's of Vancouver in winter months because I am retired.


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## MoneyGal

janus10 said:


> For some reason my wife and I are growing increasingly fed up with working. I'm now working harder than I ever had while making less than I've done in at least 13 years.
> 
> I'm hoping that in a little more than a year from now when I'm 50 and my wife is 52 we could downsize our $850k home, either rent for a bit if we haven't figured out where we want to live, or buy something for about $400k. Definitely outside the GTA but probably stay in Ontario if the kids are still here.
> 
> We would use the rest of the money to eliminate all debts and that should give us about $1M in cash and investments mostly in dividend paying stocks held in Canadian (non registered) and US (RRSP) portfolios.
> 
> We aren't even thinking about what OAS and CPP might provide. CPP would take a big hit from retiring early for sure.
> 
> I need to spend some time calculating our monthly expenses but I imagine that $45k after taxes would be enough. There may even be an opportunity to work from home for my current employer to maintain benefit coverage and take home $45k.
> 
> The other thing I think about is how little my parents enjoy living in their 70's. Health issues are the major factors. *My wife and I are ok with the idea of passing in our 70's*.


But are you actually *planning* for that? Your probability of survival to age 80 (i.e., all the way through your 70's) is greater than 50% (as a Canadian male aged 50) - and a Canadian female aged 50 has a greater than 70% chance of living to age 80. The chance that at least one of you will be alive at age 80 is very high indeed.


----------



## skiwest

cjay said:


> It's great to see how others have managed their retirement so I thought I'd chip in another story. Wifey and I are 51, and have early retirement on the mind. Our target is to be done with paid work by age 56. We are in "fake" retirement now, living on our target of 60K after-tax and the rest goes to savings or helping our kids through their last couple of years in university. Getting used to this income level by the time we retire is important, more so than the size of our nest egg I'd say. So far it seems like enough and if we had to we could reduce our yearly spend by 20K but that would suck. No DBP or external help, no debt, paid off home and just over $1m currently saved (50/50 registered/non-registered). I'll pull the plug when nest egg is $1.5m which should be enough if I haven't made a mistake in my retirement income projections :uncomfortableness:


 Good for you, I wanted to do that ( the live on the estimated retirement amount) but kept on building and buying things as wanted to get everything out of way so wouldn't have to estimate anything. Be interesting to see if can live on $50k net.

Anyway I'll be done in 3 weeks ( 53 years old). Everything is on plan or a head so looking forward to a winter of 100 days on skis.


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## janus10

MoneyGal said:


> But are you actually *planning* for that? Your probability of survival to age 80 (i.e., all the way through your 70's) is greater than 50% (as a Canadian male aged 50) - and a Canadian female aged 50 has a greater than 70% chance of living to age 80. The chance that at least one of you will be alive at age 80 is very high indeed.


Thanks MG. My wife and I aren't interested in being a burden on anyone, especially each other. If there is not enough good living when we are older, why prolong the misery?


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## MasterCard

What's the difference between being independently wealthy and retired?
To me, if you're independently wealthy - well why not retire and leave the rat-race?
Pretty much the same right?


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## Jon_Snow

Personally, I wouldn't work one minute longer than I had to... thats why I am going to be done with work before my 42nd birthday. Life is too short folks....

I am vacationing in Mexico right now - actually had a nice visit with fellow CMF'er Daniel A. last night... talk about a guy for whom early retirement really works - the contentment simply radiates from him. He is here for another 4 months while I have to leave in 10 days to my meat grinder job during yet another Canadian winter.... not for much longer though. :tongue-new:


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## Daniel A.

LOL yes I am content and my wife supports that.

We should have a talk more at length.


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## Jon_Snow

I have my wife's support as well... lucky men we are. :encouragement:


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## My Own Advisor

You're making me sick  I only wish I could be vacationing now.... Have fun!


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## Daniel A.

Yes we are and yes it is nice to meet a fellow poster that was just by chance.


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## My Own Advisor

Cool stuff.


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## marina628

My target retirement age is 47 years old which will be in Feb 2014.I lost my brother exactly 2 weeks ago and and I have spent all that time with my family really having no obligations for work and I did not realise how that would make me feel. Yesterday I spoke to the group who bought the bulk of my websites in January and they are going to buy the other assets from me. I think I am going to start a blog and then make a serious attempt to get to my ideal weight. I lost 30 pounds last year in 4 months and felt very good but with the stress of my brother's sickness I put 20 pounds back.Today I am in my Newfoundland house enjoying the snowfall ,one downfall of being in a small town and depending on my wheelchair is having to spend so much time inside.Definitely not as much freedom as being back in Ontario .


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## Nemo2

marina628 said:


> I lost my brother exactly 2 weeks ago


Condolences regarding your brother, Marina, (it's always devastating to lose a loved one), and congratulations on your pending retirement.......(see you on a cruise someday!)


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## kcowan

Nemo2 said:


> (see you on a cruise someday!)


Some friends went on a relocation cruise from Copenhagen to Ft Lauderdale in Oct. They booked a handicapped room because they were in a surplus. Much bigger stateroom and bathroom for the same price. They seem to cater to them.


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## kcowan

We just returned from a Becas Breakfast, the inaugural event for the returning gringos and gringas where the proceeds go to finance scholarships for Mexicans. It was great to meet all our snowbird friends again here in PV.


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## dave2012

Marina, what were the nature of your websites that you sold?


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## Nemo2

kcowan said:


> Some friends went on a relocation cruise from Copenhagen to Ft Lauderdale in Oct.


IIRC the price on that one really dropped at the last minute....if we hadn't been on the Nieuw Amsterdam we would have jumped at it.......(as it is, since the price on _this_ one also dropped, we're sailing out of Rome on Nov 24 on the Celebrity Constellation for Ft. Lauderdale.........flying to Rome a week from today.......hey, I'm not getting any younger!)


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## My Own Advisor

Nemo2, didn't you JUST get back from a cruise?


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## marina628

dave2012 said:


> Marina, what were the nature of your websites that you sold?


Various websites/directories in different niches but it was more than websites it was our mailing lists ,clients past and present ,we did SEO/Marketing but also ran successful affiliate websites too. The remain lot consists of Servers ,150 or so websites ,mainly software ,skincare ,audiobooks ,electronics and travel websites/blogs and many affiliate accounts that have many years of solid revenue.


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## marina628

I will be going on a cruise just not sure exactly where and when. We missed our 25th anniversary cruise last month because of my brother's illness. Wheelchair cabins usually have extra 30 sq ft to get in the door and because of the bathroom Not much else.I get my workout on cruise ships pushing myself on that thick carpet.


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## Nemo2

My Own Advisor said:


> Nemo2, didn't you JUST get back from a cruise?


Indeed we did......_but_.....this repositioning cruise was on sale (as was the previous one), we have zero debt, (generally) spend less than we make (although this year, with four 'international' vacations might come close), don't touch our principal....and...as I say "I'm not getting any younger". :chuncky:


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## PrairieGal

Nemo2 said:


> Indeed we did......_but_.....this repositioning cruise was on sale (as was the previous one), we have zero debt, (generally) spend less than we make (although this year, with four 'international' vacations might come close), don't touch our principal....and...as I say "I'm not getting any younger". :chuncky:


Good for you Nemo! You are living the dream.


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## Sammi

Im hoping to retire by 56.


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## maggie179550

I would like to retire in 3 years when I am 48


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## Nuke

My goal was age 55 when I reached factor 90 full pension in the Provincial government at age 55 after 35 years of service. I ended up leaving just before 36 years service, after applying for and being awarded a full time job with a local municipality. I left that job after 4 years (still acquired an 8% pension that will be awarded at age 65 in a few years) did a little consulting, now travel extensively. Nice to have a plan but be prepared to change things up and recognize and take an opportunity should it arise. Sure was nice to have that full pension and full time salary for a few years.


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## marina628

Well I am please to say that my official retirement date is December 30 ,2013.We have secure the sale and the handover is just days away.I decided that we are going to take the hit and pay the penalty to be mortgage free on Jan 8 ,it is a emotional decision for me than financial so mortgage burning party happening January 10.My husband gave me my challenge If I can make $30 a day we can take our daughter to school and go our for breakfast 4 days a week .People who know me well are taking bets on what I will be doing one year from now but I am really going to give it a try to do nothing for the next year except read ,travel and just focus on my health .I need to lose some weight and with my physical limitation it is difficult but I have to do it for myself .Maybe in 2014 I will get to meet some of you locals


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## kcowan

Congratulations Marina. Good luck with your weight loss regimen. I bet in a year you will have your finger in some endeavour that makes money.


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## My Own Advisor

Congratulations Marina!

Jealous but because it seems you've been very smart with money, you've earned it.


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## marina628

Thanks guys in many ways I feel like I won the lottery but since preserving capital will be my game play moving forward I will probably spend most of my time managing my investments.We are buying some more rental properties so these will be our main source of revenue.


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## RBull

It's going to be this year. Originally I was thinking of December, but am strongly considering going before the summer and my 55th birthday. My wife has been retired for about 2.5 years now. I phased down 2+ years ago to P/T.


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## amitdi

I turned 30 recently and hope to retire somewhere between 47-53 if situation permits. i.e I have enough passive income to support me and my wife. My son will be in late teens-early 20s and hopefully would be close to taking on the world on his own.


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## diharv

Jon_Snow said:


> Personally, I wouldn't work one minute longer than I had to... thats why I am going to be done with work before my 42nd birthday. Life is too short folks....
> 
> I am vacationing in Mexico right now - actually had a nice visit with fellow CMF'er Daniel A. last night... talk about a guy for whom early retirement really works - the contentment simply radiates from him. He is here for another 4 months while I have to leave in 10 days to my meat grinder job during yet another Canadian winter.... not for much longer though. :tongue-new:


Man I would like to know what that "contentment" feels like on a permanent basis. I imagine it feels like I do at the beginning of a two or three week holiday. Just a calm and peaceful feeling in my heart and mind that you think man nothing could derail this feeling I have right now.But in my case as the holiday goes on the feeling goes away and begins to be replaced by dread and anxiety about having to go back to the "meat grinder" job.The last night before returning to work is the absolute worst . Then the next day I begrudgingly go to work and then ususally after the first hour after I get my chops back I think that what the hell was all the anxiety about. The problem is even though it always goes like this , I cannot for the life of me turn that anxiety and dread into anticipation. I mean I don't hate my job but I am looking forward to hangin em up so to speak. I am a few weeks short of 49 and I have set a date as to when I will retire. I'll turn 55 on Feb 11 2020 but I'll go until the end of June when my youngest finishes that school year. She will finish grade 11 that year. This is a self imposed deadline subject to revision to a different (sooner !) date of course. It will depend how much longer I will be able to tolerate having to go through all of my self imposed anxiety and dread. As Mr Jon says he would not work one minute longer than he has to. The trick is figuring out when that minute occurs. I really do not want to replace the **** I go through now with worries about if I have enough , will I have enough etc. because that would suck and not be fun at all and not provide me with that contentment that I so desperately want to have when I retire. Thanks all!


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## marina628

Hey guys I got out of bed at 11am today !I am doing well with this retirement phase except for fact I have a new knee surgery in my future probably in next month or so.Back to my diet and lost 4 pounds in the past 8 days but really trying to find some exercisers I can do from my chair that will burn some extra calories or it will be a slow process.


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## Jon_Snow

Diharv, I used to fret about running out of money and having to enter the meat grinder again. But a lot of things have come together that should allow me leave my job, even in my early 40's. There is so much I want to do, and much of it I would prefer to do when I am still young(ish), because my passions tend to be the outdoorsy, fitness type activities. I really think 2014 is my last year in the "grinder". Starting to think about when I am going to give my employer my "notice". 

To be honest, hanging around all the ER blogs has only reinforced my belief that I can do this.


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## Synergy

marina628 said:


> Hey guys I got out of bed at 11am today !I am doing well with this retirement phase except for fact I have a new knee surgery in my future probably in next month or so.Back to my diet and lost 4 pounds in the past 8 days but really trying to find some exercisers I can do from my chair that will burn some extra calories or it will be a slow process.


NEAT - Non-Exercise-Activity-Thermogenesis. Just keep moving - fidget, etc. Don't stop! Turn the thermostat down if you can tolerate the cold - shivering = calorie burn:biggrin:

Best of luck on your surgery. It's always best to try an strengthen the knee as much as you can pre-surgery (prehab). Some can significantly prolong the need for surgery while others have avoided surgery all together.

No plans on retiring early at this point, I have enough free time as it is BUT my goal is to have the financial capacity to retire by age 50.


----------



## marina628

My body and cold don't go well together ,as for surgery it is a 'maintenance' surgery I get every few years because of my car accident.Have managed to put it off for 2 years but really need it this year ,eventually I will get a new knee but pushing that off for a few more years.


----------



## Ponderling

Dear wife wants to work no later than when she is 60 - another 10 years. She likes comminicating with others, and works a job where the phone rings likely 50-60 times a day.

I am happy talking to a few pals once in a while, and wife after she has finished 'talking' on facebook in the morning, and comes to sit down for breakfast. 

My youngest kid is 10 now. The last 10 years have virtually flown by, in the big scheme of things. In about 5-6 years he will be mostly independent from me ( older brother is 14 now, and wants nothing to do with me already other than his allowance). 

My goal is to taper off to working a few days less for a few years before quitting entirely. That should allow me to wind up or hand over day to day actions on projects that I manage at work. 

Thanks to Steve's RRIFMetrics program I now know I am not nuts in dreaming of mostly retiring by 53, and entirely by 56-58. Only a major equity/bond correction would change my mind. 

We happily live a pretty frugal life, and are debt free. The house was paid off about 6 years ago. Current assets sit aroud $1M, and we are set to up savings to about 60K per year for the next 5 or so years. Aim to spend about $60K per year for first decade of retirement then likely see that taper off a bit as the big trips get tossed out of the bucket containing our 'someday' lists.

RESP is healthy, so I am not too concerned about needing to work to get kids into first batch of schooling. If they want to do a grad school course, that is up to them.


----------



## Synergy

marina628 said:


> My body and cold don't go well together ,as for surgery it is a 'maintenance' surgery I get every few years because of my car accident.Have managed to put it off for 2 years but really need it this year ,eventually I will get a new knee but pushing that off for a few more years.


Not a realistic global solution but I was surprised to see some actual research on the topic:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/experts-find-that-feeling-cold-can-keep-you-slim-256203.html


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## Taraz

I'd like to retire at 130. Hopefully medical technology will indulge me.


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## jambo411

I first posted this thread April 2009 with plans to retire at 59. Didn't work out. Increased penalties for early retirement, some grandtwins and a new boat interfered. In addition two years ago my company discovered that they should have been paying us Isolated Post Allowance for the last 15 years (no back pay though). Along with new technology I am getting paid more and more for doing less and less. I don't mind the job, just the shift work. 

Once I hit my minimum retirement age this August I will see what my numbers are and extend in 6 month increments. DW has to work for 4 more years anyways so no big rush to retire now. Also it nice to have medical and travel insurance covered.


----------



## saskstu

I'll be 59. Actually any day now. Hoping to make it to the start of the new allocation of vacation days in May and then just begin a never ending summer holiday. :biggrin: The last few weeks I've been devouring this and similar websites looking for suggestions and answers to so many questions. After 40 years in the workforce I think it is now time to kick back and enjoy the grandchildren. :tickled_pink:


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## newtothegame

Unless I win the lottery, most likely day parole at 60, and full parole at 65!


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## jacofan

hoping for 52 at the latest


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## hystat

60 seems like the right age for me per my pension, but markets will tell me if I can go earlier. I would like to clear the way for a young person to take my place so no later than 60. 
so another 11 years.. 2025
I've been there 10 now. and that 10 went fast.


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## Beaver101

newtothegame said:


> Unless I win the lottery, most likely day parole at 60, and full parole at 65!


 ... may want to step up the game and get early parole at 55 ... :biggrin:


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## Jagas

I am aiming for late 50's/early 60's and will likely do a gradual retirement rather than cold turkey.


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## Jon_Snow

With all the financial whizzes on this site, I'm a little surprised at all the people planning on working into their late 50's and early 60's... Come on CMF'ers, there is a lot more to life than work. :tongue-new:

I know there are some early retirement disciples around, but... feels like I'm on a bit of an island here sometimes.

*scurries over to Mr. Money Mustache site*


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## Jacq

Jon_Snow said:


> With all the financial whizzes on this site, I'm a little surprised at all the people planning on working into their late 50's and early 60's... Come on CMF'ers, there is a lot more to life than work. :tongue-new:
> 
> I know there are some early retirement disciples around, but... feels like I'm on a bit of an island here sometimes.
> 
> *scurries over to Mr. Money Mustache site*


LOL Jon! Site/forum demographics are an interesting thing. It seems to me that there is probably about 1000% more people with a pension on here than there would be on a site like MMM. That creates job-lock. The age is probably higher here thus possibly less naive and less willing to think that you'll still be wanting to camp when you're 65. Plus there may be a more traditional use of the word "retirement" here - which makes total sense to me. Even I can't say when I want to really *retire* as in no attempt to make any kind of money (other than some time spent investing). Right now I'd be a fool to quit working and leave a whole lot on the table in prime earning years. It's bad enough that I've downshifted into about 1/2 time salary with contract work where I refuse to work in the summer. 

My guess is that people on the mustache forum look at retirement as semi-FI. They're newbie converts and that's how newbie converts tend to think (I know because I was one and crashed and burned on the pyre of my naivety). Well, you can do that when you're young and can go back to work and get another job easily. Try doing it when you're 50+ and it's not that great. I'm not there yet, but I know I wouldn't want to be looking to get back into my career after a long hiatus at that age. 

Not all of us have the huge safety net of a spouse that wants to continue to work (and I know you appreciate that very much). Many don't expect or have never received inheritances (I don't count on anything at all) - some may even have to support aging parents who have under saved. Some of us feel that our kids are getting into an economic climate that is nowhere near as opportune as the one we went through and want to help them out. I would guess that mustache people are young enough that they don't even think about these things or have to.


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## Jon_Snow

Hey Jacq! I noticed that you signed up... love your contributions to some of the ER blogs - miss yours though. 

Interesting comment about "job-lock". I have a excellent pension that I am more than willing to walk away from - I've been saving and investing as though I don't even have a pension. I suppose there are those who chose to "hang in there" until the pension reaches maturity. That won't work for me.

Time has now become more valuable than money.


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## Plugging Along

Jon_Snow said:


> With all the financial whizzes on this site, I'm a little surprised at all the people planning on working into their late 50's and early 60's... Come on CMF'ers, there is a lot more to life than work. :tongue-new:
> 
> I know there are some early retirement disciples around, but... feels like I'm on a bit of an island here sometimes.
> 
> *scurries over to Mr. Money Mustache site*


I don't imagine early retirement for us. For us, the kids were the game changer. Though we have a good networth for our age (probably just behind yours now), with two young dependants, they not only cost a lot more, but if feel we need more in terms of financial security. 

My retirement age is not base on a dollar amount but rather the age I expect my youngest to be fully out on her own on the world.


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## RBull

Jon_Snow said:


> With all the financial whizzes on this site, I'm a little surprised at all the people planning on working into their late 50's and early 60's... Come on CMF'ers, there is a lot more to life than work. :tongue-new:
> 
> I know there are some early retirement disciples around, but... feels like I'm on a bit of an island here sometimes.
> 
> *scurries over to Mr. Money Mustache site*


Jon, from what you regularly post your situation seems quite different than most. You've mentioned an unusually high income that most on here don't have. You've mentioned living at a very low cost. You've mentioned having a pension. You've mentioned receiving a very large inheritance.

If you think about this you probably have the answer as to why many on here are projecting a typical or perhaps slightly earlier than average retirement date, and not a very early retirement.


----------



## Guban

Plugging Along said:


> I don't imagine early retirement for us. For us, the kids were the game changer. Though we have a good networth for our age (probably just behind yours now), with two young dependants, they not only cost a lot more, but if feel we need more in terms of financial security.
> 
> My retirement age is not base on a dollar amount but rather the age I expect my youngest to be fully out on her own on the world.


I have been thinking similar thoughts as your last statement. At what point is it not about the money, and more about being a model of a productive citizen for the kids to emulate? It's difficult enough to get the kids to work hard, but to do so when the parents have retired early? That sounds like a challenge to me.


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## Jon_Snow

RBull said:


> Jon, from what you regularly post your situation seems quite different than most. You've mentioned an unusually high income that most on here don't have. You've mentioned living at a very low cost. You've mentioned having a pension. You've mentioned receiving a very large inheritance.
> 
> If you think about this you probably have the answer as to why many on here are projecting a typical or perhaps slightly earlier than average retirement date, and not a very early retirement.


And no kids. And in no way am I counting on the inheritance.


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## Ihatetaxes

Jon_Snow said:


> And no kids. And in no way am I counting on the inheritance.


Like Jon my wife and I have amassed a significant net worth (I think I am ahead :tongue-new.

Unlike Jon I really enjoy my career (and so does my wife).

Unlike Jon we have kids to provide for (and like Plugging Along think my full retirement will be correlated to my youngest heading off to University).

So while I could liquidate assets, move to a small town and retire now with a pretty decent income from investments, I will continue to live a balanced life. No sweat shop hours, tons of family time and a well above average standard of living.

I wouldn't trade places with Mr. MM in a million years. That guy seems to spend all his time renovating his house which he doesn't really enjoy or writing blogs about how everyone out there is an idiot for driving a fuel sucking car and wasting money on pretty much everything they buy. His family budget last year was somewhere around $25k I believe. I don't really see living that frugally as a big accomplishment unless you REALLY hated working.

In Jon's shoes I would be doing the same as he is planning to do. No kids, great island, fat investment portfolio and a shitty job? See ya!


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## My Own Advisor

ha, LOL, @ihatetaxes

Within another 10 years, late-40s, maybe my wife and I could liquidate everything, also move to a small town and live a simple life. I don't want that and it would not make me happy.

I enjoy where we live and want to retire in Canada with the opportunity to travel a few times per year in retirement.

So, that means I need to save a bundle and work until 55 for that.

I also wouldn't trade places with MMM in a million years even though I like reading his posts, if nothing more for a different take. I don't agree that "idoits" are the ones with cars, everything is a choice in life. Living uber-frugal is a choice, so is spending your money. There are pros and cons that come with both. 

@Jon, I just hope you take the plunge sooner than later!

@ihatetaxes, what your retirement date again?


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## RBull

Who is this MMM?


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## Nemo2

RBull said:


> Who is this MMM?


John Galt? :wink:


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## Ihatetaxes

My Own Advisor said:


> @ihatetaxes, what your retirement date again?


I think winding it down gradually once I hit 50 and by 53-55 really just working a minimal amount. Then continue to take assets out of my company as income until 60 via sale of commercial property or sale of company (or both). Who knows though as I may want to continue coming in a couple days a week until I am late 50's. Christ if you saw my office you would think I was crazy to want to leave at all. My wife will hit menopause at some point while my kids are teenagers and I might want to sleep at the office a few days a week... :biggrin:


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## My Own Advisor

Mr. Money Mustache. Early retiree by way of extreme frugality.


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## Jacq

My Own Advisor said:


> Mr. Money Mustache. Early retiree by way of extreme frugality.


Since he spends about the same and possibly more than I do if you take away my commute, mortgage, RV costs, renovations and other creative ways I could do my accounting but choose not to since I prefer reality, I don't consider him extremely frugal... :tongue-new: Extremely judgmental perhaps about other people's spending and overly / inefficiently concerned with minutiae in a way I've only ever seen slightly OCD people being, but not really that out of touch for spending at the median family income levels in the US. IIRC that's about $50k/annum. About $25k + mortgage/imputed rent and low transportation costs due to being fortunate in living close to work or not working at all is ~ $40-45k which isn't that low (depending on where you live).


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## RBull

My Own Advisor said:


> Mr. Money Mustache. Early retiree by way of extreme frugality.


Thanks.


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## fraser

I retired three years ago at age 58. Financially there was no issue, the real issue was is this what I really wanted.

Three years on we have travelled extensively to many places on our list. Overall health is better. We still have a long list of things on our to do lists.

I had infrequent slight pangs of regret but the freedom to do what we wanted when we wanted quickly erased those pangs. As did the case of a colleague who retired at an older age, discovered cancer a month later, and is now battling this full time.


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## RBull

fraser said:


> I retired three years ago at age 58. Financially there was no issue, the real issue was is this what I really wanted.
> 
> Three years on we have travelled extensively to many places on our list. Overall health is better. We still have a long list of things on our to do lists.
> 
> I had infrequent slight pangs of regret but the freedom to do what we wanted when we wanted quickly erased those pangs. As did the case of a colleague who retired at an older age, discovered cancer a month later, and is now battling this full time.


This all sounds like a great decision for you. My wife retired at 53 and I am about to do this in 3 months when I turn 55. For us it's mostly a financial consideration being able to continue an acceptable lifestyle, but also thinking a lot about so many years in retirement and staying happy. 

I am encouraged by so many posts by people saying it has been the right choice to go earlier and all of the people we know that say the same thing. Enjoying life now while health is good is also a factor to consider. 

I am working on a to do(bucket) list and also my daily/weekly activities list to stay active and involved. My wife can be happy being a little less focused.


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## piano mom

I started a thread just over 2 years ago about my husband losing his job and wondering if he should retire at 44. He has been on yearly contract since and recently found out that his employment has been made permanent with the crown corporation. Before this discovery, we had decided that he would retire once they stop renewing his yearly contract because we have, according to his very detailed spreadsheet, enough saved to provide for a lean but comfortable retirement. 

Now that he is on permanent status, we are thinking why not keep working. He earns a good wage, accumulates pension and excellent extended health care coverage. Afterall he is only 45 now and our daughters are still in school. So... our present decision is for him to keep working making good money while living it up a little. We are thinking maybe go on a couple of trips a year and perhaps get a new car? Life is looking good


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## Nemo2

piano mom said:


> We are thinking maybe go on a couple of trips a year and perhaps get a new car?


Go for more/better trips and buy a used car. :encouragement:


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## amitdi

Nemo2 said:


> Go for more/better trips and buy a used car. :encouragement:


+1. you will remember the trips more than driving a new car


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## piano mom

We have been looking at new cars and yes, it makes more sense buying a slightly used car at a discount. As for vacations, we still have 2 kids in school who need to be dropped off and picked up so it is going to be tough planning them. 

It is wonderful that my husband is now the one deciding when he wants to retire as opposed to being forced to. Up until now, we have been frugal with our spending. He says as long as we can relax and start enjoying our lives (spending more), he has no problem continuing working his somewhat "enjoyable" job. Who knows when he will retire now?


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## jacofan

amitdi said:


> +1. you will remember the trips more than driving a new car


Trips are great but I don't remember too much my trips after a year but I still get a kick driving in my cars even after a few years. I'd get a good used car and spend the saved money on the trip. I can't wait till the spring to take the cover off my summer car - and its 43 years old! I have no memories of trips from 1971 so the car wins! :chuncky:


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## Andrew

Age 55.


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## mrbizi

As long as I'm healthy and i can still perform well in my chosen vocation, I am not planning on retiring. Cut down in work hours perhaps, but never retiring. 

"an idle mind is the workshop of the devil" is so true for me. My high school aged daughter wants to become an MD, so that would be another reason for me to keep working.


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## Andy Hammond

Having retired in December 2012 only advice I would offer is NOT to set a specific date. Your chronological age may be very different from your physical health age... I have met a significant number of "old" younger people !! Work out you findependence date and enjoy !! I started my own business...and still having fun


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## Addy

We're planning our first trip to Thailand this summer. Our target retirement age is around 55, but something tells me after our trip we may be wanting to retire immediately, in our early/mid 40's!


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## marina628

well I have been retired two full months and just getting caught up on life and getting organized for the next chapter.We bought Rosetta Stone and we are going to start learning Spanish not sure how my ascent will sound maybe should stick to french .


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## marina628

amitdi said:


> +1. you will remember the trips more than driving a new car


We have done many road trips so a good reliable car could save money on trips too.


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## Jon_Snow

Still still sticking with 42, though I wouldn't be surprised if OMY syndrome gets its hooks into me near the end of this year... we will see if I have the guts to do it.


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## Jacq

I think this year (48 y.o.) might be it for me. Two more months to be exact. 

Sometimes I wonder if I continue to work (albeit off and on) to avoid doing things that are harder - writing my novel and the fear I have around that and potential failure in that (that it is not very good), renovating the house, discovering what life could be outside of work and thinking "oh, I shouldn't start doing that because I could be going back to work at any time". 

And sometimes I wonder if I am getting addicted to seeing the stash grow - since it does grow super quickly once you get to a certain point. I remember the years of seeing $1k increments per month and being quite happy about that. Now if I don't see growth of 5 figures in a month (either infusions or gains), it feels strange and not very pleasant. I'll never be able to replace my income but never expected to be able to. And it's not necessary anyway since I don't spend anywhere near what I take in when working. 

I also have a hard time believing that I can spend what my own spreadsheets and other calculators tell me I can spend. It doesn't feel like it's enough even though the gains I've had YTD are > my spending last year and my projected dividends etc. are > my spending last year. I guess at some point you have to let go and trust that things will be okay. And if they're not, there's always a plan B and C.


----------



## Canuck

Jacq said:


> I think this year (48 y.o.) might be it for me. Two more months to be exact.
> 
> Sometimes I wonder if I continue to work (albeit off and on) to avoid doing things that are harder - writing my novel and the fear I have around that and potential failure in that (that it is not very good), renovating the house, discovering what life could be outside of work and thinking "oh, I shouldn't start doing that because I could be going back to work at any time".
> 
> And sometimes I wonder if I am getting addicted to seeing the stash grow - since it does grow super quickly once you get to a certain point. I remember the years of seeing $1k increments per month and being quite happy about that. Now if I don't see growth of 5 figures in a month (either infusions or gains), it feels strange and not very pleasant. I'll never be able to replace my income but never expected to be able to. And it's not necessary anyway since I don't spend anywhere near what I take in when working.
> 
> I also have a hard time believing that I can spend what my own spreadsheets and other calculators tell me I can spend. It doesn't feel like it's enough even though the gains I've had YTD are > my spending last year and my projected dividends etc. are > my spending last year. I guess at some point you have to let go and trust that things will be okay. And if they're not, there's always a plan B and C.



Wow that is exactly my situation. I'm 48 and I'm strongly thinking of retiring on June 1. Your entire last paragraph is also my situation, my gains so far this year are more than what I spent in all of 2013, and my yearly dividend income is about 30% higher than my yearly spending. Still a bit nervous though, mostly because my investments are pretty much solely in the stock market. 

"I guess at some point you have to let go and trust that things will be okay" I'm trying to wrap my head around that


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## HomeChef

Jacq said:


> since it does grow super quickly once you get to a certain point. I remember the years of seeing $1k increments per month and being quite happy about that. Now if I don't see growth of 5 figures in a month (either infusions or gains), it feels strange and not very pleasant.


Congratulations on your achievements! I read this and laughed (incredulously), I celebrated $1k monthly gains with my spouse last year, when I looked at our spreadsheet and saw this trend I was so happy and proud. The thought of 5 figure monthly gains is beyond me... A dream for 20 years down the road but a nice goal to work toward. Thanks for sharing.


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## Jacq

HomeChef said:


> Congratulations on your achievements! I read this and laughed (incredulously), I celebrated $1k monthly gains with my spouse last year, when I looked at our spreadsheet and saw this trend I was so happy and proud. The thought of 5 figure monthly gains is beyond me... A dream for 20 years down the road but a nice goal to work toward. Thanks for sharing.


Homechef, you'll get to the point (probably sooner than you think) where your portfolio moves up or down by 5 figures in a single day. I'm still not used to it and it's almost like a monopoly game. Can't help but get super excited when everything's green and start thinking about what to invest in when everything's red. It will definitely happen for you too - keep your old spreadsheets to remember how far you've come. Compounding is truly magical.  
It's especially fun to watch dividends grow since they are more secure and predictable. A month of saving can take care of the electricity bill - forever. A year or two of saving can cover a lifetime of travel. Those little mini-goals are what will keep you excited and keep you going. What fun it all is! :encouragement:


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## JordoR

65-70. I quite enjoy my job, and will probably switch to part-time consultant sometime at 60. All depends, it's hard to predict... if I have the funds I might say enough is enough and just sit on the beach somewhere.


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## Gimme the Green

Assuming I am part of a DB pension plan to the end, 56 is my earliest possible age with no penalty to the pension. That is the goal I will base all my planning on from here on out (i'm 35 now). That will get me 60% of my best 5 years unless things change. My ace in the hole is the fact that my wife and I do not EVER want to have children. Should save a pile with that fact alone!


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## BeautifulAngel

I'm hoping to retire when I'm 65, I am currently 24 years old. My boyfriend and I have been planning our retirement for when we are 65.


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## naysmitj

I planned on retiring at 55, then 60, then 65 but I find at 67 that my enjoyment of my job combined with good health for both my wife and myself, we are now thinking 70. But then again you just never know.


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## kcowan

Just remember that, with luck, you will have about 13 years to enjoy retirement.


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## afulldeck

When I started work I originally planned to retire at 52, however, life has since got in the way. Somewhere in my late 40's I agree to squash my ER plans so that my DW could achiever her dream of a MA and PHD. So she went back to school mid-career for seen years and now would like to use her extra education in a more direct way (and she likes to work). She is much younger than I am, so I see no reason to really quit working yet --- if she is continuing to work. Beside I seem to get plenty of time to myself in between consulting gigs.


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## Thal81

My target is 45... it's a purely subjective number, I've been building towards financial independence and it will happen at around that time.


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## milhouse

I only made it through the first few pages for now. Some interesting points even from 8 years back. 

When I first started seriously thinking about ER, my original "retirement" target was 55 due to the whole freedom 55 hype and because I didn't have a good grasp of how to analyze and forecast our situation. Savings, investments, and life in general have been fairly good so I've moved it up to about 50. 
I have some numbers in mind that I want to hit but even with ideal conditions, I can't see me realistically hitting those number more than a year faster. However, if I get "pushed" between now and 50, I'd probably just call it career.


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## gibor365

My target was 55,but I was laid off with package at 50. So, be it


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## nathan79

I've always figured that it would be years from now since I was thinking of buying a house. I doubt that'll happen now, which frees me up a little. I'm thinking age 45 if I decide to keep renting, or 65 if I do end up buying a house.

I probably wouldn't really retire, though -- just work about half as much and and maybe try some odd jobs.


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## alex_mercer

Retire before 40. Start freelancing. That's my current plan.


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## birdman

Retired at 55 some 17 years ago and how great it is. However, thought I would mention that working was also fine and except for the occasionally day not a real chore and actually quite enjoyable. Mind you, not as good as retirement. I guess the point I am trying to make is find a job which you enjoy and don't fret over wanted to retire early. Life is a joy.


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## Dilbert

About six months from now, I'll be 61, then. :biggrin:


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## gardner

Any day now for me -- at 53 or so -- it is a matter of timing a few things around the tax year at this point.


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## TomB19

My original plan was to retire before I was 40. I was in pretty good shape at 34; had a large apartment block and some money saved. Things started going badly, then turned worse, then went completely to crap. Fortunately, I never quit my job.

I was in shape to retire again at 43. It would have been a bit austere but I have a hunch it would have been OK. I would have still done some less formal jobs to make side money. I kept working because I was in a somewhat new relationship and my wife loves her job. She wanted to keep working. So, I kept working.

Now I'm 50 and we are both ready to quit. We've both suffered significant loss. We're down to 3 months, 7 days, an hour, and 21 minutes. Or so....

My biggest fear was being wealthy enough to retire and just walking off work one day, when someone made me angry. I didn't want it to end like that. It hasn't, although there were some times three years ago when I considered it.

Also, it has taken some time to internalize the idea of not getting up and going to work every day. I suspect everyone goes through this and it's OK; it's part of the process.


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## AltaRed

I don't think it is a good idea to simply retire 'young' and not stay productive in some 'semi-structured' way. Firstly, there is almost no one else retiring before age 55 so does a 47 yr old hang out with 55+ types at the golf course? If one wants to stop slaving 50 hrs per week for the man, great, but switch that burden with something less demanding and more enjoyable. I retired at 57 and while I was really ready to fall out of the 60+ hr weeks, it took some time to feel productive and useful again. If I could have had a way to feather my way out over a few years, that would have likely been better. Course now, 11.5 yrs later, I can't imagine where the time has gone and glad I left at 57.


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## RBull

My thoughts exactly AltaRed. 

Going very early has its issues unless someone has a serious plan to be somewhat more engaged or semi structured. The word "retired" means different things to different people too and I tend to observe the more traditional view of it. 

I was already working in a little more relaxed career situation started 2 years earlier when I semi retired at age 52 moving to PT 60%, at the time my wife fully retired, and later I fully retired on my 55 birthday. If I could have kept moving that employment to 40%, then 20% I may have have kept doing it for another 5 years or so but that wasn't an option. Although even that would negatively affected our travel interests that we have thoroughly enjoyed so far. There are not many people around my age retired in this area, and those that have are almost exclusively ex government people (as was my wife). So I totally get it with the hanging around with people of a different age group, especially as we moved to a more rural (read elderly) area about 6 years ago. 

I am really enjoying being 100% in charge of my own day and very glad I left when I did. My wife is ecstatic about not having to work anymore. However I am considering looking into something on a volunteer basis that might give me a little feeling of productivity as long as it can be on my terms.


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## TomB16

RBull said:


> Going very early has its issues unless someone has a serious plan to be somewhat more engaged or semi structured.


My plans to retire early always included some idea to monetize my time: manage an apartment building, renovate houses, start a landscape business. In that regard, I suppose they weren't really plans for full retirement. They were plans to partially retire. It's only my current plan that has no regard for any form of occasional income. I still plan to work, though.

I'm curious if AltaRed or anyone else who has retired found a way to make money with their hands in retirement and if it was easy to find these opportunities.


----------



## AltaRed

RBull said:


> I am really enjoying being 100% in charge of my own day and very glad I left when I did. My wife is ecstatic about not having to work anymore. However I am considering looking into something on a volunteer basis that might give me a little feeling of productivity as long as it can be on my terms.


Indeed. I got into some volunteer work within a year of retirement, on the Boards of a few non-profits back in AB, one related to a social club and one representing my community with the Planning Dept of Calgary. Witih a later move to BC, I re-engaged in BC, as a volunteer on the Board (and soon to be Pres) of one non-profit, and on a municipal Planning Commission reporting to City Council. Both have measurable obligations but nothing to prevent me from travelling when I want too. They provide just enough structure for me to remain engaged in society. The key is to do something in an area that energizes you. For me, it is love of music, species preservation and municipal land zoning.


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## AltaRed

TomB16 said:


> I'm curious if AltaRed or anyone else who has retired found a way to make money with their hands in retirement and if it was easy to find these opportunities.


I would say it is 'not hard' to find ways to work with your hands on a 'part time' basis (or almost full time if that is what you want). The issue is whether you want to have 'firm' obligations to someone else (paid work). I thought about O&G consulting when I retired but that would make me beholden to my clients. A non-starter. But there are a wide variety of options. 

* One guy I know recently quit being a journeyman electrician....and is now a casual handyman (maintenance) for the local Boys and Girls Club facilities. Not a lot of obligation, about minimum wage, and part time.
* Another guy from a project management background of big construction projects now drives a car dealership courtesy shuttle 2 shifts @ 5 hours per week. He loves the interaction with the passengers and can't really golf 100% of the time anyway.


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## OnlyMyOpinion

How does one pick a target retirement age? What considerations go into setting that date?

If asked, I guess my 'target' early retirement age would have been 60 (in spite of the freedom 55 ads). I had reached financial independence (FI) before that and could have retired earlier I suppose, but was enjoying my career and in peak earning years, unique vacations, etc. Life is busy and time zooms by, I certainly wasn't counting the years or days until I could retire.

I think part of that enjoyment came from reaching FI. After that you work with a different attitude, you work to challenge yourself, to mentor younger folks and enjoy it - not because you need to.

Another consideration is using the last of those peak earning years to build a substantial buffer against future costs, bear markets, etc. 

Also, in our case the kids were starting out their careers in what seems to be an increasingly uncertain world. So working a few more high-value years to know we can help them if necessary to ensure their own FI was worthwhile. 

We have also supported/assisted family on both sides when the need arose, arranged holidays for nieces/nephews to see parts of Canada they wouldn't otherwise see and hopefully broaden their outlook and life goals.

So no regrets working until I was 'old'.


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## RBull

TomB16 said:


> My plans to retire early always included some idea to monetize my time: manage an apartment building, renovate houses, start a landscape business. In that regard, I suppose they weren't really plans for full retirement. They were plans to partially retire. It's only my current plan that has no regard for any form of occasional income. I still plan to work, though.
> 
> I'm curious if AltaRed or anyone else who has retired found a way to make money with their hands in retirement and if it was easy to find these opportunities.


I am curious about that too. I live in a very small area that makes finding that situation more difficult. Likely not impossible but harder, although maybe there are ideas where location isn't critical. 

Your idea is a good one. I "phased down" over a number of years but could have get going had it been something with even a little less involvement.


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## RBull

AltaRed said:


> Indeed. I got into some volunteer work within a year of retirement, on the Boards of a few non-profits back in AB, one related to a social club and one representing my community with the Planning Dept of Calgary. Witih a later move to BC, I re-engaged in BC, as a volunteer on the Board (and soon to be Pres) of one non-profit, and on a municipal Planning Commission reporting to City Council. Both have measurable obligations but nothing to prevent me from travelling when I want too. They provide just enough structure for me to remain engaged in society. The key is to do something in an area that energizes you. For me, it is love of music, species preservation and municipal land zoning.


Good for you. Those are things that would no doubt keep you very "fulfilled" if that is the right word. Those would be beyond my desire for "small" challenge, and likely outside my scope of expertise.


----------



## investigal

OnlyMyOpinion said:


> How does one pick a target retirement age? What considerations go into setting that date?
> 
> If asked, I guess my 'target' early retirement age would have been 60 (in spite of the freedom 55 ads). I had reached financial independence (FI) before that and could have retired earlier I suppose, but was enjoying my career and in peak earning years, unique vacations, etc. Life is busy and time zooms by, I certainly wasn't counting the years or days until I could retire.
> 
> I think part of that enjoyment came from reaching FI. After that you work with a different attitude, you work to challenge yourself, to mentor younger folks and enjoy it - not because you need to.


Looking forward to the day I can achieve this stage of my career. I enjoy my work, but having FI would bring a different and enjoyable outlook. Rather than targeting Retirement Age right now, my goal is to target the FI and enjoying working with this new refreshed viewpoint.
After that, the day I no longer enjoy the work, or find no new challenges, or feel I can't bring any positive contribution to a someone I could mentor in the job, that is the day I will retire. But I know if I look back on this in a few years I might feel differently!


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## Mukhang pera

I am on the "Freedom 95" plan.

Both of my parents lived to that age or a bit more, and should I have the good fortune to be like them and enjoy good health past age 90, then I'll keep working. But it's been about 10 years since I last worked in an office or at any regular or full-time work. When I did have full-time work, I also worked part-time in a niche of publishing and writing. It's all I do now. No more office to attend. No more meetings. No boss. No more Vancouver commuting. Moved off-grid to live on the ocean. Work when I want using satellite internet. I work part of most days. Not because i have to. We have sufficient passive income for our needs. But I'll admit to usually being able to find some use for the "extra" that working provides.

One reason I keep going is for the mental exercise. My work requires me to think a lot. I believe that continuing to exercise one's brain has health benefits. Even if that is incorrect, for me it has value. Perhaps a placebo effect. If I _believe_ I am receiving a benefit, then I am. So I intend to carry on as long as I am able. I get recognition for my work, which still makes me feel good. I get reasonably well compensated for it. No, I am not a $5,000-a-day consultant, which I think some cmf types manage in "retirement". But I can make $500 (before tax) without too much effort, all the while looking out over the ocean. 

On that note, as I now look up from my computer I see a small boat about 1,000 feet offshore. Looking through binoculars, I see it's a couple of adults and a couple of kids fishing. They are not under power or anchored. Drift fishing. No wind and little tide movement so they are pretty much in one spot. Using what appear to be ordinary rods. They have been out there for hours. Same yesterday when I was out staining the front deck. No one fishes there. There's about 800 feet of water under their boat. What can they be fishing? I am tempted to jump in our boat and go out there and ask them. But then I'd have to tell them they are in a closed area. This is a rockfish conservation area. Open only for prawns, crabs and shellfish. 

I do not recognize the boat. Not locals, so it's "tourists" who like to pretend they cannot read the fishing regulations and maps. When such types come fishing close to our shore, I like to walk down to the shore and call out "How's fishing?" They will usually hold up a fish or 2 and say something like "Not bad". I respond with "Well, if you can't catch 'em in a closed zone, then where _can_ you catch 'em?" That always gets the response "Oh really? It's closed here?" They soon leave. One of my little workday amusements/diversions that was not part of working in Vancouver.

So, my continuing to work my little part-time gig suits me just fine. It does not much feel like work. I share it with a few others and we cover each other for time off. I can do as much or as little as I like. I am the senior one in the group so I get to control the work volume. It can be done from anywhere in the world where there's internet available for a few hours a week. It's nice to have the internet available in the background for all work time, but it's not really necessary to be connected to be productive. I have done this work since 1979 and I am not worried that it will run out.


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## james4beach

For those of you wondering what to do after you retire... why not academia? You could get a new degree. Personally I would love to see more philosophers in society (I mean the broad use of the term). Older men and women who have gained wisdom and experience, who have time to reflect on life and the big questions of the world - ethics, life, society, law, even the meaning of life.

There aren't enough philosophers and thinkers out there. You could do it less "formally" than the university setting by writing stories, poems, etc.

As I keep working in corporate gigs, what bothers me the most is how everyone around me is scrambling around, fixated and exhausted by their individual little struggles: wife & kids, money, mortgage, career, status, mortgage.

How great it must be to be FREE from all that. What a weight lifted, that can free your mind and soul to think of bigger things. I really think the world benefits from anyone who is doing some serious thinking, who shares it with others. You could write articles or stories, participate in public speaking forums, do an academic study in the field...


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## nobleea

I don't think I will every fully retire in the traditional sense. But certainly I will be retiring from my current career. I could probably do a bit of consulting, but it would not be local and might involve travel to some areas that most people don't travel to. But probably not. My next career will be entrepreneur/creative. I want to have the free time and the play money to tinker around with a variety of things. Maybe they make money, maybe they don't. But they will flex my creative mind and keep my hands and brain busy.

Plus if I can 'retire' from the 9 to 5 world early enough, I can be even more involved in child rearing and school stuff since our kids are still young and we're not one yet. If I was to pull the chute at 45 (I'm 39), our kids would be between 5 to 9, which is when all the field trips, intensive sports, etc starts.

If I could arrange for a large drop in oil prices in 5 or 6 years, that would also be ideal as then I can angle for a layoff package. Given my experience, years of service and salary, that would be a nice buyout.


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## Koogie

I am currently semi-retired and have been since September 2015. Working about 3 days a week on average, 43 weeks a year. 

Probably keep going at this rate for a few more years. My business partner still has kids at home and wants to do about another 5 or 6 years until the youngest one heads to university or whatever. I'm not sure I'll last that long, depending on what comes down the pipe in October regarding small business taxation. Might decide to chuck it in and take a "sabbatical" for a few years and then go back to work if necessary when I am fifty-ish.


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## OutofBounds

I'm planning to leave the work force at age 55 at the latest. That gives me almost 27 years to get my ducks in a row. LOL. If I could retire tomorrow, I would. Work is for chumps. There's so many more important things to do, like fly fishing.


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## Italicum

james4beach said:


> For those of you wondering what to do after you retire... why not academia? You could get a new degree. Personally I would love to see more philosophers in society (I mean the broad use of the term). Older men and women who have gained wisdom and experience, who have time to reflect on life and the big questions of the world - ethics, life, society, law, even the meaning of life.
> 
> There aren't enough philosophers and thinkers out there. You could do it less "formally" than the university setting by writing stories, poems, etc.
> 
> As I keep working in corporate gigs, what bothers me the most is how everyone around me is scrambling around, fixated and exhausted by their individual little struggles: wife & kids, money, mortgage, career, status, mortgage.
> 
> How great it must be to be FREE from all that. What a weight lifted, that can free your mind and soul to think of bigger things. I really think the world benefits from anyone who is doing some serious thinking, who shares it with others. You could write articles or stories, participate in public speaking forums, do an academic study in the field...


First, thank you for your posts, James. I always find them well mannered and respectful.
I am a regular student (learn a lot) on this site but seldom a contributor. This post of yours is too tempting 😊.

Well, i have reached financial independence and get a sense of greater ease while thinking of staying in the work force (self employed) possibly for 3-4 more years, to accomplish two things:
- support my son in university
- to a good degree secure my two children's future as well.

Staying on mainly for their benefit is not a sacrifice. On the contrary, it brings me contentment. This is a 'relaxed' plan not a 'must do' one. Should i for whatever reason (health, lack of contracts, etc.) stop working before the 3-4 years are up, then the first of those two goals will be reached anyhow, in addition to my own secure retirement.

Now, more to your point: i am a regular practioner of meditation and will more heavily focus on my practice and spiritual life once i retire. In the meantime, i am working on taking some of what i learnt in my practice and applying it in both my everyday life and in investing. I endeavour to be aware of, and mitigate, the three forces at play in investing, which also happen to be (in my view) the three main reasons for human unhappiness: greed, fear and delusion (or lack of wisdom. The inability to appreciate the impermanent nature of life and the interconnectes among sentient beings and between them and the natural world).


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## milhouse

AltaRed said:


> * Another guy from a project management background of big construction projects now drives a car dealership courtesy shuttle 2 shifts @ 5 hours per week. He loves the interaction with the passengers and can't really golf 100% of the time anyway.


That's kind of funny because I work in project management and my wife keeps asking what I'd do with my time in retirement. We occasionally go for walks near this casino where they have a shuttle driver ferry customers in a small 4-6 pax open vehicle from the casino to the major intersection/transportation area and we joked about me doing something like that.


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## milhouse

Retiring for me isn't about "lying on the couch all day" but allowing the freedom to allocate time to explore other things that interest me. I'm hoping a lot of that will be travel but I haven't completely figured out what the rest of that means yet but it could involve volunteering, maybe getting a second degree, etc. 

Kind of similar to what TomB16 says about monetizing his time, MMM talks about money generation kind of just being a byproduct of staying active in retirement. I'm not going to rely on it but if some side income comes my way I'd consider it gravy. I just think it's really dependent on what your interests are and how applicable they are to kind of a side business.


----------



## OnlyMyOpinion

Italicum said:


> Now, more to your point: i am a regular practioner of meditation and will more heavily focus on my practice and spiritual life once i retire. In the meantime, i am working on taking some of what i learnt in my practice and applying it in both my everyday life and in investing. I endeavour to be aware of, and mitigate, the three forces at play in investing, which also happen to be (in my view) the three main reasons for human unhappiness: greed, fear and delusion (or lack of wisdom. The inability to appreciate the impermanent nature of life and the interconnectes among sentient beings and between them and the natural world).


Nice balance. I was thinking of your natural world this morning as DW and I deadheaded flowers with the sun on our back while bumble bees, honybees, butterflies and day moths swirled about in this latter part of the season. We find it 'meditative'. Later today we'll simmer down and freeze some more San Marzano tomatoes for sauce and slice up and freeze some Haralson apples for crumble, cake and pies over the winter.
I've not had much 'down' time since retiring nearly 3 years ago so am enjoying these fall days.


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## DollaWine

25 aiming for 55. Frugality is in my blood


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## TomB16

DollaWine said:


> 25 aiming for 55. Frugality is in my blood


That is not a stretch goal. If you execute well, you will have no problem achieving that and having a nice life in the mean time.

- Learn value investing (Read Ben Graham's book)
- Invest a few hours per week, studying your ideas (I used to spend a few hours each Saturday morning studying real estate versus GICs versus stocks versus other ideas... I cranked out spreadsheet after spreadsheet... and I learned how money flows)
- It's all about wiring your brain to think in a specific way; training yourself to think in helpful patterns. Once you achieve this, investing will be second nature.
- Minimize consumer spending. Maximize spending on appreciating and productive assets.

I have every confidence that you will succeed.


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## kcowan

TomB16 said:


> I have every confidence that you will succeed.


With 30 years to go and all the online resources, an LBYM type should nail it, maybe even aim for 50!


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## ian

Be prepared for the unexpected. Have a backup plan. I have seen people in their early fifties who were financially unprepared for retirement, unexpected job loss, periods of unemployment, drop in remuneration, loss of benefits, etc.

As an aside we live in Calgary. We have been going to the same dentist for 17 years. In the past we had to book well in advance for our usual check ups. For very first time the dentist's office is calling us to remind us that it is time for a checkup and that they can schedule us for the current week. Lots of people have lost their benefits or have had them run out at the end of a two year severance package. I assume many are simply pushing dental visits out until such time as they get another job with benefits.


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## DollaWine

TomB16 said:


> That is not a stretch goal. If you execute well, you will have no problem achieving that and having a nice life in the mean time.
> 
> - Learn value investing (Read Ben Graham's book)
> - Invest a few hours per week, studying your ideas (I used to spend a few hours each Saturday morning studying real estate versus GICs versus stocks versus other ideas... I cranked out spreadsheet after spreadsheet... and I learned how money flows)
> - It's all about wiring your brain to think in a specific way; training yourself to think in helpful patterns. Once you achieve this, investing will be second nature.
> - Minimize consumer spending. Maximize spending on appreciating and productive assets.
> 
> I have every confidence that you will succeed.


Thank you! I've been reading into investing and been practicing with small amounts for over 2 years. I paid off my student debts about a year ago and have built up an emergency fund. Now the road to financial independence is in front of me. Last month I officially started contributing large amounts into my TFSA and modest amounts into my RRSP into low-cost index funds. Saving comes second-nature to me, it's spending my money that I struggle with, haha. Currently saving about 45% of my income every month and still enjoying life!

The journey begins...


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## can_84

That is Awesome! I hope to reach financial freedom in the near future as I am still young and starting out. If you had to pick on one thing that made you successful what would it be? 

Thank you in advance.


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## TomB19

Hard work.


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## nobleea

TomB19 said:


> Hard work.


Not necessarily hard physical work. smart work. Maybe some long hours, though not necessarily working on your day job.


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## FIRE40

My goal is to reach financial independence by the time I'm 40 years old. I don't really like to consider it retirement as I plan to still be working, but in all likely hood on something I have much more desire doing.

-FIRE40


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## Saniokca

40 at the latest for me, probably earlier. I am 33, wife 37 and we have about $1M in investments (although 600k of it in RRSP/LIRA and will be taxed on withdrawal). No house, one child who is 1.5 years old.

I don't call it retirement though - financial independence would probably be more correct. I don't see myself sitting around for 30-40 years of "retirement".


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## Ollyward

FrugalTrader said:


> Lets kick off the new retirement forum with a question. What is your target retirement age?
> 
> I don't have a set age for retirement, however, my goal is to have enough passive income to cover our family expenses. At that point, I will have serious discussions with my wife about my work direction. I would say that it will be some time in my mid-late 40's.
> 
> How about you? Do you have a target retirement age?


I am planning to retire when I reached 50-55 years old. Where I can have a stable life with my family.


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## james4beach

Hi everyone, a millennial here. Without a pension, I will need about 1.5 M in today's dollars to comfortably retire. Based on my average income (factoring in poor job security = gaps in pay) and looking at my annual expenses, I expect to add an average of 25K in new savings each year.

That gives me an estimated retirement at age 60.


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## Ollyward

my dad just turned 60 and he's still working his *** off. he doesn't have any kids to feed but occassionally visits us and spend money on my kids - eat out, have fun, etc... his very young, a bit older than me, girlfriend is literally a street peddler - they have a home based shop wherein the woman successfully manages - selling whatever stuff she can sell and because they live in a remote area, she is like the village mall. she's 45. (im 38)

my grandma is 73 and she's still working for the school that she and my grandpa founded 25 years ago. she is the administratrix of the school and goes there every other day - commutes on her own. grandpa passed away.

mom is 59 and still working.

i guess, what im trying to say is that in our family, retiring is not a prepared topic to talk about - i do think about wanting to relax by the time im 50-55, like i said earlier. but what will do by then?


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## Wanderer

james4beach said:


> Hi everyone, a millennial here. Without a pension, I will need about 1.5 M in today's dollars to comfortably retire. Based on my average income (factoring in poor job security = gaps in pay) and looking at my annual expenses, I expect to add an average of 25K in new savings each year.
> 
> That gives me an estimated retirement at age 60.


I knew it took more than a million, but this still discourages me a little. I am looking at the concept of financial independance more than true retirement though, so it might come a little earlier. I had my mind fixed on 55 as the age for retirement. My mom stopped working at 54, and I admit I started considering it the norm. My dad left his job a few years after (half-retired), and started to do shorter contracts once or twice a year. This might be more what I would be looking for.

I am hoping, howerer, that starting to invest very young might help getting there faster.


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## crgf1k

Just remember that what other people do has nothing to do with you. Forget about the 4% rule and other one-size-fits-all rules of thumb...unless you're pretty sure you're average, then maybe they'll suit you. People act like spending habits and comfort expectations are irrelevant in the retirement calculation. If you ask me, they're everything. I'm 43 and earlier this year I paid cash for a house that has very low property taxes, cashed out my pension and retired with around $560,000 in savings. I have no debt and no dependents. I have an economical car, but ride my bike as much as possible, dry my laundry on the line, I quit drinking, stock up on meat when it's on sale, etc. I'm a licensed mechanic so I fix everything myself. I think this is a critical skill for anyone who wants to retire early because I'm constantly busy fixing and maintaining the car, house, yard, bike, guitars etc, and it would cost a fortune to pay someone to do those things. I gladly trade the comforts & luxuries that my old 6 figure job afforded me, for the ability to sleep as long as I want, workout and practice guitar every day and basically just do what I want 100% of the time. To me there's nothing more uncomfortable than waking up at 4:45am on a cold winter morning and rushing out into the cold so I can go and do something I hate for 12hrs. If you want a family, a nice climate controlled house, fine dining, a new car every 5 years, you'll need a lot more than if you're content living a simple life in a cheap city. Everyone's different though...I worked with people who could retire with a 6 figure pension, but just couldn't bring themselves to leave. I can't wrap my mind around that.


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## nathan79

^ That almost sounds like me, except I've never had and never will have a six-figure job (wrong personality for it). I have no debt, no dependents, no really expensive tastes, and I'm good at fixing things. I'm currently 38 and have 45 as a soft target... but we'll see.

After quitting formal work, I'm thinking of maybe doing handyman-type jobs, or maybe building solid wood furniture and selling it online.

I'm also single... not sure that's really an asset, though it depends how you look at it. It's not something I actively plan for, but I also won't let someone else drag me down financially.


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## Wanderer

You make an excellent point! I do not spend very much, and I guess it's like everything in life, it depends upon the choices you make. Since I am not going to be interested to live in a city during my retirement, the real estate is probably not going to be very expensive. For now, as retirement is still far down the road, I am basically saving the money I can, and investing it as I can.

You are lucky to be good at fixing stuff. It's a great skill to have. Even though I am not very handy, I recently found a new interest in fixing glass, my artistic side loves it. Cars and their maintenance, however, never interested me much. My dad has shown me some pretty basic stuff, like how to do a very simple checkup, and how to change the tires (hoping I remember everything). I'll try to learn more in the future. I don't want to be manipulated into paying too much by the mechanic (heard they sometimes do that).


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## crgf1k

nathan79 said:


> ^ That almost sounds like me, except I've never had and never will have a six-figure job (wrong personality for it). I have no debt, no dependents, no really expensive tastes, and I'm good at fixing things. I'm currently 38 and have 45 as a soft target... but we'll see.
> 
> After quitting formal work, I'm thinking of maybe doing handyman-type jobs, or maybe building solid wood furniture and selling it online.
> 
> I'm also single... not sure that's really an asset, though it depends how you look at it. It's not something I actively plan for, but I also won't let someone else drag me down financially.


If I ever need some additional income, I might consider doing handyman jobs as well. With the aging population, there should be no shortage of work.

As far as being single (or living alone at least), unfortunately I think it's going to be necessary. I've lived with two women in my life, and in the end they both threatened to sue me after I payed for everything for years. With the first one I was actually at risk of having to pay child support for kids that weren't even mine. For the second one, I had a cohabitation agreement, but she's required to have her own lawyer who simply front-loads the turmoil and accuses you of financial abuse for wanting an agreement. I was lucky to get out of both without getting burned too bad, but I'm very reluctant to put my financial independence on the line now. Even if a woman was working and contributing half, how long would that last if she sees me relaxing in the sun all summer? As soon as she decides to quit her job, I'm back in the same boat, wondering how many lawyers I'm going to have to pay for and how long I'll need to support her. It's really sad that the laws have made family life so risky financially.


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## crgf1k

Wanderer said:


> You make an excellent point! I do not spend very much, and I guess it's like everything in life, it depends upon the choices you make. Since I am not going to be interested to live in a city during my retirement, the real estate is probably not going to be very expensive. For now, as retirement is still far down the road, I am basically saving the money I can, and investing it as I can.
> 
> You are lucky to be good at fixing stuff. It's a great skill to have. Even though I am not very handy, I recently found a new interest in fixing glass, my artistic side loves it. Cars and their maintenance, however, never interested me much. My dad has shown me some pretty basic stuff, like how to do a very simple checkup, and how to change the tires (hoping I remember everything). I'll try to learn more in the future. I don't want to be manipulated into paying too much by the mechanic (heard they sometimes do that).


It's easier fixing things these days with the internet. I have a Mini Cooper S and it's horribly unreliable...I should've done more research when I bought it. If I didn't know what I was doing I probably would've spent about $4000 in the past year paying someone to keep it going. The timing chain guide tried to destroy the engine but I caught it just in time...I took the starter apart, soldered it and put it back together and it worked, and a couple days ago I did a carbon cleaning with a toothbrush and oven cleaner haha.


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## MISAOK

Plan to slow down at 55 and completely retire at 60.  I like my work so I don't want to leave too early but I also don't want to hang on too long past my prime either... I've seen how that goes a few times too many.

It might be necessary to reevaluate things after the last round of tax increases though, and the last round of pay decreases.


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## motl

Goal is to be financially independent by 45. Not sure I'll retire fully then but I'll at least have the option. More than likely I'd continue working part-time (my industry or a side gig) for a few years but will see.


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## Saniokca

Ollyward said:


> my dad just turned 60
> my grandma is 73
> mom is 59.


hmm :smile: are you sure the numbers are right?


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## Mukhang pera

Saniokca said:


> hmm :smile: are you sure the numbers are right?


Granny was a precocious toddler.


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## OrganicRain

Age 45 for me, which is later this year. Wife will keep working PT for a while, and I will likely work some seasonal fun part time jobs here and there + find some fun online, or other money making opportunies. (such as furniture refinishing/reselling)

That's on about 950k invested, 3 kids at home still, and a paid off house.


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## NotJustDreaming

Age 46 for me. My last day at work was early June last year. 

We spent the last year travelling around the world with our three kids (2 teens and a tween). It was an amazing experience. We just got back three days ago. 

Lots to catch up on. My BIL (who stayed here in exchange for caring for the cat and house) did the bare minimum. So... almost overwhelming. First day we spent deep cleaning. One neighbour asked how I felt about the garden. I see that’s her priority lol. Mine too but there is still the pile of mail...

Anyway,, technically I was just on sabbatical for the last year. Twenty percent pay cut for four years and I received the deferred salary while we were travelling. It ends 1 July but I put in my resignation which was always my intention. So it’s almost official. DH officially left last year at 48.

We went over my target budget. The Canadian dollar! 

Wow, that’s the first time I’ve really thought about being retired though I’ve been planning this for years. 

DH is contemplating a sweet contract he was offered while we were on the road. Funny how that works. He better not else I fear I’ll technically just be a SAHM.


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## AltaRed

NotJustDreaming said:


> DH is contemplating a sweet contract he was offered while we were on the road. Funny how that works. He better not else I fear I’ll technically just be a SAHM.


You might hint that since he could be hanging around working still, he can also be responsible for the house when he comes home at night and you may continue to enjoy travel experiences.


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## NotJustDreaming

AltaRed said:


> You might hint that since he could be hanging around working still, he can also be responsible for the house when he comes home at night and you may continue to enjoy travel experiences.


I never thought I’d say this but travelling full time is not for us. We did pretty slow travel with many ‘days off’. But if someone offered us a free trip to say Tahiti during our last week of the trip (when we were in Ireland) and we had to postpone going home, I don’t think I’d have had any interest in it. No place like home I guess.

I loved the RTW adventure we just did. But I’ll stick with several shorter trips throughout the year.


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## CPA Candidate

I'd say around 55 but it really depends on the job I have at the time and my salary. If I liked my job and my salary was good/great, I'd keep working.

I like challenges and get bored with leisure pretty quickly. I went on a three day vacation last week and by day 3 I wanted to go home to start working on projects again.


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## kcowan

CPA Candidate said:


> I like challenges and get bored with leisure pretty quickly. I went on a three day vacation last week and by day 3 I wanted to go home to start working on projects again.


You should stop comparing vacation to retirement. They are different. I have been retired since 2002 and we are on a 6 day vacation at present. Then we return to our regular lives not working for anyone! It is truly a joy (and I loved my job too).


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## scorpion_ca

I would say 45 to 50 depends on ROI.


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## Forebiz

I'm currently 40 and had goals of retiring at 43 when my current contract runs out. I have a significant amount saved but feel I may need to work longer to keep up appearances with friends and family. That and I have 3 kids aged 2, 8, and 12 that I want to make sure grow up to have good work ethics.


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## ian

My target was 55. I was ready to go at 56 but wanted a package. I was in no rush. Great job, excellent pay, and my boss was on the other side of the country. Waited another 2 years for the golden handshake. It was well worth the wait-icing on the cake so to speak.


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## ian

I believe that everyone in their very early 50's should start planning for what would happen if they lost their jobs tomorrow. Layoffs, downsizing, whatever. Failure to comprehend and plan for this possibility is folly. It happens frequently.


----------



## Spidey

I had always dreamed of retiring early (in my 50s) but I think it was more due to an unstimulating job than any real desire for retirement. After a stint off work in my 50s I found that I wasn't quite ready for that lifestyle. This lead to a career-change which, until recently, I found so stimulating and fulfilling that for the first time in my life I envisioned working until 65. Alas such an environment didn't last and with a recent reallocation of work assignments (the work I loved was actually moved to a different city), I've now picked a target of 62, which will be in 3 years. Might make sense not to push it much further anyway as that is the age my father died at.


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## AltaRed

ian said:


> I believe that everyone in their very early 50's should start planning for what would happen if they lost their jobs tomorrow. Layoffs, downsizing, whatever. Failure to comprehend and plan for this possibility is folly. It happens frequently.


Indeed, a significant part of my peer community were downsized in their '50s at various times in my career. The more compassionate employers waited until folk were 'early' DB pension eligible at, for example, age 55 before showing them the door.....while the smaller companies didn't give much of a damn at any age. When I got to 55, I made it known I would accept a package but never got offered one (too valuable they said). Pissed me off that a few of my peers lobbied for a package, and got it with an extra few years of salary. Retired on my own initiative at age 57. Had a bit of a work itch for a few years but it went away and I have never regretted it.


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## ian

Same here. I was able to get both. I can say that when I passed an age of 53-54 I realized, and was very cognizant, that it would be just fine from a financial perspective.. I knew that if I got the chop my severance would take me to age 55.

55 was a magic age for us. We got to choose full DB at age 62 (vs age 65) or commuted value payout, supplemental pension kicked in, pension benefits for longer service, and just as important all of our stock options vested and we were given a window three years to exercise them. All of these made a significant difference to our retirement finances when I was fortunate enough to get the package at 58. But for certain I was always considering the plan should I be punted prior to the magic age.

I know of several colleagues who were not financially prepared when they were downsized in their early 50's. For some incredible reason they felt that their skills were too valuable to the company to warrant downsizing.


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## AltaRed

ian said:


> I know of several colleagues who were not financially prepared when they were downsized in their early 50's. For some incredible reason they felt that their skills were too valuable to the company to warrant downsizing.


I never understood that thought process either. I never, ever, made the assumption I was indispensable and took my 40s and 50s to build financial assets.


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## milhouse

At my workplace, there seems to be a constant stream of coworkers in their 50's getting packaged out any time there's a re-org or an organizational shift which, nowadays, seems to be an annual occurrence. I can't blame the company in _some_ respect because it has to keep evolving to stay competitive and relevant in the fast changing world we live in. But it's sad to see coworkers I've known, many for over a decade get pushed out. I think they're generally in a good place from a pension perspective and the buy-out is quite nice so they're kind of low hanging fruit, pushing them into an early retirement. But it's still a shock to many of them and many don't seem mentally ready to leave though some have been waiting for a package. 

Personally, I'm always on edge from late in the year until early spring when projects finally get into full swing. I think once I get within the 2 year stretch run, I'll feel a little more comfortable to the idea of being packaged and make my interest in one known 1 year out if I make it that far.


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## kcowan

milhouse said:


> Personally, I'm always on edge from late in the year until early spring when projects finally get into full swing. I think once I get within the 2 year stretch run, I'll feel a little more comfortable to the idea of being packaged and make my interest in one known 1 year out if I make it that far.


I think you need to reframe this and have a plan for when it happens. It will bring you peace-of-mind. One of the guys that I packaged out was having a real problem until I showed him the financial impact. He had three years to go, but after accepting the change, he went on to work for another 8 years and told me it was some of the most rewarding work he had ever done.


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## ian

I worked in an industry that was downsizing for years. Moving along the curve towards a mature industry. Yes, I was concerned at times but looking back it had some very positive impacts on me. The first was that I had a mortgage, two small children and a wife at home. We made certain that we lived within our means and applied all bonus money, commissions,etc. directly to eliminating our mortgage. The second that my resume was always up to date,I kept up my industry contracts, and would interview for jobs from time to time. For opportunity and for practice. Third was I thought out of the box and changed my role completely-a move that was very much counter to advice of my peers at the time. Many of whom were subsequently packaged. I found myself in neutral and wanted to move forward. It worked.

The biggest was the realization that the company cared about the company,not so much about me. After I quickly go over that the rest was downhill in terms of career and personal financial planning. I think the trick is that you really need to get in this 'zone' and understand that change can be opportunity if you focus on the positive and are mentally and financially prepared for it.


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## AltaRed

milhouse said:


> Personally, I'm always on edge from late in the year until early spring when projects finally get into full swing. I think once I get within the 2 year stretch run, I'll feel a little more comfortable to the idea of being packaged and make my interest in one known 1 year out if I make it that far.


IIRC from prior discussion, you have a solid financial plan that will work just fine whether packaged today or two years from now, the only real difference being degree of safety, or padding, that you want in that plan. I may be mistaken, but my recollection is your financial plan could be executed at any time. Maybe you have not come to terms with what is really putting you on edge from late Fall to early Spring? Is it that you might not make the 'arbitrary' goal post you set for yourself financially, or is it the disappointment you might feel for such an action (against you personally) that could be out of your control?


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## milhouse

kcowan said:


> I think you need to reframe this and have a plan for when it happens. It will bring you peace-of-mind. One of the guys that I packaged out was having a real problem until I showed him the financial impact. He had three years to go, but after accepting the change, he went on to work for another 8 years and told me it was some of the most rewarding work he had ever done.





AltaRed said:


> IIRC from prior discussion, you have a solid financial plan that will work just fine whether packaged today or two years from now, the only real difference being degree of safety, or padding, that you want in that plan. I may be mistaken, but my recollection is your financial plan could be executed at any time. Maybe you have not come to terms with what is really putting you on edge from late Fall to early Spring? Is it that you might not make the 'arbitrary' goal post you set for yourself financially, or is it the disappointment you might feel for such an action (against you personally) that could be out of your control?


It's a little of everything. 
If I think rationally I’m fairly confident we’re not going to struggle if I get packaged today. But I do have a fear of “working without a net”. Psychologically, it’s comforting to know you have an incoming salary to cover your monthly spend. I don’t think I’ll fully overcome this until I’m actually retired and experience the cashflow even though I can run some models now. 
But it's also about leaving on my own terms and hitting the targets that I've set even though they are in some ways arbitrary. I’m kind of obsessive about trying to hit my numbers now so it’ll be a bit of a disappointment not meeting them. I feel getting a package 1 to 2 years out will get me really close though.



ian said:


> The biggest was the realization that the company cared about the company,not so much about me. After I quickly go over that the rest was downhill in terms of career and personal financial planning. I think the trick is that you really need to get in this 'zone' and understand that change can be opportunity if you focus on the positive and are mentally and financially prepared for it.


I’ve seen my company talk about employee retention through job satisfaction one hand but laying off a group of employees due to “business need” on the other. So, I’m under no illusion that someone in the company can make a “business decision” that will end my job tomorrow. However, to be fair, I’m under the impression that the severance packages are fairly generous and there are mythical stories of the odd surplused employee getting redeployed.


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