Retire as young as you possible can.........seriously.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Please email me if you want to talk about this very serious subject.

Sadly, some will never be able to afford to retire but for those who can please be thinking about it.

I have been in the sporting goods business for over 50 years and watch many go through life.



I retired at almost 70 and that is just way to old.

I had some customers retire before 50........


I have convinced several people to retire earlier than planned.

.

[Idadon]

You are absolutely right Bill. I retired at 41. Over the years I held several jobs but never anything that interfered with my fishing or golf. That was almost 30 years ago and never once regretted my decision. I would add one thought though, make sure you have "Something" to occupy your time. Fishing has been my focus but even that can get tiresome.

[Mickey]

About 7 months to go, retiring at 55. It will be tight money wise but if I waited another 10 years it would still be tight money wise.

When your younger, your body is fine, money and time are in short supply. When your older, your body isn't doing so great, money may or may not be tight but you have lots of time. The trick is to find the balance. Both of my knees bother me, arthritis in my back, right shoulder is jacked up and the left shoulder is on its way. My hearing is lousy, my memory isn't far behind and I need reading glasses to tie knots. I have no intention of working so long that when I finally retire my life is over.

play hard, age early, stop and rust

[Lance Gray]

Bill,

I agree. I am planning on retiring from the Sheriff's office at 50. That is 19 more months. I am going to guide, write, and hunt. Spend my summers at lake Almanor and the rest in Willows. Be a snow bird. Going to be nice!!

[Tony Buzolich]

I retired at 54 and haven't ever looked back. When going through life you have to plan. Plan your way in. Into whatever endeavor you choose be it a business or a profession. But what most people don't think about is planning your way OUT. Professional can't just close the door and walk away. Business owners can't just close the doors and leave tons of inventory to be given away at garage sales. PLAN. How are you going to get out of what you are doing?

Then, there are people like my brother-in-law who is almost 70 and loves his work and has no plans on quitting. He runs an operating room for orthopedic surgery, loves the people he works with, and has no real hobbies.
Tony

[Mr T]

I cant say I'm going just yet- but its clear the idea of going a soon as possible gains currency with me every day.

This type of thread only reinforces that.

Hoping for 3-5 years from now.

[Darian]

I agree with Tony on planning when to retire, altho, I retired early (age 60) and unplanned due to a change in retirement benefits. Sometimes retirement picks you.

Getting back to why I agree with Tony, I would add have some idea of why you'll choose to retire and what you're going to do in retirement. If you follow the advice to retire early and have decent health, you're going to spend a lot of time being bored if you haven't got some idea of what you'll do with that time. I've been retired 17 years and, like Tony, haven't looked back.

At the time, one point emphasized in CalPers retirement seminars was that the average number of months their retirees lived after bailing out was 18 months. I'd bet that statistic carries over to industry, etc., as well. That's sad as some off those employees spent 40 or more years (their entire adult lives) at work....

[johnsquires]

Way too many variables at play, in my opinion, to make a general statement applicable to all. We're all wired differently, have different home-life situations, different obligations, different takes on whether we enjoy working/are really good at what we do and may be needed in some regard. I know people who are perfectly suited for retirement. I know people who retired and within a very short time got "old," older than they would have if they continued working. One nice thing I can see about retiring is you free up a position for someone else. I had a first-time visit to a doctor recently and he asked if I was still working. When I said "Yes," he said "That's good." So for many, working is good for mental health, and some jobs obviously are good for physical health. There's not one-size-fits-all answer in this category.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I think retiring and then going back to work doing something different or something you enjoy might be good.

Semi-retirement is a good thing too.

Reread my first post......

I know it is different for many but most here would enjoy having some years to do what they want to excluding family things.

I know a few people who retired and spent 6 months or more a year RVing out on the open road. Pretty wild.......


Most of my friend who like to fly fish have had a great time in their retirements.


I also had about a dozen old fly fishing friends from the greatest generation that all retired fairly early.

I learned a lot from watching them.

They mostly all outlived their wives.....

Just try to retire as early as you can because you can't rerun this movie.

.

[Darian]

johnsquires,.... For the most part, I believe you're right about the choices of when to retire and what to do in retirement. It's not going to be the same for everyone. However, If you accept the figure cited by CalPers concerning average longevity after retirement, I'd bet that most, if not all potential retirees, would choose more time to enjoy their benefits. After all 18 months isn't much time to do that in. Thus, IMO, the suggestion to retire early as you can is not bad advice to those considering retirement, regardless of the circumstances.