Ask A Retired Person, Retirement FAQ. ( ON TOPIC )

olroadbeech

Happy Verified UPSer
It seems like A LOT of people are afraid to retire even though they may be qualified to.

Here you can ask questions to retired people on how to prepare for retirement, how is their retirement going, things we retirees wish we did before retiring or things we wished we knew before going out.

Or anything else you wish to ask a retired person.

Maybe this thread can help people take the next big step in their lives without so much worry.

Hope , you professionals at Brown Cafe can stay on topic and keep it clean. A little humor will be welcome but my hope is that this thread can be helpful to people.

Thank You.
 

olroadbeech

Happy Verified UPSer
for starters, before we retired from UPS , we paid off the house 18 months ( wish it was 24 or more ) before going out. put all that extra money into savings.

had a special savings account with at least 12 months of expenses . stockpiled food and water and basic necessities. first aid supplies, Otc medicines, etc.

bought a late model SUV, bought all new appliances , had all remodeling done for the house.

5 years before going out , we made a list of everything we thought we would need to retire and started doing it. making the big bucks made it a lot easier as when you retire your income may be cut in half or more .

so far after only being retired for a year there has really been no surprises. some expenses are down like gasoline and car repairs but some have gone up like medical bills and we eat out more now but can afford it.

there is a wealth of information most retirees would love to share for people who want to make that giant leap to retirement with confidence.
 

Orion inc.

I like turtles
I was actually being serious.... crazy I know.
Me too.

When my wife and our financial adviser/attorney says we've reached our goals and gives me a date, I'm gone. We discuss it among other decisions and planning twice a year with them to keep on track.

I'll goon our terms, not ups or anything else
 

olroadbeech

Happy Verified UPSer
we did hours and hours of research online before we were confident about going out. we spoke to several financial "advisors" and really had no confidence in them. each one had a different answer. each one told us we needed a certain amount to go out. one said a million, one said a million five. and so on.

so it took ol fashion hard work ( own research ) and common sense. I read all kinds of articles from WSJ, Money magazine, John Bogle ( founder of Vanguard ) , Dave Ramsey , and many others.

it came down to common sense . we have always lived below our means and we were not going to change that in retirement. we already had over 7 figures in net assets; 401k, IRA's, stocks, cash , and the house.

we knew from recording every expense for several years that we could live on the pension alone and even have a surplus. if an emergency came up we could dip into the 40ik and Ira's. with social security a couple years away , that will just be the icing on the cake.

it really wasn't hard looking back at it. just planning and implementing the plan.
 

Brownslave688

You want a toe? I can get you a toe.
I'm a long ways off from retirement but knowing when to go shouldn't be too terribly hard.


Pay off your home is probably the biggest thing but also don't be afraid to move.


If you're in a house that's much too big or in a state that's bending you over on taxes and you can't afford it pack up and move.
 

twoweeled

Well-Known Member
Too tired to deal with it anymore ... I just didn't care.

I was financially ready once I recovered from 2008 depression around 2011.

I ran my models and I was good indefinitely.
My wife, daughter and grandson should be fine financially when I die.
Yeeaaah, sorta like you - only different. Didn't want to deal with the job anymore. Financially looking good. BUT!!!

I don't wanna leave wifey and the pool boy with the damn refrigerator stocked! Have the wife, pool boy and the Gardner cruising in my 1988 Yugo!! Driving through Taco Bell, laughing and joking, living the high life on MY DOLLAR!!! I don't think so!
Homey don't play that!
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