You plan to retire … when? |
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Merlene wants to know when you plan to retire?
What’s the pot of gold for you? What are you working towards? When do you plan to retire? We work hard. We save. We invest. We worry about our portfolios and our retirement savings. We spend hours with our financial planners and run our spreadsheets and worry will we have enough. But what is enough? What’s your goal?
I’ve written a few times here and told plenty of friends directly that I’d like to retire in my 50s. Being 39 now, that could give me anywhere from 11-20 years.
‘Retirement’ is subjective. Retirement to me doesn’t necessarily mean we sell our businesses and/or stop working completely. I would like to travel more in our retirement years, sure, but I suspect even travel to exotic destinations will lose its luster at some point. Also, if you enjoy your work and are physically and mentally able to complete the duties, why would you ever quit?
Is retirement more applicable to those who aren’t self-employed?
One of my greatest retirement concerns at this points has less to do with money than physical health. I’m healthy now, but who knows what my health will be like in 30 years? I think from 55-65 I’ll still have enough energy to travel. Perhaps more importantly is my wife’s health which has deteriorated somewhat since she was hit by a car back in 2003. She is in a lot of pain in the winter months, even after surgery, so this could cause us to consider moving to a warmer year round climate.
If I wait until 70-75 to retire, I doubt I’ll be as willing to do the worldwide travel I’d like to do someday and I doubt at that age my wife will want to or be able to travel that much. I’m not interested in traveling alone.
My other retirement activity will center heavily around writing. I want to get back into writing fiction and have at least one fiction novel published. This blog helps to keep the saw sharpened, but it’s not enough.
It’s your turn. How would you answer Merlene’s questions? What’s your pot of gold? When do you plan to retire?
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I always thought I’d retire at 65, but you know what? I just hit 50 and still feel good and really enjoy working…. As long as I find challenges, I don’t think I’ll ever retire until I am no longer to either physically or mentally “do the job”…
Comment by FranciscoIV — February 12, 2008 @ 9:21 am PST
I’m guessing all the places I’d want to see travel-wise, FranciscoIV, could be done in a year or two. After that, what am I supposed to do? Work gives folks something to do and it feels good to be productive.
Comment by TDavid — February 12, 2008 @ 9:24 am PST
Exactly, Besides, at this point work is not the be all and end all. I take time off, travel and enjoy. I’ve just become pretty good at what I do and my services are in enough demand that I can “decide” when to concentrate on work and when to not. So why retire?
Comment by FranciscoIV — February 12, 2008 @ 9:31 am PST
TDavid - I’ll retire when I’m dead and maybe not then, heheh. I can’t stop doing what I love… there are too many hobbies and interests now and that’s not likely to subside any time soon… and travel is just a part of what I do (and likely whatever I do in the future). There are only three places I want to visit before I conclude travel is officially for the birds: Tokyo (just ‘cuz as it reminds me of Coruscant); Egypt (oggle at the Pyramids in person); and Luna (yep, the moon). I’m about to go back to the middle-east later this month. Might even be able to visit Saudi Arabia for a brief few minutes. One more check on the passport is really all the majority of travel means to me now.
The fact we’re living longer concerns me only in that my personal burn rate is going to outstrip my investing prowess fairly quickly provided, as you put it, our health holds out.
Hoping Grocio is the first of a string of successful startups I have a formative hand in. Fun, challenging, rewarding and I’m learning something cool every single day.
Comment by Gerald Buckley — February 13, 2008 @ 9:22 am PST
I don’t know that I’ll ever really retire, but I definitely enjoy long gaps between jobs and a non-linear sort of career. Why wait until your 50s or 60s if you’re able to enjoy breaks throughout your life?
Comment by Ginger — February 16, 2008 @ 10:50 pm PST