Jump to content

Finally


enigma-2

Recommended Posts

And I would like to add a followup:

 

Thank you for your contribution(s) you have made to the economy, the society, and our general well being as a nation. I trust you have worked hard, paid your taxes, and have generally been a good citizen. Can ask much more than that from a fellow American. Thanks!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congratulations!! I have 2.5 more years till I'm 62 and then me and Mrs. Chef intend to do some traveling. Enjoy your retirement!!

This is really a post to everyone, but thought I'd work it in as a reply to your post.

 

When I was 62, I thought long and hard about retiring. But health insurance needs overruled it.

At 65 I got Medicare, but 66 was full retirement age for Social Security.

So at 66 I took SS and put my wife on my SS account so I got 100% and wife got 50%.

When we turned 70, wife's SS had accrued an additional 30% so we put her on her own and now realize it was worth the wait. (Shame I didn't take mine at 66 and suspend, allowing mine to grow an additional 30% but we needed thd money due to the "great recession").

 

Point of all this is, think carefully about retiring at 62. I have so many friends who when out at 62 only to realize (too late) that they needed health insurance, that Social Security is only 80% (70% for those born 1960 or later) of what you get at full retirement age and was not enough to live on and went back to work. They gave up a good job to take a poor paying job they were not happy in. If your heath is good, tough it out. It "IS" worth it.

Save as much as possible in your 401k and take the time to invest in only the best funds. If you don't know whats best, pick your S&P 500 Index Fund and go 100% in it.

If you have never read the book "The Richest Man in Babylon", do so. It's the story about a group of friends in ancient Babylon wbo were tired of being broke all the time and went to see their old friend who was the richest man in all of Babylon. What they could not figure out was, he started out just as poor as they did. The stories tell the story of how everyone can become rich.

It's a series of stories written in the 30's by an insurance agent and widely regarded as a classic. And, unlike "Think and Grow Rich", it's an extremely easy read.

 

And if you do retire at 62, enjoy your travels. We've grown sick of air travel, even though we upgrade. But we are still travelling and its great. (Expensive too!)

Edited by enigma-2
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I appreciate the input but we've already got all that figured out. I am a career changer, I have not always been a Chef. Frankly, its kinda' a fun second career. My first 45 years was spent working my way through the ranks as a marketing manager, director, and finally executive VP for a satellite comm firm in Silicon Valley. Had some pretty good years during the 80's and early 90's and eventually came to Dallas in '94 with a fortune 50 telecom company. You've probably heard of it but no need to mention it here. So we are set from a financial, healthcare, and retirement perspective. The only think is running out of time to do all the stuff we want to do!! Mrs. Chef heads up a national candy company and she probably will continue to work for a while as I am puttering in the garage!! When she does decide to retire is when we will travel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well congrats to you for sure!

I thought I d retired last year from teaching then the Ms said she wanted a new Ford or Dodge 2019 1500 series pickup with leather and heated seats. That means $45-50K after taxes and license, so I took another teaching job... I work for a year for her truck... oh well.

Course I’m only 63 and don’t qualify for SS till 66 and 5 months so, what else to do?  I don’t do well sitting and don’t have hobbies so I will keep working...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...