Retirement?

I go nuts hanging around the house, which is why I wouldn't do it. There are a lot of mountains to climb and races to run. I'd hang it up tomorrow if I could, which is not what I ever expected to say. My entire self-worth used to be wrapped up in what beat I was covering for what paper.

 

Don't make a decision right after a three-week break.

 

If you can do some stringing to get your golfing money, you might be able to bump up that retirement date a bit.

 

Congratulations on approaching the finish line and being in a position to retire on your own terms and timetable. It's something I'm afraid not a lot of us aging newspaper folks will be able to do.

Agree that health insurance is a major issue. I've compared some premiums recently in anticipation of the day I might have to enter the individual market and have been aghast at the cost and poor coverage that would be available for me and the wife (she's self-employed and doesn't have a group plan I could be added to). You'll probably have to do a lot of shopping around. A few of my retired friends do have retiree health insurance through their ex-employers, but they tell a lot of horror stories about it.

Also agree that you should look into a financial planner, but whether you do or don't, the idea is to have enough money to live another 30 or so years if you're in good health now and live a healthy lifestyle. The goal is to invest conservatively enough to reduce the risk of your nest egg being wiped out by a bear market, but also to have enough of a growth component that you won't outlive your retirement savings.

I joke a lot about how it's a good thing they know me so well at the nearby Publix and Walgreens that I might be able to hire on there if needed, but I really am looking at that (among many possibilities) as an option if and when my current gig ends -- even if I'm able to retire from journalism on my own terms, I'll probably still need to stay busy and bring in a few bucks.

 

I am going to retire this year. Originally I thought I would try to get a consulting firm to let me work part time and keep going for a few more years, but in the last couple of months I've decided fuck it, I'm done.

I did not do this rashly (I know, what a shock I did something only after deliberation and planning). I had a professional run financial models based on various spending profiles to make sure I could continue to live comfortably without working, especially including a decent travel budget for the next ten years. I completed big, expensive house projects in the last few years while I was getting a significant bonus to cover extraordinary expenses. I am very lucky because I got my current job shortly before they cut a generous pension benefit for people at my level. I will fully vest in that pension this year. I will also be able to continue to get health insurance through my employer until I am medicare eligible.

I've spoken to a number of retired friends about their experiences. Not one person regrets it. Every one is amazed at how much they find to do every day.

I plan on doing volunteer work. I will continue to ride horses for a few more years, which is something that takes up a lot of time. I've started playing around with rally and agility with one of my dogs, something else than can waste hours a day.

I also have been working from home for years so there won't be any adjustment to not going somewhere every day or seeing certain people every day.

 

If I'm still in the business of news - and writing with a dash of mentoring younger people - I'd like to stay in this until I'm 73. That's my "end goal" age. If I was miserable, I'd look to get out earlier.

My personality is that of the OCD, where I need to be doing something that *I* think matters. My current job does matter -- at least to me.

I don't golf or play tennis (I do run and play basketball still), our house will be paid off in five years and the kids will be out of the house in 6. We might (unless one of us loses an income) be able to pay for their in-state tuition.

I do wonder what this mythical "retirement" will bring. I suppose it depends on personality -- retirement will MAKE YOU MORE OF WHAT YOU ARE.

Mother: was bitter at her supervisors for decades. Now in retirement, she's just bitter at the world.
Father (not-biological): was a child molester before retirement. Within 15 months after retiring, he increased his victims from 2 to 7. Now serving a long prison sentence.
Father (biological, as I discovered later): was retired for 2 years. Died of lung cancer as a non-smoker (second-hand)
Stepmother: constantly bought $250 shoes before her husband retired. Now with him in prison, those are $300 shoes.

I suppose, when I retire, I'll be running FireMikeMcCarthy.com, still insisting Alex Gordon should have been sent home and losing all of my money on betting the Steelers under 10.5 wins.

 

My retirement savings have been pretty much wiped out three times so far, due to various circumstances. If I skipped the whole "journalism career" mistake, I'd be much, much better off than I am.

That said, we will soon own two properties in an area with ridiculously high property values. We're thinking of splitting our contributions to retirement and putting half towards equity in the two homes, then dumping them when the time is right and, viola, a retirement nest egg. In this area, who knows for sure, but in 20 years or so, both homes would likely be worth at least half a million apiece.

 

Five months on my couch made it clear to me that I wasn't ready to spend the rest of my life on my couch. I feel so much better getting up and going to work. Others' mileage might vary.

My wife has been bringing up downsizing with the home, more because we're going to get to the point where we don't want to deal with steps for laundry, etc. I'm trying to hold off on that at least until we get the mortgage paid off -- plus I don't look forward to six months of prepping the home for sale, and she's just meticulous enough that it would be a rough six months.

 

I'm planning to hang around another two to five years then return to writing. Of course, my employer may have other ideas that would accelerate that timetable!

 

Theoretically our house could provide a nice retirement cash infusion some day, should we sell it. But I can barely stash their baby toys away, let alone part ways with the home they grew up in.

That said, I tell Mrs. Whitman that I plan on either retiring to a boat in the keys and living Jimmy Buffett style or a tent along a river in Colorado somewhere. She can come with me if she wants.

 

I could do a life of walking Duval Street daily.