Morning guys!
Told you I’d be back :)
It’s a wild feeling still blogging away here as if nothing ever happened, but here we are! Life keeps going on no matter what we do!
And I gotta say – never in my entire blogging life have I felt so loved. Thank you so SO much for all the words of encouragement and congrats yesterday, and really for just making me feel more confident again after being scared to put it all out there… Sometimes you can get so stuck in your head even though you *know* you’re making the right decision, but then you receive a few kind words from your friends and you’re feeling right back on top of the world again :)
So thank you for having my back! And I promise to continue having yours here too as we venture into new territories!
******
I’m still digging through my emails and trying to respond to everyone, but wanted to share another new $$$ book that just came out on the scene real quick that I’m hoping might help some of you.
It’s called “Retire Before Mom and Dad: The Simple Numbers Behind A Lifetime of Financial Freedom,” and comes from long-time PF blogger (DoughRoller) and Forbes Deputy Editor, Rob Berger.
Here are a few of the more juicier things it covers:
- The 5 money myths that are keeping you from a life of financial freedom
- The step-by-step plan you need to save money without giving up your favorite hobbies
- How the rule of 857 turns pocket change into thousands in savings
- The superpower you have to become wealthy on just about any income
- How to achieve financial freedom with AutoPilot investing
- The 7 Levels of Financial Freedom and what it takes to reach each level
And as always, I have a few copies I can give out :)
If you’re interested in checking it out, just answer the below questions in the comments or via email and you’ll be automatically entered to win. Then I’ll announce the winners shortly after this upcoming weekend!
Here are the questions:
At what age did your parents retire? Do you think you’ll be able to hit financial independence before that age?
Long-time readers might recall my mom retired at 59 the second her financial planner told her she could retire anytime she wanted (read my interview with her about it here!), and then my father retired two years later at 62 and only recently came to terms with spending money instead of saving it all the time ;) Something I’ll probably have a hard time with too since your whole life it’s been engrained to save save save!!
So my answer to that second question is a hearty YUP! We’re definitely on track to hit our FIRE goals well before our 50s or 60s, and I can only hope the same will be true for MY kids as they start their financial journeys too…
I’d pick up that mug up top for each of them on their fateful day, but something tells me pensions will be even more a thing of the past by then, haha… At least my pops got to enjoy a quick laugh from it!
How about you guys? Do you think you’ll be able to retire before your parents did?
*** GIVEAWAY NOW OVER ***
Congrats to our 3 winners! Gene Roberts, Colleen L. and Patti M.
******
FYI: There’s also a great BLOG around this stuff, not relating to the book –> RetireBeforeDad.com
And before I forget – here are the winners of last week’s budgeting stickers giveaway – I’m officially out of free stuff now! Haha… –> Sara, Leslie S., and Lisa B.
*Link to books above are Amazon affiliate links
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My dad died from a stroke when he was in his late 40’s (I’m 48 now – yikes!).
And my mom (@85 years old) is still working her “side-gig” serving samples at Costco.
So on a technicality, if I retire fully at all I will have retired earlier I guess.
I think that will happen at age 55 for me. So I will call that a big “yes”! :)
Your mom’s a hustler!
Does she do it to stay busy and be around lots of people or out of necessity?!
I’m totally gonna be that old man mingling about until I die, haha…
Awesome to get a copy of “Retire Before Mom and Dad”. I haven’t won anything in years! Thanks! :)
Mom’s not quite to “baller” status yet, but she’s working on it. I threw together a quick net worth statement for her a couple of times and then a few months later she asked when the next one was coming out. :) So now I’ve made a spreadsheet for her so she can see where she stands every month as well as her history. I think I have become a good influence. (not sure the world is ready for that)
I’d say her job was equal measure social interaction and income supplementation.
It allows her to get the occasional gadget (iphone, ipad etc.) or take a trip. Next month we are driving to New Mexico to see the Hot Air Balloon festival.
We even kicked in a little extra to get the most out of our trip by staying right on site in Glamping Safari tents. No fighting traffic driving back and forth to a hotel. Totally worth the extra $$$.
Thanks again,
Gene
Haha, awesome…
Can I hire you to put my net worth reports together too? :)
Indeed you can!
As a newly-minted millionaire, you can now afford me. :)
JD- my father also died while working, having been terminated and losing his pension when his printing job collapsed. The stress was too much on his heart and he passed at age 62. Mom continued to raise the rest of us on Soc Sec. Grateful for that. I think of him often as I approach retirement—I doubt he would have ever stopped working but I do hope to retire with a pension and investments within a 2-4 year window. Big difference for me, learning about investing, not being able to count on a pension, living with smaller family; times certainly have changed.
Good luck with this new venture—looking forward to your awesome blog continuing
Thanks Karen – really sad to hear your dad went out like that :( Life is so unpredictable sometimes.
My parents retired at ages 65 and 66. They worked their entire careers in the same job and built healthy pension funds to last them for the rest of their years. I am so happy to not have to worry financially about them. I hope to retire at 55, once all kids are out of college. So yes i hope to retire earlier, but still a good 13 years away, so we shall see what the future brings.
Both of my parents are still working full time at 62 and 66. They are close to retirement but different circumstances have them still working. I am 40 and plan on being able to retire in 10-15 years with a pension as well as solid investments (when my youngest finishes college). However, I am hoping the option of working longer is an option in the rewarding field I’m in!
My mom was forced to retire at 65 because of a medical issue and my dad, a pilot who doesn’t think life is worth living unless he can fly or at least putter around an airport, still works part-time at the age of 76.
My husband and I plan to retire in thirty-two months. Yes, we are counting them down! He will be 59 and I’ll be 55.
Love it! Haha…
My Mom retired at 55 and my Dad went on disability at 45. The bar is low on retirement age here. Mom worked for the Post Office for 30 years and has a respectable retirement fund from those years. I am not on track to beat them. :( I am on my own track and still making moves that could help.
And we are here rooting you on!!! We have our own journeys!
Congrats on your recent BIG moves! Very exciting times…
My Dad unfortunately never got to retire. He was diagnosed with cancer around age 50 and died at age 59. Doesn’t that complete suck on so many levels!
My Mom never seriously worked for a W2. She was largely a stay at home mom and I love her for it.
We plan to FIRE in 2 to 4 years so before age 58. I think that makes us OldFIRE! :)
FIRE is still FIRE!!!
And after a recent hospital scare myself I know very much how precious this life of ours is :( Gotta soak up as much as we can while we’re still here breathing!!!
My parents are both 65 and still working at jobs they like, although they could retire now if they wanted to. I’m on track to be able to retire around age 60, but would love to be able to do so sooner!
My mom retired around age 60 or so. Or rather, her prn job sort of phased out and she stopped getting hours then finally made it official.
My dad, at 68, is still working part time.
My goal is to be able to retire before then, but to keep working as long as it’s fun.
My parents retired this year, at age 58. Luckily for them, my dad worked for UPS for enough years before they went public that he received a pension starting at age 55.
You better believe I’ll be FIRE before 58!!!
My father retired at 65 I believe and my mother at 65. And, yes I will retire by or before then.
My mom retired at 60 due to health reasons but the only reason she worked that long was for proper health insurance while my father semi-retired at 58. My husband are on track to beat that with him slotted for FIRE at 55 and myself at 45.
My dad never really retired, he’s still hustling. My mom retired around 60.
I retired from my engineering career when I was 38. I’m still hustling, though. Not sure if I will ever stop.
Baller.
Mom retired at 68 and Dad retired at 59 due to a combination of heart surgery and his job leaving the state. Mom was a corrections officer ( and ran the house like a jail according to Dad) and Dad was a tool and die maker (made metal gaskets).
I don’t foresee us retiring before age 59. We have a long ways to go and a short time to get there….
Fascinating your mom was a corrections officer!!! Don’t hear that too often, haha…
I love the title of this book and while I’d read it, because books, I’d love to pass it on to my almost 21 year old step daughter. I’ll retire 20+ years before my parents, but she still has time to beat me if she wants to :)
That’s the spirit!!!
My mom has been retired since she was about 52 and my dad retired at 58…but he still occasionally does short contract stints as he wants to. It seems like a perfect set up to me, mostly retired with a small window to continue work you enjoy without the crazy hours and stress at all times! I hope we can retire by 60, if not sooner but it’ll depend on how much we decide to help the kids through college or not.
My mom “retired” when my parents sold one of their businesses. She had gotten sick a year or so before, so it wasn’t really a choice. She was 46 at the time. My dad sold his other business at age 66 (i believe) then worked part time for a little while. He officially retired at age 69. My goal is for my husband and i to retire by 55. If we work after that it will be doing something we want to do, for fun.
My hope is that my kids will be able to retire even earlier than we can, if they want to.
That’s the dream of us parents!!
My parents are 67 and 62 and both still working full-time with mortgages, bills, etc. My FIL is 60 and has been retired since 58. We’ll be working on retiring in our 50s.
My parents are still working full time at 73, so I sure hope so, but to be honest, I’m not sure. I sure don’t feel like it now…and not because I’ve been super irresponsible financially but just because it never seems like you can have enough money. Reading everyone else’s responses makes me think I’m either really bad at finances or too much of a worrier.
I think it’s great you’re on $$ blogs then where hopefully a lot of the more *mental* stuff can sink in more over time.. I know it’s taken me a while to get to where my mindset is and I still can’t comprehend a lot of it. Our pasts definitely play a large role too and everyone here has different ones so don’t let it discourage you too much! Shooting for more money is better than not caring at all about it and scraping by your whole life!
My dad died at 62, but wouldn’t have been able to retire at 65 had he lived. Mom was of the generation who stayed at home or worked only part time.
They were lovely and hardworking, but we lived in a depressed area (Detroit in the late 70’s – 80’s – 90’s, with jobs OUTSIDE of the auto industry). Dad worked for non profit missions, so there was no money.
I am grateful for those experiences which helped me to chart my own course. As of Aug 1, I left my full time job, NOT for full time retirement, but have a cushion in order to allow me to breathe a bit, and find “the next thing.” AND focus on health and family. SO… I guess I’m Semi-FIRE! :)
I’m looking around at different possibilities, and it’s both fun and frightening. But sooner or later, I will “pick one” and go at it with renewed passion for something different. I’m a hustler by nature, so I always keep a running list of “fun jobs” in my head. Keeping track of net worth for years, as you suggested, helped with the realization that this COULD BE DONE!
I love your blog, and wish you good luck with YOUR new endeavors. I will write back when I find MY new endeavor! (Or I’ll write with thanks, if I win the book — which I’d like very much!)
jh
PLEASE DO!!!!
Would love to hear how your explorations go!!
Big moves, baby!!!
(JMoney, don’t count this as an entry into the giveaway. I’ve already got a copy!)
Although I don’t really talk about my parents in the book, by dad died at age 39 in a car accident. He probably would have worked a long time, however, because he spent pretty much everything he made. My mom retired several years ago as a teacher in her early 70s, but she sill works as a substitute teacher a few times a week. She loves teaching, so there’s no reason to stop.
Damn man, had no idea – I’m sorry :( No wonder you’re so passionate about this stuff!! And the new book should only amplify that even more. Huge congrats again, brother!
My mom and dad retired at 62 and 65, respectively. One of my drivers to pursue financial independence was seeing my father lose a cushy engineering job after the dot com burst and then having to take shift work in an engine plant late in his career. The schedule was brutal and I could see it take a toll on him. Even as a recent college grad, I could see the importance of giving yourself options prior to traditional retirement age. I’m working steadily toward the goal of optional retirement and think I’ll achieve it in my early 50s.
That is harsh :(
My parents haven’t retired yet – They are both 65 and recently divorced but my mom can retire at any time but she says she enjoys her job and hasn’t decided where she wants to move when she retires so she’s taking her time on that and my father isn’t very good when it comes to money management so I am assuming he will always be doing some sort of work.
I know my husband and I will definitely retire sooner than my parents! We are 33 and are on track to retire before we hit 55!
Dad passed young, ma retired @ 67, I think? I’m on schedule to be done @ 58, having started a bit late.
My dad died at 58 and didn’t get to retire. My mom lived off his social security. I retired at 54 with a pension and part-time income from home-based work.
Congrats on being able to pull the trigger!!! That is one of the scariest things in life – dying before you can really appreciate it when you have the means and non-worries to do so :( I’m sorry to hear that about your father.
Both parents are still working.
Father is 56
Mother is 54
I’d anticipate they’ll be working for another 6-8 years.
I think we will hit FI prior and would actually consider myself a slight disappointment if I did not hit Financial Independence prior (lol)
Our very aggressive goal at this point is to hit by age 40.
Have a great week,
-Chris
Okay, that is pretty aggressive, lol…
you’re in the right community ;)
Hmmmm…my dad died young and my mom retired at age 65. Yes, I will retired before that. But even more importantly, I would love a well-written book to hand-off to my three young adult children who are all hard workers and employed, but none of whom have really caught the vision of FIRE…and I want them, too. Now that I see what is possible, I want that for each of them. It sounds like this book could provide some excellent inspiration.
YES!!! I hope they can catch on too!!!
Maybe you can trick them by sending them a link to this blog??? They’ve gotta open something with “sexy” in it right??! ;)
Neither of my parents are retired. My dad is 75 and is still farming. He will probably do that until he can’t anymore, that’s how farmers seem to do it. He does have less ground to farm than he used to, so maybe he’s partially retired? Especially because he only has to work during planting and harvest, so unless he is trucking his harvest around throughout the year, he’s not really doing anything else.
My mom is 62 and is planning to retire next May. About 6 years ago, she quit as a manager at the local convenience store and started doing daycare so that she could babysit her grandkids but also make some money from watching other kids too. So, she sort-of retired 6 years ago, (except kids are a lot of work!) but is planning to actually retire in 2020.
I hope to be able to retire earlier than both of my parents, but only time will tell. I don’t have a very high paying job, and cost of living just keeps going up, so we’ll see. I’m hoping to have $100,000 in my 401k in the next few years and I’m only 33, so hopefully that number will keep going up to a number that I can actually retire at, haha!
You’re on a good roll so far!!!
Totally different lifestyle as a farmer too, wow..
Did you grow up helping dad and doing all the farm stuff??
Must be so peaceful on top of the hard labor, lol..
My mother never worked outside the home and is now 90 years old. My father contracted West Nile Virus at age 78 and passed away from it. (They were the same age.) He never retired, although he didn’t work full time after age 65. My folks raised 11 children and didn’t have much of anything more than enough to survive. After my Dad died my Mom only had Social Security to live on and moved into our second home in a warmer climate. She’d have been in a real mess otherwise.
We saved 10-20% of our income all the years we worked and retired a year and a half ago at age 62 after 40 years (hubby) and 29 years (me) of working. We live half the year in Idaho and the other half further south with Mom. We had a big home we built while raising our family and sold it five years ago when prices were nearly rock bottom. We bought two town homes in different locations at the same time and love being snow birds. We’re quite comfortable financially and have enjoyed retirement immensely.
Holy wow – what an upbringing you guys must have had!! 10 siblings to play with all the time??! My kids would be in heaven!! :) Crazy about West Nile Virus – that sucks, I’m sorry :(
My father worked until about six months before he passed away from cancer. He was 71 at the time and never really saved for retirement. He only stopped because his disease progressed to the point that he was unable to work. I will say that my father loved the work that he did, and I don’t mean he just liked his job (he worked for himself), he loved his career with a passion.
My mother recently turned 70 and she is still working two days a week. She hates her job with the same passion that my father loved his job, but she just is too scared to walk away. She could easily live off her retirement savings and S.S. benefits, but just can’t let go. I have tried to talk to her a few times about it, but since we not really that close anymore it has little to no impact.
For the second question, yes. We will be financially independent by the time I turn 45!
Both your father’s and mother’s situations are hard on the heart :( I hope you can convince her at some point! That damn C keeps getting more and more people… Just a heard a friend of mine’s little baby got hit with it – it doesn’t discriminate!!
My parents retired at 65. They seemed content with that and should be plenty well off with what they’ve saved.
I’m on track to retire at 55. I wish it was sooner but I’m definitely thankful for the those extra 10 years!
My parents haven’t retired yet but I think they will in a few years. They’re 63 and 64. We’ve been derailed by a lot of things in the past few years. At this point the goal is probably 50 but it largely depends on health issues.
I just had to ask them to remember! Apparently Mom was 55 (school teacher for 32 years) and Dad left work due to a health issue in his mid 50s.
I made a plan in my 40’s to be ‘Barista FIRE’ for my 50’s, and then scale back work at 60 once I can touch retirement funds! I’m in my fun 50’s now, working all kinds of fun odd part-time and seasonal jobs and having a blast. I paid off my house and became debt free a couple years ago, making my Barista FI life possible, as I no longer have to SAVE for retirement, but only need to earn enough to pay the bills :)
Looking forward to my FIRST FinCon starting Wednesday night! Woo!
HEYYY!!!
Good for you!!! BaristaFIRE is my goal too!! Def. sounds like fun!!
Please snag me when we cross paths so I can meet you!! You’re gonna love being surrounded by so many like-minded people!! :)
My mom passed away before she could retire at age 59, my dad retired at 64 or 65 but he had a full pension courtesy of the AFL/CIO union.
My wife is retired at age 58 and I retired at 61, but could have done it a couple of years sooner, if I could have gotten the wife more comfortable with the idea. So we hit FI a little earlier than my parents. She is one of those that is having trouble getting into the idea that we can now spend the money we saved.
The good news is that my daughter will hit FI much sooner than we did, she is probably on track to be done around 45. Dad taught her well.
Yeah he did!! GO dad!!
My parents are still working at 64 for both. I am 100% certain and motivated to retire before that age. So I plan to retire before them both for sure.
My mom was a stay at home mom and my dad retired the year I was born :) He was 65 and died at 88. I plan on retiring at age 60 but will have to plan to have enough to live off for at least 45 years. My aunt just turned 103!!
Wow!! Your family lives a long time!!
My parents aren’t retired yet at 62 and 59. They are hoping to have my dad stop working next spring. They still have their store though so he will probably do more jobs for that until my mom can get out of the business. I hope to be able to retire by 60 or possibly just work longer at 3 days a week. I still have plenty of time to change my mind
Both of my parents still work–my dad is 66 and never wants to retire from his job (he’s a calligrapher for Hallmark!), and my mom works part-time by choice as well (and is 63). Seeing as I’m a stay-at-home, I basically “retired” from my teaching job 3 years ago, so…yes, ha ha!
(But my husband wants to retire before his parents, which we think is possible for us!)
Cool job your dad has!!
My dad retired at 65 (legally required to in his career field); my mom died at 66 after a long battle with cancer. Barring any major unexpected life event, I expect to be financially independent around then but tend to be quite pessimistic so I’m not sure when I’d actually pull the trigger and retire.
Sorry to hear about mom :(
My dad retired at 62 and my mother retired at 65. I don’t have a job that pays well and I’m one of those people you read about with a lot of debt. I don’t see how I will to be able to retire earlier than either of my parents.
Just takes a few opportunities and luck!! I hope you’ll keep striving for it even when you can’t connect the dots!
My dad retired at 55. I’ve already reached FI and left work at 34 to stay home w/ my kids, but I might return to work again at some point in the future.
Super Mom!! :)
My mom worked part time jobs and stayed at home too. My dad was a minister in small town churches and never made a lot. My folks didnt own a house until they retired and built a small house on family land my dad inherited. He was always hustling with side gigs like driving the school and helping out at the local funeral home, until about a year before his death at 76. He taught me about hard work, but it was a penny pinching existence and I was always the kid in who wore the hand me downs from the other kids in the congregation (NOT fun). I dont want to live a miserly existence. I will retire at 65, not my full retirement age, but at that point I can get Medicare. I work in healthcare and just dont have it in me to retire w/o health insurance. I’ve seen too many sad stories of folks w/no insurance, so I have a few more years yet.
I bet you have :(
My dad retired at age 37 after serving in the Army for 20 years. He still works to this day but on his schedule. He currently does SEO for insurance websites.
My mom is still working at her job that she has had for over 20 years now.
I’m currently 33 and feel that my wife and I already reached FI. I was fortunate enough to land a great job right out of college that had a very lucrative stock ownership program.
Nice!!!
Mom was phased out of her job at 62 and had zero motivation to find something else. They live in a rural area so not too many options. Dad is still working but hopes to retire in a few months at 63.
DH and I have a healthy net worth but are in our late 30s and like our careers so don’t really have a retirement date in mind :)
At age 50, my dad’s engineering firm went bankrupt and he was laid off. But as he was frugal and flexible, he simply stopped paying double principle payments on his mortgage and got another job in an unrelated field. I think 5 years later he was retired.
My mom stayed home with us, then entered the workforce, and retired as a probation officer at 52.
I’m a stay at home mom (so I already/never retired?!) but my husband should be retired by mid- to late-40s.
I think your dad needs to do a guest post on your site and share his $$$ skills!! :)
My dad died at 65, and though he was still working, he also took early SS (not quite sure how that worked; I was too young to remember).
My mother is 76 and technically retired, but is still working here and there. She has hardly any savings, collects SS, and watching her look for work has been heartbreaking.
Retirement feels like a distant dream to me, and I figure I’ll work until I die. I’m less and less okay with this which has motivated me to work harder. If I can actually retired by 65, I’ll consider myself very lucky.
I’m sorry to hear :( On both accounts.
Please don’t give up though!! It’s good you’re on $$$ blogs and *interested* in improving your finances/lifestyle!! Never know when something will click or an awesome opportunity will come!!
My parents at 68 and 65 still work, but partially by choice. They run their own business and take many vacations and cruises now, aren’t too worried about downturns and set backs. They think they’ll fully retire in a couple years, but enjoy visiting vendors in Europe in the interim.
My husband and I would love to replicate what they’ve done so we have financial freedom at our time, not through downsizing.
Mom retired at age 63 after a full career in primary education. And then at age 69 she was asked to help out at the school that her grandchildren go to. Just yesterday, at age 70, she received her new employment contract. Granted, it will only be for a few days of the year when the other teachers are ill or on training, but still.
Dad retired at age 68.
Personally I’m on track to retire by age 45, so yes, I’ll retire earlier than they did. But I’m still proud of both of my parents for their careers and proud of mom for being able to still teach at age 70 – even when she doesn’t need to financially.
That is awesome :)
I’m grateful to have found the principles I have over the last few years. Thankfully my wife is able to stay at home with our kids and off of my income alone we will be able to retire when our oldest is between 10-13 years old. I’ll be just about 40 years old.
Meanwhile, my parents, recently divorced and running a business together (yikes) are still working at 61 and 53 years old, with retirement nowhere in sight. It’s a mess.
Harsh :(
My dad retired at 62, and my mom retired this year at 66. My husband would like to retire in 10 yrs (@58), which should be totally doable. I will be 49 at the time and still have 2 kids in high school, so I will continue to work for health care reasons. Although probably (hopefully) not FT.
I believe dad was 62 when he retired and mom was 61. I’m building my retirement plan for age 62, but trying to set myself up to be FI before that. (I’m a bit of super-conservative when it comes to how much money I think I need to be FI so maybe I’ll really be FI sooner than I think.). I’m currently home on medical leave recovering from surgery – and slightly losing my mind! Hence, I’m not in a rush to retire (plus I still like my job). I do believe I will be in a better financial position than my parents, and will hopefully have the option to retire at an earlier age than they did if I want to.
I hope you feel better soon!!!!
Great time to re-run numbers and verify that game plan while you’re stuck at home! ;)
My Mom retired at 55 (I kind of think it was because she wanted more time to help plan my wedding when I was engaged — she LOVES throwing parties!). My dad still works, but he works for himself and has quite the good system going. He’s a hard worker, but has set up his system so he can travel when he wants, doesn’t work long hours, etc. I always ask him if he plans to retire soon and he won’t say, so I take that as a no.
I do think I’ll be retired before 55 (aka, not working a full-time job and financially independent), but I think my husband will still want to work at that age. We’ll see!
They just retired at the age of 70. I just turned 50 and am no where near retiring, I got started later in life having children and am still raising my family with my youngest kids being 12 (twins!). With a lot of my co-workers retiring in the next few years, overhearing their conversations has definitely peaked my interest on how to get my finances in order!
My dad is 55 and still working, his plan is 62. My plan is 57. Im on schedule to do it.
My dad retired a few years ago at 55 and my mom’s still hustling – more because she wants to rather than has to. I think she truly enjoys her job and the impact she has at the university she works at, which is great.
Although I bet my wife and I could retire in our 40’s (we’re both 30), I’m gonna aim for 50 so that our son (and future kids) have their own good target to aim for to beat mom and dad ;)
Haha, what a great dad you already are! ;)
My mom retired at 62 and my dad followed at 73 (though he could have retired earlier had he wanted to). I plan on retiring at 57, so I will get out a little bit earlier!
My mom was a housewife. My father retired at 55. My husband’s father and mother worked into their early 70’s.
I retired at 55 and my husband retired at 58 (his was a second retirement- working only to build a nest egg and keep busy). We live on his pension. (Mine don’t start for another three years). We haven’t touched our nest egg.
My kids each are married living on one income w/ a full time parent at home. Everyone seems to love their jobs.
One family will be FI (barring crazy stuff- there has already been one with cancer) at 42 and the other around 45. They each have three kids who will be in college at that time. All four plan to be working to pay for state college tuitions. Who knows what they will do come 2040! I think the world will be completely different by then. We shall see.
I hope to give book a good discussion this Christmas- we always spend one night on finance when we are together.
Ahhh so cool!!!
Would love to learn more about that “finance night” – such a fantastic idea!
My dad was a doctor who worked until he was 65, when his group had him age out. I am incredibly grateful to him for providing for our family, including providing me with the opportunity to receive a solid education and inspiring me to have a strong work ethic. However, I am equally grateful I did not inherit his financial decision making. Three investments in “get rich quick” schemes cost him close to a million dollars over the course of his career (a fact I did not learn until recently)!
My mom was initially a stay at home mom and later a part time nurse. Now that my wife and I have a baby of our own, I realize that being a stay at home mom is much, much harder than any 9-5 job. She is 70 now and still works part time partially because she enjoys helping others and partially because, well, see above.
I discovered FIRE just this year, so I have a ways to go and am helping my parents out along the way, which will increase the length of my journey but with absolutely no hesitation in doing so. We started to save about 50% of our take home pay, so I am hopeful we can still retire by 50 (we are currently in our mid to late 30s).
Damn – 50% is no joke!! Well done!
And yes to being a stay-at-home parent being hard, haha… I only do it part-time myself and some days I don’t know if I’ll make it out okay ;)
Thanks for playing along here!
*** GIVEAWAY NOW OVER ***
Congrats to our 3 winners!
— Gene Roberts
— Colleen L.
— Patti M.
Pleasure learning more about y’all :)