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Post by Tabetha on Jan 13, 2008 16:32:06 GMT -5
Ideally, how would you like to spend your retirement years?
Would you like to move to a different house, relocate to a new town, or do a little traveling? Would you like to adopt some (more) pets or do a little local volunteering? Take up new crafts, sports, or, hobbies? Start a post-retirement business?
Would you like to continue to work full-time, switch to part-time work, or leave the working world entirely to focus on something else?
How do you see yourself in the future, when you imagine yourself retired?
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Post by pyrosgal on Jan 13, 2008 16:38:49 GMT -5
I'd love to travel around the world with my SO, but he's 24 years older than me. Not sure if that's feasible or not, but I'm sure one of my girlfriends or two would go with me.
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Post by preraph on Jan 13, 2008 18:10:20 GMT -5
I'm going to have to work as long as I can find work. I've rarely ever had a job that had retirement benefits and not made enough money in the last decade or two to save. Lucky to keep from going in the red. I read in Forbes that you can retire at 66, get full benefits and not be penalized on SS for working . I hope that's true. But between 62 and 66, you would lose your benefits. And I fear my line of work may all be automated by then, which will suck.
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Post by happy2bchildfree on Jan 13, 2008 19:16:30 GMT -5
I don't see myself having any kind of leisurely retirement either. I was managing to save some money while I was working, then couldn't work for a long period of time due to health issues and had to use the money to live on. Then my dh lost his job with good pay, full benefits, retirement, etc. and wasn't able to find anything even near to being comparable to the job he had. Then he started his own business and did well at that the first year. Then the economy took a downtown and the business failed. At this point we are living off the reptile business and he is looking for work. The job listings are dismal and he is 60, so I don't know what is going to happen with that. The whole situation sucks.
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Post by shell on Jan 14, 2008 22:13:22 GMT -5
We are 40ish, and have not saved alot thus far. But we do have some savings that we are still building on, albeit very slowly. We tend to earn and enjoy (ie spend). Also, we have no family, so there will be no inheritance of any kind! We are completely self-employed right now and without any sort of benefits at all. So, I see us as working PT forever, running the companies, and (hopefully) having trustworthy reliable staff to take care of the business when we want to travel. I would like to continue to get away as often as we can. In the future, maybe even get away on extended trips for 3 months or so each year. When we are older and not wanting to travel anymore, I truly feel we would be content just staying at home with the pets, farm, books, art and other hobbies. I know we will never be bored because we have a vast array of interests!!  Shell PS Happy2b: Sorry you are going through a rough time. Things will get better, as they always do. |
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Post by sweetnsour on Jan 18, 2008 4:05:16 GMT -5
This is a very interesting question. I have thought seriously about retirement because I'll be age 60 in 14 years. I have looked ahead, but there are so many things that can happen between now and then.
The one thing that is most important to me is having good health. I've heard many talking about traveling, getting a motor home, etc... Without good health, it would be hard to enjoy these things, no matter how much money you have or if you have a good pension. I decided quite some time ago to live for today but not put off until retirement what I can do today. In fact, I've already done things that retirees do. I have been blessed with good health and have travelled to many destinations. I was truly inspired by a movie called "The Last Holiday" starring Queen Latifah. In the movie, a young woman lives for today and does things that most would have waited for retirement to do. It is a very good picture to watch.
I may retire with few funds and limited financial resources. We should also keep in mind that tomorrow is not promised, so we should live now and enjoy what we can. Having lots of money in retirement sure will make things more comfortable. However, some of the best things in life require no currency. As one eloquently stated "If you are happy with what you have and share it, then you won't have to go far to find happiness."
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Post by Tabetha on Jan 18, 2008 16:26:59 GMT -5
The one thing that is most important to me is having good health. I've heard many talking about traveling, getting a motor home, etc... Without good health, it would be hard to enjoy these things, no matter how much money you have or if you have a good pension. I decided quite some time ago to live for today but not put off until retirement what I can do today. In fact, I've already done things that retirees do. That's more or less what my own gameplan is, although I'm now looking into ways to grow our (rather meager) savings so we will have as many options as our health allows when we hit retirement age. What I'm looking into is a variety of gradual lifestyle changes that (hopefully) will allow us to continue living our lives in a way that will enable us to continue travel regularly despite more limited earning options during that part of our lives. Social security allows Direct Deposit of funds to banks in a variety of countries, so one of the options we're considering for our retirement years is spending part of each year traveling in a friendly/stable country with a favorable exchange rate to make our money go farther (while remaining U.S. citizens). |
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Post by Ninja on Jan 20, 2008 17:20:44 GMT -5
I don't see myself having any kind of leisurely retirement either. I was managing to save some money while I was working, then couldn't work for a long period of time due to health issues and had to use the money to live on. Then my dh lost his job with good pay, full benefits, retirement, etc. and wasn't able to find anything even near to being comparable to the job he had. Then he started his own business and did well at that the first year. Then the economy took a downtown and the business failed. At this point we are living off the reptile business and he is looking for work. The job listings are dismal and he is 60, so I don't know what is going to happen with that. The whole situation sucks. Isn't it worth a shot to expand the reptile business? I'm not sure of you can or already do sell animals online (how would shipping work anyway?), but if the site is catering to reptile lovers, why not sell things like books, food, toys, terrariums, stuff like that? Maybe offer gift certificates for said stuff to draw new customers through existing ones? Just an idea, of course, but maybe worth a try?  |
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Post by happy2bchildfree on Jan 21, 2008 0:22:57 GMT -5
Isn't it worth a shot to expand the reptile business? I'm not sure of you can or already do sell animals online (how would shipping work anyway?), but if the site is catering to reptile lovers, why not sell things like books, food, toys, terrariums, stuff like that? Maybe offer gift certificates for said stuff to draw new customers through existing ones? Just an idea, of course, but maybe worth a try? After dh lost his job in 2001 and was unable to find anything suitable, we decided to expand the business. We added on to the house to be able to house more snakes and invested in more high end animals. Most of our business is through the Internet. We ship snakes all over the United States. We are at the point where we cannot expand more without having to rent outside space, which is very expensive, and hire help, because the workload would be too much for the two of us. We would love to have a full-service reptile store/Internet business which would sell reptiles and everything they need, but at this point, it just isn't financially feasible. But thanks for the suggestion--it's a good one. |
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Post by ana on Jan 31, 2008 14:28:14 GMT -5
I always thought we would travel. Then I realized that maybe we might be not as fit as need be to enjoy some of the adventures we were putting off. I turned 40 last year so I'm in the process of making a Life List. I think if we do one big trip every 3 years, we will be able to see the parts of the world we are interested in prior to retirement. I just got back from my first trip on my list. India to see the Taj Mahal. I would like to see all 7 wonders of the world but there are so many lists now and I really don't want to see anything religion-based. My amended goal is to visit all the continents (except the Artic and Antartica).
After retirement, we will go somewhere warm every winter because one less Canadian winter will be A-Okay with me! My hubby just wants to be able to golf every day. I love to read and by then I'm sure I will have a list of books that I would like to get through. Leisurely pursuits, yes, but we want to relax and enjoy the simple things in life when we retire.
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Post by shell on Feb 3, 2008 12:14:04 GMT -5
Ana, I agree with you. You never know what your health will be like when you are older. A big trip every few years is a good plan. On our last trip, we were sitting on the beach, and noticed a busload of seniors drive up. Most had walkers and canes, it took forever for them to all disembark. Then they were having a hard time getting around through the sand, which you had to walk across to get to the shady cafe' area. It was sad, but made us think - I don't want to do that. I know we will not regret doing what we want to do now, and sticking closer to home when we are older. Shell PS Escaping the Canadian winter is on the top of my list too! |
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