Yeah I was the owner of the pa and lights so I hauled and set it all up. Lucky for me that now its just my bass and little Rumble.
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Retiring in 2021 ........ Anyone Else?
- Thread starter covermego
- Start date
I guess I’ve been “retired for 7 years or so, in terms of not working for a paycheck. But, the wife just retired this Spring. In the meantime, I had to handle all the home improvement contracting / house chores, which didn’t really feel like any kind of retirement.
Now, we have just relocated back to the Midwest, closer to grandchildren; and are trying to get the new house (black hole) sorted out. So, that still doesn’t feel like retirement.
Whether you are on the clock or not, life is as busy as you make it.
I spent my career in the microelectronics industry inventing materials and processes that are nowadays on the chips in your cell phones. I excelled at the hands-on invention / problem solving; but, honestly struggled with the back room politics. I was terminated at my last job after explaining an issue they had been chasing for 6 years and providing a dead accurate predictive model. The jerk who fired me then moved the company from ABQ to Silicon Valley, and destroyed the company twice. He thought he was the next Steve Jobs. I don’t miss him.
While in TUS supporting my wife and her career, the local tech company, Raytheon, posted two positions, one a Fellow level and the other Senior Engineering, in the specific area that I did my dissertation in, and for which I am still one of the top 5 qualified people in the world. The computer rejected my resume containing a career’s worth of IP, publications, and successful leadership positions; though I doubt human eyes ever saw it. I suppose my graduation date was too long ago.
I worked in microelectronics when there was so much need that they were basically hiring warm bodies. After “we” foolishly decided to give that industry to China, there was so much attrition that thuggery kicked in. I tried my hand at academia; but, found that tenure was primarily based on money rather than scientific achievement.
It was an interesting career; but, I don’t miss what it turned into. Not for a minute. In my brief stint teaching engineering, I actually found it difficult to recommend any kind of non-software or non-bio engineering to any of the students.
My first job lasted 17 years, during which, I acquired a pension. My last position there was in a really cool area, involving semiconducting polymers, which could be used to print active logic circuits using printing presses. It was so cool, that we couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t taking off. One of my co-workers went back and found that the last 5 great economic platforms in the US all followed the same pattern. Which was enlightening; but unfortunately no one in DC seems to actually have looked at history. Otherwise, we would be doing a lot of things differently. It also explained why cool new tech often goes no where. We should write a book about it; but, I doubt it would do any good.
So, now, I’m fixing up a house, spoiling grandchildren, spending more time with the wife, and playing in a new band with some very nice folks I’ve just hooked up with; not necessarily in that order. And, there is some fly fishing involved at some point. Maybe, if I’m lucky.
As Duke Ellington said, “Retire? To WHAT?”
Now, we have just relocated back to the Midwest, closer to grandchildren; and are trying to get the new house (black hole) sorted out. So, that still doesn’t feel like retirement.
Whether you are on the clock or not, life is as busy as you make it.
I spent my career in the microelectronics industry inventing materials and processes that are nowadays on the chips in your cell phones. I excelled at the hands-on invention / problem solving; but, honestly struggled with the back room politics. I was terminated at my last job after explaining an issue they had been chasing for 6 years and providing a dead accurate predictive model. The jerk who fired me then moved the company from ABQ to Silicon Valley, and destroyed the company twice. He thought he was the next Steve Jobs. I don’t miss him.
While in TUS supporting my wife and her career, the local tech company, Raytheon, posted two positions, one a Fellow level and the other Senior Engineering, in the specific area that I did my dissertation in, and for which I am still one of the top 5 qualified people in the world. The computer rejected my resume containing a career’s worth of IP, publications, and successful leadership positions; though I doubt human eyes ever saw it. I suppose my graduation date was too long ago.
I worked in microelectronics when there was so much need that they were basically hiring warm bodies. After “we” foolishly decided to give that industry to China, there was so much attrition that thuggery kicked in. I tried my hand at academia; but, found that tenure was primarily based on money rather than scientific achievement.
It was an interesting career; but, I don’t miss what it turned into. Not for a minute. In my brief stint teaching engineering, I actually found it difficult to recommend any kind of non-software or non-bio engineering to any of the students.
My first job lasted 17 years, during which, I acquired a pension. My last position there was in a really cool area, involving semiconducting polymers, which could be used to print active logic circuits using printing presses. It was so cool, that we couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t taking off. One of my co-workers went back and found that the last 5 great economic platforms in the US all followed the same pattern. Which was enlightening; but unfortunately no one in DC seems to actually have looked at history. Otherwise, we would be doing a lot of things differently. It also explained why cool new tech often goes no where. We should write a book about it; but, I doubt it would do any good.
So, now, I’m fixing up a house, spoiling grandchildren, spending more time with the wife, and playing in a new band with some very nice folks I’ve just hooked up with; not necessarily in that order. And, there is some fly fishing involved at some point. Maybe, if I’m lucky.
As Duke Ellington said, “Retire? To WHAT?”
I’m retired financial advisor. A few words of advice. Do not spend every cent you earn. Sounds simple, right? But that is step one. Adjust you spending habits accordingly if needed.
At a minimum, make sure you take advantage of a employer sponsored retirement plan, and make sure you are not missing out on matching funds. If your employer does not offer a retirement plan, invest in a IRA. Each time you get a pay raise , take 1/3 to 1/2 of that pay raise and bump up your contributions to your company sponsored retirement plan. You will never miss it. Keep doing this until you retire.
Make sure you have marketable job skills. If you worked at ABC making widgets for 30 years does not mean you have 30 years of experience. It means you’ve experienced 30 years of making widgets which will do you no good if widgets are obsolete.
Very important, you need a financial safety net. 3-6 months of your income where you can get to it if you need it. This is not what your retirement funds are for. Primarily this is a separate account for times when you can’t work or between jobs, or some other financial disaster occurs.
With the exception of buying a house, and or buying a car so you can get to work, avoid debt. If you have credit card, store credit, or any kind of revolving debt, pay it off as soon as you can. Do not borrow money for things that will not make you money, like going out to eat, clothes, and vacations.
One final thought and the best advice I can give you, set up an appointment with an advisor as soon as you can. The second best advice is keep the appointment. The 3rd is be patient with your plan.
It’s taken you 34 years to get to this point, it’s going to take a few more years to get to where you want to be. Like they say as to how you eat an elephant..one forkful at a time. You build a retirement out of your paycheck, one at a time.
Best wishes for a bright financial future.
DB
I'm a software engineer and could retire now but, my job is to easy to not keep going. I'll retire when I forget how to get there.
I'm retiring at the end of October with just under 37 years with the federal government. Four years of that time are my active duty Army years. The rest are the years I've been in civil service with the Navy. The last few years in my current position have been the most stressful of them all. I'm taking care of an elderly mother, which is a full-time job in itself, so I'm ready to go. I'm looking forward to spending more time improving my playing and hanging out with my musician friends.
I retired 4 years ago at 60 after 40 years in Tech ... 25 of those at IBM. It was a little forced really ... I was told if I wanted to keep my job I had to move from SF to North Carolina ...HA! no 'effen way! (no offense to any N. Carolinians, I just was not going to uproot myself across the country for 2 more possible years of work). I had made good money for several decades, saved and invested wisely, so finances were/are no issue.
Anyway, it's been great for me and my wife (other than the 2020 pandemic). I was playing/gigging quite a bit before retiring anyway, but getting rid of the daily/weekly grind and business travel really allowed me to up the number of gigs/sessions I did, and also opened up my options as far as musical situations I could chase.
I think that as long as you have an idea of what you want to do, and you are not defined too much my your day gig, your finances are solid and your health is good, it certainly can be a very liberating and enjoyable time in your life.
enjoy!
Anyway, it's been great for me and my wife (other than the 2020 pandemic). I was playing/gigging quite a bit before retiring anyway, but getting rid of the daily/weekly grind and business travel really allowed me to up the number of gigs/sessions I did, and also opened up my options as far as musical situations I could chase.
I think that as long as you have an idea of what you want to do, and you are not defined too much my your day gig, your finances are solid and your health is good, it certainly can be a very liberating and enjoyable time in your life.
enjoy!
You make a great point about people not being able to afford stuff in retirement. That’s something a lot of people don’t pay attention to at all. For example I had to have a big sit down with my mom about what her expenses would look like in retirement. She had a huge house at the time, in-ground pool and all that. Her light bill was literally more than my mortgage payment. Luckily she decided to move into a smaller house but yeah I don’t think people realize that electric bills never go away. You never “pay them off” and most people can’t afford to pay those bills after they retire. Not saying nobody should buy a big house. But if they do buy one it should be looked at more as an investment knowing they will sell it and it won’t be their permanent home.
I’m hoping to retire this year.
I bought Doge coin (there , I said it !)
I bought Doge coin (there , I said it !)
Retired as high school principal back on '09, went back to work in January '10. I told my boss a month ago to start looking for a replacement. I plan to stay until school restarts - maybe September, maybe October. But, I am heading out.
I'll be 61 in July. I've spent nearly 40 years in the newspaper/commercial printing business, as an operator and maintenance man. I am worn out. Gonna try to make it to 65. We'll see.
Death by misadventure would be most welcome! Unfortunately, I'm more likely now to be killed by "extra cheese"
I did the FIRE thingy before they called it that and dashed out of Corporate America in 2008..living simple and being able to play music and other creative endeavors like building my own music studio. never looked back -- I can't believe how many sessions and shows and jams I would have missed if I would have kept working..not to mention to be able to be there and walk along the last mile with both my parents... and being there for my kids for real.... I'm 55 now and would not change a thing... @covermego : enjoy your new freedom and spread happiness... and good music - it's not retirement its enjoyourlifeamemt....
