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Has anyone left work early because they just wanted to get to run away to where it was warmer, but still have your home back home? How are you managing financially and are you still glad you did it or regrets?
I can’t say that I left early but I did leave as soon as I was eligible for my pension. I did this knowing that I had a skill set that would allow me to do short term contract work. I am able to do most of my work on line with the occasional face to face meeting. We still have our home and this will be our first year following the warmth.
We have no regrets and glad does not begin to express how much happier (and sane) we are.
Next year we will be doing early retirement, I am cashing in my retirement and getting our home on wheels. We own our place, so we are going to keep it for a bit, while we explore what is out there. Our big challenge is that we live in Kansas which taxes personal vehicles as personal property, which is really expensive. (Our plates for a 10 year old vehicle was over $250, while our daughter plated the same vehicle in Indiana for $54) We will be looking at other options. I can’t wait to enjoy living life instead of enduring it!
I’ve got about 9 months to go, I’m hoping to be both healthier, (my job is physically difficult), happier, and saner. Sue is younger than me, she wants to hold onto work for few more years.
I can’t say I’ll miss the bickering, politics or drama of the workplace![quote quote=5876]I’ve got about 9 months to go, I’m hoping to be both healthier, (my job is physically difficult), happier, and saner. Sue is younger than me, she wants to hold onto work for few more years. I can’t say I’ll miss the bickering, politics or drama of the workplace![/quote]
Gerry has about 3 1/2 years and we have been pushing with getting the truck and mortgage paid off in 2…as they were going to be paid off same time as retirement before. He will lose all health benefits if he leaves early, but we can always buy into a plan.. not sure.. just so hate the long winters.. even the dog is cold..July was the only month we didn’t have the furnace run…Some say we should stick out the years to get the extra $$ and benefits but not sure… :scratch:
You really need to look at what the health benefits are that you stand to lose. That is one of the reasons I stayed as long as I did (drug coverage is key). Private health plans can be expensive and as you get older those benefits become more important. Perhaps someone who has purchased private health coverage can give you a better idea of how much it costs and what is actually covered.
[quote quote=5882]You really need to look at what the health benefits are that you stand to lose. That is one of the reasons I stayed as long as I did (drug coverage is key). Private health plans can be expensive and as you get older those benefits become more important. Perhaps someone who has purchased private health coverage can give you a better idea of how much it costs and what is actually covered.[/quote]
We do know we can buy into the same plan for both of us…after he retires..he’s already worked 36 years and just tired of it.
I do realize what your saying but when your ready to leave, your ready to leave..
Gerry has about 3 1/2 years and we have been pushing with getting the truck and mortgage paid off in 2…as they were going to be paid off same time as retirement before. He will lose all health benefits if he leaves early, but we can always buy into a plan.. not sure.. just so hate the long winters.. even the dog is cold..July was the only month we didn’t have the furnace run…Some say we should stick out the years to get the extra $$ and benefits but not sure… :scratch:
We managed to pay off everything this last year, mortgage, trailer, truck, cars, our Summer Haven property, credit cards, EVERYTHING! For the first time since I was 20, I own myself! We’re filling up the savings account now, and finishing up improvements to the house and trailer out of pocket.
I know what you mean about the furnace running, our bill runs $180 a month (year averaged consumption). We’re still paying for last winter. It costs us close to $1000 a month just to keep the house between taxes and utilities, once Sue finishes working, it’s going to be the first thing to go.
Fortunately, I have good health, no prescriptions. Sue has two for stable conditions, and the cost isn’t excessive. My coverage at work is fairly minimal, and Sue has benefits through her job. Blue Cross is fairly affordable, and once I’m 65 is subsidized.
In the last two years we’ve had to re-think how we live, realize how much money we waste, how much stuff we have that we don’t use. It’s been a slow, steady purging process. We have multiple rooms in our house we never use, a basement suite that’s unoccupied. We’ve converted our music to electronic formats, use e-books just about exclusively, and are scanning all our old photo’s. All are backed up onto multiple storage units, so the odds of losing them are minimal. New purchases are considered, will it fit in the trailer or summer cabin? If not, we don’t buy it. Even Christmas is different, we give experiences now, tickets to events, things of that nature, instead of stuff, unless something is specifically asked for.Thank you for your input…I can say I’ve gotten my hubby used to be frugal- as I’ve always told him its good to get ready to live on less so that when retirement comes it wont be so much of a shock.
Do the math. Even thought your income may be dramatically reduced so are your expenses, but some go up. Gas, even for our short commute to work, went way down while home energy costs went up a bit. While paying for health insurance until forced to go on Medicare at 65 we budgeted with that in mind but at age 65 we got a boast in our living standard by health insurance dropping. Income tax went down. It is different for everyone so you have to do your own calculations but keep in mind you won’t be paying into a retirement plan, etc.
If you can earn a decent hourly salary part-time there is a break-even point where the extra money you earn by working another year 40 hours a week (for example) is less than drawing a pension and working 10 hours a week. My wife didn’t think we could maintain our living standard while pulling a pension at much less that our gross salaries. I figured we could but maintained a part-time consulting business (doing what I loved) for a few years until she became convinced and we enjoyed our additional time together so much we blew off the consulting work, bought and RV and don’t have any regrets. We did payoff all our debts first as well so not worries or interest payments. Our standard of living actually went up a little bit.
I would encourage anybody that isn’t head over heels enjoying their job to bale as soon as you can figure out how. Ray and Anne are a good example of how it can be done at any age.
Since this is an RV forum I will add one more expense reduction. We actually save money by owning a motorhome. For example, when we have to travel 100 miles for medical speciality work we now take the rig (before it was a hotel). Aside from the immense convenience, gas and rv park fees are cheaper than the hotel and dinner.
do you RV full time with no home back home?
We are looking at still keeping this home and coming back in Spring – Fall.. and just being gone away in the RV for the winter. My hubby is a very good handy man so not sure what he could get for work but also has worked/ still is working as a traffic manager at a mine so makes good money.. and with bonus. Most would say we would be fools to give that up but I HATE the long winters here.. and so does the dog :violin:
A lot of it is, how does he feel about retiring? It scares a lot of people. Sometimes their identity is tied up in what they do. A leap into unknown vs. a known routine?
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