What's the number?

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Originally Posted by OldSteve

My advice to a 35 y.o. is to save and develop good habits re living within your means.

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Yup, got that pretty dialed. We have a good savings rate and have our eyes on the brass ring of FIRE. Big concern for me is the future cost of healthcare especially in early retirement before we're eligible for Medicare, and there are a lot of unknowns there. Semi-seriously wondering if medical tourism would be a good alternative. On the other hand, I don't really want to break an arm on the slopes and fly to Tijuana before getting it looked at.

but social security!! come back!!!

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Originally Posted by dan_pdx

Big concern for me is the future cost of healthcare especially in early retirement before we're eligible for Medicare, and there are a lot of unknowns there.

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Yeah, that's the big wild card. I have some hope that demographics will force a change in U.S. politics such that a Medicare buy-in or some other public option for people >50 y.o. is possible. It would also open up jobs. I know several people in their 50s who would retire if they had access to affordable HC coverage and some sense of security that it will be around in future years.

Best of luck to you, keep saving and live below your means.

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Originally Posted by SkiCougar

I somehow missed it too and that's a dam shame because I actually did serious thought and research and am on it. I figure I'm about 4 years away regardless of who is president.

first, you have to figure what type of life you want to live and you have to be realistic and if youre always going to want the new car and new phone and a house on the golf course, it may not happen for you.
second, you gotta save like nobody else you know and not rely on the stock mkt to get you there because it could drop 25% the year youre getting ready to cut all ties.

I highly recommend reading early retirement extreme, this guy and his wife live on about 7k yearly and he retired a long time ago; but they don't live on the golf course or take many trips and another example is mr. money mustache, although his fans just try to live real cheap; the extreme guy totally changed his mindset to abandon consumerism.

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hmmm.

this was a year ago and I think i'm less than 2 years away now, so i'm ahead of schedule.

may still work after but never a sick day, weekend, weeknight, vacation day or holiday again; I've done all of these in the past 3 months.

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Originally Posted by OldSteve

Having high quality food does not necessarily require more money. We grow our own produce in summer. We catch most of the fish we eat. In many places in the U.S. one can buy the highest quality fresh eggs and meat from local farmers. IME, Costco has high quality cheese for roughly 1/2 WF price (somewhat limited selection, of course) and butcher-quality meats (although that might vary from store to store).

How old are you? I cannot imagine any political conditions under which SS would go away. GWB mentioned converting SS to self-directed in passing and his popularity rating dipped 15 points overnight. SS is the true third rail of politics, and that aint gonna change as more of the electorate nears SS age.

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Very true, plus all it will take to balance is to tax incomes over 130,000, problem fixed.

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YMMV but the 6 weeks I spent in Whistler working at a couple of races even tho it wasn't costing me didley

I couldnt wait to leave

IMO you want a real town not a " ski town "

Even better, move to France or Spain and live really well for much less than it costs in the us..

I lived in the French Pyrenees, great skiing, and it costs roughly half if what it costs me in Tahoe, better skiing, fewer people.

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Why did you move back?

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Originally Posted by Not bunion

Great tool. thx

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Benny's the greatest tool in this thread.

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Originally Posted by Shredhead

Why did you move back?

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I did, for a while.

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Originally Posted by Shredhead

Why did you move back?

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Good question

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Originally Posted by rod9301

I did, for a while.

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Very incomplete answer that makes little sense unless your saying you already left again. Fill in the blanks for us.

Ok, my wife and I have two kids. We wanted then to learn French. We went to France for a year, liked it, stayed for two.

But we left a house in the states, lots of stuff.

Came back mainly because we weren't prepared for staying indefinitely.

But that's not the whole answer. I would have stayed there, .

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Originally Posted by OldSteve

Yeah, that's the big wild card. I have some hope that demographics will force a change in U.S. politics such that a Medicare buy-in or some other public option for people >50 y.o. is possible. It would also open up jobs. I know several people in their 50s who would retire if they had access to affordable HC coverage and some sense of security that it will be around in future years.

Best of luck to you, keep saving and live below your means.

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I share your hope. I can get on my SO's insurance for a few years, but she wants to retire 4 years after I do, so I'll need to have something for medical from 59 to 65.

Where I work, they used to offer 'lifetime medical'. Basically you stayed on the City's medical plan until 65. They did away with that a few years back. I knew a bunch of people who were in their early 50's and all set to retire and then had to hold off. I also know some people who weren't yet 65 who had retired based on that promise and then had it taken away. That seemed criminal.

I'm planning on consulting after getting out of here at 55. I could bank my retirement income during that time and then use that for medical if I want to quit working at 59 or 60.

But either way, I'm done with this 40 hour, stuck in an office work week. It's fucking killing me.

$4M between wife and me. We move to Italy and check out.

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Originally Posted by jm2e

$4M between wife and me. We move to Italy and check out.

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must be a nice place, you can get places in carmel, CA for 2 mil.

will never be that much for me. if I have income producing assets to the level of my current salary, a paid off house in a decent locale and a little extra in the bank just in case; i'm good; I've never lived like a multi-millionaire; seems to me it's not all that worth it if it takes you another 10 years of slaving away to get there; that's why my number is only 1.5 mil.

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Originally Posted by OldSteve

Yeah, that's the big wild card. I have some hope that demographics will force a change in U.S. politics such that a Medicare buy-in or some other public option for people >50 y.o. is possible. It would also open up jobs. I know several people in their 50s who would retire if they had access to affordable HC coverage and some sense of security that it will be around in future years.

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I'm in that boat, but medical insurance is absolutely hudge for me and the missus. I'm really bummed that Trumpcare isn't in place, saving everyone money, and reducing overall costs for healthcare and coverage. I don't see this medical cost and insurance getting fixed any time soon. (I hope I'm wrong though.) So, gotta keep working for the medical benefits. And I'm fortunate to work for a company with outstanding medical benefits.

Same thing when it comes to SS coverage. I'm maxed out and my pay level, and it would be nice to have that nut at retirement. But it goes back to the quality of life thingy that everyone is after. The whole work/life balance equation that never seem to tip enough into the life part of the equation and too much into the work side of things. But I have seen a lot of family and older friends getting hip and knee replacement surgeries of late, and most of them were/are skiers who are starting to throw in the towel on that activity.

But like you say, keep saving, keep living and hopefully not sacrificing below ones means.

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Originally Posted by Toadman

I'm really bummed that Trumpcare isn't in place, saving everyone money, and reducing overall costs for healthcare and coverage.

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hahaha

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Originally Posted by Toadman

But I have seen a lot of family and older friends getting hip and knee replacement surgeries of late, and most of them were/are skiers who are starting to throw in the towel on that activity.
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This is a reason for taking SS early if you don’t need the money that much and are healthy. If I make it to 80+ I’ll be happy with afternoon naps with cats. Your leisure spending will likely go down too.

Losing an anticipated activity can really blow a hole in your plan and mental health so be prepared.

Medicare pays for joint replacements. There's a whole bunch of ski instructors out there marking the calender to 65.

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Originally Posted by 4matic

This is a reason for taking SS early if you don’t need the money that much and are healthy. If I make it to 80+ I’ll be happy with afternoon naps with cats. Your leisure spending will likely go down too.

Losing an anticipated activity can really blow a hole in your plan and mental health so be prepared.

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Yup. Everyone doing this "wait for full benefits" thing seem to live with the fantasy that, first, they will live forever, and, second, they'll be physically able to do the same shit in their 70s as in their 50s. No. Ain't happening. I really think that rap is a conspiracy to convince boomers to leave money on the table.

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Originally Posted by 4matic

I like my chances.

https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017...ou-should.aspx

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"However, the eight-year head start that those who claim early get is enough under the 8% return assumption to build an insurmountable lead."

Chiming in on this late, but assuming an 8% return is pretty fucking optimistic... especially for individuals nearing retirement whose portfolios typically skew conservative.

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Originally Posted by Benny Profane

Yup. Everyone doing this "wait for full benefits" thing seem to live with the fantasy that, first, they will live forever, and, second, they'll be physically able to do the same shit in their 70s as in their 50s.

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No, it's not about either. It's about the surviving spouse living to 90 or 95 or 100 -- which is happening with increasing frequency -- and hedging against that possibility by having a higher SS annuity payout.

If you guys are confident that taking SS early and beating the SS actuarial game with savvy investing works for ya, go for it. I've done the numbers and it doesn't pencil out for us, even assuming 10%+ avg. annual returns with no down years. It's not about my life expectancy -- I'll be lucky to make it to 85 -- but there's a good chance Honey will live into her 90s, maybe to 100, and thus we need to work with that possibility. SS was designed as an insurance program to provide an annuity if you outlive your retirement savings.

I ain't married.

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Originally Posted by PassTheDutchie

"However, the eight-year head start that those who claim early get is enough under the 8% return assumption to build an insurmountable lead."

Chiming in on this late, but assuming an 8% return is pretty fucking optimistic... especially for individuals nearing retirement whose portfolios typically skew conservative.

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Motley Fool is worthless. They used to be a source of outside the box type of analysis, and somewhere along the way turned into clickbait and scare-of-the-moment type of investment stories.

Re: SS and returns - for each year you wait between 62 and 70, your SS benefit increases by about 8%. That is why the conventional wisdom is to wait until 70 to claim SS. Unless you need the $ to live on, in which case, start taking it whenever you need it.

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Originally Posted by Benny Profane

Yup. Everyone doing this "wait for full benefits" thing seem to live with the fantasy that, first, they will live forever, and, second, they'll be physically able to do the same shit in their 70s as in their 50s. No. Ain't happening. I really think that rap is a conspiracy to convince boomers to leave money on the table.

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My retirement has the same shit built in. You can leave at 55 at 2% or you can stay and each birth quarter you go up a little percentage until you max out at 63 or something. They know the longer you stay, the sooner you die and the more money gets left in their coffers. Plus the longer you stay, you're still paying in. So they dangle that carrot. I have people I work with telling me I'm stupid for leaving at 55. But I'm more aligned with XXX-er. I'm out ASAP. I'll figure out the rest. I'm not letting 8 years of decent youth/mobility get wasted in this metal cage.