Making progress...

[Leatherneck]

On Facebook

Facebook, pppffffftttt, does seem like some of our members have forgotten about us here.

[Skidmark]

Wow... I haven't been on this site for some time. Slacker me be!

[Leatherneck]

Wow... I haven't been on this site for some time. Slacker me be!

We need our Skidmark, speaking of which.. going on the Mojave trail ride coming up?

[dustymojave]

Shoot Howdy Steve! Long time no see/hear/whatever!

[Skidmark]

Not making the Mojave Road Run this year.

How have you been, Dusty? Life is getting more interesting by the week it seems. Just when we get going on retirement plans, life throws a curve ball at ya... seems I will be out of a job much sooner than I had planned. I was not thinking that forced retirement would end up as an option, but it may come to pass. Kind of surreal since I have been working for this guy for over 23 years now. He may be shutting the business down in as little as two more years. I can't retire in California, but it may be too soon to pull off the move to Nevada as we have been planning.

[Leatherneck]

Hope the work or retirement deal works out for you Skid, retiring early can't be to bad though..

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I retired early but it was not planned. Watching out on finances and making plans (my wife has been the big help in that part of planning) and making good decisions allowed us to do OK.

Take care.

Lee

[madmitch]

Not making the Mojave Road Run this year.

How have you been, Dusty? Life is getting more interesting by the week it seems. Just when we get going on retirement plans, life throws a curve ball at ya... seems I will be out of a job much sooner than I had planned. I was not thinking that forced retirement would end up as an option, but it may come to pass. Kind of surreal since I have been working for this guy for over 23 years now. He may be shutting the business down in as little as two more years. I can't retire in California, but it may be too soon to pull off the move to Nevada as we have been planning.

Oregon is nice

[dustymojave]

I understand your situation Skid. I always figured that I would work as a fabricator until I got too old and feeble. My wife was going to work to about 67 years old. We're in our early 60s now. But life is good at throwing curve balls and change-up pitches.

My wife got hurt at work while I was taking time off work helping out a close friend who was dying of cancer. Her company kept her working hurt for a few months with a "walk it off and you'll be good" attitude. After we hired an attorney, they finally got after taking care of her injuries. By that time, my friend had passed away and left his paid off home to us. Part of the reason for him to leave it to us was he wanted to help my wife retire. Great guy. I then had to stay off work to take care of my wife through taking her to all sorts of medical and legal appointments, surgeries and therapy along with providing her home health care. Then when it became obvious that she wouldn't be able to resume her work as a nurse, she decided that she may as well retire early. She had over 40 years with her company and her pension would not get better working longer.

Good thing I retired with her because then right after that I came down with cancer myself and had to have a couple of surgeries. Now cancer free, but the medicine they give me to keep it away makes me lazy, weaker, lacking in stamina and drive and needing lots more sleep. So now I can't work like I used to. I only work a little occasional here and there.

For now, we're making a bit less $$ than we used to make, but expenses are quite a bit less not having to commute to work, and our home costs a bunch less. We're having to watch how we spend our money for a while, but once we get both of our Social Security incomes rolling in, we'll be making as much as we were when we were both working with a lot less expenses. So while we retired early contrary to plans, we're doing OK.

Good luck with your situation Steve. There are definitely lots of places less costly to live in than Orange County. What part of NV are you thinking of?

[Skidmark]

Going to settle in the Carson Valley, just east of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada mountain range. I am a cancer survivor as well. Medical insurance costs before age 65 can be quite intimidating. Starting to do a lot of number crunching to see what option would be best in the long run.

[dustymojave]

We make payment (small) on our house to the previous owner's sister who lives in Carson City. Looks like pretty country.

[Skidmark]

Things are getting a lot more defined now. I have set my retirement date at March 2, 2018. I will be resettled in either Minden or Gardnerville, Nevada by the end of April next year. My company is being closed down at the end of March, with the last day of manufacturing set for the end of February. So it looks like retirement will be my birthday present to myself! Ending my working life 4 days after I turn 60. I was really hoping to make this desert season an active one before I leave the state, but there is so much to take care of to make this move happen I don't think I will have any free weekends until my California house is prepped and listed (around February). The logistics involved is mind numbing, both physically and financially. But I am sure it will be awesome in the long run.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

If you are careful with your finances you should be OK.

Largely, retirement is what you make of it. You can be frugal and still enjoy yourself so have fun during your retirement time. You will also find you will be busier than you were when you were working due to all the "honey-dos'" your wife will find for you to keep you busy and out of her hair).

I retired 3 days after I turned 58 due to having been given two years to live; the Dr. should not have said that as I am still alive (after the first of November) after 17 years of retirement now. New drugs have come into play which did make a difference. I have had one stint put in and that was a few years ago (I got to ride in an ambulance with sirens blazing to get to the hospital where they put in the stint. I was bleeding from a tube in my groin they had put in to check on how I was doing and I bled from it the whole way into Seattle from Belly-View (Belleview). Hopefully it was a once in a lifetime ride ).

Lee

[madmitch]

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Thanks Mitch.

I should add to what I said about being careful. Not too long after I retired I attended some kind of event (17 or so years ago so all the small data is forgotten) on retirement; there was a couple, the husband I worked with, who stood off from the rest of us but as soon as they retired they did Europe on their additional savings (401K...?). All they had left was their pension and SS which turned out to be marginal based on what was said.

Again, be careful because time goes faster but you also move slower as you get older... but I am sure you've already noticed that.