Interesting blog thread....

Like many Baby Boomers, I vowed at a young age not to wait until retirement to have fun, do extensive traveling and enjoy life.
So many of us saw their parents slave away working hard and long hours at jobs, saying that they would have fun and travel once they retired. Then either while still working or very soon into their retirement they suffered a debilitating illness that prevented them from pursuing these goals, or worse yet, died at a relatively young age.
Both of my parents died at a young age, father at 59 and mother at 61.
That experience made me vow not to take my life for granted and to also plan for retirement at an age where I am still healthy.

As a 57 yr. old automobile enthusiast, my wife and I are now in our final planning stage for our eventual retirement. I would love to retire at age 60 and am working towards that goal. Depending on the value of our diversified financial portfolio once I reach that age will determine if I can afford to finally do something different. Now whether it is total retirement or working part time at some job that I find enjoyable, satisfying and stimulating, remains to be seen. I may do some volunteer work and possibly teach as well, in addition to our extensive travel plans.

Like some of the sentiments expressed by motordavid, I and many others in our mid-50's, share similar accelerating feelings about our respective workplace environment and circumstances, ranging from frustration, exhaustion, exasperation, boredom and anger. These feeling compete with our realization that most of us at our age have reached the peak of our respective career paths and recognize the reality of all the pros and cons associated with the position. While we may have experienced exciting, enjoyable and rewarding careers, both emotionally and financially, after 30+ years working, many of us are getting tired of it all and asking the important questions at this stage in life, such as:

1. Is this all there is for me?
2. Do I want to continue doing this?
3. If I want to do something different, do I have the courage to try it?
4. Do I want to or can I afford to forgo the security of a regular paycheck and employer-subsidized healthcare benefits?

For those of you who love your job(s) and look forward to getting out of bed and going to work.... you are very lucky and made the right choice for yourself.

For those of us who are in jobs, positions, professions where our overall satisfaction and enjoyment of our work may not be as strong, or at least not as strong as it once was, need to decide how much longer we will persevere before we really do need to make a change. Whether that change is making a lateral move to another company or firm or taking a different type of job or deciding to retire. I am a firm believer that if we are not satisfied with our current situation that it is up to us, ourselves to do something about it and not continue to bemoan the circumstances causing the angst or discomfort.

I also agree with the points made by Quicksilver and JCL on one's health and health care. One of the largest variables in retirement is your health and that of your partner. Whether you have and can afford to maintain adequate health care insurance before your reach the age where you are eligible for Medicare is a major concern and issue. Also, whether or not one has or can afford to get long-term health care insurance is also another important factor. It will be interesting to see how Obamacare ultimately affects costs and how it evolves and is modified to improve its deficiencies. I was originally supporting the universal health care approach and am philosophically opposed to our for-profit health care system, but do not expect that will change in my life time.

As far as motordavid's point on Social Security, my wife and I plan to hold off as long as we can before we tap into the Social Security system, I would guess that we will be 66+ when we finally do.

Also, my wife wants to continue working until her mid-70's (God bless her....!)
I support her wish to do so and look forward to being a house husband.
Finally, I look forward to spending more time pursuing my automotive passion, enjoying our M-B's and BMW's for all of my remaining years....

Finally, if you are really disappointed, disgusted, fearful and/or just fed up with the direction our country is going in, like TerminatorX5 stated, seriously consider leaving the US and relocate as an Expat to another country. There are tax consequences that would have to be thoroughly investigated to fully understand the applicable rules. Panama makes sense for the points he stated. I would also suggest considering Singapore for all of its benefits including the fact that English is the official language.

AVB-AMG

__________________
My current & recent car history:
2020 BMW 440i xDrive Coupe (Wife's daily driver)
2016 BMW X5M (My daily driver)
2014 BMW M6 Coupe (gone)
2013 BWM 335i xDrive Coupe (gone)
2011 BMW 335xi turbo coupe (gone)
2007 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG (gone)
2007 BMW 335ci twin turbo coupe (gone)
2004 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG (gone)
2004 BMW X5 4.4i (w/full Aero Kit - gone)
2001 BMW X5 4.4i (w/full Aero Kit - gone)
2000 Mercedes-Benz E430 Sport (gone)
1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL (owned for 48 years)

good points, AVB, good points... Singapore is an excellent option, i did not bring it up, as a lot of folks are afraid to move too far from alma mater... but in this case, Guam could be a good alternative - it is still the US, but it is a little paradise... the bad thing (or, maybe a good thing??), it is so remote, that you need to hop on 5 sea horses, 4 boats, 3 planes, 2 trains and one car ride, to get yourself somewhere in the civilized place...

In my line of work, i have realized, that all the planning is good and needed but a stray bullet or unannounced earthquake (or tsunami) can wipe you out before you have any chance to have fun... therefore, i try to interleave the fun with work... as much as it is possible... hope for the best, prepare for the worst...

AVB-AMG: Good thoughts.

It is too bad that the original thread title is directed at the older guys, as I would have wanted to read this and reflect on it before I was an old guy, when I had time to build plans that would give me choices when I got to that age, whatever it is for each individual.

I got serious about retirement savings at age 26, long ago, so I have more choices now. Planning and acting early is the best way to create choices for later IMO.

__________________
2007 X3 3.0si, 6 MT, Premium, White

Retired:
2008 535i, 6 MT, M Sport, Premium, Space Grey
2003 X5 3.0 Steptronic, Premium, Titanium Silver
2002 325xi 5 MT, Steel Grey
2004 Z4 3.0 Premium, Sport, SMG, Maldives Blue

As a younger person this is all very interesting to read. Good luck to you guys in your ventures.

.02

__________________
Previously owned: '03 4.6iS Dinan Supercharged

I agree wholeheartedly that younger guys can benefit from the information. But I was not looking for them to add their opinions because most of them just are not at this point and so I think their opinions would be mostly speculation and supposition - as opposed to experience.

Also, while I cannot and do not want to keep anyone from adding their opinions - based on their age - I would like to have the elders speak first and then open the floor to everyone else. Hopefully that will keep this topic from derailing or taking a tangent as some threads have a tendancy to do.

__________________
2006 X5 Sport 4.4i

Sorry, I in no way wanted to be critical. I apologize for that not being clear. I fully understand your intentions. Thanks for starting the thread, it is an interesting topic, at least to me.

What I was trying to say was that I thought it was too bad that some younger readers may take a pass on reading it, because in my limited experience, it was when I was younger that I really needed to think about these things more.

Cheers

Jeff

__________________
2007 X3 3.0si, 6 MT, Premium, White

Retired:
2008 535i, 6 MT, M Sport, Premium, Space Grey
2003 X5 3.0 Steptronic, Premium, Titanium Silver
2002 325xi 5 MT, Steel Grey
2004 Z4 3.0 Premium, Sport, SMG, Maldives Blue

Ok, this evening, I have some free time and have had a nice single malt scotch after dinner and thought I would pontificate a bit further on this subject.
So far, from what I have read from the stated thoughts and opinions of the gray hair set here, we old farts have the following philosophical and practical advice for the younger generation of XOutpost bloggers for preparation for one's senior years and ultimately for retirement. So for anyone who wants to listen and seriously consider it, capsulated from previous posts here, as well as new ones, is the start of a list of points that I (and probably most of us), believe are of the most importance. Please feel free to add your own to this probably endless list:

1. Prepare - Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
2. Start Early - Start one's financial planning for retirement as early as you possibly can.
3. Health - Do what you can to stay as healthy as you can to enjoy your later years.
4. Insurance - Understand what health care insurance options may be available to you in later years.
5. Passion - Determine what you are passionate about and pursue that as your work/job.
6. Life’s Roller Coaster - Recognize that satisfaction with one's job, spouse and life circumstances will have its "peaks and valleys" and that is perfectly normal. How you deal with the valleys will determine your future happiness.
7. Education - Understand that education is vital to one's success and ability to understand the world, as much as possible. Also, education is not just formal schooling but also life experiences learned by doing and watching others. This leads to wisdom and hopefully not too much cynicism
8. Don’t Wait - Do not wait for retirement to enjoy your life as much as you can afford to do so.
9. Travel - Travel extensively, as much as you possibly can afford to do so. It is a huge diversified and beautiful world out there and this type of experience will make you less susceptible to becoming provincial in your thinking and more accepting of our inherent differences.
10. Experiment - Do some things that you may not necessarily be comfortable doing, Challenge yourself to explore new horizons, cultures and food. You may not like everything you see and do, but you will be able to say you at least tried it and formed your opinion based on actual experience and not someone else's opinion. Drive a Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi and others... You just may decide that they are as good, if not better in some ways than a BMW, (then again, maybe not....)
11. Analysis – Tabulate all of your known current and anticipated expenses, create a spreadsheet to itemize all of these costs for each year for the next 30-40 years, assuming a rate of inflation that is realistic, (3-4% per year?). Do the same for your current and anticipated income. Once completed, this should frighten the hell out of you. Hopefully it will illustrate for you the probable disparity between income and expenses and therefore motivate you to save more money for unforeseen expenses and for use in upcoming years, sacrificing the immediate gratification of purchasing consumer goods in order to allow you to have some financial security in the future.
12. Someone Special – Many of us on XPost are probably Type A / Self-Starters that have many interests and hobbies, (i.e. BMW’s….). As much as we can satisfy ourselves with these interests, my experience is that life is just more fun and rewarding when you can share you interests, discoveries and joys with someone else. Someone special, a girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband, family members, friends….
As we grow older, we want to share our life experiences with that one special person, including the memories of those experiences. As we start to slow down, that special person hopefully will be there with you , through thick and thin, sitting in the passenger seat of that nice little M3 convertible as we drive through our lives together.
13. (Add you own points…..)
14. _______________

Now for the really challenging stuff:

Student Loan Debt - We all know the importance of getting a solid education and learning skills that will lead to go job prospects, whether or not you work for yourself of for others. This education may consist of college, post graduate and/or technical/vocational training. It will have a financial cost that you may have to borrow money to afford. Those loans from banks and financial institutions will become your student loan debt, hopefully at relatively low interest rates. It will take you many years to pay off those loans.
Back in the 70’s my parents were able to afford to pay for me to attend a 4-year private liberal arts college where I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. I then went on to graduate school, which I had to pay for myself. I did this with the assistance of fellowships, scholarships, two jobs in the university, serving as a graduate teaching assistant and finally, taking out multiple low-interest student loans totaling $26,000. It took me approx. 8 years after graduation to pay off the last of those loans.
I shudder at the thought of how long it will take today’s college and graduate students to pay off their student loans in the range of $50,000 - $125,000. I hope that the evolving nature of higher education, that will incorporate various forms of "distance learning" such as taking free or low cost courses online, via Corsera, Kahn Academy and other offerings, will help bring the cost of education down to a more affordable level.
Yet, even with these advanced technological tools, the onus is on the student to focus at an earlier stage and age to be more conscious of studying something that will accomplish two key goals for them: a subject that they are passionate about and will lead to their securing a job post graduation that will pay a decent salary/income for them. Money is not the ultimate goal but it sure does make achieving them just that much easier…. My generation had the luxury of being able to go to college without a clear idea of what we ultimately wanted to do with our lives. I think that current and future generations may not really be able to afford that option. Yet, I think, as do many others, that the expense will ultimately be worth it for you, both financially and intellectually leading to a more rewarding life.

Ok, that’s all for now…
Let's hear the thoughts of everyone else

AVB-AMG

__________________
My current & recent car history:
2020 BMW 440i xDrive Coupe (Wife's daily driver)
2016 BMW X5M (My daily driver)
2014 BMW M6 Coupe (gone)
2013 BWM 335i xDrive Coupe (gone)
2011 BMW 335xi turbo coupe (gone)
2007 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG (gone)
2007 BMW 335ci twin turbo coupe (gone)
2004 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG (gone)
2004 BMW X5 4.4i (w/full Aero Kit - gone)
2001 BMW X5 4.4i (w/full Aero Kit - gone)
2000 Mercedes-Benz E430 Sport (gone)
1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL (owned for 48 years)

Pretty good list.

I am not sure what to think about the student loan issue. I finished 6 years of mech eng in the mid eighties. Almost no debt, but parents didn't pay, I worked through all of it. Not sure how realistic that is today. A daughter graduated business school a few years back, no debt, and we helped out a little each year but she essentially did it herself. She graduated with savings. Advantage here in Canada is university tuition is not as high as in the US. Education is important, but it isn't always job training. I guess I am not much help on student loans.

The change I would make to the list is to put the subject of all debt on it, not just student loans. I would also put it up somewhere near the top. We like to complain about our governments living beyond our means, but collectively we seem to do pretty much the same thing. Some may think it is completely impossible, and it may be, but aim to buy cars with cash, not debt. Get clear of mortgages as soon as possible. Easy to say, I know, but looking back, it was important.

__________________
2007 X3 3.0si, 6 MT, Premium, White

Retired:
2008 535i, 6 MT, M Sport, Premium, Space Grey
2003 X5 3.0 Steptronic, Premium, Titanium Silver
2002 325xi 5 MT, Steel Grey
2004 Z4 3.0 Premium, Sport, SMG, Maldives Blue

I see. Well either way, it wasn't taken as a criticism or offense.

__________________
2006 X5 Sport 4.4i