OK, now what?

Retire at 56?   Not unless you have been putting away at least 10% of your income since you were 25.  Even so, that run from 56 to 80 is going to get progressively more expensive.

In this new world retirement is very difficult financially.   

Does your current job provide a paid retirement if you get to 56?  If so, maybe adapt and stick it out.   You did say you love the work, just not the pay.    Here is a thought.   Start a side business that you can move into full time when you hit 56.  If you start small, in the next 12 years you'll have built up quite a large customer base.

The number one issue is health care.  One spouse or the other has to have access to a good plan.  In some cases folks have to stick to a job just because of health care.  That will be even more pressing after 56.

What folks are saying about finding employment at 56 is very true.  There is age bias... unless you are your own boss.

Another question to ask yourself... are you tied to a specific location?  Are you willing to move?  Maybe even a long way.

I'm 70.  So things were different in my generation.  I managed to retire from one employer after 35 years with a retirement package.  A deal that is almost non-existent now.   For the last 15 years I've had my own business providing us a good amount of extra cash.  Because I'm my own boss i can control schedules etc.  Not a bad gig.  Plus I love the type of work I do.   I almost always bill over 40 hours per week.  And, it is very physical, which i find keeps me young.   I think a lot of you are already saying, "OK Boomer."   But seriously, I blended into the "Gig economy".   What I have found is that there is a huge demand for folks willing to work at a trade, will show up when they promise, and do quality work.   I started small while still employed, then it was ready to rip the day i retired.

This plan might have been easier for me because i always had a side gig on nights and weekends.  That's because I wanted to race, but decided early on that racing money could not come out of the regular family income.  So the side work paid for racing.

Word for the day =  network.   Network, network, network.  Even your post on this forum is a start.  :)

As always, YMMV

I always suggest that people start here and search around.

Look at everything and see what is interesting.  I've been with the fed for 25 years now and will be eligible to retire at 58 but as the purple frog said, things are a-changin and it may not be realistic to retire that early.

mtn said:

Steve_Jones said:

bobzilla said:

In reply to frenchyd :

44 plans to retire at 56. with that said, I don't see either of us completely stopping work. I am certain I will do something at least part time and she wants to be an IA instead of teacher so there will still be income but at the point of "if we don't like it we don't go". 

No, you're 52 and people are discriminating against you. Why don't you get it?

stock market, big house, bus driver, hand hewn timbers, etc. 

Steve... Uncalled for here. Frenchy brings up a good point, and he was working under the assumption of "normal" retirement age of 65. 

Frenchy assumes a lot of things, and de rails many threads. I stand by my post. He assumed wrong, so I don't need his life story...... again. 

Purple Frog said:

Retire at 56?   Not unless you have been putting away at least 10% of your income since you were 25.  Even so, that run from 56 to 80 is going to get progressively more expensive.

In this new world retirement is very difficult financially.   

Does your current job provide a paid retirement if you get to 56?  If so, maybe adapt and stick it out.   You did say you love the work, just not the pay.    Here is a thought.   Start a side business that you can move into full time when you hit 56.  If you start small, in the next 12 years you'll have built up quite a large customer base.

The number one issue is health care.  One spouse or the other has to have access to a good plan.  In some cases folks have to stick to a job just because of health care.  That will be even more pressing after 56.

What folks are saying about finding employment at 56 is very true.  There is age bias... unless you are your own boss.

Another question to ask yourself... are you tied to a specific location?  Are you willing to move?  Maybe even a long way.

I'm 70.  So things were different in my generation.  I managed to retire from one employer after 35 years with a retirement package.  A deal that is almost non-existent now.   For the last 15 years I've had my own business providing us a good amount of extra cash.  Because I'm my own boss i can control schedules etc.  Not a bad gig.  Plus I love the type of work I do.   I almost always bill over 40 hours per week.  And, it is very physical, which i find keeps me young.   I think a lot of you are already saying, "OK Boomer."   But seriously, I blended into the "Gig economy".   What I have found is that there is a huge demand for folks willing to work at a trade, will show up when they promise, and do quality work.   I started small while still employed, then it was ready to rip the day i retired.

This plan might have been easier for me because i always had a side gig on nights and weekends.  That's because I wanted to race, but decided early on that racing money could not come out of the regular family income.  So the side work paid for racing.

Word for the day =  network.   Network, network, network.  Even your post on this forum is a start.  :)

As always, YMMV

Well said!  My desire to race drives me to constantly hustle, even approaching 72.  

Yes I'm part of the gig economy now I guess. As a school bus driver I have no benefits or prospect of retirement security. Plus Schools take many days off a month and I don't get paid for those either. Come summer it's always a stretch to get from June to September because the bills keep coming while the income doesn't. 

But if you hustle you can get activity runs, charters, Summer school, State fair, etc.  And with seniority you get to select the routes that offer the most hours.  
 

KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:

I always suggest that people start here and search around.

Look at everything and see what is interesting.  I've been with the fed for 25 years now and will be eligible to retire at 58 but as the purple frog said, things are a-changin and it may not be realistic to retire that early.

You are right,  even with a solid income from Social security, retirement, and a side gig. I find places for extra income.  Race cars go faster  and look nicer the more you can spend. The house looks nicer with a few more pieces of stained glass, etc. 

But most of all I just don't want to wither away on a rocking chair.  That steady hustle helps keep me sharp.   

In reply to frenchyd :

On one of my many flights back from singapore..  I met a guy about my age (this was 8-10 years ago)..   We got to talking about work and he told me he worked for the state department in Singapore doing diplomatic stuff.  The conversation went along and then he looks at me and goes..  "You're probably making a lot more money than I am... But I'm playing the long game...  I'll retire earlier then get a cushy consulting career before I'm 60.. "  Looking back on it.. He probably was right..

In reply to Purple Frog :

My current job wouldn't even give its employees a 1% pay raise. We have no kids and have been putting away about 10-12% of our income the last 20 years. Once the mortgage is done (under 24 months) that number will increase by about $2k per month. 
 

wife's a teacher with a separate fund on top of what she's putting back as well. Barring an economic collapse or one of us dying we are on a solid track to be debt free and retired at 56/57(for her)

In reply to bobzilla :

I worked for a defense contractor where I took home LESS money each year I worked there. We either got no raise, or the raise was so small, it didn't cover the increased cost of health insurance. Happened every year until I was able to find something else. 

In reply to z31maniac :

That was a big reason I left the dealer I was at for 10 years to come here. Quarterly evaluations, yearly raises and chances to work hard and recieve promotions. I hit the top level I'm going to hit 18 months ago and now the raises are just a joke. Thankfully the wife's job pays the insurance because my checks here would suck. The previous employer gave me one raise in 10 years and that was after asking for it. 

Maybe you should try selling cars.

Based on my recent (and past) experience trying to buy them, if you're even remotely competent, you'll go to the head of the class.

Car guy mechanic types make the best plumbers, hvac techs, oil burner, well and pump guys.  Many of the good plumbers I know were actually dealership mechanics before they got into plumbing.  The hardest part to learn is the feel you need to take apart and put things back together.  You need to feel just how much you can push pull turn something before its going to break.  Can't tell you how many apprentices I had to work with that had no clue.  They were just a warm body, and the way the trades are going, thats all you need to get a job.

Bobzilla.

Obviously you are one of the wise ones.  You have been socking it away.  But, if I'm correct, you don't want to start pulling it out until you are 70.5.  So, you need to cover the 56 to 70 time frame.  Having the mortgage nailed is a huge plus, except for one thing... it may make you afraid to move.  If you had no mortgage in some place like Florida or San Jose you would be golden.  But in the "Flyover area" you might not be able to get much equity out of a sale.

OK, grasp this.  No kids means you don't care about school zones and great schools.  That gives you a leg up to move to a lot of locations that folks with kids won't touch.  And, you wife being a teacher is a huge plus.  Big shortage everywhere.  I just drove 4800 miles through a bunch of states that have jobs, but most folks wouldn't move to with kids.   No kids, no problem.

The problem with making a "big leap" is that so many people are just blowing smoke.  You leap, then find out it is a latrine.

Right now you are doing the right thing... doing the research... and networking.

Think about what you like to do.  Then maybe plan to move in that direction.  I just drove home from a job at 8p.m. not the least bit upset because I am so jazzed about the work.  

I'm still thinking "be calm" and start planning for that long run that starts at 56.  If you have no kids, it is a lot easier to start that hobby job after hours.

I have a friend that is a great mechanic.  After hours he is intelligently buying auction vehicles, fixing them up one at a time, and selling at great profit.  He studies the market, buys smart, does all the work mostly himself, and sells.  Specializes in ATV, motorcycles, jet skis, Miatas, and does very well moonlighting.  And working out of a shop half the size of mine.

Suprf1y said:

Maybe you should try selling cars.

Based on my recent (and past) experience trying to buy them, if you're even remotely competent, you'll go to the head of the class.

 

I spent 13 years in dealerships not selling cars. No way in hell I'd go to the front of the store. No way no how. The hours suck, you work every weekend and everyone hates you(although I don't really give two craps about anyone other than the wife and my close friends)

Suprf1y said:

Maybe you should try selling cars.

Based on my recent (and past) experience trying to buy them, if you're even remotely competent, you'll go to the head of the class.

 

As a former salesman who did get to the top of the class, the average car buyer comes in with such a big chip on his shoulder it's easy to manipulate him into fatal mistakes.  
 Working in car sales anybody who respects his soul( or just wants to sleep at night) can't do it for over a couple of years.  And that only if you are young enough.  
Future advice to buyers, Buy on line. if you want a test drive after reading everything you can get your hands on, go ahead and do that, but then go home and make your best deal. Do not try to buy at a dealership, you are likely to lose.  

frenchyd said:

Suprf1y said:

Maybe you should try selling cars.

Based on my recent (and past) experience trying to buy them, if you're even remotely competent, you'll go to the head of the class.

 

As a former salesman who did get to the top of the class, the average car buyer comes in with such a big chip on his shoulder it's easy to manipulate him into fatal mistakes.  
 Working in car sales anybody who respects his soul( or just wants to sleep at night) can't do it for over a couple of years.  
Future advice to buyers, Buy on line. if you want a test drive after reading everything you can get your hands on, go ahead and do that, but then go home and make your best deal. Do not try to buy at a dealership, you will lose. 

I've been selling cars for several years and my soul is intact.  I happen to be doing used cars for myself now.  I'm legally licensed and do it for fun.  
I never worked for a franchise dealer because of legal religious discrimination.

My father-in-law just did a car deal and asked me to stop to scan the paperwork (GM retiree).  Guy said to stop in the used car dealership to find him at 5pm.  

Three guys looking bored at their desk scrolling through their phones and nobody in sight.   

Soul killing? Looks like a lot of dead hours hanging out.  

In reply to Brian :

The successful chain dealerships tend to monitor sales presentations and carefully guide sales people to the dealerships goals.  
Their goals usually collide with religion. 

In reply to Purple Frog :

Retirement math at it's most basic just means that you must have income from some source (retirement accounts, pension, income property, part time job, etc) that exceeds expenses. If you keep expenses low, then you don't need as much income. Being familiar with Bobzilla's zip code, I can say with realtive confidence that it's going to be really difficult to get expenses any lower than what he's looking at in his current location, with a paid off house. That means a move would have to result in a significant increase in his retirement income to be worth it. At this point, there's probably no reason to rock the boat significantly with any long distance move.

You can also access most retirement accounts without penalty beginning at age 59.5, and there are methods that can be used to access them even earlier if you're willing to pay the taxes on the funds.

Steve_Jones said:

bobzilla said:

In reply to frenchyd :

44 plans to retire at 56. with that said, I don't see either of us completely stopping work. I am certain I will do something at least part time and she wants to be an IA instead of teacher so there will still be income but at the point of "if we don't like it we don't go". 

No, you're 52 and people are discriminating against you. Why don't you get it?

stock market, big house, bus driver, hand hewn timbers, etc. 

Is it too hard to scroll past rather than add friction to the oil analysts thread?

In reply to OHSCrifle :

What you did there, I saw it. And I totally appreciate it too!

bobzilla said:

I spent 13 years in dealerships not selling cars. No way in hell I'd go to the front of the store. No way no how. The hours suck, you work every weekend and everyone hates you(although I don't really give two craps about anyone other than the wife and my close friends)

 I know, I remember. I was funnin' with you Bob, and I had left over rant from the last few day's experiences.

So do you ship to Canada?

STM317 said:

In reply to Purple Frog :

Retirement math at it's most basic just means that you must have income from some source (retirement accounts, pension, income property, part time job, etc) that exceeds expenses. If you keep expenses low, then you don't need as much income. Being familiar with Bobzilla's zip code, I can say with realtive confidence that it's going to be really difficult to get expenses any lower than what he's looking at in his current location, with a paid off house. That means a move would have to result in a significant increase in his retirement income to be worth it. At this point, there's probably no reason to rock the boat significantly with any long distance move.

You can also access most retirement accounts without penalty beginning at age 59.5, and there are methods that can be used to access them even earlier if you're willing to pay the taxes on the funds.

All this. We MIGHT move a little west of where we are to get off the main traffic line and warehouses, depends if the farmer sells around us or not. Even if he does, we can buy/build for what we can get out of the house to the developers around us so it would be a net zero proposition. Propety taxes and utilities will be our largest bills, taxes are around $1200/year now and electricity is about $180/month average over the year and we run through 3 100-lb cylinders of propane for the fireplace through the winter or about $200.

CoL here is great compared to income levels and ammenities around us. With that said...... once retired we would sell this place in a heartbeat and move southwest.

Suprf1y said:

bobzilla said:

I spent 13 years in dealerships not selling cars. No way in hell I'd go to the front of the store. No way no how. The hours suck, you work every weekend and everyone hates you(although I don't really give two craps about anyone other than the wife and my close friends)

 I know, I remember. I was funnin' with you Bob, and I had left over rant from the last few day's experiences.

So do you ship to Canada?

 

Don't make me do my Shatner impression with you! lol

EDIT: I didn't cause those frustrations did I? I'm sometime oblivious

tr8todd said:

Car guy mechanic types make the best plumbers, hvac techs, oil burner, well and pump guys.  Many of the good plumbers I know were actually dealership mechanics before they got into plumbing.  The hardest part to learn is the feel you need to take apart and put things back together.  You need to feel just how much you can push pull turn something before its going to break.  Can't tell you how many apprentices I had to work with that had no clue.  They were just a warm body, and the way the trades are going, thats all you need to get a job.

This is why I got my (very recent) job doing industrial pump repair. The skills used working on cars in my home garage have transferred easily. It's fun.