Early Retirement: Why don't more people aim for this?

[JadedStar]

Sensible financial planning is (in my opinion) a conundrum. How can you plan for retirement in a financialy chaotic world. I know people that had their retirement funds competely wiped out. It's a crap shoot either way. When I was a kid I had a savings account, who knew that years and years later if I had put my money in that savings account rather than 401K plans and real estate I would have more money than I do now.

 

You can say that again. That is why my first reaction/post to this thread was ARE YOU SERIOUS? This is a sensitive topic for a lot of people, even MYSELF as my own 401k dropped almost 50% in the last couple of years. Even people who ARE saving accordingly have found that a real economically charged wrench was tossed right in the middle of it.

 

I sure hope Strawberry doesn't eat his/her words in the near or far future. There is no such thing as a sure thing in regards to financial planning for the future if you are investing your money, even if that divesting is diverse.

[shikashika]

Well, if I'm able to, I don't think I will be one of those people who will continue to work 'just for fun'. No job I've had so far as given me THAT much pleasure. If I have to... of course I will.

 

My parents retired in their mid 50s and they always say they never get how people who are retired don't know what to do. My parents do a lot of volunteering, athletics and are much happier now than when they were woring!

 

For me, no, I don't think it's a race to see who can retire first. I've done a lot of traveling, woring overseas, taken some great holidays and met people from all over the world. I don't regret it for a bit. I don't have a house.. I rent and I have a bit of savings, I don't spend a lot of money on things, but I do spend quite a bit on doing things.... (oh yeah... and shoes! )

 

I see a lot of people buying houses and things and say that they want to work now and will travel when they are older. But when they get older there are always extra expenses that come up which doesn't mean they are going off traveling for 8 months of the year when they are older. The way I see it, your savings can be depleted, your house can be burned down, your car can be stolen, but no one can take away your experiences.

 

I think it's sensible to have SOME savings, but I also think it's important to have good experiences as well.

[JadedStar]

Yep. So many people make plans to do it all 'when they retire' and then when they do retire, they just don't, or they don't live to see that age. My motto is i will make every minute count as much as i can now, every step of the way.

[Crazyaboutdogs]

Here is what bothers me about this thread and people's responses:

 

It's the irony that some things that are good (financial discipline, retiring early to make contributions to society, etc) are being knocked and sneered at when they should be appluaded which a few people did. I'm not saying I should be applaued, but those types of actions should be. I think that is not an unreasonable stance.

 

I don't know, I should not have been surprised since most here are in North America and don't share the same financial and life values I and others like me share.

 

 

You don't have to be retired to make important contributions to society. Lots of people have jobs where they are indeed contributing to society...health care workers, firemen, policemen, the list goes on. Then there are a great many people who have day jobs and then go and volunteer their time for a worthwhile cause. Life does not begin only after you retire. People can do so much and contribute so much even while they hold down jobs. I also agree with Shikashika that life is also about getting out and experiencing things because that's what make you well-rounded. Not sitting at home counting pennies. Also, it is a major stretch to say that all these people upset about their lack of savings have spent foolishly. You don't know what they spent on and if what they spent their money on totally enriched their life or made their life easier. I have to wonder if the reason for you post is that you yourself are bitter about your own life...because your posts come accross as bragging about how well you are doing financially, how you have it all sussed and how everyone else is just barking up the wrong tree.

[Anthropic]

You can say that again. That is why my first reaction/post to this thread was ARE YOU SERIOUS? This is a sensitive topic for a lot of people, even MYSELF as my own 401k dropped almost 50% in the last couple of years. Even people who ARE saving accordingly have found that a real economically charged wrench was tossed right in the middle of it.

 

I sure hope Strawberry doesn't eat his/her words in the near or far future. There is no such thing as a sure thing in regards to financial planning for the future if you are investing your money, even if that divesting is diverse.

 

So the thing to keep in mind is not the value of your 401K now, but the value when you retire. If your retiring in 20 years, then a 50% drop now doesn't necessarily mean all that much. Though it's clearly depressing to look at.

 

In my opinion, planning for retirement isn't just about continually socking money away and letting your investments go on autopilot. You need to revise your retirement plan as time passes, take on less risk as you near retirement (avoid the 50% drop right before your supposed to retire). Keep your eyes open, and keep yourself educated and informed and modify your plans accordingly. I think sensible financial planning is possible, in any financial climate, it just takes a bit more effort than people realize or are perhaps willing to give.

[JadedStar]

So the thing to keep in mind is not the value of your 401K now, but the value when you retire. If your retiring in 20 years, then a 50% drop now doesn't necessarily mean all that much. Though it's clearly depressing to look at.

 

In my opinion, planning for retirement isn't just about continually socking money away and letting your investments go on autopilot. You need to revise your retirement plan as time passes, take on less risk as you near retirement (avoid the 50% drop right before your supposed to retire). Keep your eyes open, and keep yourself educated and informed and modify your plans accordingly. I think sensible financial planning is possible, in any financial climate, it just takes a bit more effort than people realize or are perhaps willing to give.

 

Of course I cognitively KNOW this, but it is still a deflator to see it suddenly start dropping fast...and to be honest, you are far more optimistic than I am that it will actually be worth a decent amount at retirement. Financial analysts everywhere don't have very good things to say about our economy and it doesn't sound like it may ever be the same again and to be honest, 401k's are still an unknown. They have not been around long enough for most of us to have any real type of confidence that they will be worth a darn when we retire. I have seen too many retires with totally crashed and trashed 401's to have any real confdience. If many businesses that people are investing in all totally fail, they wno't be worth squat. I have a fairly diverse portfolio but even that is not giving me a lot of confidence.

 

I am hopeful that the issues that we are facing right now will at LEAST give us the ammunition and experience to start doing things differently in tihs country in regard to business and investing (Enron for example, that experience has taught us NOT to have an investment package that is primarily in one companies stock and prompted us to put Sorbane Oxley in force to monitor recordkeeping and financial statements) and that stiffer regulations and penalties will be implemented in the area of executive compensation and company structure.

[Anthropic]

I'm actually pretty pessimistic about the US economy, but from your posts I'd say I'm pretty optimistic that you'll manage a fine retirement. You seem well informed and educated about what's going on, and as they said on G.I. Joe, "knowing is half the battle". You just need to find a way to tweak your retirement plan, and there are always opportunities out there, even in this climate.

 

I don't know much about how 401K's are structured (I'm not American) but if a retiree relying on their 401K has it drop significantly, then my gut feeling is that it was not properly allocated. I'd look into that and make sure it doesn't happen to you.

[misspeanut]

i think it's because a lot of people simply can't make enough money to save for retirement that early.

[Pressfit]

Yeah, well I would have been able in about three or four more years. That is until my 401 became a 201k and maybe even a (point) .401k later on if they get their way to tax the hell out of it. That's comin' next... you just watch.

Had a nice Portfolio too. Now it's got a big hole in it so I'm calling it a "Port-holy-ohhh-SH%#T" these days.

 

Oh here's a nice tidbit too... Now they are talking about doing away with the paid interest deduction on mortgages at tax time. So even that last bastion is not off limits anymore.

[conversify]

It is a good goal to have, but nowadays, it just isn`t realistic, you know?

It is hard to save for a new tv let alone early retirement...