Posted on 09/03/2018 5:55:10 AM PDT by proxy_user
Carl Jensen experienced what he calls “the awakening” sometime around 2012.
He was a software engineer in a suburb of Denver, writing code for a medical device. The job was high-pressure: He had to document every step for the Food and Drug Administration, and a coding error could lead to harm or death for patients.
Mr. Jensen was making about $110,000 a year and had benefits, but the stress hardly seemed worth it. He couldn’t unwind with his family after work; he spent days huddled over the toilet. He lost 10 pounds.
After one especially brutal workday, Mr. Jensen Googled “How do I retire early?” and his eyes were opened. He talked to his wife and came up with a plan: They saved a sizable portion of their income over the next five years and drastically reduced expenses, until their net worth was around $1.2 million.
On Tuesday, March 10, 2017, Mr. Jensen called his boss and gave notice after 15 years at the company. He wasn’t quitting, exactly. He had retired. He was 43.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Right on! I agree with everything you have said!
It couldn’t be easier. Choose millionaire parents.
My initial post responded to your #68, where you said $1.2 million might fund a nice retirement “if you work to 70.”
If you work to 70 (or 67), you will have more than the maximum 35 years.
Thus, I responded, essentially, you don’t need to go to 70. At 67, you’ll probably do just fine.
I tried that - Boy did they surprise me!
if you read the story closely.. he wife is still working...
which means he can collect off hers.
I now have a plan and my wife and I are sticking with it. 3 years (give or take) before the house is paid off, and still socking $$$ away. No debt otherwise.
I already have a tentative exit date, and amaze my coworkers that I actually have a plan and schedule. Hope they learn from what I say, or the next lesson which will be walking out the door to enjoy the last 20-25% of my life on my terms...
One great way to savings is don’t buy overpriced Liberal coffee.....Starbutts.
“$1.2 Million invested so that it returns 3% after inflation provides a return of $36,000 per year. That is hardly a retirement.”
True in the US, but for those willing to live abroad, it can be a king’s fortune (depending on the country).
I had a surprise divorce at 55. I’m deeply in debt because of it.
We met in 1985. So 1984 would be a perfect year, especially if I know then what I know now!
Unfortunately, that is an all too-common story I hear at work. I could wax long just from the stories (personal and 3rd hand) on this devastation...
Never too late to set a goal and make a plan to get there. I mentioned Dave Ramsey, and his system helped us get tracking (still working to keep between the lines of the path).
Keep the faith, because you can make it....
“Add one to any of these
Retire 5 years later per “addition””
That puts me @ 105 before retirement!
I may not be a millionaire, but I’m not waiting that long.
Sounds like they followed Dave Ramsey’s plan.
“The best strategy is to have a job that you don’t think of as “work”. Or at least not work you despise.”
Or to not think of retirement as of doing nothing but of doing what you like to do. Something will come along and grab your interest that you’ll enjoy and make money at it. For me it was real estate investing.
“Step one: Have a six figure job early in your career. Oh, is that all it takes?”
I think it was a Steve Martin gag that explained how to make a million dollars and not pay any taxes: First, you take a million dollars...
Except, in this case, it’s not intended to be funny. (And it isn’t.)
-- Henny Youngman
Indeed it takes money to make money.
OK, sorry for talking past you. I was dropping in and out of the thread instead of following it straight through.
Yes, I picked 70 based on the draw down of the $1.2 million. And you are right, SS will provide a couple of thousand each to stretch out the $1.2 million.
I think what you did was admirable.
It also gives you a reason to get out of bed every morning.
I can’t tell you how many people I see who “retire”, and then they go through the retirement honeymoon, a little travel, then they deteriorate. They lose purpose and meaning and self worth. And lastly, they lose their health, and die relatively young.
That isn’t my plan.
God bless you. I plan on your plan.
This is not for me. I LIKE working. I want to work literally until I drop dead.
While I don’t spend nearly as much on my residence as I could and drive the same car I’ve had for 14 years now and hardly ever eat out at restaurants, I nonetheless do like nice things. Other than paying off my massive student loans, I don’t have any outstanding expenses. Retiring early....Poor....is not for me. I did not spend my 20s in school so that I could be poor for the rest of my life.
Of course, getting the 1-2 million requires decades of putting aside and the 401K is essential in todays planning since most pensions are no more, but it can be done if you start early in your working career years.
Please forgive the language, but this clip from “The Gambler” is pretty good advice...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdfeXqHFmPI
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