A working life… I guess there are many ways to look at it. Now matter what, ya have to work enough to get life’s necessities. Beyond that’s where all the extra choices come in. Looking back, I took the customary road of a good job to have all of life’s necessities and some extra creature comfort items. Got what I needed plus mostly what I wanted. Worked the normal 8 hour day, times 5-6 days a week, times 52 weeks, times 35 years. Mostly enjoyed the job but sometimes could only just tolerate working… can’t say that I was overjoyed in doing something that I would have liked to do for a career, given a choice… but it was a decent living. Which is exactly what most people do, conforming to the needs of society as a whole… the working class. I definitely can not say it was a dream job. 35 years later, facing another 15 years of work, age 50-65, I could not see myself doing the same thing that I had done for the last 35 years. After all, age 50-65 were going to be the best years of my life that I had remaining. Not being independently wealthy, and that wasn’t going to change in the next 15 years, I opted to make changes to my working life… and that didn’t have anything to do with my careers endorsers. The answer… get out, drop out, take the early pension and Full time Rv… sell the house, buy the Rv of my dreams, and drive off into the sunset… mostly south to Florida. This proved to be the best choice I ever made. We don’t live “high on the hog”, so to speak, and don’t always get some things we want, but we get everything we need and enjoy everyday. There’s the most important part… enjoying life… enjoy what you do… and enjoy what you now longer have to do. Sure I wish we had extra resources to travel more, go to different parts of the country and enjoy family and places… but being happy with what we are doing is certainly more important and better then doing something, that after 35 years had more then wore out it’s welcome. Some, or perhaps more correctly started, most, will stay with the career and work to support the house, and all it related expenses (wish is extensive both in money and time)… until they reach 65 and can retire. Usually acquiring more equity in the house and perhaps more savings and retirement benefits. Of course this makes the assumption that their life long sacrifices will be enjoyed later. Well, there’s a couple of ways of looking at that. Some never live to see retirement, and most are completely used up physically, and the rest retire do little more then stay around the house comforted by the notion that they are finally getting a well deserved rest… and not to put too fine a point on it… waiting for the end. Statically most don’t live more then 5 years past retirement. Not the scenario that I had in mind… work until 65, retire mostly physically used up, and basically spend the rest of my life existing day to day… waiting for the end. But to each his own… it’s all in what you want. Some say early retirement at a reduced income? They plan to work another 15 years to have more income later. Well, here again, it’s all in how you look at it. I’ve collected 180 retirement checks over 15 years and used it at the current level of inflation. The benefit… I figured if I worked another 15 years, I’d have more monthly income, but the buying power of said income would be worse then that of today… so there’s no advantage there. Plus the 180 retirement checks that I got… that I didn’t have to work for were a huge plus….and the break even point for that extra income projected out verses the extra retirement amount I would have gotten, had I worked another 15 years… well, the break even point where the increased amount of retirement income would equal the 15 years of extra income from years 50-65 is about age 87. This too seemed to be a no brainer. Work another 15 years, the best years for the rest of my life, to have extra income that I might not ever collect, and if I did, it would be at much higher economic levels and have greatly reduced buying power. Plus, the break even point of 87 years old… basically who cares by then. Working longer to retire with extra income also has proven disastrous to some that lost their pensions to the near, or future impending economic collapse and loss of pension funds. Several friends that I worked with were just going to work a few more years until they were 55, and take the early retirement pension… then the rules changed… no more early retirement pensions… so now they have to work another 10 years, until 65, before they can collect their pension. Lots of things can change and go wrong in these economic times. I’d still be working, an additional 15 years had I not gotten out when I did. Just something to think about as you plan your life. Plan to be happy in your career, or at least plan to get out early to be happier as you get older. Enjoy everyday… plan for it… and enjoy it. So why this entry? Just to get you thinking about things… and to tell how it good it worked for me. There are always options, if not now, hopefully sometime later.
So… do I look happy… yes indeed!
Ice Cream also helps!
