Who wants to Quit work and just go fishing? Thinking just travel around northern Minnesota and hit a different lake every day, maybe take a day off and just sit in a hot tub. Maybe a couple weeks someplace warm for salt water fishing. Then get the boat out and live on the river or something. Oh Boss is coming got to get back to reality.
only 30 more years to go for me…unless i hit the lottery.
I’d be all for it if we could slide a little hunting in there in the fall. I got 7 more long years before I can even think of it 
I can access my 401K in 6 years and 2 months and 3 days(but who is counting) and would love to walk away from work but the health insurance thing will have me hanging around for a few years beyond that unfortunately. My plan is to take one winter and make the route the through Dakotas across northern MN into northern WI and down into Saginaw then Erie. Maybe should expand to cover Fort Peck and Cascade to start it. A guy can dream.
kind of did that when I turned 60.was good but wife was still working and was still hard to get away . last year I turned 62 and she hit 50 and I let her quit and it was great, pulled camper up to LOTW and stayed most of the summer,now we are buying a seasonal trailer up there and cant wait till spring. life is good.
kind of did that when I turned 60.was good but wife was still working and was still hard to get away . last year I turned 62 and she hit 50 and I let her quit and it was great, pulled camper up to LOTW and stayed most of the summer,now we are buying a seasonal trailer up there and cant wait till spring. life is good.
You robbed the cradle AND have a place at LOTW??? You got it made!!! 
Way to many years behind a desk yet… But I’m thankful that I have a job that allows me to enjoy the things in life I’m truly passionate about and feed my family. Some day I’ll punch that clock for the last time and the next morning will be the sweetest day ever.
Sounds like a dream that could not happen until I retire. That is many moons away.
Yep! I’d move to Florida or Texas though so I could be closer to saltwater.
I can access my 401K in 6 years and 2 months and 3 days(but who is counting) and would love to walk away from work but the health insurance thing will have me hanging around for a few years beyond that unfortunately.
Mrs. Grouse and I had this exact situation. We aggressively saved in our 401ks and we didn’t have kids until I was in my 40s, so we had some good years to put away money as DINKs where we didn’t really feel any pinch.
But we didn’t anticipate the huge increase in healthcare insurance costs and the big pile of cash that would be needed outside of a 401k such that retirement would be possible before 59.5 years of age when we can get at the 40k funds. Which I will hit, ummm, some number of years before Mrs. Grouse will…
The conventional wisdom is you can never have enough in your 401k, which is kinda-sorta true, but ONLY if you plan on waiting until 59.5 to retire, AND if you make sure you manage risk so you are not riding the market roller coaster to the bottom just as you want to retire.
Specialized problems like this, IMO, are one of the biggest reasons why I’m glad we have a paid CFP. We took this situation to him and I trusted that he’d find an answer and not just one that gave him big fees.
We ended up buying in to a certain type of annuity. This annuity will give us a gaurenteed monthly payment that will cover HC and it is not tied to a minimum age before you can recieve distributions. It is also not exposed to market fluctuations, so there is no chance it will be at a market low when we need the money.
IMO this alone was worth all the fees we’ve paid to the planner because I never would have found this annuity on my own and even if I had, I would not have trusted this solution without a professional to explain it to us and show us why this is the right solution for us.
Not patting myself on the back, if anything I was not very smart to have let the problem go on as long as I did. Just saying that there are solutions out there, just be sure you get good advice and take them on sooner because later may not be an option.
Grouse
“Specialized problems like this, IMO, are one of the biggest reasons why I’m glad we have a paid CFP. We took this situation to him and I trusted that he’d find an answer and not just one that gave him big fees.
We ended up buying in to a certain type of annuity. This annuity will give us a gaurenteed monthly payment that will cover HC and it is not tied to a minimum age before you can recieve distributions. It is also not exposed to market fluctuations, so there is no chance it will be at a market low when we need the money.”
I have done it all on my own the last 25 years(lots of research) and pretty well if I say so but my son graduates in 1-1/2 years with a degree in finance with an emphasis in financial planning. He already has job offers lined up the day he graduates so I am hoping he can do something similar for us plus paying the fees won’t feel so painful when I know it is going towards family.
I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Got a couple 2, 3 years left. I’m stoked but a little worried. Ya, the first few weeks will be fun but after that how do you fill your days? I’m thinking I’ll need to get a job just for something to do, I’m afraid of turning to mush both physically and mentally.
I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Got a couple 2, 3 years left. I’m stoked but a little worried. Ya, the first few weeks will be fun but after that how do you fill your days? I’m thinking I’ll need to get a job just for something to do, I’m afraid of turning to mush both physically and mentally.
I agree. I’m 62 and could retire now. Not real interested in working part-time afterwards either. I can’t sit still.
And being a union thug is still kinda fun. 
I’m 24… got a LONG ways to go. Why am I even in this thread? 
April 15, 2022 is the date on the calendar in large bold face letters. My wife is a few months younger but is a teacher and can retire next November. Her benefits provide us a four year health insurance bridge so when she hits 61 we are covered until we are eligible for Medicare.
One thing our financial planner hooked us up with is a private Health Savings Account (HSA). You can contribute up to $3,500 pretax annually until age 65 and carry it forward as long as you care to do so. We plan on maxing contributions at least until I retire and likely until she is 65. Those funds can then pay for all medical out of pocket expenses – deductibles not covered by Medicare, eyeglasses, orthotics, etc. It isn’t the silver bullet for all but is worth investigating.
I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Got a couple 2, 3 years left. I’m stoked but a little worried. Ya, the first few weeks will be fun but after that how do you fill your days? I’m thinking I’ll need to get a job just for something to do, I’m afraid of turning to mush both physically and mentally.
Grab a GoPro and start a Youtube channel. 
Pending health insurance, I’ll be retiring at age 50. I’m a bigger hunter then fisherman but I plan to spend every waking hour chasing something. Just hope I’m in good enough shape still…
Plenty of things to do besides chasing ‘pout.
The DNR is always in search of volunteer instructors for firearms safety courses, snowmobile safety courses, etc. Local parks and WMAs need volunteers to help with habitat management and general staffing. Disabled veterans organizations have programs through which volunteers can take disabled veterans hunting and fishing. Community education offers low cost classes in a crazy number of areas – I will be building furniture and cabinetry through community ed when I retire, the school shops they utilize have many more machines than I can fit in my shop.
Look around, there are a lot of opportunities.
Lots of good ideas there, Brad. Congrats on your impending retirement; 2 years isn’t that far off.
Only about 35 more years for this guy… Some days in the office a bullet starts to look tasty. Today is one of them 
but tomorrow I’m taking the old man fishing so that’s something to cherish
I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Got a couple 2, 3 years left. I’m stoked but a little worried. Ya, the first few weeks will be fun but after that how do you fill your days? I’m thinking I’ll need to get a job just for something to do, I’m afraid of turning to mush both physically and mentally.
I can put you to work and pay you handsomely 
I know I will have no problem finding things to do with the homestead and the farm and heating with firewood. At 62 I am going to punch out and run like HELL
Interesting topic you bring up bigcrappie.
First, it does reveal what generation some of us are part of.
But on a more personal level, I had age 62 for me marked on the calendar to retire. (Less than 2 years away)
Often times in life, circumstances change and alter the course of our life’s road map.
As it turns out, I’ll be getting laid off at the end of April. Something I already had a good inkling of based on the direction of the company I work for. No real surprise and in many ways a relief. I was burning out already from the daily grind. I’ll have to figure some things out, but I’ll survive okay.
The happy part is that I’ll be living on the shores of Lake Mille Lacs year ’round starting this coming May.
Just in time for the fishing opener. 
Grouse, if the 59.5 thing is all that’s holding you back from an earlier retirement, ask your CFP about a 72(t). Essentially allows for withdrawals from qualified plans prior to 59.5, however, the amount is determined by a formula and you have to do it for five consecutive years. The most common situation we’ve seen with clients, unfortunately, is that they retire early, start a 72(t), get bored a year later, go back to work, and now they have wage income alongside their 72(t) amount which can push them into higher tax brackets.
But, if you know you’re done (at least as far as ‘reportable’ income goes), it may be something to explore. I’m glad to hear you’ve found value with a CFP. I’m slightly biased, but I think anyone looking for planning help should require that mark.
Losing a chunk of my retirement in a divorce says i won’t retire. 
DT
Losing a chunk of my retirement in a divorce says i won’t retire.
DT
UGH……….. might hafta pimp your body!!!!!!! 
I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Got a couple 2, 3 years left. I’m stoked but a little worried. Ya, the first few weeks will be fun but after that how do you fill your days? I’m thinking I’ll need to get a job just for something to do, I’m afraid of turning to mush both physically and mentally.
You guys that are close to retiring should all get jobs at Cabelas and get their inventory back on track! IDO take over!
Grouse, if the 59.5 thing is all that’s holding you back from an earlier retirement, ask your CFP about a 72(t).
I appreciate you bringing this up and it’s a good example of how complex these things are and how it pays to work with professionals that can give sound advice.
IMO there’s kind of a mindset that if you’re smart, you should be able to “do” financial planning on your own. You know, just do the 401k thing, you’ll be good. Well, IMO, things can get complicated and my personal approach with stuff that really matters to me is to find smart people and pay them to help me figure it out.
In our case the 72t is not the best option. The problem is that if I wanted to retire at even say even 57, there is an, ummm, “age gap” between myself and Mrs. Grouse. So if she wants to retire with me, we needed income to pay for my health insurance for a couple of years. Fine, totally doable. But for her we will need to have insurance for almost a decade. Our insurance could (will?) also be more expensive because we are looking at living in Mrs. Grouse’s home countries of New Zealand and the UK for extended periods of time and this type of coverage is going up even faster than is regular health insurance.
But as I say, a great example of looking at your situation earlier and getting advice to get you on the right track as early as possible. As I said, I wish I had really identified this situation sooner, it probably would have been easier and cheaper to address way back, but there you go.
Grouse
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>deertracker wrote:</div>
Losing a chunk of my retirement in a divorce says i won’t retire.
DTUGH……….. might hafta pimp your body!!!!!!!
You are definitely an idea man! 
DT
Here to help anyway I can.
I pulled the plug on the punch the clock world at 58. Then went into our existing distribution business that my wife had been mostly running for the past 15 years. Worked with her for another 4 and then we sold off about 70% of the business which allowed me to fully retire. Now entering my third year of full retirement. The wife wants to work another 4 to 5 years and then be done so she is still bringing a decent income in. I’m drawing SS and pension from my job. Haven’t touched my 401 yet and intend to leave it where it is as it’s been ballooning in this great economy.
I joined a Christian Health Share plan when Obama unleashed the Affordable Health Care Act. There are a number of these sharing plans out there and are a good alternative. Google them up and check them out.
Just purchased lake property last spring. I went up to Red this past Wednesday and got home late yesterday. Nice and quiet during the week and leave before the masses show up. Perfect!
Yeah, life is good!
Losing a chunk of my retirement in a divorce says i won’t retire.
DT
In a few years (or sooner) you will realize what a great investment it was.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
