Don’t die with your yacht in the driveway

[BDinTX]

A month or so ago I watched the movie Nomadland. I believe it is fiction, but inspired by true events. The main character is a woman whose husband died and she began living out of a van, moving from location to location, job to job.

In one scene she is sitting around a fire with a group of fellow nomads. They are talking about why they chose this particular lifestyle and another woman shared a story about her friend. I’m going by memory here so forgive me but it’s essentially this:

Another lady telling her story had a friend she worked with for many years. Her friend had been saving and preparing for his retirement adventure for years. He had a yacht that he’d been working on, money stashed away, and weeks before he retired and was intending to begin his adventure he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

His insurance didn’t cover all of the expenses, his company didn’t do right by him, and his advice to his friend shortly before he died was “don’t die with your yacht in the driveway.”

Granted, this wasn’t a “true” story, but I think we have all heard stories similar in nature. That message really resonated with me because I’m about 12 years from retirement if I’m lucky. I’m incredibly busy at work and sometimes taking time off to see the world seems impossible. Should I do it, should I wait? I don’t want to be in a position later regretting that I hadn’t done something.

In @wibornz thread about coffe at their place, another member described perfectly “the cost” of working a little longer to increase your retirement pay. The day I read that was when I decided to do my best to retire as soon as I’m able.

In a similar vein, Brian and Brittany with Lite Bright met with a family whose husband retired in 2018, and now three short years later the husband is wheelchair bound due to ALS. They’ve got a yellow Rubicon in the driveway that sadly probably only serves to remind them of the fun they used to have.

Think what you will of Lite Bright but I think this video has a very powerful message. In summary “Carpe Diem” or “seize the day.”

Sponsored

 

[bonniejf]

A guy I did monthly bookkeeping for for the past 4 years died yesterday evening from Covid pneumonia at 54. He has 2 kids - his daughter is entering college this year. He would talk about all the things he wanted to do “one day” when he had made “enough money”. I often asked him how much was enough and he said he didn’t know. He was sitting on millions and his kids had full rides to college. And now he is gone. The last time I talked to him before he was put on a vent he said he would be living his life differently when he got out of the hospital. And he never got that chance. Makes you think.

 

[jlang]

Good post guys, thanks for sharing. Life really is too short.

 

[Mtpisgah]

I agree with this. We have traveled a lot internationally since our marriage in 2001 and will continue as soon as Covid is better under control. For now it is mostly continental travel, which is ok. We save a lot for retirement but also spend a lot for enjoyment today. After my wife’s cancer diagnosis and successful treatment a few years ago, we do it all a bit more. You can’t take it with you and you could die tomorrow.

 

[MEHillwalker80]

In 2014 at 75, with all my friends passing away, I wondered how much time on earth I had left. I didn't know of course, but I thought I could see the exit. So, that Autumn I solo walked a pilgrimage route from France, over the Pyrenees to Santiago Spain, 500 miles in 32 days, carrying a backpack as my home. It was the best thing I have ever done in my life so I returned to France and Spain to walk other pilgrimage routes in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Now came 2020 and Covid had me stymied. So I bought a new Wrangler Sport S 2DR and spent this early summer (June 2021) driving this wonderful little toy 7800 miles from my humble cabin in Maine on the Trans America Trail to Moab and back home, again solo. Now here in August 2021 I am making plans to go back to Europe in the Spring to continue walking until I find the exit, or the exit finds me. No sailboat in my driveway, nor moss under my feet! Don't wait, go and live, because an exit waits for us all.

Tom "Old Hillwalker" Wheeler MSG US Army (Ret. 1978)

 

[LostSoul]

You hear so many stories, but until they hit close to home they usually dont make an impact. I was shocked when my ultra conservative accountant brother retired early. He said he did because our blue collar, physical labor father died 1.5 years after retiring at the age of 62. Our Mom, with an 8th grade education and a Phd. in common sense had fallen into a position with healthcare benefits which enable Dad to retire.
Yes, please remember, tomorrow rarely ever comes. I have been so impressed by my kids who have worked hard, and when they decided to switch jobs, while salary is always important, they have negotiated for the maximum potential of vacation time.
Even staying at home watching your 2 year old ( or 2 yr old grandkid) exploring the world, time is precious, take/use your time off. Very few humans have the ability to buy time.

 

[RoadiJeff]

I retired several years early this past February. I could have stayed on with the company indefinitely and made lots more money. However, I saw some of my co-workers who were caught up in the money trap and it seemed that all they could see were dollar signs as they came to work 8, 12 and even 16 hours per day over and over and over, 7 days per week. I used to wonder if they were trying to save a nest egg for their grandkids or something.

I decided that I had a life and it didn't revolve around that company. I had reached my financial retirement goals and told myself I'm done with it all. I've been enjoying the easy life for over 1/2 year now and I'm still healthy and active enough that I can take the time to do some things that I've worked and saved for all these years.

I say that if you have saved enough to comfortably live on through your retirement years go for it while you can still enjoy it.

 

[wibornz]

Just know that I typed about six paragraphs about why you should retire as soon as possible. Then I deleted them. Why because for years, I told people that I would retire as soon as I could. I retired one hour and 14 minutes into my first day of being eligible. I had anywhere for seventy to eighty four employees that worked for me at any given time. I spent many hours reading about the retirement process from my employer and crunch numbers. I learned all the tricks and tips and many would even say that I was more knowledgeable than most of the people that worked for the Office of Retirement Services. Many employees would have me run their numbers. I would show them what they would earn in retirement how social security would pay out and how it would impact their retirement. Gave out investment strategies for their 401k and 457 plans and so on. I would sit down with some of these idiot and show them that they are literally working for about a dollar an hour once they got past their retirement date and they would just keep working because they could not wrap their mind around the fact that they would be okay with out working. I had one guy that in 2015, I showed him that he was working for about $1.25 an hour by coming to work. He did not believe me in 2018 he was eligible for SS also and ran is numbers again and showed him that he was loosing about $1000 a month by coming to work. He looked at me and said, "What should I do?" I told him I have no idea why you don't throw your keys, radio, and handcuffs on my desk and walk out right now." He worked five more months. As an employee, I loved him and loved the job he did for me but as his boss, I would love for him to keep working until I left, but that would be for my own selfish reasons.

So lets look at the big picture for retirement for those that have a pension as many in age group a pension was still a thing. After you pass your eligible retirement date, you have to subtract what you bring home in retirement dollars vs what you bring home in working dollars. Then figure out the difference between the two and divide it by the hours you would normally work each month, subtract any work expenses that you would no longer incur because those expenses would disappear if you retire. Parking fees, special clothing, work supplies, commuting cost to work, anything that you are spending money on that is directly related to working....

My actual cash in hand was just less than $210. I worked 160 hours a month. 210/160 =$1.31 an hour was what I would have been earning if I continued to work. How much time did it free up though. It was way more than 160 hours a month. I also spent about an hour each working day getting ready to go to work, and an hour each way for my commute to work. So in time I freed up 60 additional hours a week for a total of 210 hours. If I figured in the additional time that was spent to work that 160 hours, I was making even less. As we all know time is money..... $210 / 210 hours = 1 dollar an hours. It was a no brainer for me. I could quit my good paying job and work part time and McDonalds and have way more money at the end of the month. Let that sink in.

Chances are if you are working past your retirement date, because you think you need more money, you will just never have enough....

While we are on the subject. Lets talk about Social Security and when you should draw it. In my opinion, you draw it as soon as you can. If you think hey, I will just wait until I am 67 to get a bigger check, you in my opinion are just stupid. Let me explain before you start typing a bunch of hate on your Key board to me.

So if you plan to wait until you are 67 to draw Social Security, you obviously do not need to draw Social Security. Otherwise you would already be drawing it. You are under the belief that you will draw a bigger check in Social Security and therefore it is worth waiting to draw the check.

Now lets get big picture here with Social Security and understand there is a better strategy. Draw Social Security at 62. Take your social security check and invest that check, don't spend it. Then when you turn 67 start pulling money from that investment and supplement the social security check that you are already getting. So lets list off the benefits of this plan.

Say you draw 1800 a month just for a number. $1800x60 months. =$108,000 But hey you earn a conservative 7% interest that is compounded annually. you would end up with 126,906. Then at the age of 67 you started pulling 900 a month out of that investment and started spending your Social Security check. It would take you 15 years to spend the money from the investment account. Meaning you would have to live to at lest 82 to break even before you actually made any money by waiting to draw your check at 67. Yet I am sure that you will be out doing cool shit at 84 that you could have been doing at 62....... That dam time thing again. Sure you could make some poor investment and maybe your money will not grow at 7%, but you could also die at 66 years old and 11 months. Then how much money would you have to pass on to your spouse or your kids. A big Fat ZERO because you would not have drawn that $108,000.

Let say you are a savvy investor... and you earned 10% so you ended up with $135,000 Well now you have to live to be over a hundred years old before you benefited from waiting to draw your check if you continued to earn 10% on your investment................

Lets say you don't invest the money at all from your Social Security check, but you do stuff it in your mattress and save it a 0% interest. You will have to live at least to the age of 77 to break even if by waiting to draw your check at 67. This is assuming that your check goes up by $900 a month at 67.

Time....... average age of death for an American male is 77. Nice, break even when on average we die.


fuck I just typed a lot again....... Let me jump off this soap box. I got shit to do to go wheeling and camping for another 5 day weekend.....

 

[BDinTX]

I appreciate your response and it reinforces what I have been learning about retirement lately. Couple that with something a co-worker shared with me the other day - the typical life expectancy in weeks. When you locate which week you are in It puts things into perspective.

 

[jlang]

I was thinking about moving to Sierra Leone. I hear they have nice beaches.

 

[SoCal]

A guy I did monthly bookkeeping for for the past 4 years died yesterday evening from Covid pneumonia at 54. He has 2 kids - his daughter is entering college this year. He would talk about all the things he wanted to do “one day” when he had made “enough money”. I often asked him how much was enough and he said he didn’t know. He was sitting on millions and his kids had full rides to college. And now he is gone. The last time I talked to him before he was put on a vent he said he would be living his life differently when he got out of the hospital. And he never got that chance. Makes you think.

man, that sucks...I'm guessing he wasn't vaccinated?

every day for like the last month there is another story on the news or internet about someone who died from covid and regret not getting vaccinated. It is like their last words.... I rarely get a flu shot, but I got the vaccine as soon as I had the chance....life is short enough, why increase your chances of death?

I just turned 50 and have two kids with one going away to college this year and breaks my heart to see people dying needlessly at 54 with so much life ahead of them

 

[SoCal]

I heard this early in my life and made it my life's motto lol

"you never see a hearse pulling a U-Haul"

can't take your money and shit with you, spend it while you got it and enjoy life to the fullest!!!

none of us are promised tomorrow

 

[am1978]

In 2014 at 75, with all my friends passing away, I wondered how much time on earth I had left. I didn't know of course, but I thought I could see the exit. So, that Autumn I solo walked a pilgrimage route from France, over the Pyrenees to Santiago Spain, 500 miles in 32 days, carrying a backpack as my home. It was the best thing I have ever done in my life so I returned to France and Spain to walk other pilgrimage routes in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Now came 2020 and Covid had me stymied. So I bought a new Wrangler Sport S 2DR and spent this early summer (June 2021) driving this wonderful little toy 7800 miles from my humble cabin in Maine on the Trans America Trail to Moab and back home, again solo. Now here in August 2021 I am making plans to go back to Europe in the Spring to continue walking until I find the exit, or the exit finds me. No sailboat in my driveway, nor moss under my feet! Don't wait, go and live, because an exit waits for us all.

Tom "Old Hillwalker" Wheeler MSG US Army (Ret. 1978)

Whereabouts in Maine? We have a place in Lincoln County.

 

[MEHillwalker80]

Whereabouts in Maine? We have a place in Lincoln County.

Franklin County

 

[Rogue Toad]

Time is still the most important thing that money can never buy.

Use it wisely, and don't trade it away cheaply.

Sponsored