What would you do with all your extra free time if\when you retire?

[BoomerD]

In a word, fuck 'em.

Well...ok, then...pimp daddy.

 

[Zeze]

Anyone here able to retire early WITH raising kids?

 

[highland145]

Anyone here able to retire early WITH raising kids?

Public education, 2nd hand stores, emancipate at 17. Bootstrap ideology.

 

[Zeze]

Realistically:
1. Do nothing for months or even a year. Just do nothing. You can't touch me.
2. Do above until I seriously start to get bored or crazy.
3. Now slowly do fun stuff at my own pace and interest... travel (i traveled a ton so far, am fine), join some meetups for hobbies, soup kitchen, orgy, etc. And if lucky, play with my grand kids.

 

[IronWing]

Soup kitchen orgies sound intriguing.

 

[Exterous]

Anyone here able to retire early WITH raising kids?

Is that even possible?! Kids basically eat money and poop out debt

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Anyone here able to retire early WITH raising kids?

Yep - kid graduated college with no debt thanks to me fully funding it and I could retire today before the age of 45 if I desired. 2.5yrs to go.

Trick is not buying into the hype of consumerism and buying depreciating assets. We all have our priorities; some have to have the $90K Tesla, first class travel while wearing clothes bought at Nordstrom's and eating at Morton's........

Other learn to travel on a budget, drive a commuter car, and cook their own meals while maxing out there 401K every year.

 

[BoomerD]

I'm surprised no one (not even me) has chimed in with the right answer...whatever the fuck I want...as long as I can afford it.

 

[zinfamous]

Public education, 2nd hand stores, emancipate at 17. Bootstrap ideology.

yeah but when you fund those bootstraps...is that the same thing?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Sitting on my ass and doing nothing is preferable to working, but I’ll be honest - as long as I’m able and the money is still there, I doubt I’ll ever fully retire. I can see myself ditching full-time work at some point, but I’ll probably try working short-term contracts just for the extra money.

My original plan was to quit working stressful consulting jobs and land in a gravy train government or university job to coast to final retirement with another pension in my last few years, and I still might do that. I have a low threshold for bureaucracy and stupidity though, so I may not be able to do that.

 

[highland145]

yeah but when you fund those bootstraps...is that the same thing?

A case of ramen and a pup tent....quite doable.

 

[Exterous]

My original plan was to quit working stressful consulting jobs and land in a gravy train government or university job to coast to final retirement with another pension in my last few years, and I still might do that. I have a low threshold for bureaucracy and stupidity though, so I may not be able to do that.

Those gravy train University jobs are getting harder to find. A lot of smaller schools are struggling financially so the tiny IT staff is stressed out dealing with smaller staff, increased workload and a mountain of regulations. Most of the pensions are gone too. The larger don't have quite as many problems but you need to be wary of being pigeon holed. For example
building a Windows server:
The Server build team builds the VM which includes tickets to the Networking team for IP space. Maybe even the Licensing team if you need a different ISO than what is on the vm farm already. Then it gets ticketed off to the monitoring team to configure monitoring. Who then tickets it off to the Application team for installing whatever application its going to run. Who hands it off to the Server Security team for patching and validation. Who tickets it off to the backup team to install the backup software. If something happens to the host a ticket is sent to the VM hosting team. If its, god forbid, a new physical server then you also have to involve the Data Center team and the Network operations team.

But, if memory serves, you're in Indiana and IU seems to have their IT shit together so maybe thats an option

 

[deustroop]

I find it's like an endless string of Saturdays. What are your Saturdays like now ? For me, there was free time, chores, hobbies and catching up on honey dos ; so now its the same, endless days of free time, chores, hobbies and.. etc., etc..

Eventually as you sort shit out, its mostly catching up on things should been done years ago ( for me that meant getting a new hip, a cataract op and getting married), hobbies and vacation planning since I do want to vacate from all retirement stuff too.

What you don't want is any type of work , especially when its disguised as " volunteer" activity, with a schedule and duties. NO.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Those gravy train University jobs are getting harder to find. A lot of smaller schools are struggling financially so the tiny IT staff is stressed out dealing with smaller staff, increased workload and a mountain of regulations. Most of the pensions are gone too. The larger don't have quite as many problems but you need to be wary of being pigeon holed.

I currently consult for financial institutions, health care companies, governments, and other regulated institutions as well. HIPAA, PCI, SOX, and all sorts of fun regulations are things I have to deal with across multiple clients.

For example
building a Windows server:
The Server build team builds the VM which includes tickets to the Networking team for IP space. Maybe even the Licensing team if you need a different ISO than what is on the vm farm already. Then it gets ticketed off to the monitoring team to configure monitoring. Who then tickets it off to the Application team for installing whatever application its going to run. Who hands it off to the Server Security team for patching and validation. Who tickets it off to the backup team to install the backup software. If something happens to the host a ticket is sent to the VM hosting team. If its, god forbid, a new physical server then you also have to involve the Data Center team and the Network operations team.

None of this is any different than what larger corporations now do and have done for many years. Everyone has gone the ITIL (yuck) route and compartmentalized everything like you describe above. It's unfortunate, as it's inefficient, time wasting, and ripe for finger-pointing, but I get paid the same either way so I can play the game too.

But, if memory serves, you're in Indiana and IU seems to have their IT shit together so maybe thats an option

Yes, I have friends who work at IU and tell me what an easy job it is. I have other contacts in state government too, which is another possibility. State government is the poster child for gravy-train jobs. I hear stories of the "work" they do there and I'm flabbergasted.

 

[BudAshes]

Those gravy train University jobs are getting harder to find. A lot of smaller schools are struggling financially so the tiny IT staff is stressed out dealing with smaller staff, increased workload and a mountain of regulations. Most of the pensions are gone too. The larger don't have quite as many problems but you need to be wary of being pigeon holed. For example
building a Windows server:
The Server build team builds the VM which includes tickets to the Networking team for IP space. Maybe even the Licensing team if you need a different ISO than what is on the vm farm already. Then it gets ticketed off to the monitoring team to configure monitoring. Who then tickets it off to the Application team for installing whatever application its going to run. Who hands it off to the Server Security team for patching and validation. Who tickets it off to the backup team to install the backup software. If something happens to the host a ticket is sent to the VM hosting team. If its, god forbid, a new physical server then you also have to involve the Data Center team and the Network operations team.

But, if memory serves, you're in Indiana and IU seems to have their IT shit together so maybe thats an option

I have a friend that works in IT at a university. He shows up at 10am and leaves at 2. Says he handles a couple tickets a week and mostly just watches netflix when he is there and has a meeting or 2 a week... No wonder those tuition costs are so high.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I have a friend that works in IT at a university. He shows up at 10am and leaves at 2. Says he handles a couple tickets a week and mostly just watches netflix when he is there and has a meeting or 2 a week... No wonder those tuition costs are so high.

My friend at the university could go and make more money elsewhere, but he knows how easy he has it and isn't about to rock the boat.

 

[Exterous]

I currently consult for financial institutions, health care companies, governments, and other regulated institutions as well. HIPAA, PCI, SOX, and all sorts of fun regulations are things I have to deal with across multiple clients.

I did public health and DoD supplier before doing higher ed. IMO higher ed is the worst when it comes to regulations. It basically has to deal with all of them (Finance, health, government, student) but lacks legal precedents for many laws and regulations that accidentally apply. Then you have laws that are different for government entity vs educational vs health so which ones applies? Or the state laws conflicting with federal. And your user base is the worst when it comes to compliance. If you work in finance or health you KNOW you have to comply. Profs whine about 'academic freedom', you need committee meetings to gain consensus on why sharing student records in an insecure way is bad and there are no consequences for non-compliance. Unless the school makes the news for a data breach there is no way that tenured faculty member is getting fired. It was honestly pretty shocking to see when I started

I have a friend that works in IT at a university. He shows up at 10am and leaves at 2. Says he handles a couple tickets a week and mostly just watches netflix when he is there and has a meeting or 2 a week... No wonder those tuition costs are so high.

And I know people in private industry who 'work from home' and do just as little if not less work. Are there cushy jobs out there? Sure. Do many run 8-5 M-F IT shops? Sure. But there are also a lot that have 24x7 response expectations, on call rotations, high ticket volumes etc. Outsourcing is a big deal for them right now too, particularly for anything new (cloud, online programs etc - much to my benefit). Hell a local school with 15k students just fired their entire IT staff to go 100% outsourced. Yes there are some easy jobs out there in higher ed but, after years of working with them, there are quite a few I would never want to work for

 

[Mai72]

You guys act like getting old is a given. My mom died right at 64. She was very healthy, and BOOM. Had a difficult time breathing, found out she had an auto immune issue, and died a few years later. My uncle was healthy. Rode his bike daily, and discovered he had Parkinsons disease. He died a few years later as well. Whenever I hear someone say "I'm going to do this or that when I retire" I just shake my head. Just because you're healthy in your 30s, 40s and 50s doesn't mean it's going to continue. For many, once they hit 60 that is when the crippling health issues start to crop up.

I say if you really want to do something, why wait? You should have a sense of urgency.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I did public health and DoD supplier before doing higher ed. IMO higher ed is the worst when it comes to regulations. It basically has to deal with all of them (Finance, health, government, student) but lacks legal precedents for many laws and regulations that accidentally apply. Then you have laws that are different for government entity vs educational vs health so which ones applies? Or the state laws conflicting with federal. And your user base is the worst when it comes to compliance. If you work in finance or health you KNOW you have to comply. Profs whine about 'academic freedom', you need committee meetings to gain consensus on why sharing student records in an insecure way is bad and there are no consequences for non-compliance. Unless the school makes the news for a data breach there is no way that tenured faculty member is getting fired. It was honestly pretty shocking to see when I started



And I know people in private industry who 'work from home' and do just as little if not less work. Are there cushy jobs out there? Sure. Do many run 8-5 M-F IT shops? Sure. But there are also a lot that have 24x7 response expectations, on call rotations, high ticket volumes etc. Outsourcing is a big deal for them right now too, particularly for anything new (cloud, online programs etc - much to my benefit). Hell a local school with 15k students just fired their entire IT staff to go 100% outsourced. Yes there are some easy jobs out there in higher ed but, after years of working with them, there are quite a few I would never want to work for

I will say this - one of my current corporate clients has the most clueless and inept IT staff I’ve ever seen, from the PMs to the management down to the individual contributors (with the exception of one guy who is sharp). They all probably should be let go. I mean, you literally have to create step-by-step documentation with pictures for the simplest processes and even then, they screw it up and I have to fix it and explain it to them again. I’m actually scared they’re going to sign a new contract and I’ll be stuck helping them forever.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

You guys act like getting old is a given. My mom died right at 64. She was very healthy, and BOOM. Had a difficult time breathing, found out she had an auto immune issue, and died a few years later. My uncle was healthy. Rode his bike daily, and discovered he had Parkinsons disease. He died a few years later as well. Whenever I hear someone say "I'm going to do this or that when I retire" I just shake my head. Just because you're healthy in your 30s, 40s and 50s doesn't mean it's going to continue. For many, once they hit 60 that is when the crippling health issues start to crop up.

I say if you really want to do something, why wait? You should have a sense of urgency.

It’s nice in theory, but everyone has bills to pay. Doing something I really love would probably result in a massive pay cut. It’s too late for me to go back to school for a different career as well (I’ll be 50 next year). My parents died in their 60s and I am fully aware that I’m likely to be in big trouble in my late 50s in terms of health, but my course is set and it’s too late to make major changes.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

You guys act like getting old is a given.
Whenever I hear someone say "I'm going to do this or that when I retire" I just shake my head. Just because you're healthy in your 30s, 40s and 50s doesn't mean it's going to continue. For many, once they hit 60 that is when the crippling health issues start to crop up.

I say if you really want to do something, why wait? You should have a sense of urgency.

You are absolutely correct - I should have tapped out a few years ago but I'm at peak earnings and figured I could pad the retirement savings and thought it would be nice to give my kid a big down payment. I'll still be out well before 50 and have a lot to catch up on.

Too bad my career has been demanding and taking a few years off in between gigs has not been feasible because a mini-retirment is what I want most of all. I got big plans, I sure hope my health does not let me down.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Whatever the fuck I want.

Play with grandkids maybe
Learn a new skill
Read all those books I want to read
Clear the video game backlog
Paint my miniatures
Have a beer with the kid

*Fingers crossed*

Of course I'll probably die way before that or even worse my wife will die and my kids won't talk to me and I'll stubbornly live for 20 more years after that in absolute misery.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Assuming this ever happens for me: gardening, guitar, other hobbies, whatever tickles my fancy and keeps me moving.

 

[purbeast0]

You guys act like getting old is a given. My mom died right at 64. She was very healthy, and BOOM. Had a difficult time breathing, found out she had an auto immune issue, and died a few years later. My uncle was healthy. Rode his bike daily, and discovered he had Parkinsons disease. He died a few years later as well. Whenever I hear someone say "I'm going to do this or that when I retire" I just shake my head. Just because you're healthy in your 30s, 40s and 50s doesn't mean it's going to continue. For many, once they hit 60 that is when the crippling health issues start to crop up.

I say if you really want to do something, why wait? You should have a sense of urgency.

Yep. My dad died completely unexpectedly at 57 and never even had the opportunity to retire. It's part of the reason I try to travel as much as I can, taking 4-5 trips a year. I am still saving for retirement too but I also enjoy my money and life.

 

[ch33zw1z]

You guys act like getting old is a given. My mom died right at 64. She was very healthy, and BOOM. Had a difficult time breathing, found out she had an auto immune issue, and died a few years later. My uncle was healthy. Rode his bike daily, and discovered he had Parkinsons disease. He died a few years later as well. Whenever I hear someone say "I'm going to do this or that when I retire" I just shake my head. Just because you're healthy in your 30s, 40s and 50s doesn't mean it's going to continue. For many, once they hit 60 that is when the crippling health issues start to crop up.

I say if you really want to do something, why wait? You should have a sense of urgency.

I completely agree. My bullet points are just more of what my hobbies are already. In my later 30's now gaining hobbies I avoided earlier in life because of video games and partying. side note, started learning to juggle this week, lol