Author Topic: Vanguard article is anti-mustache  (Read 3545 times)

JoJo

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Vanguard article is anti-mustache
« on: February 16, 2017, 06:17:35 PM »
Quotes on an article about retirement

I had read before retiring that we could expect some of our spending to decrease in retirement—but for us this was not the case. For instance, my wife and I still maintain two cars. While I do not drive in to work every day, I find that I’m driving more because I’m driving to visit with friends, volunteer, and go to the gym. In addition, I eat out more to visit with friends, spend money going to museums, and my wife and I take major trips and often head out of town on the weekends.

If your job isn’t physically or emotionally demanding, work as long as you can. You can really plan for filling your time in retirement, but think about how you’re going to fill the 2,400 hours per year you filled with work.


https://retirementplans.vanguard.com/VGApp/pe/edufreshness/RetirementPrep#/

Ann

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Re: Vanguard article is anti-mustache
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2017, 07:36:38 PM »
Uh.  Yeah, the "work as long a possible!!!" is off-putting.

Although I also think my spending would go up with retirement.  Unlike some people, I feel my job doesn't add that much extra costs.  I do drive to work, but I take longer trips on my vacation days or days off.  I have a stipend for work clothes.   The food thing is the one I don't know.  Sometimes when work if very stressful I order out to "treat" myself.  When work is normal, though, I bring super inexpensive lunches and probably eat cheaper than I would at home (more complicated recipes or more delicate foods).

I always thought is was strange that one would spend LESS in retirement. 

Syonyk

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Re: Vanguard article is anti-mustache
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2017, 09:38:15 PM »
Uh.  Yeah, the "work as long a possible!!!" is off-putting.

Well, you know, otherwise what will you do with [strike]2400[/strike] 3000 hours a year (once you factor in commuting and such)?

Quote
I always thought is was strange that one would spend LESS in retirement.

It depends on what you measure against.  If you're measuring against right pre-retirement, it depends, but if you're measuring against when kids are at home and such (which tends to be prime working years), yeah, retirement should be cheaper.

I don't quite know what our costs will do - I'm working aggressively towards a lowered cost of living (solar, gardens, aquaponics greenhouse, etc), and I anticipate continuing that into retirement (in, oh, hopefully 5-7 years, though I'm only working part time now, so I have time for these projects).

TBH, I don't really plan to "stop working" entirely, so I'm not sure it's relevant.  I plan to just do more random project work, small electronics work, etc, and most of my experiments there end up bringing in some money eventually.

JAYSLOL

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Re: Vanguard article is anti-mustache
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2017, 12:22:57 AM »
I have a mini-retirement every year as I work a seasonal job, and find while some costs go up from travelling and going out more, my spending over all always drops.  It's not that I don't have the money to spend, it's that I have so much more time to do everything myself, find the best possible deal on whatever I need, diy repairs and maintenance even more than usual etc. 

LalsConstant

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Re: Vanguard article is anti-mustache
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2017, 01:02:40 PM »
I've thought about it and realized if I were retired, I probably would spend less.  I estimated once I spend about $210 a month on being employed in clothes I wouldn't otherwise buy, travel expenses otherwise not incurred, buying conveniences like pre-packaged granola bars which I would just make myself if I had more time, money I spend on the occasional lunch or gift that is work related, etc.  None of these amounts is terribly large on its own but there's a lot of them and they add up.

That's not even considering that I live in a higher COL area to be able to find the work that pays me the best, so if I were FI I could live somewhere much less expensive.

I think everyone should try to have an FI plan even if it's not a rosy, 10 years and you're idle the rest of your life plan.  In other words, I think you should "Rush" to FI as best you can even if you're not "rushing" to not work any more.

I used to work with several retired gentlemen who just got some low paid job related to a hobby they enjoyed, like a man I used to work with who liked wood working so he worked in the tool department of a home improvement center; he got to talk to people about tools and projects all day, which he enjoyed, and he got a discount on tools and materials for his spare time.  Oh, and the money he made paid for the hobby so he didn't have to touch his nest egg. 

He probably could have even made a little money at it, but he tended to make pieces for free and would do stuff like make bunk beds for children in state facilities, or build wheelchair ramps for seniors on a fixed income, etc.  He got to smugly refuse any compensation for it too.

The thing is, when he retired, he didn't plan on this.  He just kind of figured it out after a while because his new "job" was to amuse himself and do things that were important to him even if he didn't know what that was initially.  If he wasn't FI he couldn't do that.

FIRE me

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Re: Vanguard article is anti-mustache
« Reply #5 on: February 18, 2017, 02:49:14 PM »
Quotes on an article about retirement

I had read before retiring that we could expect some of our spending to decrease in retirement—but for us this was not the case. For instance, my wife and I still maintain two cars. While I do not drive in to work every day, I find that I’m driving more because I’m driving to visit with friends, volunteer, and go to the gym. In addition, I eat out more to visit with friends, spend money going to museums, and my wife and I take major trips and often head out of town on the weekends.

If your job isn’t physically or emotionally demanding, work as long as you can. You can really plan for filling your time in retirement, but think about how you’re going to fill the 2,400 hours per year you filled with work.

https://retirementplans.vanguard.com/VGApp/pe/edufreshness/RetirementPrep#/

This is from a guy that retired at age 75. He is institutionalized. The jail door is open, the sentence was over long ago, but he does not want to walk out of his cell and into freedom. Likely as not, something pushed him out.  He obviously has little attraction to retirement.