Anyone close to retirement? / when do you start counting the days?

[ronpes]

Hi, there,

If everything goes to plan, I intend to retire when I am 60 in 29 months time.

 

My wife is of a similar age.

Unless of course my work decided to make the decision for me in which case it won’t be the end of the world but I may pursue a part time job in between to help fund the travel plans.

 

I am already starting to look at possible ideas to celebrate my retirement in terms of a cruise longer than the normal 2 weeks.

Right now I am thinking possibly Seattle to Sydney on Explorer and then possibly some time in Australia and/or New Zealand before we fly back home.

 

I am also a keen jogger and have done a few half marathons and 10k’s and I have this mad idea of doing a complete Marathon to get it out of my system before I hit the big six-oh. I am also looking at various locations to do this milestone event ie possibly Vegas or New York etc. We will see.

 

I too really like the marble jar idea and one I will take up.

 

Tom,

I have looked at your worldwidewaftage website and have to say I am very impressed. I look forward to reading it in more detail in the days ahead.

 

Thanks and regards

Ron.

Edited May 23, 2016 by ronpes

[boopsahoy]

I am 60 and hubby 6. He keeps "threatening" to retire but never pulls the trigger. I think though that 2017 will be the time he definitely does it. I need to keep working for a while-hopefully I will be able to join him in 4-5 yrs. We would love to spend our retirement cruising, but we will have to see how the money situation is at the time. In the meantime-2 cruises a year that we love!

[CollegePaid]

Retired at the end of April 2016, coming up to age 57. Husband, 61, semi-retired, but working more it seems now that I'm home. Has a couple of projects he hopes to finish soon. We'll spend more time at the beach and have more time to travel and cruise. Are wrapping a cruise in July with before-and-after land touring. We'll be gone three weeks. This is our retirement vacation as well as the celebration of our 30th anniversary.

 

If anyone is planning to take a cruise...do it now, or soon. I hate to sound maudlin, but we have friends who have gotten very sick and died soon after retiring. Take time for fun, whatever that is for you. Enjoy!! Do good things. Be kind to each other.

[read52]

Retired at the end of April 2016, coming up to age 57. Husband, 61, semi-retired, but working more it seems now that I'm home. Has a couple of projects he hopes to finish soon. We'll spend more time at the beach and have more time to travel and cruise. Are wrapping a cruise in July with before-and-after land touring. We'll be gone three weeks. This is our retirement vacation as well as the celebration of our 30th anniversary.

 

If anyone is planning to take a cruise...do it now, or soon. I hate to sound maudlin, but we have friends who have gotten very sick and died soon after retiring. Take time for fun, whatever that is for you. Enjoy!! Do good things. Be kind to each other.

 

You are so right about enjoying when you can. 11 years ago when my husband was 53, he got viral encephalitis from shingles. Then a year later prostate cancer at 54. He could no longer work but he made it through both illnesses. After he finished his treatment for cancer,we won a pair of airline tickets on the local tv station. We decided to take a cruise and we have been hooked ever since that time.

[Truluv]

Bought one of those little digital countdown clocks on Amazon for a few dollars when my number of days to retirement was about 3850. I'm now down to 1007 days as of this morning... so yes, I'm definitely counting down the days! I'm looking ahead to putting down a deposit on a retirement celebration trip! I have been weighing rolling the clock back a year, to retire at 65 instead.

 

I have always loved cruising and have my 2nd solo cruise scheduled in August (I'm a widow. Spouse never got to retirement, so there's a message there about enjoying life since you never know what will happen), but I'm also going to try my first bus tour (Ireland) in July. I noticed that the solo supplement for some of the Trafalgar tours is much less than the solo supplement for cruising. Hmmmm.

 

I am definitely looking forward to being able to take advantage of last minute sale prices on travel when I'm retired!

Edited May 27, 2016 by Truluv

[Sasksilver]

Bought one of those little digital countdown clocks on Amazon for a few dollars when my number of days to retirement was about 3850. I'm now down to 1007 days as of this morning... so yes, I'm definitely counting down the days! I'm looking ahead to putting down a deposit on a retirement celebration trip! I have been weighing rolling the clock back a year, to retire at 65 instead.

 

I have always loved cruising and have my 2nd solo cruise scheduled in August (I'm a widow. Spouse never got to retirement, so there's a message there about enjoying life since you never know what will happen), but I'm also going to try my first bus tour (Ireland) in July. I noticed that the solo supplement for some of the Trafalgar tours is much less than the solo supplement for cruising. Hmmmm.

 

I am definitely looking forward to being able to take advantage of last minute sale prices on travel when I'm retired!

 

I have a retirement clock (as well as my marble jar) that tracks both the calendar days and working days. I'm down around 470 "working days" and this morning, moved another marble out of the jar so I'm down to 29 now.

 

I noticed you mentioned solo cruising. I get so annoyed with the single supplement that I gave Norwegian Escape a try in February. If you're not aware (and you may very well be), they offer solo cabins of approximately 100 sq ft. They're interior but have a window looking out to the corridor (with blinds) so it never felt like a bat cave. I loved the fact the rooms were tucked behind security doors, we had our own lounge where solos could meet, and a concierge who arranged for a group dinner each evening. I didn't miss a balcony because I was up on deck 19 early in the morning and since it was a short 7 day cruise we were in port every 2nd day I would not have had much time to spend on it anyway.

 

A trip to Ireland is on my bucket list..but not to be just yet. Enjoy!

[Truluv]

Thanks Saksilver. Loved the marble idea! I have relayed it to some people at work, and am sure ToysRUs is going to wonder why marbles are suddenly a hot seller again.

 

I've been on 2 NCL cruises (most recently on Breakaway), but I doubt I'll choose them again. Their pricing is good, but I'm not a fan of NCL. And single cabins are a good option, but they don't appeal to me. I do spend a lot of time in my cabin or on the balcony reading, and having cabin space is important to me.

 

It's really a question of finding deals. My last NCL cruise (Breakaway about 2-3 years ago) was a college & grad school graduation trip with my kids. I put them in their own cabin. My solo balcony cabin that trip was priced the same as one of NCL's single cabins! Lately I've been taking advantage of RCL's 150% and 160% sales. Next year I think I'm going to try Celebrity again. I might also try Holland America depending on deals, since I work with someone who loves them.

 

The solo supplement for some of the international bus tours was around $400-$500, vs. a multiplier of the tour price. I'm paying more for my August cruise (junior suite) than I will pay for the international bus tour, including airfare and factoring in tips, meals + extras.

 

Can't wait to be able to take advantage of last minute deals after I retire, assuming of course that the retirement budget can support my wanderlust...

[Philly Steve]

Years to go until I reach 65 but could do early retirement in a couple of years IF the company offers a buy out. :) Thank goodness for 401k and a union pension.

[read52]

On Monday, I got into a car accident right in front of school. I am ok but my car is probably totaled ( will find out today). I have to cross three lanes of traffic to get into the driveway of school. Some days the traffic is so bad that the driveway is blocked. So the first two lanes stopped and I inched out to check traffic and a car came driving a little too fastest for the traffic and hit me.

Is it a sign?

 

Yesterday, my partner and I took our students to Mount Vernon. It was a great trip because we had plenty of parents to help out. The weather was great and the kids had fun.

[WeBeCruisers?]

On Monday, I got into a car accident right in front of school. I am ok but my car is probably totaled ( will find out today). I have to cross three lanes of traffic to get into the driveway of school. Some days the traffic is so bad that the driveway is blocked. So the first two lanes stopped and I inched out to check traffic and a car came driving a little too fastest for the traffic and hit me.

Is it a sign?

 

Yesterday, my partner and I took our students to Mount Vernon. It was a great trip because we had plenty of parents to help out. The weather was great and the kids had fun.

Maybe you could come in from the other direction, and then you wouldn't have to cross 3 Lanes of traffic?

 

Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk

[harleysmama]

I will know in 1 day!!!!!

[read52]

Maybe you could come in from the other direction, and then you wouldn't have to cross 3 Lanes of traffic?

 

Sent from my LG-H631 using Tapatalk

 

Thanks, I am going a different way. I have been working at this school for 28 years. The traffic can get bad because I live right outside DC. Metro started working on repair of its system and the media had everyone going crazy about it. The heavy traffic was due to that situation. The other person was going too fast for the traffic. Normally it is not a problem turning there.

[telebax51]

I'm glad i stumbled upon this forum my DW and myself both 65 and retired at 62 and haven't looked back. From MD and when we decided to retire early did all the financial check and it was to our benefit to retire now while we are healthy and travel the world so far so good.

[ronpes]

I'm glad i stumbled upon this forum my DW and myself both 65 and retired at 62 and haven't looked back. From MD and when we decided to retire early did all the financial check and it was to our benefit to retire now while we are healthy and travel the world so far so good.

 

Good for you. Only 835 days and counting for me unless my company makes the decision for me in which case it will be earlier. There may well be the option to go on reduced hours etc but frankly I am tired of all the hassle in my line of work and whilst my DW and I are both healthy I think I will make the jump while we can and enjoy the time. Looking forward to doing some extended travel and am already looking at options.

[telebax51]

Good for you. Only 835 days and counting for me unless my company makes the decision for me in which case it will be earlier. There may well be the option to go on reduced hours etc but frankly I am tired of all the hassle in my line of work and whilst my DW and I are both healthy I think I will make the jump while we can and enjoy the time. Looking forward to doing some extended travel and am already looking at options.

 

Good for you Ronpes

 

1994 we took a month long vacation to Europe with the kids we traveled all over PARIS, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, AUSTRIA and LIECHTENSTEIN ( never heard of that country ) but the history is there. All the places of interest were located either in Castle which are high up so walking to them was a challenge so we decided then that we would retire early when we can still enjoy the world planning financially to do this, now we are planning on going back

[ronpes]

Wow, that’s a lot of travel. I am embarrassed to admit that the only place I have been to on your list was Paris, and even then it was a fleeting visit. Even although most of those countries you have listed are within easy flying distance (or even driving !) for us.

We have been to the Mediterranean cruising many times but not so much further inland Europe. That’s for another day.

 

We tend to follow the sun as where we live in the North we don’t see it very often so we like to get some heat when we are away. We are off to Australia next year so that is another one off the list where we will combine it with a visit to Asia. We would like to spend more time there.

 

Big world,…and so little time to see it all !

[billfish]

Been retired for 12 years and 4 days . But whos counting . Retired at 61 +. Had planned to get out at 59 but got a nice promotion and a nice annual bonus program so hung on for a couple of years to build up a nice nest egg. The trick of retirement is to keep busy . We both do volunteer work and try to keep active.

[telebax51]

Agree its a big world, Australia is also on my bucket list, will you be cruising? I'm trying to convince my wife to hold off on going back to Paris so soon after the turmoil there but to no avail she wins. We are cruise addicts now so i like to tack on land portions extending our vacations. Also between cruising we like to do Bus Day Trips.

[ronpes]

We are doing a repositioning cruise on Voyager of the Seas from Sydney to Singapore in April 2017.

 

We will fly out several days in advance to spend time in Sydney and also spend a few days at the other end in Singapore. We have been to Singapore before and it is a beautiful city.

 

We have never been to Australia before so we are looking forward to the various ports up the east side as well as seeing the Barrier reef etc.

[Bearlee]

Counting down to my target retirement date July 20th 2020. A few days short of my 58th birthday. From then it is another life.

 

Sent from my E6883 using Tapatalk

[telebax51]

Counting down to my target retirement date July 20th 2020. A few days short of my 58th birthday. From then it is another life.

 

Sent from my E6883 using Tapatalk

 

 

You are right it is another life, when you were 5 until 18 yrs. you had to wake up early for school then college then work, now since i'm retired i can sleep all day if i want, vacations are no longer one week a year but 2,3, or 4 a year i guess you can tell i'm loving retirement and so will you.

[Blizzard54]

I just found this thread and thought I would share my story.

 

In May of last year I had a mild heart attack. One stint corrected the issue and I was back to work in after 2 weeks. About that time my travel send out and email with a ridiculously low price on a cruise from Sidney to Seattle. I was half kidding when I asked my DW if I should quit working and take it. She did not think much of the idea. About a week later she saw the printout I had on my desk and asked if I could afford to retire. She had already decided that she was going to retire by the end of the year. I decided to book the cruise and would have several months to figure out the numbers. I called my TA and make the booking. Two days later I received and email that my TA had died suddenly of a heart attack. He was only a year or two older than I was. I added a New Zealand cruise to the booking and spent the next few months crunching numbers and meeting with retirement planners. I finally found one I felt comfortable enough with to get past a first meeting. After a couple months of planning we had a plan in place. I would stop working in March and take the cruises in April. Our retirement started with a few days in Sydney followed by 35 days on the ship ending at home in Seattle.

 

We have talked for years about spending our retirement on ships and got off to a great start. We have budgeted for plenty of cruising the next few years while we can enjoy it. We currently have 22 cruises booked over the next 18 months.

 

As our financial adviser calls it: these our are GOGO years, later will be our NOGO years.

[ronpes]

Thank you for sharing your story.

Well done to you and your DW for taking the plunge and now enjoying this exciting new chapter in your lives.

[Blizzard54]

Thank you for sharing your story.

Well done to you and your DW for taking the plunge and now enjoying this exciting new chapter in your lives.

 

What I forgot to put in was that I pulled the plug about 3 months shy of my 62nd birthday. The big unknown when I was planning was the cost of medical for the few years before Medicare. Once I figured that out it was a go.

[telebax51]

What I forgot to put in was that I pulled the plug about 3 months shy of my 62nd birthday. The big unknown when I was planning was the cost of medical for the few years before Medicare. Once I figured that out it was a go.

 

This sound so familiar we encountered the same hesitation but once the medical portion was finalized we signed on the dotted line and haven't looked back. Now we are medicare age but ready for it, enjoy ALL your cruises.