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fishbuck
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
Member Is Offline
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When not to retire to Baja?
Well, I applied for and was approved for a Voluntary Lay Off that the conpany is offering.
Kind of a tinfoil parachute the company occasionlly offers to the employees to try and thin the old people out of the workforce.
My layoff/retirement would have been Apr. 22.
I say would have been because at the last moment I withdrew my request.
This was virtually tailered to me because I turn 58 next month on the 10th and that makes me eligible for full pension.
The dummies here voted out their pension a few years back under the false promise that it would save their jobs. So acrueing pension end last
november.
So now that they got 1500 union employees to take VLO rumor has it the real pink slips start next week.
I made it through the last layoff so probably will survive the next.
I chickened out on retiring. I just haven't saved enough and need money for all my fishcamp stuff like a fancy septic tank and a solar system etc.
20Gs right there.
I have watched 2 guys in my little neighborhood make the mistake of retiring too soon. Both have lost their houses and both houses sit abandoned and
looted. 1 was the 1st house built in Del Morro and the other the last.
1 guy inherited his house from his dad but didn't have money to keep it. He was breaking into the other houses and selling the stuff in town.
The other is about my age and just flat out had dullosions of grandeur and built a 2 story mansion.
Last I heard of him he is trying to sell it and rents a house in La Salina.
So I'm hoping to learn from their mistakes.
I'm hoping for a trip south soon. But until it looks like another 4-5 years of 50-60 hours and counting my pennies while dreaming of taking trips to
middle of nowhere old spanish missions or visiting some of the places I haven't been to yet.
So the morale of the story is be an ant and not a grasshopper. But I gotta tell you that being a grasshopper has been a lot of fun.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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bajabuddha
Banned
Posts: 4024
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: Baja New Mexico
Member Is Offline
Mood: Always cranky unless medicated
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first and foremost, read your own 'signature' at your page bottom. Then put these into play:
No guts, no glory.
He who hesitates is LUNCH.
Grab them by the balls, and their hearts and minds will truly follow.
Do something, even if it's wrong.
Life's too short to drink cheap beer.
Go for it.
Kowabunga, Dude.
Down-size.
Not what you need, but what you can do without.
.... Other than that, I suggest an inexpensive therapist to hash your dilemma over with. I suggest motoged, I hear he works on the sly these days, at
least for free beer and pizza.
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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BajaBlanca
Select Nomad
Posts: 13165
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
Member Is Offline
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I bet this meandering over what to do really made you lose sleep. It is a very tough decision and I wish it had worked out for you to retire now.
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MitchMan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1855
Registered: 3-9-2009
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Consider all factors. Do a good job of budgeting and be what accountants call "conservative", meaning, over estimate your future expenses a bit.
Then, retire as soon as you can.
Many people go back to work after they retire because they get bored. But, if you have imagination, love new challenges, love new experiences, are
not afraid to learn new skills, not afraid of new languages, and are generally curious about everything, you should find an endless number of projects
and endeavors to keep you busy for 5 lifetimes. But, if you have no interests or few if any hobbies, retirement may be a downer for you. The real
trick is to turn a hobby into something that makes money for you...now you have arrived.
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fishbuck
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
Member Is Offline
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This is all great thanks. And yes Blanca it keeps me awake thinking it over.
I just couldn't get past where I had the fantasy of telling the company to take this job and .... and then just driving south. It sounded good but
then I pictured myself sitting in my truck on my dirt patch and saying " now what?"
Where would I sleep? How would I shower etc.?
I still haven't figured that stuff out. But I know it will take a truckload of money to live comfortably.
And yes all my Bajanomad brothers and sisters are my psychologists. I owe you all a beer
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15937
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Everchangin'
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Are you saying you havent saved 20k yet? I just had 2.7kW system installed in SD for $8k. A toilet for an additional $12k would make momma happy, but
C'MON, Mang, you can't tell me you need that much money for those items.
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ehall
Super Nomad
Posts: 1906
Registered: 3-29-2014
Location: Buckeye, Az
Member Is Offline
Mood: It's 5 o'clock somewhere
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After you get your place built what do you expect to need a year to live comfortably? Sorry you had to postpone.
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pacificobob
Super Nomad
Posts: 2220
Registered: 4-23-2006
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i retired early and left a lot of money on the table, and took my pension.(btw a union negotiated contract. yeah ALPA) never regretted it for a
second. the difference? my cars are not as new, i eat out less often. no big deal , i love everyday being saturday.
[Edited on 3-16-2017 by pacificobob]
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BajaTed
Senior Nomad
Posts: 859
Registered: 5-2-2010
Location: Bajamar
Member Is Offline
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Irregardless of the $$$
You can't just retire one day, it is at best a transition process you have to go through first.
You literally have to become a 2.0 version of yourself.
Kinda like a being a teenager again with just a different kinda angst.
Gotta cowboy up all over again.
Seniority and a contract saved you this time.
BTW brother after the layoffs are done comes the strategic divestiture of your corporate division, no buyouts then. Please read the writing on the
wall.
Es Todo Bueno
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
Member Is Offline
Mood: Weary
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Another issue being over thought.....sad...
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
Member Is Offline
Mood: Weary
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that's the way! Bravo
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Sweetwater
Senior Nomad
Posts: 915
Registered: 11-26-2010
Member Is Offline
Mood: chilly today hot tomale
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Quote: Originally posted by soulpatch | Jajaja, it's been an interesting ride!
I am still wanting to know what percentage of a full time salary a full pension is.... what does that really mean?
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Some people live to work, some people work to live.
I can live easily on my own without any problems.
My time is now worth more than your money.
Everbody\'s preachin\' at me that we all wanna git to heaven, trouble is, nobody wants to die to git there.-BB King
Reality is what does not go away when you stop believing in it. -Philip K Dick
Nothing is worse than active ignorance. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(1749-1832, German writer, artist and politician)
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I\'ve never tried before. - Mae West
Experience is what keeps a man who makes the same mistake twice from admitting it the third time around.
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motoged
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6481
Registered: 7-31-2006
Location: Kamloops, BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: Gettin' Better
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Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha |
.....Life's too short to drink cheap beer........ Other than that, I suggest an inexpensive therapist to hash your dilemma over with. I suggest
motoged, I hear he works on the sly these days, at least for free beer and pizza. |
BB,
Thanks for the referral.....I can sometimes be found at the third palapa to the left....dispensing free opinions.....as usual.
The recent fee of pizza has been upgraded to camarone tacos...the beer component remains the same....and when Chuckie gets his burro outta the plains
of Kansas or Oklahoma or wherever he perches these days, he can collect the promised cervezas...
Imagine the two of us sharing our views of the world.....on second thought, that's not a fantasy I should promote...
Don't believe everything you think....
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15937
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
Member Is Offline
Mood: Everchangin'
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Frank, sounds like your mind was made up before you finished talking to yourself! Good man!
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6699
Registered: 9-5-2003
Member Is Offline
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Early retirement usually takes long term planning..Its not a snap decision.
Best done with all of life's large bills taken care of...ie no debt and the house paid for etc. You can't enter into the expense of a new house
unless you have a lot of capital stuck away.
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bajagrouper
Senior Nomad
Posts: 964
Registered: 8-28-2003
Location: Rincon de Guayabitos, Nayarit, Mexico
Member Is Offline
Mood: happy and retired
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all the retirement calculators are helpful but with Mexico now a days you almost have to be a mind reader...Who would have thought Mexico would raise
the fuel prices over 20% in one month, what other necessities can or will be raised that may ruin a retirement budget.
I hear the whales song
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Member Is Offline
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Quote: Originally posted by soulpatch | Jajaja, it's been an interesting ride!
I am still wanting to know what percentage of a full time salary a full pension is.... what does that really mean?
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That depends on who you are working for. Is it a public or private sector job. Public sector jobs have the best pensions, military, police,
firefighters, city, county, state and federal. Police and firefighters usually get 2% per year for each year they work. The 2% is usually based on the
last 3-5 years they work with overtime often included. They also often include an annual COL increase. For example, in Bakersfield a cop and
firefighter can retire after 30 years with 60% of his salary based on the last 3 years he worked which includes overtime. Some places offer a 401K
type system like the school system.
Private sector jobs use to be the best (usually union related) and some are still good but the difference is they usually don't include an annual cost
of Living increase. What you get when you retire stays the same. 401K systems have pretty much replaced the normal pension in the private sector. This
can be a good way to retire especially if there are matching funds from the employer. But you have to use it to make it work.
I was probably lucky to work for a couple of companies that had both a pension and a 401K plan. My biggest change when I retired was the increased
medical and drug cost over what my employer offered. My medical insurance with McGraw-Hill was $115/month to cover both my wife and I. When I retired
Medicare and our insurance was about $700/mo. Basically it was the same coverage.
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rhintransit
Super Nomad
Posts: 1588
Registered: 9-4-2006
Location: Loreto
Member Is Offline
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Sorry you can't make retirement work yet, but better too know that now before you're committed. Someday....
reality\'s never been of much use out here...
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fishbuck
Banned
Posts: 5318
Registered: 8-31-2006
Member Is Offline
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Thanks all.
Full pension just means no early retirement penalty.
The company offered VLO 2 years in a row now so I might get another chance next year or maybe even get a regular layoff.
So that's one reason I decided to wait.
I applaud anyone who had the courage escape the rat race by retiring early. And if you saved money for it then your just smarter than me that's all.
The "take this job..." part was just a metaphor. I am truely grateful to the company. I've lived a very good life thanks to them.
My thoughts are that I can tolerate a few more years. 401k at 59 and Social Security at 62. So 4 more years of clearing my debts and squirreling every
penny should do it.
So for now I will take trips down and patrol my dirt patch and dream a bit. Maybe May is my next fix.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." J. A. Shedd.
A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it. – Albert Einstein
"Life's a Beach... and then you Fly!" Fishbuck
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sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
Registered: 10-6-2004
Location: OC So Cal
Member Is Offline
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What is that, 1 caguama/ballena for initial, then 1 for any
partial hr. incremant thereafter?
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