Spin off from "One Spouse Retires Early" thread

[Anonymous]

FWIW, OP, I’ll give you a cautionary tale. My parents were about the same number of years apart in age and they both retired early together. I’m glad they did because my mom died at 70 from cancer and Dad is still going strong. I”m glad she got to enjoy being retired and didn’t work until 70.

Good for you OP that you were able to come to an agreement with your DH.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to the last poster. I'm sorry about your mom. My dad also died at 70, and that has been a factor in my thinking about this -- both about my husband (who is 67) and me. I want us both to enjoy our lives while we're still mobile.

[Anonymous]

OP, do what you want. Stop asking your financial planner/husband. You can decide this. Yes, learn from -whatever- information your financial planner has mentioned.

Whatever the new financial normal is, you two can go from there. Not every decision needs to be optimized.

[Anonymous]

Super smart of OP to be having this argument now, 5 or 10 years before it actually matters.

[Anonymous]

The real question, and the only one that matters, is how much you have saved. That determines whether or not you can retire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, your household income is 800,000 and you can't retire at 60? How much are you currently saving? I can't think of a reason that earnings of that high can plan to retire whenever they want.

^^This.

But maybe they were spending it all? It happens.

[Anonymous]

I think you should plan to keep working and when your spouse realizes he needs to do meals, house upkeep, etc., you can say "do you want me to keep earning those paychecks?" Seriously though, if you want to have a more equal home labor distribution during retirement, it's going to take a little while for him to reset.

[Anonymous]

OP, what is your current NW and what do you think you will spend in retirement? Just use 4% of projected NW as an estimate for your income in retirement (don't forget to include taxes & health insurance). If you are already at your target net worth then quit, if not, then reduce your retirement spending or work longer.

[Anonymous]

Non-working spouse (soon to be him) is responsible for the housework.

This is your chance to shift the housework and cooking to him. Keep working a few years until he learns he learns how to adequately cook/clean/organize the home.

Won't it be nice to come home from work to a clean house and dinner ready? You may begin to feel less stress overall if he takes on these responsibilities.

So don't yet decide when you will retire. See how this new dynamic works first

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, your household income is 800,000 and you can't retire at 60? How much are you currently saving? I can't think of a reason that earnings of that high can plan to retire whenever they want.

^^This.

But maybe they were spending it all? It happens.

Yep. Our law partner friend makes over $1M and “doesn’t know where it all goes.” I think he actually means it! We make $400k and have 3x the amount of assets he does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The real question, and the only one that matters, is how much you have saved. That determines whether or not you can retire.

This!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, your household income is 800,000 and you can't retire at 60? How much are you currently saving? I can't think of a reason that earnings of that high can plan to retire whenever they want.

^^This.

But maybe they were spending it all? It happens.

Yep. Our law partner friend makes over $1M and “doesn’t know where it all goes.” I think he actually means it! We make $400k and have 3x the amount of assets he does.

I think he really means it. People reach a certain salary and just assume certain big expenses are part of the lifestyle. They truly spend lots of money without even thinking about it first.