Saw this article and thought some of you might be interested. Perhaps you are already using some version of the Excel spreadsheet this guy came up with or some other software. Thoughts?
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Nothing new here. Many weaknesses.
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He’s not accounting for inflation. The Fed target is 2% or so. Even that low rate will eat you alive in 30 years.
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His health care costs are ridiculously low due to his age. As he ages, he’s going to be in for a big shock. Way beyond inflation.
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Houses and cars have a way of costing considerably more. A mortgage isn’t enough. Anyone had a new roof put on lately? Had your car in for a 90,000 mile service at the dealership?
My little convertible needs a new top. I can buy a highly rated one for about $600 online. I will not have time in the near future, to do this myself. The shop that will supply and nstall it wants almost $2,000 for the whole job.
Yikes!
Oooh, I love cars… whatcha got?
Honda/Acura for my cars. The Toyota/Lexus alternative… Cars sucks money big time - so only if you need it or love it. SF garage space is super limited and expensive and if you love cars - need a garage or two or three…
And if you are a car nut - keeping a car just for that “fun” drive few times a year is total financial no-no!!!
He’s accounting for inflation. He has a relatively conservative withdrawal rate (below 4% that the Trinity study found to be good for inflation-adjusted expenditures) and uses inflation-adjusted returns in his calculations.
I’m FI now, but still working to get a little more butter on my bread.
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Nissan 350Z
Ah yes. Out of college, I used to drive a vintage 1972 Datsun 240Z. Should have kept it…
Sure but, if everything we did was a financial yes-yes life would be boring. Besides, why save all that money if you aren’t going to enjoy the results? Leaving it to kids is insane IMHO.
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That’s why I’ve seen so many convertibles for sale with duct tape. They are too cheap to get a new top. And the ads say “you can buy one for $300 on eBay.”
Everyone gets to choose their spending priorities. I loved my Miata convertible and after the second kid I gave it up and got a mom mobile. Some people like expensive scotch and like to eat at expensive places and that can add up fast especially if you have lots of moochers.
Everyone gets to enjoy their retirement the way they want.
BTW hubby has decided he’s not going to retire because he doesn’t know what he will do. A college student relative is visiting and in under five minutes we named about 20 things he could do that he enjoys and some of them are money makers. We scared him. He went to the grocery store for chocolate and ice cream which he thinks will make us females quiet. It did for about five minutes. Hubby used to take my mom to the senior center on Saturday for lunch and fun. She volunteered and he played cards. He had a great time. Now the senior center is the scourge of the earth.
Just a thought. How many people “retire” by starting a new business?
May I know Why?
I am choosing a business career after this current job is over (i.e. semi-retirement). Now, I am running parallel job last two years.
BTW: I do not believe in those sites giving FI at age 30s…etc. I knew many reached FI stage, before 30, by joining in early stages of startups, but not that kind of web sites.
Why do people want to retire? If you list out the reasons: the long commute, the office politics, doing things you don’t love etc, these things can be solved by starting your own business. You choose where to start it. You control your hours. You can do things you mostly enjoy. Given all that I won’t want to retire. What do you do all day? Bugging your spouse?
The key is not to retire into a business that will not bankrupt you…Don’t do into one that takes all your capital or will bankrupt you, like the resturant business. My saling buddy sold his Laguna Beach house to start a business at 70…The business went under and now he is a renter in Carson city…a definite no-no…Now at 75 he is starting over…
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Perfectly said, especially at later age.
This is a big question for everyone. It is a stage everyone comes to an end, need to plan properly. I read almost six books, from amazon, about this topic, finally good ones are
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/141330835X
This is only financial aspect.
Yes, I agree on this “These things can be solved by starting your own business” to some exceptions.
- Like elt1 said business involves with capital intensive may be risky.
- If health reasons people may not start a business as it involves lot of work.
These reasons, bold highlighted, have short comings. There are plenty of such discussions here
Not so fast manch. Only on an alternate planet.
I had my own business after only four or five years out of college working for a small start up in its day.
I hardly had control of my hours. My clients controlled that. All 300 or so of them.
I didn’t enjoy many of my clients. They were PIAs who were unhappy no matter what I did for them. And, I did plenty. But, they hated taxes and wanted me to make them disappear. Note to self: Stop prostituting yourself and weed out the problematic clients while retaining the ones you get along well with and who aren’t PIAs… Only, I never got there.
It was the hardest two years of my work life. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. But I really never want to go back there either. Maybe I’m just old and cranky and don’t like people. 
I have never understood the “I can’t retire, I don’t know what I’d do with myself”. I can think of thousands of hours worth of things I’d like to do that I’ve never been able to do because I WAS WORKING TOO MUCH!
Frankly, I’ve heard this a thousand times from older male friends. And, I’ve considered their points carefully. But what I’ve come to understand is that in many ways, these were sad people. They defined themselves by their work and titles and had no other sense of worth.
Too bad. They really should have gotten a life! They missed out on great opportunities. No one was going to care how long and hard they worked when they were gone. A sad waste indeed.
My father was a great man. I well remember many things he said that later proved to be true. One of them was:
“Everyone should own a convertible once in their life” 
I have owed a convertible, a pool and lots of boats and cars…Got tired of all of them…Have tried retirement several times…Doesn’t work for me…As long as you are your own boss work can be satisfying. …Doing something you enjoy, that you are good at and makes money is more satisfying than golf, sports or hobbies…My business partner in Tahoe is an eviction attorney…77 years old…Still works everyday…loves the fight…Is even running for city council, a job he had years ago…Still enjoys life and spends a month in Europe every year. …a lot of guys just like to be in the game…being retired and just watching the world go by doesn’t work for him…Same for my dad…Forced to retire at 71, he kept going to the office with no pay…Fortunately the University of California let him keep his office and let him keep working…
Besides a lot of guys retire and just fall apart…My old girlfriends dad retired young in the 70’s…Pratt and Whitney forced him out…had $300k and no mortgage…all set…But he got bored quickly, was a high powered engineer with plenty of life in him…Started playing poker with his neighbor buudies and drinking every day…Had a heart attack and fell apart…Brain damage due to lack of oxygen in the ER…You have got to have a reason to get up in the morning. …Everyone needs something to get their motor running
I’ve never seen retirement as watching the world go by. I find there is more to life than working all the time.
I work to live. I don’t live to work.
Maybe if I’d ever found a job that pleased me more than caused me grief, I’d think differently. My dentist tells me I’ve ground my molars down. I can’t even begin to explain the stress that comes from working in an environment that goes against your sense of ethics.
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