craigb
Ah, yes!  A 401K.  I remember having one of those!  I got rid of mine once it had dwindled down below 1K... 

Haha....that must be the '-001K' program.
 
Carry on...

Beagle
I've got a 401k and a retirement package where I work, but I've only been working under those benefits for 15 years

I started my 401K in 1995.
It dwindled to about 1/2 the amount during the financial market BS after 9/11 but slowly crept back up to a more appealing level by 2010.....that's 15 years for me too.
But....I had the max amount deposited which I believe was 15%.
My wife (due to my non-negotiating with her about the amount) has also been at 15% for the last 13 years.
Two of the best decisions I've made I might add.
The only bad thing is I'll probably croak and be a canister of ashes long before her. <sad face here>
 
Best to all aspiring retirees....
(I'd guess that Beagle in your avatar sounds pretty good through that old P50/P55 dynamic)
 
 

UbiquitousBubba
(Note to self: Consider hiring legal representation when using Craigb as a financial adviser.)

 
 

I would settle for being 55... I still own my business though I rarely work anymore. I am afraid to actually sell my business because the government seems intent on ruining the economy and I have a very affluent customer base... so that, if I did have to start going out an working, I would have customers.. but I DO NOT want to do that.
Being 55 would be REALLY cool though.
 
I am convinced that in a decade, more or less... retirement will be something that people once did. People who are now 50 and under will work until they die or until their "boat comes in", though there are not many boats and most are like the "golden winged ship passing your way"... they just keep on going.
 
My parents had a great retirement and they were not rich. My dad had a small business with just him and one helper. A service business. Mom was a housewife. They had a housekeeper (a maid). They were able to save about 10% a month. Dad sold his business when IIRC he was 63. They had a small RV, a Mobilux. They, literally for years, over 15 years... left GA after Christmas and travelled all over the west and came back home before Thanksgiving.
They would head out for the Brownsville, TX area then as spring warmed, they would move up into New Mexico and then on up. They drove it up to Alaska one summer. Dad had heart trouble. They were in Alaska and he got the feeling in his jaw and arm, went to the hospital got an angioplasty, then three days later they were back on the road. Mom turned 97 in February, he will be 96 in August. They have spent all the money inherited from their grandparents, parents, savings, and have around 80k left. They now have to have 24hr care but they are still living at home. That generation lived in a magical time, just after WW II, small town, community business, things were pretty easy. Things didn't cost very much and their were not many regulations, people were much more free to do smart things or stupid things. Leftover steel from the war effort went into the auto industry, homes were relatively cheap. When they paid off their mortgage in the 80s their payment was still 34 dollars a month. 
Yeah... those days are over. It was a phase, a period... and era. Things are different today and are still changing in a way that will not allow the middle class to have a decent retirement. I think things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. The medical treatments that enabled my parents to still be alive at this age are not going to be available to us. A lot of money will not buy what a little money used to buy AND... (it is a bid and) the young people are going to come to resent having to work to support "boomers" as we age. Unless something unforeseen happens, all the extra money has been spent. All the cream has been skimmed off all future milk.
I wish you well in retirement but I really think that for most people retirement will involve generating some income.
I just hope eugenics is not making a comeback... but I do see hints of it.
 
AH Well... nevermind, I was just kidding. All we be well. Just retire at 55 and it will just work out, right?
 
J

Jbow, your parents´story really makes me envy, in a positive way.
I can't help feeling a little bitter. The main motivation to pay our high taxes has always been getting good education, medical care and senior care for a very moderate cost, and now (mainly) the  globalisation is wiping all that away. Knowing that we most likely have to sell our house when we retire is not motivating.

yep.  it's always sumpin.

mmorgan
I'm coming up on 64, I've told my company that we should plan on this being my last year however I'm in the middle of leading a large project and don't like the idea of leaving in the middle of it. I'm currently on a 32 hour week by choice and may stay another year if I can cut back to 24 hours a week. I love what I do but I've been at the same company for over 20 years and I'm, uh, familiar with it. You know what they say about familiarity?
 
I used to think retiring would be easy but the closer I get to the actual reality of it I find I'm more reticent to actually pull the plug. On the other hand, if I have a bad day I sometimes think I could walk away right then and there. Take this job and ... 
 
Regards,

retiring at this point would be extremely easy for me.  I am not happy with office politics at this point and I am ready for a new challenge.
I don't care for stagnation.  once I have conquered something I think it's time to move on to something I'm not as familiar with.

I'm starting completely over so does that mean I'll be retiring when I'm 85 now? 

there are SO many VST developers and SO many VST's already available.
 
it would be difficult to justify doing it unless there was a niche market you know about or have a desire for your own work that you could even begin to get anything out of the market.

Beagle
there are SO many VST developers and SO many VST's already available.
 
it would be difficult to justify doing it unless there was a niche market you know about or have a desire for your own work that you could even begin to get anything out of the market.

All you have to do is make one a day. Price them at eh.. 100 bucks each, and let Bapu know about them! Problem solved!

mmorgan

Beagle
there are SO many VST developers and SO many VST's already available.
 
it would be difficult to justify doing it unless there was a niche market you know about or have a desire for your own work that you could even begin to get anything out of the market.

If I did it I'd like to approach it from a different perspective, perhaps a VST librarian where all VSTs in a project would be listed along with the tracks they were on and then be able to control them from that single place with smart controls. Dunno.
 
What I'd really like it to have enough musical talent where I could really enjoy my musical output and forget writing software altogether ;-)
 
Regards,

so retire and practice more!  that's what I'd LOVE to be able to do!

Kev999

Beagle
...I'm upset with work.  I'm tired of the politics...it's wearisome.

The politics is the certainly the worst part of any job.  It probably accounts for at least 90% of the all stress you get at work.

And the other 60% is bad math, ya? 

Beagle
...and I've heard you have to actually buy tickets before you can win...
 [shrugs]

 
You have to buy tickets to win?
 
Doh!!!
 
And after all this time - no wonder I've never won!
.................................................................................
After decades of construction as an Electrician, including sporadic bouts of unemployment, I've had my own business since 2008, in which I take care of light maintenance for a chain of 17 women's clothing stores.
 
So now I only work 1-2 days a week, and spend most the rest of my time at my music & DAW - at least my morning coffee hours & then some - many times, all day long, along with taking care of my Mrs. as well.
 
Thanks to her wonderful generosity, I'm now able to consider myself semi-retired at 52, and have been able to do so for 3 of the last 4.5 years we've been together. 
 
She doesn't want me to burn out what's left of my body, which has really taken a hit or 2 recently from all the years of construction.
 
She'd prefer I work on my tunes anyway, and just avoid what she calls 'dealing with all the b*i*t*c*h*e*s' in the stores that I maintain.  
 
Otherwise, I'd be working steady with no end in sight - until I literally drop dead!
 
Edited: For a typo.

a bit ironic considering your avatar, isn't it????  
 
I know, right?
 
I was thinking the same thing after I posted it! Hahaha!
 
Technically, the decision on that particular Avatar was actually put there not solely as a statement of 'protest and/or warning', but for the sake of 'all the brethren' who may find themselves in need 'to take solace & comfort in', should that time of 'marital bliss' ever come creeping along  and for most men, the game of marital 'win-lose or draw' does seem to come calling at least once in our lives at some point or another. 
 
Also, it was actually my Mrs. that pointed out that pic to me.
She thought I'd like it.
It was the cover of a paper back she was reading - go figure  
 
I instantly thought, "I have to post that as my Avatar"