The first set of steps is maybe just three. The second set, about four, level for a couple feet, than four more. It’s minimal. Careful what you wish for, you might get calls and texts all the time!
Wow, @busdriver11–that must make your mom pretty stressed! Glad the railings are there and hopefully sturdy and strong, but can’t imaging 1hour to go down and five minutes to go up!
HImom, I can only image her screaming. And is this how he intends to use the railing forever? He says he had warned her that they will encounter the same sort of difficulties as going on a difficult hike. I forgot to ask him in they were ready for mountain lions and black bears, too (in urban Seattle). You never know, gotta be prepared!
This has made me reconsider if I want to work so much right now. These are our peak earning years, we received a pay raise and can get a lot of work at 150% pay right now, which is unusual. It’s a great time to work. But what’s the point if at some point you could lose your mobility or your marbles? Why work so much when you are sane and fit, when soon it could change?
It seems so much more dangerous to me the way he’s using the railing. One poorly tied knot and things could get very bad quickly! Yikes!
It definitely is a trade off on working a lot and socking away as much as possible during “peak earning years” and “smelling the roses” and doing fun things while you and spouse can enjoy it.
We all make the best trade offs we can. H opted to work until he was going to get a 7% pay but every year for 3 consecutive years AND take a cut in pension. Along the way, we traveled with the kids and did our best with work/hone life balance.
I’m very grateful we did a lot of family trips because no guarantees how much longer I will be able to fly and H doesn’t enjoy travel as much now as he did when we were younger.
It is hard to watch loved ones deteriorate and make questionable and worse choices and the effects that has on everyone. It really does make us re-evaluate our choices as well.
Much more dangerous. I’ve been texting that to him, and now he claims he was just testing the stability of the railing and won’t use ropes anymore. We’ll see.
I’m not sure how you make the determination of how much to work, when to retire, if you still like your job. Sometimes it seems so obvious for people, but it’s not to me.
I’m glad you got to travel so much when you could do it easily. You just can’t know the future.
Yes, I’m glad we traveled when we did as well, since traveling when you have chronic health issues is considerably more “iffy” and requires more planning and coordination with docs and is a lot less spontaneous.
H loved his job, but after 45 years and having increasing personnel cuts and budget cuts, he was ready to give it up. It worked nicely for us. He is enjoying retirement and we are able to spend a lot of time together.
That’s great! Good to hear about people enjoying their retirement.
I keep checking back on this thread to see if someone says $2.2 million or $2.9 million. Then I can breathe a sigh of relief and move on, or panic.
@MaterS, it really varies so much, depending on how much one is currently spending and expects to spend in retirement, as well as projected income from all sources in retirement. There is no simple answer, IMHO.
Yes, it’s fun–we go out to eat, or cook for ourselves, as we prefer. I run my nonprofit and participate in supporting legislation I believe are important. We spend time with friends and loved ones as schedules permit as well. H is enjoying doing long-deferred home maintenance. He honestly seems to be enjoying it and finding it very engrossing.
My father and my father-in-law both retired around normal retirement age. Both had good pensions. My father-in-law had a blue-collar, physically strenuous job and would have found it difficult to keep working; my father was a professor and probably could have kept working but didn’t want to. My mom didn’t start working outside the house until after my younger brother graduated from high school. She is still employed part time, at age 87.
“@MaterS, it really varies so much, depending on how much one is currently spending and expects to spend in retirement, as well as projected income from all sources in retirement. There is no simple answer, IMHO.”
That’s for sure! If you have no debt, paid off mortgage, low cost of living and secure pension, you certainly need a lot less saved than most.
One thing you have going for you, @busdriver11, is limited office politics. I enjoyed many aspects of my job but the office politics and boy’s club atmosphere grew very, very old.
Well, I’m also in a bit of a boy’s club, but since I’m the boss of my two person “office”, if they don’t like it, they can stick it! Wouldn’t like ugly office politics, ugh.
" secure pension" - not much of that these days …sigh. But really glad my dad has one.
@busdriver11 I would venture that as soon as you see signs that you should slow down or exit work, you would do it. Once one has ‘enough’ money set aside and has plans for one’s time.
It is a balancing act between live/spend now and be able to do so later. Always have the risk of not waking up tomorrow.
Sis and I are visiting relatives this summer - she is coming for 2 wks and I am going for 4 weeks. Have some things to do before the trip, and when I return, I will have an idea about being more serious about returning to work and widening my job search.
Always juggling ‘priorities’. Right now it is making up the chocolate chip cookies so DD can take them back to college with her, and putting together Easter dinner.
Sadly grandma signed the birthday card to DD as from aunt and uncle instead of grandma and grandpa. She knows she is mentally slipping, but what can one do?
Yes, being asked the same question multiple times in a few minutes and hours is very sad and happening increasingly with the seniors around me. It does make me sad and when they realize it, it bothers them too.
When one has enough or more than enough, cutting back hours and spending more time doing whatever brings you pleasure should become an increasing priority, IMHO. None of us are promised tomorrow and all our mental and physical abilities.
Have known a lot of lovely people who have died recently, it’s always tough on the survivors, especially if a lot of fun things were put off.
There is an article in the business section of Washinton Post today, that suggests we should hire a money managers, if we have six figure incomes and 250K or more in investments.
@1214mom, don’t believe everything you read, especially in ad-supported papers.
@IxnayBob, I know many people here are very against money managers. I think that’s kind of odd criteria for when to hire one, but to each his own.