dreamer100
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| Want to retire young |
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I am 44 with over $400K combined in savings and retirement accounts. I also have a mortgage paid off with low taxes. Including the value of my home, the total would be over $500K. My real estate taxes are low. I have no kids.
At what age can I consider not so much retirement but maybe working in something with less income but giving me much more control over my life.
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Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:35 am |
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Fern123
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First off, you're doing very well for your age and current level of assets/investments.
However, by retiring at age 44 you're taking a calculated risk. There are a variety of unknowns. How do you know you won't have some sort of costly medical issue that would not only incur signficiant expenses but also possibly prevent you from returning to work later if you found you needed to? I don't mean to be a doomsday prophet, but these things do happen. What if the stock market crashed and burned. Would the value of that $400,000 portfolio plummet? I just think it's a whole lot easier to work now, while you're young, than face the possiblity of trying to earn more money down the road when you're older if you find you've come up short.
I dont' think $400K is a really huge sum of money, especially if you're looking at quite possibly 40 years in retirement. Have you considered future escalating health care expenses, long-term healthcare needs, inflation, etc.
For the record, my financial situation looks much like yours, escept that I'm 48, single/no kids, have about $410K in investments, a $400K house and $78K mortgage and no other debt.
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Thu Jun 28, 2007 7:50 pm |
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Fern123
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I reread your post and realized now you're not talking full retirement, just slowing things down a bit.
What kind of work do you now and what income level are you accustomed to? Do you know what your typical monthly expenses are? Those would be some of the first questions i would ask myself.
I downsized my job/income and lifestyle about 3 years ago and i have no regrets! Quality of life has always been more important to me than career, and i traded in high pressure demanding jobs for one i can actually walk to, has strictly 9 to 5 hours and is low stress. It came with a $25,000 paycut, whcih was tough to swallow, but i lead a pretty simple lifestyle and dont' lead a consumerist lifeestyle and don't need to that to be happy.
I think you need to examine your values and determine what's important to you, what's not, then crunch some numbers and see what minimum salary you can live on comfortably. That's what i did.
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Thu Jun 28, 2007 7:54 pm |
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Case-Face
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| retirement at 44 |
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I think if you have those kinds of assets, live a slightly modest lifestyle and are in good health, there is no reason why you shouldn't just slim down your income by a little bit if it means less stress at your current job or doing something that you find more interesting. If I had the option, I would definitely find a gig that was less stressful for me and use my time to do what I want to do, but still earn extra cash on the side for those rainy days. B/c who knows what could happen, whether it be good or negative? And I agree that seeking a financial advisor to figure out how to go about this will help you in the long run.
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Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:09 pm |
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LandCapitol4retirement
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| Why slim down income? |
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I can't imagine a reason to consider trimming back on income, why are you?
For me it’s a no-brainer to simply invest a chunk of change that earns a safe and predictable amount of monthly or yearly income that Uncle Sam won’t confiscate too much of at tax-time.
Did you know that you could invest money into large real estate developments by buying shares in the project and becoming a co-owner of the land? This kind of investing permits you all the advantages of property ownership. Moreover, because raw land always grows in value over time, some developers are wise enough to front-load a project with investor returns so that they can guarantee specific earnings to their investors over a short amount of time which in turn attracts plenty of investors so developers can function and grow.
This kind of investment partnership creates a win-win for developer and investor alike. Developers can easily raise funds to purchase raw land to begin the process of getting resources (water, utilities) and parcel maps approved, (which takes from a year to perhaps four years), which raises the value of the land remarkably quickly thereby creating a rich financial resource for investors.
In your situation an investment of this kind can assure you a predictable income for up to four years. At the end of the entitlement phase of developing raw land you can roll your investment into another real estate project deferring taxes until you finally retire (I’m not a tax expert, please run this by an expert before deciding to build a retirement plan via real estate developments).
I’m a Registered Nurse by profession but my husband is a real estate broker and land developer. We have made remarkable wealth doing what I just described here over the last four years. I believe in this so much that I quite my position as a clinical manager and have begun working for my husband’s firm. I don’t need to work at all, but at age 47 I’d go out of my mind if I weren’t busy doing something and I find this very rewarding. Right now, if we didn’t do another thing we have enough monthly income to retire well. But since we want a lifestyle that includes enough income to maintain a 75 Sunseeker yacht we will continue doing this for another three or four years.
Again, why would you want to cut back on income?
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Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:18 pm |
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BlankenshipFP
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| Re: Why slim down income? |
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quote:
Originally posted by LandCapitol4retirement
Moreover, because raw land always grows in value over time, some developers are wise enough to front-load a project with investor returns so that they can guarantee specific earnings to their investors over a short amount of time which in turn attracts plenty of investors so developers can function and grow.
Cole,
Please explain what you mean by "front-loading" a project.
Also - who (or what) is the guarantee (other than your assertion that raw land "always" grows in value over time)?
Thanks...
Jim Blankenship, CFP�, EA
Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.
www.BlankenshipFinancial.com
Standard IRS Circular 230 Notice Applies
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Wed Aug 15, 2007 1:36 pm |
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BlankenshipFP
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Okay, I waited two weeks for a response - now I'm left to guess as to the answers to my questions...
Please explain what you mean by "front-loading" a project.
Hmmm... maybe this means that we oversubscribe, taking in more investments than we need to fund the work/purchases, and we use the excess from later investors to pay our earlier investors a dividend...? Not sure if this is correct, but that's what "front-loading" sounds like to me. And if that is true, then this whole concept seems very ponzi-like. Lacking a response from the purveyor of the scheme, I guess we'll never know for sure.
Who (or what) is the guarantee (other than your assertion that raw land "always" grows in value over time)?
Let's dismiss the first myth - raw land does not always grow in value over time. I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of folks who have been caught in this myth with the real estate bubble over the past year or so...
Beyond that myth, I'm pretty sure that the only risk-free investments are government-backed securities, and I'm pretty sure as well that the scheme in question (above) is not a government-backed project. So, the answer is - there is no guarantee, other than the word of the folks who are running the scheme.
Sorry for the lack of specifics, but since the person who posted these preposterous comments wouldn't respond, I felt the need to comment.
Jim Blankenship, CFP�, EA
Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd.
www.BlankenshipFinancial.com
Standard IRS Circular 230 Notice Applies
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Wed Aug 29, 2007 1:25 pm |
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Fern1
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I agree blankenship, the previous poster's claims were preposterous and really a disservice to us all.
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Wed Aug 29, 2007 2:44 pm |
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republican
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I just started reading this forum today and I came across the above post where the lady says that raw land always increases in value. 4 years later now... I bet she is broke.
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Sun Jul 31, 2011 6:42 pm |
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jfurnish
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he is probably right. I went to her website and this is what I got:
Blue Summits is temporarily offline.
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Sun Jul 31, 2011 10:17 pm |
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patmil
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Resurrecting old posts in a Retirement Planning forum, although contrary to the rules, turns out to be a great wake up call.
Financial retirement planning is not about the "flavor of the day investment idea" but about managing long term risk. It reinforces how much things can change over a relatively short period.
Hopefully looking back makes people realize this. One thing is for sure the future will look very different from today.
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Sun Aug 14, 2011 11:56 am |
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Jharna
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I want retire young so im planning invest in mutual fund.
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Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:08 am |
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Money Saving Warehouse
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quote:
Originally posted by Jharna
I want retire young so im planning invest in mutual fund.
Consulting a financial advisor to talk through the pension plans and assets you have may be the best move.
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Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:01 am |
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globaldoc2001
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I think you can still make good use of your money that you have saved through the years. At 44, you are still so young. You can probably save your money in a bank to earn interest, while you are doping something else by the side.
Business Tax Filing
Debt Consolidation Companies
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Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:42 pm |
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FiNQ
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quote:
Originally posted by coaster
That's a question that can't be anwered without a lot more information. I suggest you contact a financial services professional to analyze your situation, your goals, and come up with a roadmap to achieve them. Look for a fee-based financial planner, preferably someone with a financial services designation like CFP, CFA, ChFC.
Financial services will have all your answers, us forum geezers won't have the best advice. Some of us might, but your best bet is a financial advisor.
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Fri Mar 16, 2012 3:02 pm |
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