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Post by Pixie on Dec 13, 2016 22:55:21 GMT -5
stevil , old buddy, how about we get a poker game together? I could use the money to pay to fly and see the kids! Can I get in on that action? I'd really love to learn how to play!  Yes, you can get in on that action. He will teach you how to play, but it will cost you-maybe more than you want to pay. Jagvet is an old rat around the poker table! Pixie |
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Post by ba on Dec 13, 2016 22:58:36 GMT -5
Can I get in on that action? I'd really love to learn how to play! Yes, you can get in on that action. He will teach you how to play, but it will cost you-maybe more than you want to pay. Jagvet is an old rat around the poker table! Pixie Psst Pix...I know how to play. I just don't want them to know that... |
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Post by acttwo on Dec 14, 2016 0:07:20 GMT -5
Well, a different perspective: never could have kids and managed never to be in a pension plan (for many reasons). Besides, my grandfather lived to 104, so why retire if I can find something interesting? I will admit recent temperatures are making me hope for a NOR that would let me dream of warmer climes, but otherwise, I will stand back and tell you all retire and keep fingers crossed to get your spot. Lol!! Stay warm everyone!
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Post by bayou on Dec 14, 2016 8:33:59 GMT -5
I am a Fed and plan to be out in a few years at 56 and 4 months MRA! Maxed out in tsp every year and have a really nice balance. House paid for, last kid in senior year at state university, two out on their own no loans for any of them (one graduated 2006 and the other in 2011) I drive a 2001 Vehicle with 200k miles no CC debt or auto loan. Have taken two vacations a year for 20 yrs and seen a good chunk of world. No student loans for me either I will live to work as volunteer English teacher in central and South America where I have been to with church missions (Honduras and Ecuador). I also Plan on a year in Portugal to learn language by going to school there. Also looking at peace corps opportunities where they accept couples and teach English as a foreign language. Key to retiring from Feds is to have a plan early on and live below means. I do not want to work to live. Will take a couple of months of leisure here and there but everything is at my pace not the Feds direction. I've heard that Portuguese is a difficult language to learn. Then again, I'm still working on English.
You are right about the plan part being the key. I worked 30-40 hour jobs during undergrad/law school and managed to get out with only $6k in student loans. After law school, I opened a Roth IRA and have maxed it every year. Did the same for my wife when we got married. Since coming to the Feds, I've also maxed my TSP. I live in a modest home and drive all my vehicles for at least 10 years. We take 1 big vacation a year and several small trips during the year. My goal from the beginning was to not just retire but have some money to do things and so far *knock on wood*, we are on track for that. Of course, I still have a kid to put through college and the Wall Street shell game could collapse in the 20 years I have left.
I have a colleague that I discuss this with. He has pretty much taken the opposite approach; living for the moment. He isn't wasteful per se but chooses to spend his money now on things for his family rather than saving for his retirement. His point of view is that his life is richer for many years when he is young enough to enjoy it and that the time with his kids in the house can't be replicated when he hits retirement age.
I can't see living that approach and he can't see living my approach, so it really is a personality thing I guess.
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Post by weisstho on Dec 14, 2016 11:15:39 GMT -5
Yes, you can get in on that action. He will teach you how to play, but it will cost you-maybe more than you want to pay. Jagvet is an old rat around the poker table! Pixie Psst Pix...I know how to play. I just don't want them to know that... any idea how much time a submariner spent playing poker? Six on, Twelve off - Dolphins on my poopy-suit. Cribbage at a dollar-a-point or a little poker. I think I remember.... Maybe a friendly little game, JAGVet? |
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Post by rp on Dec 14, 2016 11:29:30 GMT -5
I am a Fed and plan to be out in a few years at 56 and 4 months MRA! Maxed out in tsp every year and have a really nice balance. House paid for, last kid in senior year at state university, two out on their own no loans for any of them (one graduated 2006 and the other in 2011) I drive a 2001 Vehicle with 200k miles no CC debt or auto loan. Have taken two vacations a year for 20 yrs and seen a good chunk of world. No student loans for me either I will live to work as volunteer English teacher in central and South America where I have been to with church missions (Honduras and Ecuador). I also Plan on a year in Portugal to learn language by going to school there. Also looking at peace corps opportunities where they accept couples and teach English as a foreign language. Key to retiring from Feds is to have a plan early on and live below means. I do not want to work to live. Will take a couple of months of leisure here and there but everything is at my pace not the Feds direction. Amen. |
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Post by rp on Dec 14, 2016 11:38:51 GMT -5
I am a Fed and plan to be out in a few years at 56 and 4 months MRA! Maxed out in tsp every year and have a really nice balance. House paid for, last kid in senior year at state university, two out on their own no loans for any of them (one graduated 2006 and the other in 2011) I drive a 2001 Vehicle with 200k miles no CC debt or auto loan. Have taken two vacations a year for 20 yrs and seen a good chunk of world. No student loans for me either I will live to work as volunteer English teacher in central and South America where I have been to with church missions (Honduras and Ecuador). I also Plan on a year in Portugal to learn language by going to school there. Also looking at peace corps opportunities where they accept couples and teach English as a foreign language. Key to retiring from Feds is to have a plan early on and live below means. I do not want to work to live. Will take a couple of months of leisure here and there but everything is at my pace not the Feds direction. I've heard that Portuguese is a difficult language to learn. Then again, I'm still working on English.
You are right about the plan part being the key. I worked 30-40 hour jobs during undergrad/law school and managed to get out with only $6k in student loans. After law school, I opened a Roth IRA and have maxed it every year. Did the same for my wife when we got married. Since coming to the Feds, I've also maxed my TSP. I live in a modest home and drive all my vehicles for at least 10 years. We take 1 big vacation a year and several small trips during the year. My goal from the beginning was to not just retire but have some money to do things and so far *knock on wood*, we are on track for that. Of course, I still have a kid to put through college and the Wall Street shell game could collapse in the 20 years I have left.
I have a colleague that I discuss this with. He has pretty much taken the opposite approach; living for the moment. He isn't wasteful per se but chooses to spend his money now on things for his family rather than saving for his retirement. His point of view is that his life is richer for many years when he is young enough to enjoy it and that the time with his kids in the house can't be replicated when he hits retirement age.
I can't see living that approach and he can't see living my approach, so it really is a personality thing I guess.
While it may be a personality thing - the results are quite objective. Your approach is also the one I have taken. I would add - we figured out that we could buy a place at the beach in 2008 when the market was down. Now we have two modest houses - one at the beach (not ON the beach - but close enough to hear the surf!) and that is our my plan. The maxed out TSP can now be increased with catch-up contributions too (because I am getting old) and that makes it a better than even chance I will have enough cash flow to live at 62. If I am fortunate enough to get an ALJ position It will be even better and I would consider working later than 62. But you have to plan for the reality - not for the 33% chance IF I make a certificate. |
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Post by snozzle on Dec 14, 2016 11:46:29 GMT -5
 I am very glad for you, Saturn4147. You did it right (at least in my opinion). Not to one-up you, but I did almost exactly what you did but with a much lower income (state job; not federal). I retired at 55 with 2 children in college who will have no debt (that is, if they follow my advice). The key, as you state, is to live below you means. If you do that, it really is not that hard to accumulate wealth given 20 or 30 years. I highly recommend it!!
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Post by montyburns on Dec 14, 2016 15:44:20 GMT -5
I am very glad for you, Saturn4147. You did it right (at least in my opinion). Not to one-up you, but I did almost exactly what you did but with a much lower income (state job; not federal). I retired at 55 with 2 children in college who will have no debt (that is, if they follow my advice). The key, as you state, is to live below you means. If you do that, it really is not that hard to accumulate wealth given 20 or 30 years. I highly recommend it!! Well done. In addition to planning you need methodical execution and a bit of luck. Getting through school/getting job/keeping job/don't get seriously ill/don't have a sick kid/avoid catastrophic injury all involves commitment and some luck. Sounds easy but these things happen all the time. Retirement is a non-reality for me after the crash in 08 and then having a child with special needs. Had to restart a few years ago. Now the numbers don't work until I'm well in my late 70s. I still try to max the IRA but it's all just inheritance for the kids/spouse. For me, the only period of non-work activity left in life will be that period between the time I get too infirm/mentally declined to work and the time when I die. Normally this would be the time that all your life savings get drained by the nursing home. However the good (if grim) news is that FEGLI pays even if you off yourself, so I should be able to avoid the nursing home, keep my savings and have my life insurance pay off when I get too old to work, but am too infirm to live meaningfully. People tell me this is an awful plan, but they don't have any realistic alternatives. Honestly I'm pretty proud that I will have something to leave my family after starting with nothing. Retirement is overrated anyway - or at least that's what all the 65 year old + ALJs who put off retirement every year tell me. |
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Post by jagvet on Dec 14, 2016 15:45:50 GMT -5
Psst Pix...I know how to play. I just don't want them to know that... any idea how much time a submariner spent playing poker? Six on, Twelve off - Dolphins on my poopy-suit. Cribbage at a dollar-a-point or a little poker. I think I remember.... Maybe a friendly little game, JAGVet? You all are trying to outshark the shark. Truth is, I haven't played a lot since high school, when I used to play well. So, I guess I'll just challenge everyone to Parchesi. |
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Post by jagvet on Dec 14, 2016 15:50:01 GMT -5
BTW, retirement is mostly hit-or-miss. When I was young, I couldn't save much, with kids, mortgages, etc. Middle age helped, but then those kids have college and weddings. TSP, FERS (eventually) and Army reserve pension, plus Social Security--I'm hoping they will do it for me, but who knows? For now, it's keep working.
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Post by bartleby on Dec 14, 2016 15:50:33 GMT -5
montyburns, how did the crash in 2008 wipe you out? The only way anyone got hurt was if they had to cash out or elected to? I rode through it and am in better shape than ever?
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Post by montyburns on Dec 14, 2016 15:58:55 GMT -5
montyburns, how did the crash in 2008 wipe you out? The only way anyone got hurt was if they had to cash out or elected to? I rode through it and am in better shape than ever? Was not a fed then, I worked in a small firm. business went in the tank and I had to take retirement out to cover a multitude of expenses, including eventually moving across the country to get a fed job, then pay for the kid shortly thereafter. |
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Post by foghorn on Dec 16, 2016 19:10:13 GMT -5
montyburns, how did the crash in 2008 wipe you out? The only way anyone got hurt was if they had to cash out or elected to? I rode through it and am in better shape than ever? Was not a fed then, I worked in a small firm. business went in the tank and I had to take retirement out to cover a multitude of expenses, including eventually moving across the country to get a fed job, then pay for the kid shortly thereafter.
Yes, over time with that nice steady federal paycheck, low though you may feel it to be, you can let the funds regroup and in 8 years or so get back to where they are. Throw in kids going to college anywhere in there, and easy to see how the crash could trash.
I did love to see the bank types whining about the cap on salaries--the poor dears don't know how to get by on $400,000.
Thinking of it makes me hope that it does get to torches and pitchforks; but by then those folk will be offshore in their yachts, talking in sour tones about the rabble.
So as long as the new administration doesn't trash medicare we should all do well. Feel free to buy us veterans of private practice a drink at the bar. We ain't proud!
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Post by montyburns on Dec 16, 2016 20:12:32 GMT -5
Was not a fed then, I worked in a small firm. business went in the tank and I had to take retirement out to cover a multitude of expenses, including eventually moving across the country to get a fed job, then pay for the kid shortly thereafter.
Yes, over time with that nice steady federal paycheck, low though you may feel it to be, you can let the funds regroup and in 8 years or so get back to where they are. Throw in kids going to college anywhere in there, and easy to see how the crash could trash.
I did love to see the bank types whining about the cap on salaries--the poor dears don't know how to get by on $400,000.
Thinking of it makes me hope that it does get to torches and pitchforks; but by then those folk will be offshore in their yachts, talking in sour tones about the rabble.
So as long as the new administration doesn't trash medicare we should all do well. Feel free to buy us veterans of private practice a drink at the bar. We ain't proud!
You said it Foghorn (Leghorn?). Anytime I get bored/fed up with ODAR I remember the income security and most of all the benefits, which were the main draw for me to become a fed in the first place. Save me a pitchfork and I'll buy you a drink! |
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Post by shelldon on Dec 17, 2016 11:16:42 GMT -5
Foghorn,
You are preaching a truth that I've lived for 15 years of solo/small firm practice. There was a time when the home my wife and children slept in hung in the balance of whether a jury wanted to go home early on a Friday afternoon or whether a state trial court judge saw an opportunity to dismiss a case that was going to tie up his courtroom for 3 weeks. Those were some expensive lessons.
The week my first child was born I had a judge dismiss a case that was almost identical to the fact pattern presented in a certain confidential proctored written exercise I recently took part in. Had a key witness commit suicide an hour before his deposition. That was a rough one. As I flipped through those materials a few weeks back, I had a huge wave of nostalgia and wondered if some elf at OPM had actually researched my "noteworthy cases" and custom made that fact pattern for me to remind me of an extremely painful and expensive chapter in my career.
Anyway, yeah, I've tapped into savings, drained everything to pursue some claim or cause I truly believed in. I'd like to think it was worth it. Ask me again, though, in about 30 years when I keel over in the attorney lounge on Monday morning motion call clutching a styrofoam cup of cheap coffee when I could've been fishing.
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Post by jagvet on Dec 20, 2016 11:47:14 GMT -5
foghorn hits the nail on the head. Outside of government, defined benefit retirements are becoming rare as hen's teeth. It's bankrupting a lot of states and cities, and future newcomer feds may eventually not be eligible, but for now, this is a big benefit. That said, TSP, which is like a 401k, is also a very solid benefit, especially with the employer matching. For this and so many other reasons, don't procrastinate on your ALJ application!
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Post by stevil on Dec 20, 2016 12:11:20 GMT -5
I originally did 4 1/2 years of private practice out of law school - 3 in solo practice. I had 1 week of vacation in those years, and it was the worst vacation ever because all I could think about was cash out on vacation/no cash in! I opted to join the USAF as a vacation and time to collect my thoughts. Never knew I'd like it so much. Now I'm retired military, and my reserve pension just kicked in. Bought my active time into my FERS account, so I'm looking forward to a nice federal pension as well. One will never get rich working for Uncle Sam, but the stability, the benefits, and the 40-hour work week compensate for much. My only regret is that I waited too long to become a civilian fed - missed a lot of time with my kids as they grew up.
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Post by christina on Dec 20, 2016 12:32:48 GMT -5
I originally did 4 1/2 years of private practice out of law school - 3 in solo practice. I had 1 week of vacation in those years, and it was the worst vacation ever because all I could think about was cash out on vacation/no cash in! I opted to join the USAF as a vacation and time to collect my thoughts. Never knew I'd like it so much. Now I'm retired military, and my reserve pension just kicked in. Bought my active time into my FERS account, so I'm looking forward to a nice federal pension as well. One will never get rich working for Uncle Sam, but the stability, the benefits, and the 40-hour work week compensate for much. My only regret is that I waited too long to become a civilian fed - missed a lot of time with my kids as they grew up. i was lucky to hit the civilian fed job early on and a huge benefit was getting to spend time with the kids growing up(between a 40 hour workweek(and not 60) and then taking leave after i built up 8 hours of credit leave). We'd call them special days and do something fun on those days! and even when teleworking, since i did not commute on those days, as soon as i was done with work, we could hang out. made me not look for another job for a years cause the time with family and kids benefit is irreplaceable. |
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Post by snozzle on Dec 21, 2016 0:20:14 GMT -5
I could not have said it better myself, saturn4147. Thank you.
Most people think "living below your means" entails a lower standard of living. Nothing could be further from the truth.
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I am very glad for you, Saturn4147. You did it right (at least in my opinion). Not to one-up you, but I did almost exactly what you did but with a much lower income (state job; not federal). I retired at 55 with 2 children in college who will have no debt (that is, if they follow my advice). The key, as you state, is to live below you means. If you do that, it really is not that hard to accumulate wealth given 20 or 30 years. I highly recommend it!!
