I know that there are folks of all ages that post on this forum, some young and some older and some very much older.
What do you folks think about retirement? Pro's and Con's?
I'll start by saying that, for us, at age 63 it was the best thing we ever did. I still dream of doing jobs and I still remember all the clients I had with fondness.
I don't wish to ever climb a 20' ladder ever again. I don't ever want to lean over the back of a boat transom and try to apply graphics perfectly. I don't want to be tethered to a dingy trying to apply graphics to another floating boat.
I don't want to spend hours removing reflective vinyl graphics in little tiny pieces nor spraying Easy-Off on One Shot lettering.
I love the fact that the sign business enabled me to retire and enjoy life in Mexico and Canada on my own terms.
I still spend a few hours a day working with CorelDraw, but only if I wish to. Sometimes I just decide to watch a movie. Sometimes, when cruise ships are in port, Shirl and I just drive into town to "people watch" with other retirees in Progreso Mexico.
For us, early retirement was a very good option and we are both in good health.
What are your thoughts? And why?
Edited to add...We are 72 now, 9 years retired and happy as clams!! LOL
[ November 15, 2016, 12:09 AM: Message edited by: Dave Grundy ]
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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I have two words,,,,Bill Riedell. To me it seems that complete retirement equals weaken body and a feeble mind. A person needs a reason to get up and fight every day. If a person really doesn't need the money, they could be busy doing volunteer work. From helping the elderly to teaching our youth, you can find someone who needs your time. Now if your body just gives out, that's a completely different thing. Then you will need the loving help of your family or friends.
-------------------- Signs by Alicia Jennings (Mudflap Girl) Tacoma, WA Since 1987 Have Lipstick, will travel. Posts: 3812 | From: Tacoma, WA. U.S.A. | Registered: Dec 1999
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I've been trying to retire since I was about 25, but doubt I can afford to retire till I'm 105... if I get that far.
The roller-coaster of life stretches onward, but I think the bumnp level out a bit after you pass the half-century mark a little.
Trying to work smarter, rather than harder, but at times you have to take what you can when work and the economy slows down a lot.
Diversifying has helped. Getting the cnc router 8 years ago was in hindsight, the best thing ever. We've bought a laser engraver now. Great additional tool. Still do not have a digital printer...
But relatively happy in the moment!
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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71 and still working. not that i need the what little i make from it, its more the ability to STILL DO WHAT I LOVED TO DO. WHEN I DIE I WILL THEN LEAVE HENNIE INSTRUCTIONS of what to do with my ROLAND CX-300)))))))))))
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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After 30 years of self employment I was offered a job to be the "local" sign shop for a very large national banner and graphic company. Offered a job is not quite it. I was actually bought out and kept to run things for the 4 year countdown to retirement.
It seemed like the perfect path, especially to my wife. No business or equipment to sell. No pressure.
I'm at the 40 week countdown now. Still going to keep busy in my basement. Been printing giclee's for local artists as I kept my Canon 12 color printer. Bought another Edge as I love recreating old decals for bikes, snowmobiles outboards and the like. I'm really looking forward to a slower pace and allot more fishing time.
-------------------- Bill Modzel Mod-Zel screen Printing Traverse city, MI modzel@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1356 | From: Traverse City, MI | Registered: Nov 1998
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I retired in 2008 with the crash and weathered a couple slow years but now the shop is booming and I brought in a young partner who is working his way in and learning everything. I still come in at 7:00 everyday of the week when in town and take off a couple months in the winter to go someplace warm. I have cncs and lasers to keep me occupied on the weekends. It is a crazy good life. Gene
Alicia...I agree that "complete retirement" would be pretty silly. It would be like saying "I'm just waiting to get dead". Shirl and I are still active physically and mentally, we do volunteer work and we do the things we want to do....BUT...we do things on our own terms, not because we have to to survive anymore.
We retired because we were starting to dislike cold Canadian winters and found it hard to accommodate clients when we were in warm Mexico for 3 or 4 months of the year. (Thank you, Ken Henry, for enabling us to do that for a few years )
I agree and believe everyone would agree that Bill Riedell is a hero!!! He is a powerhouse!
Joe...I applaud your love of the business and the fact that you continue to work on things you love despite the health issues you have had to overcome. Continued best wishes from me. (But, please, quit typing in ALL CAPS so much!!! LOL)
Ian....When I was 25 I never figured I'd make it until age 37 (I don't know why that age stuck with me back then) But, here I am still alive and kicking at almost twice that age.
Bill....It sounds like you got a sweet deal...Hang in there and start fishing more...Mike McCloud will be looking down and envying you!!!
Gene....We sold out in 2007 and were sitting on top of the world...then 2008 hit and things looked pretty bad for a while, but thanks to good luck and a great financial advisor we hung in and survived just fine.
[ November 15, 2016, 07:45 PM: Message edited by: Dave Grundy ]
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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Yes he will Dave. Thanks for mentioning Mike. I miss him.
-------------------- Bill Modzel Mod-Zel screen Printing Traverse city, MI modzel@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1356 | From: Traverse City, MI | Registered: Nov 1998
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Well I'm 66 and not ready to retire. As soon as my house is sold I'm moving to the Dallas area. My grand kids are growing too fast and once a year is not enough grandpa time.
Like you Dave, I hate removing reflective vinyl, haven't worked off a ladder since I bought the Van Ladder sign installer but I still dislike installations and refuse to dig post holes, don't really care to do coro signs, so when I move, I won't. I'm going to concentrate on 3D signs and let someone else do the installations. I might contact a quicky sticky shop and make an arrangement to send vinyl business to them if they send 3D business to me. I'm going to work at my own pace, refuse any job I'm not into, play some golf and enjoy the grand kids. I also love woodworking and that's why I'm taking my entire shop with me. I'm getting ready to sell off my Van Ladder, panel saw, and sandblasting equipment, haven't decided on the welding stuff yet but all the woodworking tools and the CNC are coming with me.
I guess me and Rusty shouldn't hold our breath over getting Joe's CX-300.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5396 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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I retired when I was 23 years old. That's when I quit working for someone else. It is also when I started doing exactly what I love and decided I would decide what I did each day instead of my customers.
I'm now almost 63and still doing the same. We purposely decided not to grow our business, keeping it with 5-10 employees and doing only the work we enjoy. I get to go back to the shop each day and build the crazy stuff that lives in my head.
Our current projects are far flung, with jobs in Trinidad, Dubai and eastern Canada. Right now I am in Florida with my daughter and son doing a trade show in Florida.
We officially sold our business to our son and daughter law a couple of years ago. I draw a pension and dividend each year. I have never punched a time clock (since I was 23) and keep flexible hours.
I hope I never have to quit for I love what I am doing too much!
In the end we all plot our own course and hopefully get to do what we love and what is good for ourselves.
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Dan...In a way, I guess I was always like you...self employed for most of my life...It took me many years to figure out how to make a decent living and a decent profit though.
So I guess I was "kinda retired" most of my life...But not really...raising kids, paying mortgages, paying for all sorts of stuff isn't being "retired"...It's being self employed (and happy)
Retirement, for me, is a state of financial freedom that allows Shirl and I the opportunity to do whatever the heck we want, whenever we want, wherever we want and have no regrets.
It's just our style. Everyone has differing ambitions.
BTW Alicia....I might not be able to jog for a couple of miles these days but my mind is by no means "feeble"!!!!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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Living my dream...we retired to a little cabin in the woods 15 minutes outside Summertown, Tennessee....975 sq. ft...all that 2 people really need...we love to garden and landscape...nothing like getting the hands in the soil and watching things grow...in the summers we float the Buffalo River...we have 10 boats and try to fill as many as we can each trip with friends and family...we'll float about once a week...I spend a lot of time painting landscapes in photoshop...if I'm really in the groove I might stay up til 2:00 or 3:00 am...hopefully I'm getting better at expressing my emotions and conveying that to the viewer...I have 2 sign jobs scheduled for next year...both projects are well worthwhile financially as well as artistically...I have no problem finding interesting and rewarding things to do...be it from animal rescue, to planting a garden, building a flower bed, painting nature, or building a sign...I'm the happiest when I'm being productive and creative...I'm 67...and now the oldest male to have lived in our family...seems all the males in our family die way to early from heart problems...it's a family genetic thing...and one I'm afraid that did not pass me by...so I try every day to remind myself of how short life can be...don't want to get overly melodramatic here...I'll probably be around quite a bit longer...maybe even long enough to ride with Joe around Walmart on one of those little motorized scooters.
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In recent times, Ive moved more and more into the digital printing area, to the point, that soon, thats all Ill be at. Im 55 but dont ever want to fully retire but as the bulk of my work only requires some brainpower and pushing buttons, I hope to be able to carry on for many years, scaling back to a three day week along the way
-------------------- Kevin Gaffney Artistik Signs Kinnegad County Westmeath Ireland 044-75187 kevingaffney@eircom.net Posts: 628 | From: Ireland | Registered: Oct 2003
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I'm 64, enjoy what I do, and will probably be working in some fashion until I'm no longer able to. I also have some computer graphics work that I could pursue from my desk that wouldn’t involve lifting anything heavier than my mouse. I have some nice regular customers who bring me reasonably steady work, most of which I do here.
My wife retired at the end of last year and now is doing a full time volunteer ministry, 70 hours or more each month. I join her often in the ministry, which means much more to me than any sign job.
I’ve aggressively cut expenses so that we can simplify and live on less. For all its warts, Obamacare has worked well for us and cut our healthcare costs significantly. Next year, we’ll both qualify for Medicare, which will also help and I’ll probably start collecting Social Security then as well. With our reduced expenses, it will be barely enough to live on, however, the work I do here will bring in enough that we’ll be able to save and take a trip or two beyond our normal camping expeditions. We’re hoping to go to Europe next year for a special convention, which would be our first trip out of North America. I’ve been to 49 states, most of the provinces in Canada, and most of the states in Mexico but haven’t crossed the pond in either direction.
We also hope in the next year or so to tear down our garage (which is leaning to every cardinal point, anyway) and build a two story townhome for my daughter’s family. They will have their own place and will be close by. We have the plans drawn up.
My brother says the nice thing about growing old is that it’s easier to have fun. I used to love climbing ladders and working up on walls but now I have an awesome time watching someone else do that for me.
More short term for me is a very major back surgery the middle of December, which will be the 9th procedure on my back or neck in the last year and a half. I’m not looking forward to the down time and rehab but am looking forward to ending debilitating sciatic pain and loss of function. As bad as my back is getting with 4 worn out discs, I wouldn’t be able to do much of anything in a year or two so I’ll have a 360º fusion and coflex implant to allow flexibility. I had two discs replaced in my neck in June and have full, painless motion there for the first time in a half century. My daughter says the reason I’ve got a reputation as a nice guy is that I hadn’t been able to shake my head “No” for fifty years.
[ November 18, 2016, 05:48 PM: Message edited by: David Harding ]
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Nice post David...laced with your usual clever wit...good luck with the surgery...if this one is a success... like the one in your neck... you'll be doing yoga classes.
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