Financial Samurai

To me, retirement would mean that our money was working hard enough that neither of us had to work.

Maybe I’ll suggest your idea to my wife…I may be looking for a couch to crash on though. :)

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 10:51 am

Mike, it’s been several months, have you made the suggestion to your wife?? Do it!

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Mike- Saving Money Today Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 3:06 pm

I don’t know if I’m ready to be Mr Mom just yet! I’ll maintain the day job
for awhile, but 2010 was my best year online so if I can keep working hard
and building income streams it’s only a matter of time before we reach our goals.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 6:51 am

Come on Mike. Being Mr Mom is the new in thing to do!

LOL, you posts always catch my attention! I do think that is one way to have an early retirement, though the other spouse may change their mind after a year or two.

We have a different method, but the same general idea. Live off of one income and use the other income to fuel an early retirement for both of us.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 4:17 pm

Sounds like a great plan! At what age are you guys thinking about retiring?

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Elle Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 6:56 pm

We’ll probably have a better idea once we switch to location independent work. Retired for us would be both of us working part time on projects that challenge us. I do enjoy with my freelance work and my husband loves software development.

If I had to shoot for a target, I would say 42-45.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 9:46 pm

That’s cool. So both of you guys retire at 42-45, or just you?

It’s not cheating to proclaim that you are “retired” while your spouse is still working if he or she has the ability to stop working. Some people like to work and won’t stop regardless of their financial positions.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 10:40 pm

How does one know if they have the ability to stop working if they’ve never not worked while their spouse is also not working?

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Roshawn @ Watson Inc Reply:
September 11th, 2010 at 2:23 am

Oh, by “ability,” I just meant that your household is in a financial position for both of you to to stop working. If the resources are there for you both to retire, but your spouse lacks the desire to retire, then it’s not cheating to call yourself retired.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 7:47 am

Gotcha. So pretty much smoke and mirrors and semantics really.

I retired with my third child. Or maybe it was a career transition?

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 7:28 am

Career transition indeed! Being a full time parent is a 100k a year full time job!

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Hah! Funny funny post. It may not be “the” way to retire early, but it is certainly “a” way to retire early. Malcolm Gladwell wrote a post about a couple from Dallas that has your situation. She is a partner in a law firm and he is a fiction writer. It only took him 14 years to publish his first book while she made all the money. Kind of nice, eh?

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 10:42 pm

Pretty darn nice indeed! That’s what I’m saying. If I can get a wife to just pay for everything while I work on a book, blog, or whatever, I’d proclaim myself as retired and do that! I’d playing tennis for a couple hours a day, surf another couple hours and then write :)

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I noticed the same type thing with commissioned salesmen. All the highly successful insurance salesmen or financial services salesmen all seem to have a wife that is employed in a very stable, steady, decently paying job (teacher, nurse, etc). Having that reliable source of income allowed them to take a position which can pay off eventually after struggling for up to a decade.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 4:35 pm

Seriously, having a stable husband or wife sure makes things easier if you want to take some risks and hit it out of the park!

It’s all about TEAM!

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Does that mean all housewives are retired?

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 9:25 am

Only if they proclaim to be! Why are we always focusing on the woman here? Let’s focus on the early reitrment man with the working spouse for once!

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Evan Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 12:18 pm

Yeah dude, I don’t think telling a 32 year old female housewife she is retired would Fly well at all. AT ALL.

That being said, we men have been held down way too long under these “proper” roles of society. I say let The Wife work I need to focus on the blog more lol

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Paul Williams Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 4:31 pm

Equality for women, right? :)

Financial Samurai Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 4:36 pm

Like I said, if you are a house wife with kids and home economics, it is a FULL TIME $100,000/year job imo!

Ha ha. Women have been ‘retiring early’ like this for decades. Unfortunately, the more extreme feminists call it subjugation by the male dominated super-society, rather than a nice perk. (How’s our Mad Men Money mag coming along, FS? ;) )

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 4:37 pm

“Subjugation by the male dominated super-society”? Yikes.. .that sounds scary!

I’m afraid of extreme anything frankly. Best to try and be understanding of both sides.

MMM is going into production soon!

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Haha. Not sure the spouse will agree to that…

However, having one spouse in a stable position and a second in a higher-risk higher-reward position can perhaps be a good way of balancing things and allow both to retire earlier…

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Financial Samurai Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 6:51 am

Men agree on this all the time, why can’t women? It’s all about equality baby!

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Great concept – let us know when you find that Ms Right to go along with it!

We have a friend who’s essentially doing this. He quit his gig with my company in corporate america and went around doing these various odd jobs, from working at an airport to cleaning carpets. He kind of jumps from thing to thing and said the stress of a real job was just too much. Meanwhile his wife takes in pretty big dough a level or two above where we were at when we worked together. I have to imagine there’s some resentment there, but who knows, maybe not? It would probably bother the heck out of me.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 4:38 pm

I think your buddy found TRUE LOVE! She’s a keeper! Honestly, I think it would be great to have a sugar mama.

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My husband took last year off. We were able to do that because we saved one salary and lived on one the year before. Only mid-life we call it unpaid sabbatical. He doesn’t worry his pretty little head over money (though he’s been more involved with our finances since the year off and reading Your Money or Your Life, because he’s seen what’s possible), so there’s no resentment or whatnot.

The goal, of course, is that neither of us work because we enjoy spending time with each other, but it will be a long long time before that happens.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 4:39 pm

He needs to be reading not Your Money or Your Life, but this site! :)

Great stuff being all supportive. Seriously. Every man should be as lucky to have a supportive wife like you!

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Sounds like a great book! You better start taking those “how to hypnotize people for fun and profits” classes now…, it will make it easier!

Another amusing post!!! Keep-em coming!

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Financial Samurai Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 6:52 am

I’ve written 4 chapters already. Gonna be a best seller for sure!

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I think that my ideal situation would be if one spouse is an entrepreneur (tax deductions, baby!) and the other has a stable job with benefits (health benefits, baby!). That would be the ultimate power couple.

LOL, yeah, I agree- calling a 32 year old stay at home mom/ stay at home wife “retired” will not fly well. That’s like the equivalent of giving your girlfriend/wife a vacuum for her birthday.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 11th, 2010 at 5:45 am

Hahaha, nice. Well, since you are a woman, you get to talk about a SAHM and her “retirement” which is definitely not the case as I said. SAHM is a FULL TIME JOB if you have kids.

I’m trying to get the early retired men, and SAHD’s to talk about their experiences too. So far, nada. Oh well!

Here’s a vacuum and a mop for your b-day! j/k.

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Geek Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 7:49 am

“I think that my ideal situation would be if one spouse is an entrepreneur (tax deductions, baby!) and the other has a stable job with benefits (health benefits, baby!). That would be the ultimate power couple.”

That’s DH and me. The tax deductions should be pretty decent next year – we get to deduct the room of our apartment that he uses as an office (there’s a nice sqft-age calculator), and all the hardware he had to buy for the business.
Before the money starts rolling in and the tax benefits get big – think the first year or so – there’s a lot of patience requred.

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When I first read your post, I thought you meant Dual Income…and I quickly thought about it and many of the people I know who did retire early had both people working…so I said, “he’s onto something” but when you meant, you get to stay home while the other person works, well, that’s not as much fun.

I’d much rather have us both work and both retire early, so I can actually see my spouse. I know a few folks who retired before their spouse because they were older and they said they can’t wait til the other one stops working

Funny article. Loved it.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 4:40 pm

Hi Sandy,

Glad you enjoyed the article! I can definitely see how if one spouse was working, and the other wasn’t, it would get somewhat boring and lonely for the spouse that isn’t working. However, there’s always 6pm to midnight or whatever to spend time with each other!

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Ha ha, I was waiting for the bomb to drop….. I don’t know many people who stay at home with a working spouse who does nothing, male or female. Generally the home body becomes the full service maid. Puts dinner on the table, does all the washing etc etc (and yes I have known men who do this)….. I don’t call that retirement.

I’m kind of retired already because I love working on my blog :). A few clients to do work for keeps me not quite retired…..

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 7:49 am

If I was the houseman, I would cook the MEANEST toast and hard boiled egg my woman could find! Also, I’d make sure the house is clean, and the wood floors are polished. I really enjoy decluttering and cleaning. I also LOVE working in the garden. I find it very peaceful and rewarding.

Women of the web, you want me as the houseman! Oh yeah, I’ll do some writing on the side and bring in some bacon too. E-mail me! * wink *.

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Marie at FamilyMoneyValues Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 7:58 am

Your’e hired!!! (Moral – be careful what you wish for).

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Financial Samurai Reply:
February 3rd, 2012 at 8:09 am

Thanks! I charge $100,000 for being the houseman! Thanks! New post up on FS called, “Stay At Home Men of The World, UNITE!”

http://www.financialsamurai.com/2012/02/03/stay-at-home-men-of-the-world-unite/

This is definitely a controversial posting. I married my wife to spend time with her, not to ship her off into Corporate America. I actually feel guilty that she works now. I can’t imagine staying home while she went off to work to pay for our bills. That would seem disgraceful to me.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 4:46 pm

Come on man, it’s the 2000s! Equal opportunity for MEN!

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Ha! My husband has long liked to joke, “When are you going to be my sugar-momma?” So I guess he came up with that concept years ago! ;)

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 11th, 2010 at 8:07 am

Bingo! Oh how I long for sugar mommas!

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Sam, Pinch me please so I can stop smiling! My hubby and I have been married forever. Please let me know if I’m retired? I work from home as a portfolio manager with no set hours. I manage our personal portfolio to grow with good long term success. I run a blog, household, & family. We have hobbies, friends, travel a lot!
My life is pretty good-I set my own hours- Am I retired? :)

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 11th, 2010 at 8:07 am

Ok, *pinch*! :)

You are not retired, you’re living life and enjoying what you do I say! I’d like to join you one day too!

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Sam,
Anyone thinking of allowing themselves to be “taken care of” by their spouse should remember the less well known golden rule: he/she who controls the gold makes the rules! I find it better to operate as a marriage team throughout your lives maximizing your team’s earning, saving and giving potential.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 7:50 am

Well, that may be true. But, once she sees what a great job I’m doing around the house and blogging at home, she will give me HALF for sure and let me do what I please with her money!

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Mike Reply:
December 30th, 2010 at 8:35 pm

I like your confidence. It’s so contagious she might actually do it. I wish you well friend.

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LOL — I like the idea Sam., but I am not too sure I’d feel too comfortable relying on anyone else’s income. What will I do when she grows tired of watching me sleep in every day? LOL – fun post. Mike

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 4:45 pm

The best feeling is watching your spouse have to get up early and go to work, while you can spread out in the bed and sleep in!

Which make the point that if you are that spouse going to work, and find that acceptable, you are the bestest ever spouse on earth!

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If you weren’t working but were at home “retired” taking care of the kids while your spouse worked that would be a another story cuz that’s definitely working! At the end of the day it’d be way more fun for both spouses to be retired at the same time spending time with each other traveling around as traveling alone just isn’t that fun. These days it’s really hard for couples and families to make by on just one income. Stuff is too expensive, esp with the way taxes keep going up

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 4:44 pm

Living on one income for a long while is definitely an admirable goal, and can be done! Let’s all build side projects and pursue our dreams while working. It can be done!

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Good in theory, unlikely in practice. At the individual level, women are hypergamous, which means they will get irritated if they work, and the husband doesn’t. This is a bit ironic considering how much value women put on their university educations, careers, and being “independent”. You would think they would be happy to go to work and pulling a paycheck under any circumstances. And at the society level, men are expected to work, period. For women, work is optional. Housewives are almost always socially acceptable, whether she is raising children or not.

As for health insurance and early retirement, I will curious to know if Obama-Care/ 2014 is means tested.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 12th, 2010 at 4:43 pm

I have NEVER heard of the word “hypergamous” before! Thank you for sharing that nugget!

We need to make it socially acceptable for men to chillax at home as well! Fight on brother (as I’m assuming you are a man!)

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My wife wouldn’t like for me to “retire” if she doesn’t at the same time. For us, retirement is a goal for *both* of us, not *one* of us. You may have identified the secret to early retirement, but it’s not a secret that will work for us. :(

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 7:52 am

That’s a problem I fear as well. However, we men should seek more equality, since it happens all the time the other way around.

But, I’d rather retire early with the wife anyway b/c it gets bored when she and your friends are at work!

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Retirement can be a very complex subject but you have a great post up there. To me, having a working spouse does not guarantee early retirement but it does smoothens the process.

I will advise anybody planning to retire early to focus more on building their asset column. Invest more into income generating asset so that when you stop working the passive and portfolio income you have created through your assets column will keep bringing in cash. Working together with your wife as par creating passive income will make the journey to financial freedom faster. Retirement without having money to travel the world, donate to charities or buy the stuffs you need can be hell.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 7:51 am

Working together with the spouse is truly a great goal that’s fun and rewarding. To progress alone is wonderful, but to progress together is magnificent!

I’m trying to draw light on the secret to a man’s early retirement.

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You made me burst into laughter. Well yeah, I think you’re probably right. Until I told my wife to stop working, I could not stop worrying about the things back at home. Now that she’s at home, taking care of our son then I can start thinking about the future! Great post! Can I give a laugh now? Hahahahaha!

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 14th, 2010 at 5:15 am

It is one of my greatest joys to hear people respond with laughter :)

Hopefully more men will be able to stop working and relax more although being a house husband sounds kinda boring too. Grass is always greener as they say!

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EveryPesoCounts Reply:
September 14th, 2010 at 7:38 pm

I was explaining to my wife earlier before I left for work that she is basically in “retirement mode”

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Ha! That is hilarious. My wife would like to “retire” when we have kids, but that is not much of a retirement!

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Financial Samurai Reply:
February 1st, 2012 at 12:16 pm

It’s not indeed. Full-time job!

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LOL. My husband is about to retire at due age, but is able to do so because of his working spouse. Nice light bulb moment. ;)

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Financial Samurai Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 6:53 am

Your bubbie should have retired 10 years earlier with such a good wife! Oh well. Next life!

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Soooo true! I met a woman at a bar who tells me she’s enjoying early retirement and I asked her Oh? You started a company that got bought? You inherited millions? You won the lotto? She told me she saved a lot over the years. I then asked her what she did – Wall Street investment banker? I kept probing and probing and finally she told me: her husband started a company and sold it for millions a few years ago. I was like A-HA! I knew there was some catch

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 7:38 am

Brilliant eh?! So sweet. I can’t believe I never really thought about this strategy to early retirement until this post. So genius!

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Be careful what you wish for Sam. That old saying “Driver carries no cash – he’s married.” is with us for a reason. LOL

Best,

Len
Len Penzo dot Com

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 7:37 am

LOL, good point. But that’s the thing, if the woman was the primary breadwinner who let the man chillax at home and spend her money, how sweet would that be!? Cheers

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Where on earth can I find such wife, but I should say you one should set goals and the date when will one retire….it will create a deadline effect in your mind thus forcing you to make the set money to be invested in a portfolio that will give you enough reurns to support yourself and your luxury from your set retirement date up to 25 years…. make your money work for you…. not you working for money…. it would be nice if you and your spouse can earn “the money” when your way before your set date of retirement…and when it comes you can enjoy it both…like what they say its sweeter to share….

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 7:38 am

Why can’t we just have the woman and money make money for us?

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ha ha! that’s sooo true! and the secret behind a successful freelance writer is almost the same: a working computer and a working spouse.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
September 29th, 2010 at 11:44 am

Whoo hoo! I hope I’m not offending any early retirement folks or letting their secret out too much :)

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Retirement is an event that will occur one day for sure early or late. so planning for retirement early is a right and safe strategy for retirement early of late.

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That is pretty much exactly my plan. I will retire before 40 and yes I have paid my due.
I have been working a corporate job for more than 14 years and during this time.
My gf then wife, went off to peace corp. for 2 years, back and work part time for a year, work a somewhat crappy corporate job for a few years, back to school to get a master degree, and is now working in a position she likes for a few years.

All through this, I worked a steady well paid job and saved as much as we could. Now that my wife found a job she likes, I’m more than half way to my goal.

my retirement plan – work independently and don’t have to answer to anyone and hopefully make enough to pay for food. wife keep working. do not dip into retirement fund.

well, my definition of retirement is leaving my corporate job so….

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 7:39 am

That is so awesome that you are going to make your wife keep working once you retire at 40! Go wife and go you! Great arrangement, whoo hoo!

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I think lots of people have come up with the concept, but you’re the first one I’ve seen calling it early retirement. The usual term is trophy-wife, boy-toy, etc. The IRS calls it a dependent.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
October 18th, 2010 at 6:45 pm

Pretty neat huh? Women have been retiring early for centuries, now it’s the man’s turn. Are you married by any chance and dependent on the wife for health insurance and such?

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Early Retirement Extreme Reply:
October 20th, 2010 at 8:55 am

I’m married, but I don’t depend on DW’s health insurance (nor income). She has a company plan. I have a HDHP+HSA obtained on the free market.

I think the most reasonable definition of retiring is “no longer working for a living”. Those women who have been retiring for centuries have been housewives. They’ve been in charge of cleaning and cooking, etc. (Incidentally, for us, we split it in half.) Incidentally, when appliances were introduced in the early 20th century, they ran out of things to do and suddenly had plenty of time on their hands. Consequentially they universally developed a fascination with extreme cleanliness. As a result, for example, people now spend as much time doing laundry as they did before the introduction of the washing machine. Tragicomic indeed—it somehow reminds me of work for some reason ;-)

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 7:54 am

Jacob, I think it’s OK to depend on the wife for health insurance and side income. There’s no shame in that man. She provides you the security to allow you to blog and work on your hobbies in your early retirement. It’s all good. Embrace your situation and give her a big hug!

Geek Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 7:53 am

The company health insurance may not be as good as the plan he’s got though. In my case it’s some of the best insurance around (and free free free w/no copays) for DH and myself, but who knows how much Jacob’s wife would have to pay extra for him, vs. his low costs now…

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I published my manifesto at my About blog page. Check it out.
http://retireby40.org/?page_id=205

I hope the link is ok to post here.

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For you guys living in the western world, this is the wrong path to early retirement (i.e., having a working spouse). Are you serious?!

You want to retire early as a man? 1. Don’t get married! 2. Don’t have children. 3. Live frugally. 4. Build a profitable business, or earn a decent salary. 5. Save your money. It’s that simple.

As a man, getting married for extra income does not make financial sense, and in fact, it’s financial SUICIDE because western women are VERY expensive women to maintain (i.e., 20k wedding ring, fancy vacations she will demand you take her ), and also, the divorce rate is over 50%, so it’s a good chance your spouse will divorce you and take your home, and leave you to pay child support and alimony payments.

Another thing guys, 90% of women marry UP, so just how much can a woman financially help you anyway?

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 7:41 am

Oh come on mate, isn’t that kind of a stereotype to write “Western women are VERY expensive women to maintain”?! Also, what do you mean “90% of women marry UP”?

The whole point of my article is to change this way of thinking. Why can’t a man marry up? Why can’t a man retire early to take care of the family? We men need liberation baby! It’s almost 2011 for goodness sake!

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Geek Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 7:58 am

I think my wedding ring cost ~$1300 (no engagement ring, we went to Vegas. The entire affair including rings, our hotel, plane tickets, was <$8k, and then the wedding gifts of cash covered 5k of that. We paid for the rings.).

I guess if you're only interested in expensive women, then you'll only find expensive women wanting to marry up. Ask yourself: is makeup worth the cost?

-earns her own bucks

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Financial Samurai Reply:
February 1st, 2012 at 12:18 pm

Maybe guys can just date expensive, hot women but never marry?

Hahaha, I like this post! :) I’m a very strongly feminist woman so I’m all for supporting my future husband! I would absolutely love this! Obviously, I’m flat broke right now, Sam, but come by in 10 years time, and we’ll work something out. ;)

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 10:51 am

Awesome! The world needs more strong women like you! In 10 years, you will be a man’s dream sugar mama! :)

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I would be okay with my husband staying home if he did all the things housewives are supposed to do ;). If I came home from work to find he’d sat around watching football all day and the place was a mess he’d be outta there!

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 11:58 am

Lol, bad husband, bad, bad, bad if he did that! But…. it is football season now with the playoffs almost in full swing!

But, let’s turn it around…. is what you said the expectations of many men for their housewives? What about if one was wealthy enough to hire a house keeper… does the stay at home spouse still have to do a lot?

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I’m not close to retirement but I do hope to be well prepared for it when it does come. My parents did not plan well at all leading up to their retirement and it’s really impacting them. I think 2011 will be a good year for me to build up my savings. I sure hope to get a bonus – b/c that will help tremendously. I miss the big bonus days! Now we’re happy with even getting a few hundred dollars instead of zip, nana, zilch.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 1:31 pm

I wish you a BIG, BIG bonus! Things are coming back in 2011, so for firms to NOT reward their best employees is a disaster since there will be more opportunities out there.

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My BF is home all day and now he’s back in school so he’d effectively the house quasi-husband. Kinda works for us since I’m the ambitious one. I will say that it’s nice to come home to a hot meal, teh laundry done and the bed made. Or, I think it would be if he did them all. :)

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 26th, 2010 at 2:50 pm

Hahaha, ouch! Would the BF be OK if you described him as ambitious? If so, he is a KEEPER b/c you dig the arrangement! You just have to tell him to do all that stuff you want to when you get him! Tell him to throw in a 5 minute massage too.

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Yep, that is definitely cheating if the spouse pays the bills because realistically that person couldn’t afford to retire. Finding a wealthy spouse is a win win!!

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The secret for early retirement is early financial freedom. Since financial freedom will give you the time you need to enjoy life. Most of us employees work for financial sufficiency but it is not enough to attain early retirement.

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Yup, so well said. Better to be with someone and retire.

Thanks for sharing!

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Nice one!

Better keep my eye out for those sugar mommies…

It certainly is one way to retire early. Live off one income and use the other income to invest in property for example. The trick is to keep your general living expenses low. Back to good ol discipline.

Cheers!

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I really wish you would admit that the economy is NOT getting better in 2011, or 2012 for that matter. The SF Bay area does NOT represent the US economy.

We’re headed toward a double dip – there is NO recovery with a 9.2% unemployment rate, escalating commodity prices, and wage pressure from emerging markets. There is simply not enough aggregate demand here to increase production, and therefore increase employment.

What a vicious cycle!

People tend to confuse the NYSE and NASDAQ with the economy when they actually disconnected from each other awhile ago. The stock market will eventually catch up with the fundamentals though.

Stay defensive!

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Financial Samurai Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 6:43 am

Umm, Americans can make $50,000 a year just existing and filling out forms! http://www.financialsamurai.com/2011/07/11/free-money-from-bailout-government/. Now that’s pretty sweet!

If the economy is so bad, why will Obama be reelected in 2012?

If the economy is so bad, why are office rents and the stock markets up 80% from it’s lows?

Nobody stays in an area that’s bad. They move to where things are hopping. Where do you reside?

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MacroCheese Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 8:10 am

Texas, where things are very good.

Obama may be reelected, but this would be the result of being an incumbent coupled with having a fractured opposition (Republicans). However, if the unemployment rate is hovering around 9% next Fall, he will not get reelected. Unless of course a magical round of stimulus hits bank accounts next Summer.

For the record, I consider myself to be independent.

None of the structural problems that led to the previous recession were actually fixed and the European contagion is not going away. Greece WILL default.

Let’s not even get started on the US housing situation which will be flat for at least a decade, leaving millions of homeowners feeling less wealthy than they would like.

For the record, I completely agree with your perspective on net worth. Housing has not place in it, but that is now how the majority of the population has been conditioned.

Sorry if there are grammar/spelling issues, but I can’t see the far right side of this text bo.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 8:30 am

Hmmm, you are saying the economy is screwed, yet you just said you and your area is fine?

Do you see my point here? The only people saying things are not fine are fine themselves, which means everybody is fine!

MacroCheese Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 8:48 am

I am going to revisit this thread in about 4-6 months.

One of us will be wrong by that time.

Financial Samurai Reply:
July 12th, 2011 at 10:43 am

How do we know who is right or wrong?

I wrote this post in 2010, and the markets have zoomed back!

Financial Samurai Reply:
February 1st, 2012 at 8:11 am

Have you checked the markets lately? It’s Feb 1, 2012, and things are en fuego!

MacroCheese Reply:
April 16th, 2012 at 8:31 am

So here we are…

Economic data has turned from mixed to slightly negative…

Europe is still a mess…

Housing data was bad this morning…

Markets were levitating with hopes for QE3 earlier this year – which is off the table for now…

China is slowing down, Japan is crashing…

Financial Samurai Reply:
April 16th, 2012 at 8:39 am

Rents are on fire, housing prices are moving up, the stock market is up 30% from October 2011, unemployment rates are coming down, and Obama is going to get re-elected. Not bad!

… Might be the fast track to retirement… or divorce.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
February 1st, 2012 at 8:14 am

Maybe! I see a lot of guys wanting to go the early retirement route w/ the wife working. It’s a neat trend!

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It’d be nice to have a money bags spouse, but it would feel weird relying on someone else 100% for everything. I think it feels really good and liberating making your own money and having the freedom to spend it however and whenever you like.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
February 1st, 2012 at 8:13 am

Hot with money and nice. Who could ask for anything more?

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I agree that the secret to early retirement is to have BOTH spouses work a full career each. You can’t save money during your 20′s thru your 40′s when you have only one spouse working plus you are paying for kids, mortgage, etc all at the same time. My husband and I are in our mid-40′s and, despite the economic downturn, are well postured to reach our retirement goals by age 55. We live in Honolulu, one of the highest cost of living areas in the world and have two kids going into college in the next couple of years. We don’t live in a McMansion, never have, but have always lived in decent middle-class homes. This is not a proposition for the faint hearted. We struggled a lot when our kids were younger juggling daycare, long working hours, dual-work schedules just as all parents do. I honestly think that one spouse quits working when the kids come along just because they get tired of hassling with the daycare issues! However, if you can stick it out, both stay continuously employed, and save one spouses entire paycheck for retirement, any couple can meet their goals of a comfortable retirement. The kids turn out just fine and learn valuable skills when they have to juggle career and family later on.

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Financial Samurai Reply:
February 1st, 2012 at 8:13 am

Mae! How did I not respond to your comment from October? Fantastic to hear you are living in Hawaii? do you love it? I long to be there!

I will have to disagree with you that it’s just not true you can’t save in your 20s-40s. Please read this post I wrote with savings guidelines by age. No excuses! http://www.financialsamurai.com/2012/01/12/24402/

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Sorry Sam, but this has got to be one of your lamer posts.

Or maybe the subject hits a little too close to home. I am 49 and full of energy and my husband (also quite spritely) is age 62 working as a postman. Alas, the post office won’t keep him after age 65, unless he finds a private postal company to work for (dream on, this is middle Europe). Thank goodness my pay has recently doubled but I am not looking forward to being the breadwinner for the next thirty odd years. OK optimism, don’t fail me now!

In the meantime – BLECH!

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Financial Samurai Reply:
December 24th, 2011 at 6:47 am

Sorry Anastasia! The post was meant for all those folks bragging about how they were retired early and living the good life, when they all had working spouses to provide for them!

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Sam,

Now I have renewed, elevated respect for single men retiring early. As long as their retirement is not based on alimony from a famous honey. I remember media portrayed Jennifer Lopez’s ex as a victim yet the guy ended up getting cool $10 million from her. :)

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Financial Samurai Reply:
February 1st, 2012 at 12:20 pm

Man, poor ex JLo hubbie!

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Ahh Sam,

I think you are trying to get most married men killed and single men looking to get married single for the rest of their life. I think its a great concept and my wife and I talk about it all the time. Its easier if I make the money and she stays home and takes care of the house and kids. When I say easier not that she wouldn’t do her fair share but I wouldn’t think she was lazy while I worked. For me retirement is being able to enjoy the time with my wife and family and not have to worry about getting up every morning to do the 9-5. I still would work doing something part time as that would keep me busy and cover insurance. My wife said she would be okay working at Tiffanys. LOL

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Financial Samurai Reply:
February 1st, 2012 at 12:20 pm

Hahaha, nice! Tiffany employees have huge discounts! She can sped her entire salary on bling!

Men of the world, unite for equality!

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We are working towards living off of one income to start. Then down the road I may do contract consulting work so I don’t have to work as much. Eventually we hope to have enough money that we won’t have to work at all.

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Thank god for women’s equality. Funny statistic, since women have become a major part of the work force their happiness has decreased while male happiness has increased as a whole.

Cheers,
Dan

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Financial Samurai Reply:
February 1st, 2012 at 8:08 am

Oh yeah? I haven’t read that statistic! I wouldn’t be surprised!

Go women’s liberation!

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If you can give me some pointers on how to find this so called boyfriend, I will give you a finder’s fee! How does that sound? In the meantime, I’ll live frugally and stock away 30% of my money each and every month, ha ha.

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