Live Your Life - In Fact Grab It By The Gizzards!

[menzies]

About a week ago we were anchored south of Black Point in the Exumas. A nice older model DeFever 49RPH anchored nearby. Being a DeFever design ourselves we contacted them. And over the next couple of days we went over there for drinks and they visited us.

He had some issues going on that the doctors couldn't pin down, including a level of spasticity. While he walked with a cane and had a special set up on his dinghy to help him get on and off, he was quite capable of getting into my ER and lower levels to see the whole boat.

When discussing his medical issues we actually had the conversation around "you have to live life to the fullest." He clearly getting everything in now, not knowing what the near future would bring.

This morning i heard that, while anchored at the Exuma Park he had a stroke, was fast-boated to Nassau and airlifted to Miami.

Guys and gals, if you have things you want to do. Don't put them off.

 

[MurrayM]

TOHO...Today Only Happens Once.

I was 'semi-retired' after high school to the age of 32. Got lots done when the body was in prime condition and made great memories. Everything from here on out is gravy

 

[jjorgenson3]

Menzies thanks for sharing this great reminder.

 

[Lou_tribal]

About a week ago we were anchored south of Black Point in the Exumas. A nice older model DeFever 49RPH anchored nearby. Being a DeFever design ourselves we contacted them. And over the next couple of days we went over there for drinks and they visited us.

He had some issues going on that the doctors couldn't pin down, including a level of spasticity. While he walked with a cane and had a special set up on his dinghy to help him get on and off, he was quite capable of getting into my ER and lower levels to see the whole boat.

When discussing his medical issues we actually had the conversation around "you have to live life to the fullest." He clearly getting everything in now, not knowing what the near future would bring.

This morning i heard that, while anchored at the Exuma Park he had a stroke, was fast-boated to Nassau and airlifted to Miami.

Guys and gals, if you have things you want to do. Don't put them off.

Totally agree with you. I know so many people who were thinking about future, like later when I will retired I will do..., or later I will... who sadly never had the chance to live this later day... my beloved wife and I love to enjoy the now, as much simple it can be, as the later you never know if you will have the chance to live it. We often live like we were immortal but we also often forget that every second is just a gift.

L.

 

[GoneFarrell]

Yup. Tomorrow is promised to no one.

Lost my dearly departed to cancer several years ago, tough lesson. Seems like too many of my friends are dropping like flies around me, I'm nothing special, except to my mom, who is legally blind.

But that didn't stop her from flying down to baja to visit. We went out into the boonies, 4WD to ranchos, hung out with local mexicans, was a hoot. She is pushing 90.

I type this from my boat in La Conner, feel really lucky to do so. Beautiful day here today. Never could have imagined a script that would have put me here, but here I am!

Tomorrow I visit Korean war vet, give him some local garlic braid from my place in baja. He is macular-blind too.

Tomorrow is promised to no one. And it costs nothing to be kind.

Boat on.....

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. GF. Sorry for your loss. I think you've hit upon the meaning of life (at least to me anyway) with your comment of "...it costs nothing to be kind."

 

[Simi 60]

Mind you, there needs to be a balance.
Plenty in the world crying YOLO now that'll be eating dogfood in their later years.

 

[Off Duty]

Greetings,
Mr. GF. Sorry for your loss. I think you've hit upon the meaning of life (at least to me anyway) with your comment of "...it costs nothing to be kind."

Amen...

 

[Off Duty]

Mind you, there needs to be a balance.
Plenty in the world crying YOLO now that'll be eating dogfood in their later years.

True, there must be a balance for that very reason unless you're very fortunate to have already made it and don't have that concern. Just the same, find a way to save and/or invest while still doing some of the things you want to do. It doesn't necessarily have to be extravagant to have some quality times.

The other day, we went to the local boat show in a nice area just south of us. We met some great people and got excited about the fact that we are now actually moving forward working a toward our goal.

Afterward we went to dinner, had a few drinks and watched the boats, large and small depart, and the sun set over the Gulf.

Food, drinks, fuel, admission we spent less than +/- $150.00 for a great day!

Like I said, it doesn't have to be flashy to be fun.

 

[Hotrod]

I was 41 years old, in the car business, successful. Long hard slog, since early twenty s. Owned 5 stores.
I standing at the urinal, with 6 others, at a car auction in PA, it's real cold, icy, rainy day. We're all talking about women, the guy next to me, successful, early forty's, in mid sentence, drops dead. About a year or so later, same auction, similar weather, all standing there peeing, third guy down, drops dead.
That day , I called Angie, my girl who ran the show for me, to have all my employees, on a conference call , for the next day. 6 months later, I sold all my stores, all the inventory, everything. Bought a trawler, and never looked back.The trawler is gong now gone, [16years] lived aboard. 66 years, old now, still do not miss that life.Most of my car dealer friends are dead now. Unbelievable, highs with money, and the same with lows, and stress. Was it a fun ride, YES, do the fancy house, not really. My wife and live in an 1200 Sq ft, condo in fla, and are happy and grateful, that I woke up.Its funny, I walk around with walmart shorts on, and tee shirts with grease stains, now, just another old guy, whos just grateful to be here.

 

[bnoft]

Hotrod,
I understand your story, seen it. But I hope I never bump into you in a men's room.

 

[menzies]

Mind you, there needs to be a balance.
Plenty in the world crying YOLO now that'll be eating dogfood in their later years.

I get that.

Even if one can't actually give up work, it is worth asking yourself - am I throwing everything into that side of my life to the detriment of actually living life today? Since moving to the US I have been amazed at how many people (pretty much 100%) who simply will never take more than a one week vacation at one time - even though they may have seven or eight weeks vacation allowance. Then at the end of the year they lose it. When I ask them they say something about being indispensable, or they think their manager will think less of them. I have never understood that.

A better example would be in my own case. I reached a level at my company where I received large bonuses and stock options, and a company where the stock was healthy and probably always will be. I obviously worked with a lot of colleagues at that same level. Every year the bonus and options. At 57 we bought my retirement home, at 58 my retirement boat, and I packed it in at 59. People were shocked that I could walk away from aggressive wealth building - even though we got the full pension at 62 I have known people keep going until mid=sixties, just building wealth.

As soon as I believed I had "enough," I got out of there.

 

[CaptTom]

Almost 11 months into early retirement, after a 36-year career, this thread struck a chord.

My eureka moment was when I started pondering what it would take to climb the corporate ladder to my boss's boss's job. I knew him well, he had been my supervisor when I'd first started there. He had a nicer house than me. He had a nicer boat than me. But he never seemed to have the time to enjoy either one.

My choice was to enjoy the modest house, and modest boat, that I had. I still live in that house, although there have been a number of boats since then.

We had a nice dinner for him when he retired. He'd hoped to do more sailing. He never got the chance.

I'm still glad I didn't go for the bigger house, or the bigger boat.

 

[denverd0n]

Mind you, there needs to be a balance.
Plenty in the world crying YOLO now that'll be eating dogfood in their later years.

This is true, too. The good news is that I see no reason why one must sacrifice the now for the future. You can enjoy every day as if it is your last, without burning the candle down to the point that you are going to be miserable in the event that today is NOT your last.

 

[GoneFarrell]

I read a book called "Your Money or Your Life." Basic premise is that you only get so much life energy, money equates to life energy in the sense that we trade our life energy for $$. It illustrates what we spend in life energy and what we get back for that in a way that helped me make better choices of what to do, what not to do.

There was one day in the mid 90's when I read a business story online that basically stated that managers live 5 to 7 years less than "normal" working people. I was managing 7 figure project at the time. Given what I had learned from the paragraph above, I was thinking, "well, what's the point of working my butt off if I'm gonna die sooner?" Wasn't as graphically illustrated to me at the urinal as it was to "hotrod" above, but I got the message.

So I backed off from a lot of O/T, did other things with my time.

Lastly, regarding catfood: in America, we are all about how much it takes to be happy.
In baja, I learned from the mexicans how little it takes to be happy. A lot of the mexicans I know down there have next to nothing in the material sense, yet they are wealthy and happy in the familial sense. It is a striking difference that I can see every time I cross back to the states. Sad.

 

[Shrew]

I refuse to work too hard and save too much, so that my widow gets to spend the rewards of my life with her next boyfriend/husband. I fund my retirement, pay my bills and spend the rest NOW!

 

[Hotrod]

My wife and i found , that, as we get older we spend less. The funny thing is it did not happen intentionally. No, I do not drive a 911, any more, but who wants to fret about a door ding, every time we go out to dinner. I wanted to give my wife , as our last home, a beautiful 3,000ft direct ocean front condo, in ponce inlet , fl. Over drinks, after looking all day,at condos, she said, it's just more to clean, and air condition, and taxes, and on and on. She said she would be thrilled with half that, (or course direct ocean front, she's not stupid). And that's what we did, less than 1500 Sq ft., but you probably already guessed, ripped apart, and done her way. We even eat less, it just happened. We really enjoy wine, but not 35 dollars a bottle, much less, just as happy. Pretty much every where you go here in fla, you can wear shorts, dinner, etc.What I am trying to say is , you would be surprised, how things change as you get older, especially without that nonsense ego, pulling you around, by the nose, all the time.

 

[FoxtrotCharlie]

'Guys and gals, if you have things you want to do. Don't put them off.'

Good reminder! I've had the John Muir Trail on my bucket/hiking list for decades (worth a google). My backpacking buddy and I hit the trail in Yosemite on Sep 11. I'm almost 62 and he's 64. 220 miles ending on Mt. Whitney at 14,506'.

 

[Shrew]

'Guys and gals, if you have things you want to do. Don't put them off.'

Good reminder! I've had the John Muir Trail on my bucket/hiking list for decades (worth a google). My backpacking buddy and I hit the trail in Yosemite on Sep 11. I almost 62 and he's 64. 220 miles ending on Mt. Whitney at 14,506'.

You're blessed. I was an avid hiker and backpacker. I'm only 46 and already have a bad knee. My hiking days are over. We're in the process of buying a boat we said we were going to wait for retirement to get. The hell with that. Seatrial is Thursday. Hopefully this won't be our last boat, however I'm not waiting until it's to late.

 

[CPseudonym]

Lastly, regarding catfood: in America, we are all about how much it takes to be happy.
In baja, I learned from the mexicans how little it takes to be happy. A lot of the mexicans I know down there have next to nothing in the material sense, yet they are wealthy and happy in the familial sense. It is a striking difference that I can see every time I cross back to the states. Sad.

We learned the same lesson living in a largely Hispanic community right here in California. When your outflow exceeds your income your upkeep will be your downfall.

 

[ChadAdventures]

Unfortunately this is true, it is such a culture shock but I've seen that from different countries and ethnicity not just the Hispanic community, they feel at wealth with just being around their family and it seems that particular objective is losing it's value here in the states. Sorry, I just feel the same way about that topic. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Group9]

Read the obituaries every day. Notice the people in them younger than you. What were they planning to do, next week, next year, after retirement?

Time is the most precious asset we are given to manage.

I retired at 52. I accept that I checked out at my peek earning potential. It was worth it.

 

[dhays]

I would love to be able to retire (or at least only work as much as I want) but I don't want to give up a house, a boat, and the ability to have financial security into my 90's. If I quit working now, I couldn't do those things. I might die tomorrow and not have the chance to spend more time on the boat etc... but I don't want to risk running out of money before I run out of years.

It would be different if I was in a high paying profession (or married rich). I am definitely middle class and have to keep working. My wife is going to retire this year at only 58 years old. Reducing her stress is worth the extra working years for me.

 

[GFC]

I'm patiently biding my time until I can scratch the next big item off my bucket list--a 5 month long cruise around the coast of WA and spend the summer in Puget Sound, the San Juans, Gulf Islands and wherever else we get blown by the wind and pushed by the currents.


What's holding me back you ask? My mother in law is 101 years old and doing just great. She lives by herself in a retirement center, does her own cooking and cleaning and we just love her. While she's around and we're able to enjoy her company, we don't want to take this trip. We would never forgive ourselves if we were somewhere in the boontoolies, out of radio range for a few days, and something happened to her.

 

[GFC]

I might die tomorrow and not have the chance to spend more time on the boat etc... but I don't want to risk running out of money before I run out of years.

Dave, when I was working as a financial advisor I often joked with my clients that I wanted the last check that I wrote to bounce. The hard part of financial planning is that you don't know how long you're going to be around.

 

[dhays]

Dave, when I was working as a financial advisor I often joked with my clients that I wanted the last check that I wrote to bounce. The hard part of financial planning is that you don't know how long you're going to be around.

Exactly! I don't have any desire to leave money to my kids, they can do fine on their own. I just don't want to get in a financial bind if I live too long. The trouble with financial projections is that they are all just a lot of educated guesswork. There is a tipping point and I want to be on the positive side of it. For me, the difference between running out of money before I am 90 and having my estate continue to grow until I die is just a percentage point or two on my ROI. For that reason, I will need to keep working into my late 60s to ensure those Monte Carlo projections stay in the 95% confidence level for success.

 

[Hotrod]

Exactly! I don't have any desire to leave money to my kids, they can do fine on their own. I just don't want to get in a financial bind if I live too long. The trouble with financial projections is that they are all just a lot of educated guesswork. There is a tipping point and I want to be on the positive side of it. For me, the difference between running out of money before I am 90 and having my estate continue to grow until I die is just a percentage point or two on my ROI. For that reason, I will need to keep working into my late 60s to ensure those Monte Carlo projections stay in the 95% confidence level for success.

I retired at 43. This is how we did it. Large number of big caps, with good dividends, company's, that we felt you will always have a need in society for. Paid for home, boats, toys all cash. No debt. Paid credit card at end of each month, no matter how high.Any realestate, not used, leased out, not sold. Once you hit, social security,, it gets easier. We use iras, for paying property taxes only.The goal with us is , the only bills are, health insurance, utilities, taxes. We buy 3 year old cars, not high line, run them into the ground. No life insurance,. We take risk , with less insurance, high deductibles.we feel we spend less every year as we are getting older.But we do without nothing, we feel. When we travel, it's not four seasons, it's Holiday Inn.We keep a small related business, to our past career, for tax and convenient purpose.For me it was the car business, I keep a 2400sf, building, where I repair our vehicles, store our 40 diesel pusher ( notice no monthly storage fee), and sell a few of classic cars, keeps me from drinking too much wine, and keeps me active.We are now talking cruises, we have read that , a monthly cruise , can be very reasonable, all inclusive, works.I can go on and on.

 

[seasalt007]

The topic of this thread was exactly why I went ahead and sprung for a Glendinning Cable Master for the boat. I always wanted one and it sure is nice.

 

[Marlinmike]

Very thought provoking thread, thank you all for sharing, we are 3 years out from retiring, numbers just work out right and weddings are paid for. Want a comfortable lifestyle, seen a number of family members do the trade down retirement plan where they can't afford to leave the neighborhood or travel. I agree with others, as you get older material objects become less important....

 

[Baker]

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “only a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”

“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”

“Millions – then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.....