Clester's retirement story

[Zebra]

The work I do these days is what my wife tells me to do, other than that it is everything I want to do. I did have a little medical setback, but I think the docs have it figured out..........still fishing a lot, partying, etc.! OBTW Roll Tide Roll!

 

[clester]

I thought I would give an update. Sort of my blog? Anyway...

Its now been 2.5 years since I retired. I initially wanted to become a high school math teacher and was over half way to a M.Ed degree. After 2 months or so of student teaching I decided to quit. There were some issues with my kids that I needed to help them with. Also, it was very stressful. From the kids but mostly my professors wanted all this paperwork like lesson plans etc and the school system wanted theirs. Teacher evaluations plus making and grading tests. Too much. I am retired you know.

Next, I started to school working a a physics degree. It was a second since I already have a computer science degree from 1982 that I never used. I now have 14 out of 30 hours toward it. I've been taking 1 class at a time. For financial reasons but I also wanted to have a deep understanding of it. I've had summers and holidays off with my family which I missed a lot as an air traffic controller. So, it's been good. Just enough to keep me busy. This semester I'm taking a break from physics and trying computer science again. If I like it I may go for a masters degree. My kids are still not settled though. They are 23 and 25 and still in school and my wife is still working as a second grade teacher.

As for tsp, I have had some up times and some down times. Overall, it hasn't been too bad. I've been able to spend plenty of time working on a trading system that has helped me a lot. I have been withdrawing 18,000 dollars a year and my balance is down only 8,000. So I've taken out about $45,000 and balance went down $8,000. That's pretty good given that I'm retired and not adding to it but I've been underperforming the market. I expect to do even better this year and make up that $8,000. off to a good start so far.

 

[david.alan.williams]

That's excellent Clester! BTW, you forgot to say ROLL TIDE!!

 

[clester]

That's excellent Clester! BTW, you forgot to say ROLL TIDE!!

Oh sorry. Roll Tide!

 

[Sensei]

Clester - thanks for sharing your story!

The part about teaching was very interesting to me. I started in the classroom around the turn of the century, while others my age were getting rich on the dot.com boom with jobs where they literally sat on couches tossing nerf footballs around, coming up with funny ideas to pollute the internet. I realized though that there was a shortage of teachers in Southern California, and with no teaching credential found a full-time gig. They gave me an emergency permit, and I had to go to school full-time for the first two years while I got my real credential. But the nice thing was that I was earning a full salary with benefits and my actual job served as my student teaching. No such deal as that anymore. I hated it so much, though, that as soon as I finished my credential, I immediately started a masters that would keep me in the same field while promoting me out of the classroom. I couldn't take the discipline, overcrowded classes, and (as you mentioned) lesson plans, tests, homework, etc. After a few more years, I was done with my degree and got the hell out - but only for a year. I had an application on file with the DOD, and they offered me a classroom position over here. I took it, and it's been a completely different experience. Smaller classes, mostly military kids with parents who stay on top of them. Way less stress. It's been a great 5 years so far. But complacency leads the mind to wander. Who knows where the next 5 years will take us?

Anyway, thanks again for sharing. I always check your other thread, and you and I have been in sync with our trades recently. Good luck this year!

 

[Rustynutt]

Had thought that teaching might be something to pursue, in some small capacity.
Hearing many teachers talk not only over crowing and other issues with submissions to administrators makes me feel it would be like working back with the DOD/ Navy

Think being a student is a much better idea for me

 

[Sensei]

Had thought that teaching might be something to pursue, in some small capacity.
Hearing many teachers talk not only over crowing and other issues with submissions to administrators makes me feel it would be like working back with the DOD/ Navy

Think being a student is a much better idea for me

The overcrowding happens more in urban settings. If you're in a nice town/neighborhood, you'll probably have a nice school environment. And I've never had admin on my back - they're the ones that are under the gun all the time. They earn every penny of the big bucks.

Re-reading my post, I sounded a little negative toward the profession, but the interaction with kids - while sometimes frustrating - can be the real payoff. Before teaching, I tried my hand at film/video editing. 8 hours in front of a computer with no human interaction. I'd take a room full of hormonally charged teenagers over that any day.

 

[clester]

The overcrowding happens more in urban settings. If you're in a nice town/neighborhood, you'll probably have a nice school environment. And I've never had admin on my back - they're the ones that are under the gun all the time. They earn every penny of the big bucks.

Re-reading my post, I sounded a little negative toward the profession, but the interaction with kids - while sometimes frustrating - can be the real payoff. Before teaching, I tried my hand at film/video editing. 8 hours in front of a computer with no human interaction. I'd take a room full of hormonally charged teenagers over that any day.

I think teaching is a great profession. It's where you can actually make some positive change. I loved the kids but classroom management was hard for me. I think it takes a certain personality. All the negative talk about teachers has been terrible. The unintended consequence is that you are losing good teachers and maybe aspiring new teachers. The focus on testing has been another negative. It's the main focus now. Not learning.

I admire teachers. They are a special group and arguably one of the most important part of kids lives after their parents.

 

[clester]

Had thought that teaching might be something to pursue, in some small capacity.
Hearing many teachers talk not only over crowing and other issues with submissions to administrators makes me feel it would be like working back with the DOD/ Navy

Think being a student is a much better idea for me

I love going to school!

 

[Kaufmanrider]

I thought I would give an update. Sort of my blog? Anyway...

Its now been 2.5 years since I retired.

As for tsp, I have had some up times and some down times. Overall, it hasn't been too bad. I've been able to spend plenty of time working on a trading system that has helped me a lot. I have been withdrawing 18,000 dollars a year and my balance is down only 8,000. So I've taken out about $45,000 and balance went down $8,000. That's pretty good given that I'm retired and not adding to it but I've been underperforming the market. I expect to do even better this year and make up that $8,000. off to a good start so far.

Do you ever regret not rolling into an IRA and expanding your investments opportunities?

 

[clester]

Do you ever regret not rolling into an IRA and expanding your investments opportunities?

Nope. I know most folks here do that or plan on doing it. Tsp is simple, has low costs, has the G fund which has no comparable fund. I wish we had more trades though. Im not crazy the govt holding my funds but i think its safe. I spend a lot of time on researching our funds. If I had unlimited options it would be a full time job to manage and trade. I may reconsider in 6.5 years when I turn 59.5 But I'm happy.

 

[Stoplight]

...If I had unlimited options it would be a full time job to manage and trade.

Hey ! You're RETIRED !!! What else do you HAVE to do ?

I totally understand your comments, though...it's easy to get sucked in to obsessing over every dollar, every day...I'm fighting that compulsion in MY retirement...I gotta learn to kick back and relax.

OTOH, I'm NOT going to buy a TSP annuity with my money

BTW...interesting to see the comments here about "teaching"...the Wife is a retired Teacher (elementary school)...she was a GREAT Teacher, but pulled the plug for many of the reasons noted here in your thread ! She LOVED her "Kids", but would never go back...kinda sad...


Stoplight...

 

[ravensfan]

Hey Clester. Just read your retirement story and it was like taking a trip down memory lane. I retired in January 2011 after 32 years as a CSRS employee for DOD USAF and experienced many of the same frustrations you dealt with. I too made calls, sent e-mails and pretty much heard the same excuses you did. But finally, after 10 long months, I got all my back pay and started receiving my full annuity. So in the end, after all the fustrations, retirement is great!!!

As for my TSP, I'm relatively new to the TSP Talk Forum, and have learned alot about investing since joining just a few months ago. I'll spend the next 3 years fattening up my account and waiting for my wife to retire, so we can travel and see this great country I spent so many years defending.

Enjoy your retirement. I hope it's all you wanted it to be!!!

 

[clester]

Hey Clester. Just read your retirement story and it was like taking a trip down memory lane. I retired in January 2011 after 32 years as a CSRS employee for DOD USAF and experienced many of the same frustrations you dealt with. I too made calls, sent e-mails and pretty much heard the same excuses you did. But finally, after 10 long months, I got all my back pay and started receiving my full annuity. So in the end, after all the fustrations, retirement is great!!!

As for my TSP, I'm relatively new to the TSP Talk Forum, and have learned alot about investing since joining just a few months ago. I'll spend the next 3 years fattening up my account and waiting for my wife to retire, so we can travel and see this great country I spent so many years defending.

Enjoy your retirement. I hope it's all you wanted it to be!!!

Glad you finally get to relax and enjoy. My wife is still working too as a 2nd grade teacher so we have summers to travel or whatever. She keeps asking when she can retire and I just smile and say "when your 65". She's just 52. But she enjoys it for the most part.

I love retirement. I can do whatever I want. When I want to do it. I've been taking college classes for fun. Well, at first I was in a M.Ed. program but finally dropped out. It was too much like work. Then I took 3 semesters of physics which was very interesting. Now I'm taking Computer programming classes because I want to write some mobile apps. I have a B.S. in computer science but it was in 1982. Computers have changed a little since then. I may go ahead and get a masters. Anyway, thats my hobby and I am loving it.

So, my advice to anyone getting ready to retire is to think about how you'll spend all that free time. After a few months of nothing you'll need a hobby.