A Retiring Attitude - Tips on Retiring In Thailand
Live Under Your Means

At the tender age of 55 I had a good job in the computer industry; then my company decided to outsource my job to India. And am I happy they did.

If I hadn't been faced with a career crisis at that time in my life I might still be working. Instead, I retired early. And lucky for me I had followed some simple rules in my life which allowed me to do so. The big question to retiring early is of course financial. If you are thinking of retiring early here are a couple of tips that might help to make it a success.

Live Under Your Means

Most people figure out how much they can afford and then spend a little more, figuring they will get the money somewhere. Try doing the opposite. Buy a smaller house than you can afford, but pay it off earlier. Buy a used car instead of a new one. Never use your credit card unless you pay it off right away. Turn down your brother-in-law when he asks for a loan.

Stay out of debt

If you do step one then this step will take care of itself.
Don't make mistakes, but if you do don't bet the farm

Taking chances is good. Just do it early in life, giving yourself the time to recover from any big mistakes. Never bet everything on one horse. If you are going to gamble, on a new job, on a stock, on a spouse, (or on a horse) do it when you are young and give yourself time to climb out of any holes you dig.

Don't get divorced

This is a sure way to guarantee that you will never have enough to retire early, unless of course your spouse is the one paying YOU alimony. Then you can retire right away and don't need any advice from me.

Try semi-retirement first

This is a good way to see if your psyche can handle the lower daily stress, and if your bank account can handle the cost of retirement. At the same time you can still make some money to live on until your retirement savings or pension kicks in.

When to take your retirement pension

In America you have to decide when would be the best time to start taking your Social Security payments. We have a choice of taking it at 62, 66 or 70 years old (other retirement or annuity plans may have similar restrictions). The later you wait to start taking payments the more you will get per month.

So I did the math. If I take the money this year, at 62 years old, I would start getting a monthly payment immediately. If I wait until 66, I'd get $400 more per month. But it will take until I am 72 years old before I make up the difference. By waiting until 70 years old before taking SS I would get almost $1,000 more per month, but would have to wait until I was over 78 years old before seeing a difference.

I'm taking the money. I'll worry about it after I turn 78. I hope that guy in India is happy doing my job because I am really happy that I am retired here and NOT doing it.

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