Retirees, Those Soon To Be and the Hobby

Been retired since Jan3, 2007 and get in all the train time I want.  I also play golf and work at 2 local golf courses so that cuts into my RR time, sometimes.  Might have to give the golf up!

Well Tom,

My list was long. It covered two complete prewar layouts, one Std Gauge and one O-Gauge.

It took me twenty-five years after retirement. I'm grateful and very blessed to have retired early. Now I'm a shut-in with advanced Parkinsons. I cannot do much anymore. Both layouts were sold complete with accessories. At least I have a few trains left on my shelves to admire.

My advice to anyone who will listen. Start as soon as you can as you never know what's waiting down the road.

"Pappy"

Pappy,

  I hope to follow your advice and I hope you can stay as healthy as possible. Would love to know what you kept to admire!

Bob,

  I learned about 25 years ago that golf was not for me. One day, my co-worker bought a golf club (anybody remember Herman's?) when we went to lunch. We came back to our empty college campus (it was deserted during the Summer). She said take a swing. On the second try, the ball took off and went pretty far...out of literally nowhere came a woman from around a corner...after several bounces it hit her on the hip (luckily not hurt!). My golf career ended before it started which is probably good for mankind.

Tom

Tom,

Interesting you say you have 7.5 years before you retire.  If all goes well, I will retire in 7.5 years too.

Pappy,

I am sorry to learn of your health condition.  Thank you for your advice.

This my friend in Model Trains is a very Good Question? Before You Retire, and remember this, IF You are Married, Do Your BIG Spending While You are Working Full Time. If You say to the Wife, I Really want a $1500-$2500 Lionel Engine, once Retired, on a Retired income, She will Lay Down The Law.....7 Years from now, Who knows what will be in demand. So, my advice, enjoy your work, purchase what you want for your Model Railroad while you can afford the trains, etc. After you retire, you can enjoy the hobby with others and spend the rest of the time with Grand Kids, Your Kids, and most Important, Your Wife.

You Measure Your Wealth, By Your Health....(Unless You Inherit A Fortune, or Win The a Lottery), Good Question, Happy Railroading!  Enjoy the Moment...

Marriage has nothing to do with it. She owns 2 horses that cost us about 1000.00 a month for board, room, tack, vet bills, yadda yadda. There goes my trains. 42 years of marriage.

Dick

Today 8 of us retirees from my model railroad club went to the Walt Disney Family Museum in the San Francisco Presidio to see a special exhibit called "Walt Disney's Trains".  It was a super exhibit and a wonderful day.  

Retirement is good.   Joe

Health is the most important thing so hopefully we can all stay healthy to enjoy our retirement! I will retire sometime between tomorrow and three years from tomorrow. I am slightly past normal retirement age but have been asked to stay on. So each morning I ask myself if I still want to go to work, so far the answer continues to be yes since I enjoy what I do. 

As far as planning I continue to add carefully to my collection. We spent 2014 in temporary housing while remodeling our home for retirement. We created a 17x20 space for a layout plus a separate area for A 6x12 early 50's style layout. I am planning to have a detailed high rail layout custom built and installed in the train room because it will never get done if I try to do it myself. I hope to have it under contract within 30 days and installed by December. Good thing I am still working, the price of these layouts is unbelievable!

I am really fortunate since my wife likes the trains and is completely supportive, however when I told her the estimate for the custom layout she thought I had lost my mind! Her vision is to travel more when I retire, my objective is to never travel again after 150,000 miles per year for the last 40 years. I have about 5mm airline miles to use to do some travelling. I also golf, but am not a fanatic. We collect wine and some whisky so we travel some with that hobby. Running trains with a good glass of wine in hand is most enjoyable.The trains are S gauge and mostly Flyer and "Flyonel" so the space demands  are manageable with that scale.  

I turn 62 in June.......I've been at the same job for 32 years......I average every 4th weekend and every 10th night Monday through Thursday........it tough running with the 30 and 40 year olds and I'm starting to wear down.........I have given notice:

December 2016, I give up weekend call.

December 2018, I give up weeknight call.

December 2020, I give up hospital work and go part time in the office. I'll be 67 at that time.....and part time in the office a few days a week will be fun.

I have been working hard to stay healthy....but you never know.......I hope that I will be able to play....

Peter

www.rneph.com

2 MORE YEARS!

Pappy, very sorry to hear about your health.  I can relate partly as I was diagnosed with 4th stage cancer a year and a half ago.  I say partly because this past week I was informed it was in remission.  I will pray for you and every time the whistle blows on my "Yellowstone" it will be for you sir.  

Building the remaining segment of the layout, installed Tortouse motors to switches(LH & RH) and wyes  on the section built, installed some wiring for toggle switches  for block system, soldered 12 inch 18 gauge solid wire track leads every 8 to 9 feet, and keeping myself mentally stimulated also enjoy reading train magazines, historical magazines and historical books and spending time on this Forum, retired two years ago.

Retired about six years ago and there's plenty of time for this hobby and my trick is now to not overdo it...you can get burned out,believe it or not. Too much of a good thing...have developed other interests as well.

I am 66 years old and "semi-retired." I was a co-founder of the company I am with.  I work only two days a week, and want to go to less, but . . . the company is like a child: it's yours forever.

I spend what time I can on trains and model building, but it is not enough for me, and often very frustrating that I can't spend more.  

The problem really is not the small amount of time I spend at work.  Twenty years ago I saw my doctor maybe once ever two or three years.  Now I  see him maybe eight times a year.  And my wife is the same.  And we go to the pharmacy at least once or twice a week.  And errands seem to take so much longer to get done.  

I am not complaining.  This is reality - the way it is.  Older equipment works slower and requires more maintenance.  All the extra time required comes out of what is left over for hobbies.  It is what it is: the alternative is less preferable by far.

I am too old to lay on a concrete floor under a seven liter supercharged engine and tighten main bearing caps to the correct torque, but I do wish I had more time for the trains.  Still, I make the best of what I have.

Will retire in June. Then I must vacate my father's house as my sibling gets half of it, and move my and my father's trains to a big dry basement with a house on top to keep the weather out. This may take a year or so. We both agreed there is no rush.

Then I will build a couple layouts. In S and O.

Theres no doubt from reading Lee's posts that he works a lot more on his layout than I do.I've gotten used to spending about a quarter of the day reading 2 newspapers but I love it.

I've been retired for 6 years now but I still work 2 days a week. It's all what you make it. I spend a lot of time working around the house, cooking, music, and trains. After a wile you kind of get tired watching your trains go around and around. You need some friends to enjoy the hobby with. Going to train shows and running your trains with your friends on their layouts is a lot of fun. Looking forward to and going to York with my train buddies is always a good time. Once you retire you will find a whole bunch of non-trains things to do and that will keep you away from the hobby, but after the break it is great to run your trains again.

I retired (went on disability) about 7 years ago due to medical reasons.  The part I like is I can go to the weekday train shows (like York on Thursday and Friday) , when I'm up to it, without having to make my boss mad cause I ask for a day off.  Can work on train stuff  any time I like.

Our house is paid for and the kid is grown and married (no grand kids yet).  No dependents other than a few pets.  My wife still works and has her own money so any train purchases I make come out of my pocket not hers or ours.

Sometimes, I think it would be nice to work 1 or 2 days a week but then I come back to reality.  These days WORK is a 4 letter word in my book.   LOL

Rick

I too am retired. Some advice:

1. Plan on diminishing physical ability. Make all improvements with future disabilities in mind. Think about being in a wheel chair for some time. (even two weeks can be a challenge). Have one entrance to your house with no steps and at least one bedroom on the ground floor. 

2. Have more than trains as a hobby, one hobby whatever it is will not work forever, diversify. Have indoor hobbies and outdoor hobbies. Two of my friends were big fishermen, two years into retirement they did not even own a pole. Health issues eliminate golf for many people.

3. Develop your interest in hobbies before retirement.

4. Buy expensive items while you are still working if you want to but retirement often brings surprises, hence a big boat in a nearly dry area. Trains tend to evolve to the more detailed as people get more into the hobby, make your purchases accordingly. 

5. Grand kids are nice but don't be a free babysitting service unless you want to be. Two hours drive from each house can help this.

6. However much income you have going in to retirement you will spend more than you mean to. Plan accordingly. Government COLA (cost of living allowance) does not cover all the price increases.

6. Make sure you are within easy range of a major hospital. Hospitalization is inevitable and you don't want to be a days drive from your hospital.

7. Don't think of the one with the most toys wins, think the one who enjoys them the most wins.

7. Enjoy yourself and don't take things to seriously. You should be finished with acquiring wealth.

Douglas

I have been retired since Christmas of 1999.  It didn't help to speed up my dream layout as much as I had hoped.  I'm still at it.  What slows me down is golf, doing my own yard work on 2 1/3 acres, and spending winters in Florida.  All enjoyable though.

.....

Dennis

MNCW

I'm glad you're looking forward towards retirement.  Don't know any of your "details", (family situation, kids or parents to provide for, pension or self funded retirement,  etc..) but I'd like to give you the same advice I gave others when I was retiring at the end of 2010.  How close are you?  Seven years is too long to spend "thinking" about retirement.

Plan for it by funding 401K or 457 plan.  Enjoy work when you can and look forward to you're next vacation.  Hopefully the time will fly bye and you'll be ready when the time comes.

All the best, Bruce

I remember the SVC board.

A ton of wisdom and good advice here.  Seriously.  Especially #6.   We went through this with my Father-In-Law recently and it was a real nightmare.  A lot of people never consider it, but I sure will.   My own father passed away a few years back from complications of COPD - he was in the hospital a LOT for the last few years, but because there were good hospitals and doctors close by, it was much easier to bear.  

My father in law was only sick for a few months up to his death, but the logistics of the whole ordeal really tore us apart.   

Words to live (and plan) by indeed...

(Not train related but as close to a good public service announcement as you are likely to find)

Tom,

    I have never had a train to do list, I was lucky enough to have a family tradition of O Gauge trains at Christmas time.   Always wanted to set up a nice size layout so I did after retiring.   For a little over 10 years I had a real nice multi level layout, that took up a lot of my game room and most of my home office.  Like Pappy my advise is to do what you like, do not procrastinate when you reach retirement age, the fact is most men end up with major health problems sooner than they think, in my case Agent Orange put me down with a major heart attack, that I was lucky enough to fully recover from.  I enjoy my multi level living room layouts more than ever now, and they seem to stay up from just after Thanksgiving, till around mid February.  I really like the guys and gals here, the OGR has kind of turned into my 2nd home.  In the near future I would like to make it over to York to meet Barry, Guns and MartyE, Marty F, RJR and all the reset of the nice people I talk with here all the time.  Retirement life seems to go buy 10 times as fast as when I was working as a Special Agent or as a Professional Engineer.  I truly love my life now and hope every man and woman get to live the retirement life God has granted me and my wife.  Live your retirement for all it's worth. 

PCRR/Dave

My wife and I are so very blessed to have retired with our health.

The only thing I can add is exercise a lot. Whatever your health or age, walk a lot, jog if you can and lift weights if you can. Better yet a sport. There are a lot of old fart leagues. The exercise will add years to your life, but more importantly, you will feel so much better for so much longer.

Believe me I know it can be a drag, actually it is a drag to go to the gym, but man you'll be so surprised with the results and benefits.

I had more time to myself when working. I need to get a job so I can rest.

Plan to retire in 3-4 years.  Starting a new layout so I want to buy all the big stuff for it while I am still working.  Yes, once I am retired, i won't be buying $1000+ locos any more!  Got more trains now than I have room to display them.  Looking forward to spending more time with the trains, playing my guitars, catching up on all those TV shows i don't have time to watch!  

I retired in 2006 ("WHEW" 9 years already). I use to work on the trains for a couple of hours & then have to get ready for work. (evenings & nights). Now there's no rushing to get it done. There's always tomorrow. I drove for 30 years at UPS & said when I retired I never wanted to see snow again so I went to Hawaii on Dec. 1st each year & came back in April. Unfortunately the last 2 years have been a little tough physically. In 2013 I had a kidney removed & Dec.2014 had emergency gall bladder surgery to remove it. Had to cancel Hawaii both years. So this winter I get to enjoy  3' of snow outside & bone chilling cold.

Even with all this retirement is great. I'm fortunate enough to be able to buy trains when ever I want but more importantly I'm upright & I'm thankful for that.

Over the rainbow is about 3 years away.  I'll take things as they come. 

I once heard "If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans..."

Rusty

I'm almost 73, and have been retired since I was 55. Model trains play a small role in my life, although I have 3 small layouts year 'round. My wife and I travel between our house near Philadelphia and our beach cottage in Lewes, Delaware. We are now in Ft. Lauderdale for 2 weeks, and in April we will be on a river cruise in Europe. We have been fortunate in life, but we are not rolling in money (we drive a 3 year-old Chevy and a 15 year-old Acura, plus I stay at the Rodeway during York). I watch almost no TV, but read 2-3 library books a week. I collect stuff (currently vintage tin sand pails) and I'm active with archery and the "shooting sports" in general. 10 grandchildren provide another source of amusement.

I am 62 and plan to retire at 65 when Medicare kicks in (I have no coverage for medical in my retirement plan). I've worked 40 years at the same company which has changed names 10 times. I'm ready to retire!  I have enough hobbies to keep me busy in retirement. I plan on spending more time at my train club, build models, play chess, read more, fish etc. More than enough not to get bored.

Let's see... I retire in roughly...

115 days !!!!!!!!!!!!

... Not that I'm counting...

After years of the kids and wife using the basement as a warehouse for their treasures, I am finally a work-in-progress on the layout!

The 4th of July is going to be a great weekend (and a real long one).

I plan on retiring in two years, at sixty-two. My father never hand a chance to retire. He died at sixty-two, worked hard all his life since he was a kid. I won't be wealthy, but I'll have enough to get by. My wife is a seven years younger than me, so she'll be working a few more years. I got into this hobby a year ago, and I'm still working on my layout. I don't let anything get me down anymore. I'm enjoying life with my family and being happy with living everyday.

To answer the original question, you get to do as much as you want. Of course, other issues pop up that re-prioritize things. And that's not saying things get bad.

I took early retirement (57) 4 years ago. My wife and I had a whirlwind courtship, engagement, then marriage, and we got pregnant 4 months after marriage. I always said I'd retire early because we didn't have the together time pre-family when we were younger.

I read an article a few years ago that talked about the 3 phases of retirement: The Go-Go's the Slow-Go's, and the No-Go's. The Go-Go's are obviously the younger ones, still a bit flush with cash, who want to travel, play sports, etc. The Slow-Go's are the next group - still active, but maybe only take 2-3 trips a year. And, of course, we all get to the point where we become No-Go's.  EVERY retired co-worker with whom I've talked has lamented that they did not punch out earlier. They all said they could tell they'd become more Slow-Go.

Now, this next part, please understand I am not a banker, broker, or investment geek. I believe in mutual funds, not stock picking. This is not investment advice. In the same article about the 3 phases, there was discussion about "reality retirement" planning. Google it.  Look for a paper by Ted Bernicke.  In it, he uses empirical data from the US Depts of Commerce and Labor to demonstrate that we gradually reduce our spending year after year. Yes, some areas go up, but others go down. The whole purpose of the article is that the "traditional" retirement advice is to start with some value, then add inflation to it every year, not take more then 3-4% out, etc., such that if you draw 30,000 now, you'll need to draw 180,000 (being facetious) in 20 years. The data prove (and also correlated to my own parent's & in-law's spending) that you spend less each year. In my 4 years, I've also spent less each year. We eat out frequently, and take about 8 trips a year (OK, so with an airline pilot son, we get free flights) with rental cars and hotels.

The main thing is to have a project or some reason to get out of bed.  I built my own full-sized airplane; several mornings, I'm off to the airport to either fly or polish it, or just to sit and BS with the guys. When the weather's bad, I have my trains. Still working on the layout and scenery. Always something to be done. And, in the perfect days, I'm usually outside walking or doing yard work. Over the past year, I've had some sciatica issues, and have slowed-down more than I'd like. Fortunately, that seems to have passed for now, and I'm Thankful for that. Great timing with spring just around the corner.

Lastly, getting back to the original question - I do the same things I did pre-retirement; they just take longer to do. Whereas I used to cram yardwork, car-washing, and other family chores into Saturday, now it's more like I'll walk through the house on the way to do yard work and - Hey, Look! Sky King's on!!  And so it goes....

FREE advice...

Buy now or Pay later.

I'm 67 now. I was not in the hobby until I retired in 2006. I started slowly with a small layout.

After my other hobbies Shooting, Harley's, RV's and traveling started to have the (BEEN there DONE that) feeling I changed to something a little more home bound .TRAINS. Since that 1st train Some would say I have went a wee bit nuts with the hobby. But at this time in my life it's a perfect fit.

It and the shooting range are my favorite now. That also means I have a lot more time to devote to the Family. That's a good thing I think.

Oh, I still have one Harley, I'll never not have at least one.

Larry

ONE more year for me!! September 2016 I will be 62 years old, and its see ya!! Time to enjoy what life that is left. Let the young folks figure out how to do my job.  

...keep the rails polished...

I retired a year ago and the only restriction I have had was income to what I want. I actually retired before I wanted to but it became a necessary so things are working and I still get some train items going. I do run my trains when I want also so it is relaxing that I can do that but if you can afford it it really lies on what you want to do.

I will be 61 this year. I have arbitrarily set age 66 as the time I will retire.  I have no particular reason for that other than I felt like I needed to have a target date to look forward to. I've worked with a financial planner for years and feel pretty good about preparations that we have made.  One of these days I will work with him to figure out if 2021 is a realistic goal.  In the meantime I have decided that I will practice for retirement in small ways.  Anytime that I work on my collection, run my Pre War American Flyer trains, read about trains or toy trains, spend time on internet sites about trains, plan my next acquisition or pursue some other interest; I call that time spent "practicing for retirement".  There is a group of guys that gather at a local coffee shop on Thursday mornings to chat (many of them retired -the oldest is 90).  The one thing that connects them all is that they have some interest in trains: real, toy, model, historical. Its a great group and the conversation is always lively, and many folks bring stuff for  "show and tell".  There are usually 8 -15 guys who show up.  Once every two months I make a point of being there to "practice for retirement.  I am still working full time and enjoying retirement in small segments.  It works quite well for me.  In real retirement I hope to be able to find a way to actually display my collection, which I consider to be a research library dedicated to American Flyer trains, rather than have many of them in boxes. Other than that my plan for retirement is to remain as flexible and nimble in body, mind, and spirit as I can so that I can enjoy each day.

Greg

I retired five years ago, and we (my wife retired two years before I did) love every minute of it.  For the first time in my life, I can catch up on all the hobby projects that I used to plan but didn't have time to carry out.