Folks Of Interest Oh elders of the hamb, give me guidance

Good point! For years I have gathered a pile of junk and run a big ebaY sale every couple years. It is a real pain in the buns to run the auctions but I have never failed to net over $1000 in my biannual sales for a few day's work. And it cleans out my shop of 'good stuff' I will never use.

 

Rat hole the cash for big purchases and pay cash. Don't be tempted to draw from the retirement kitty to buy anything or do anything like take that dream trip. Those few extra bucks in the check are a lot more important in the long run.

 

Instead of a stomp shear, pan brake, slip roll, I bought one of these a few years before I retired. It's not as good as having the 3 separate pieces but it takes up a heck of a lot less room and it does almost everything you will need to do. They've gone up considerably since I bought mine but it is a good unit. I have sheared and broke 16 ga with no problem.

https://www.baileigh.com/shear-brake-roll-sbr-5216

 

She's involved. I don't make decisions in a vacuum.

 

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[Boy, you sure know how to be a "Debbie Downer"

 

What I discovered:
Kind of related... despite what financial counselors may tell you, you very well may NOT be in a lower income tax bracket after you retire so invest and allocate funds accordingly.

 

As we know, older is not fun as I'm 78 But it's what U do with it. I just got a 4 post & should have 10 yrs ago. I hope I'm good for another 10! Winding down isn't the answer just look at what is most important to you in your dream at 3am! Go after it!

 

I have said the reason people retire is so they have time to go to the doctor.... yeah I know a downer but keep on top of your health first! 4 years ago for me. I did the same thing as you and paid everything off before I retired and it has been a blessing. Don't buy things with the kids in mind, buy what you want to work on then keep working on it. My buddy and I go to swap meets and when I pick up a part he looks at me and says " I wonder what that will bring at the estate sale" and my come back is always " I don't care now and I won't care then". You will do fine as long as you stay healthy and have fun!

 

I just retired this year at 62, but I still work about 3 days a week when my truck isn't in the shop and there is freight I want to haul. I went ahead and did it due to the political climate and the uncertainty that if I didn't do it now I might not even be able to in a few years. I still have some credit card debt I am paying off, mostly from business expenses like tires and repairs, but should be out from under that by next year. Everything else is paid for.

I don't plan on building any more cars, but work on finishing what I have. So, I won't need any of the heavy tools or equipment, maybe some small hand tools I don't have. There is plenty of stuff around here to keep me busy, tractors, mowers, daily drivers, family vehicles, homeowner stuff. Things that have been let go all the years I was away from home in a truck.

All the financial advise has been sound. Save as much as possible now, you can never save too much.

 

Heres what I learned. Estate sales. After I retired, I began going to estate sales. I buy consumables and power tools dirt cheap. I just bought a 162 pound vise (patented 1891) for $25. I am getting tools I could never afford before. Also building materials. Go to the sales on Friday and get roofing metal and lumber very cheap. Go back after noon Saturday and get stuff even cheaper.

 

I am living on less that 1/2 what I was earning but oddly feel rich. I always have enough to buy whatever I want.

 

I wouldn’t buy anything you don’t have an immediate use for. Money in the market grew, for me, much faster (I retired 12+ years ago at 57) than any tools I needed rose in price since I retired. I stashed as much cash as I could, and limited unnecessary expenses for probably the last seven or eight years before my retirement.

I also took a financial hit, though not 50%, when I retired early, but my investments have paid off over those 12 years such that my retirement income now is about double, and maybe triple what it was when I left the workforce. I can now pretty much buy any tools or equipment that I need

I did have welders, compressors, jacks, a decent amount of hand and power tools, some low cost import metalworking tools, and a decent sized garage/shop. Sounds like you’re in the same place now.

 

I am not aHAMB Elder, more of a deacon, call me deacon blues.
Retirement is no different than working years of you live financially responsible. We buy toys (and build toys) with profits from our investments, not the principal! The principal has a job to do, spend it and you lose your income source. Of course I’m speaking of personal retirement assets and not SS or pension money.

 

Any guy that’s over 50 should go ahead and get himself fixed before hooking up with that young gal that thinks she can’t get pregnant. Otherwise, you can just forget about retirement. Yes, yes she can get have a baby. She just hasn’t been laid on a regular basis.

 

I'll go the other direction. Buying tools based on them being something you think you might use someday, is a waste of money. If you don't have or use them now, there are pretty good odds you won't use them in the future either. I had a buddy that bought a lot of specialty stuff, and got a large shop all set up to go for when he retired. He had lots of project stuff lined up ready to go. Then a year before he could retire, he came down with COPD. It forced him to retire a year early, he has been selling off projects and shop equipment for the last 3-4 years. He can't do anything in his shop now.

You need to do a realistic vision of what you think you will do once you hit the big retirement thing. You have indicated that you expect your income to be about 50% of what it currently is. That does not mean you won't have money to do the things you want to do, but you do need to understand, that % you will loose will be most of your fun money. What you don't loose will be divided between the things you will want to do that you currently don't do. I'm betting you won't have either the time, nor the money to do some of the big projects you have in your mind.

When you no longer work at a job, you will tend to get up a bit later, spend a bit more time moving slower in the mornings, and stopping a bit earlier in the evening. Your wife, and 100 other people will have lots of ideas of what you can "do with all your free time". and you will be surprised how many manage to get a bit of your time. There are going to be days where you won't get much accomplished because, well, you don't "have to" get it done that day.

I've seen a lot of guys have big plans for what they were going to do in retirement, but 5 years later, very little has been done on the projects. Having plans are great, as long as they are accurate. If you have trouble staying motivated on projects now while you are working at a job, you will really struggle after you retire.

All that said, if you don't have a hoist, it would be a good investment. Buy things that will make the project easier. Getting down to, and up from the ground gets harder every year. Gene

 

I say 50% reduction but that’s just a random number. I have a pension, SS and a 401K.

My wife has 14 months until she is eligible and I have just a little over 5 years. I told her I would like for her to work as long as I am working to help build the nest egg, but if she is tired of working in 14 months and it’s no fun anymore then go ahead and punch out.

I really don’t know what to expect on returns in investments, since I am not there yet. I just use the formulas I read on the old Google.

 

I was forced to retire 5 years early, due to hand problems. around 3 years ago. Kind of unprepared, but I had built my shop 20 years ago, and have most of the equip. I need. Agree with the guys who say, "stay in shape". Keep your health, #1!. Also, that you are busier than you'd think you would be!
I still buy equip when I need something, but my work on other guys' cars pays for that, as well as some major purchases for MY projects.
No one's mentioned (I believe, I just skimmed most responses), but the fact that we're getting older and not as strong, or able to work hard for long periods, is the reality. So I've been trying to find tools to help in that respect. Less strain on the body, more reliance on power tools, or tools that take the strain off. Just tried "anti-vibration" gloves, for instance. And built a hand held planishing hammer a couple years ago, to help with hammer and dolly.

 

a bigger garage and 2 post lift, 4 post are nice for storing another car under but not for working under .esp when lifting a body off
i spent 55 years in auto dealers so no need for more hand tools, anyone else having done so knows why i say that, many of us need a 20 foot wall to stick our cabinets along them

 

Uh. . . . .try 100' of wall with uppers and lowers, fully packed with valuable 'stuff'!!!!

 

Don't know the extent of your skills but, if you have the dough
and the space get a good 10 in. lathe, milling machine , sand blaster unit and a TIG welder and MIG welder.

 

Your health will play a larger factor than you think. After my bout with the Kung flu, my energy level has been about half what it once was. About a half a day is all I'm good for anymore. The good thing is you don't have to push to get in that half a day, you can stretch it out. Some days I do very little, others I get a lot done.

 

Been retired 11 years now, my advice is to make yourself with your wife a list of what you want to do that you have been delaying till retirement, NOW is the time, travel ? What ever, take my word for it as time waits on no one, health issues creep in and your thoughts on cars/hobby will change with age/time. The money part is easy, spend less. My advice and $2 will get you a coffee most places. Enjoy your life, make some memories, "stuff" does/will not matter in the end, IMO

 

I'm a few years out myself and got a taste of retirement thanks to Covid. Most guys I know have most tools they need before they retire and It depends upon where you are in regards to this. I bought a four post lift several years ago and it was a game changer for me. I'm a junkie when it comes to estate sales, auctions, swap meets and garage sales and you can do great at these so long as you don't carried away as I hate to admit I have a few times Went to an estate sale last week where the guy who passed had a fully stocked garage of top of the line tools ,welders and tons of street rod and hot rod parts and by the last day of the sale the company selling the things for the estate were selling things for real bargains. I probably had been to a hundred of these such estate sales but this one kind of made me feel a little uneasy. When I left the garage and started to look around the inside of the house there was a closet full of car event T-shirts for sale many of which were from events I had attended throughout the years and had the same shirts in my closet. It kind of made me stop and think a little.

 

Chris, do you have an HVAC in your main shop?

When we were young & indestructible, extreme temps were no big deal.
But as we age, staying productive in the garage isn't as much fun when the inside temp is <50* or >90* and humid. (your numbers may vary)

BTW, thanks for letting me pick your brain on Saturday r.e. polyester primer.

 

Gary, I have central heat in the main shop and I have a small window unit in the upholstery shop but that’s about it. The wife wants me to get an air unit for the main shop but it’s gonna take a big one since I have 14’ sidewalls.

And as far as picking my brain, there’s not much there to begin with, but anytime Gary.

 

Having HVAC is really a BIG blessing and makes working a pleasure if you can afford it.

 

The bottom line is to have cash on hand so when good deals pop up, and they will, you will be able to act quickly. The early bird really does get the worm. Stuff will inevitably pop up on FB marketplace, swap meets, estate sales, friend-of-a-friend, etc., you just need to be able to snipe a good deal when it arises.

I've also given up on the notion of buying high-end equipment. I know a lot of guys that are tool snobs, as I once was, who only bought Snap-on, Mac, or other USA-made tools and equipment. There is an obvious premium paid for this type of quality, or at least perceived quality. I came to the realization that I was either, A) spending more than I needed to on professional grade equipment, B) buying tools that were in worse condition for the same price as lesser-brand equipment that was in better condition and would likely work better, C) or just not buying a machine or tool at all because I would only want the best quality. As time wore on, I softened to the idea that I wasn't operating in a commercial situation where my equipment would be used day in and day out as to require only top quality. I simply needed it to work for a home hobbyist, and having a lower grade of equipment that isn't abused and is well taken care of is far better than having no equipment at all. For example, if the only English wheel I'd buy would be a Metal Ace, then I'd probably never have an English wheel because I'd never be able to justify the $10K it would cost to buy one. But I'd still want and need one on occasion, so the $300 version from Harbor Freight suffices fine and is preferable to not having one at all. For certain tools that get the most use may you can justify buying the best quality version. But for other stuff you don't use as much, you can look for value.

 

I can’t understand why people buy a bunch of things before they retire so they can be ‘paid off’ by retirement day. If you’re lucky you’ll be retired as long as you worked - are you never going to buy anything after retirement?

Put the money away before you retire and it will be there with interest when you want to use it later. That being said, prices don’t reduce over time, so there’s that.

Having a plan is key - you’re thinking in the right direction.

‘No matter how much you like your job and the people you do it with, retirement is better’.

John

 

Chris,
You're one of the most deliberate people I know, carefully considering and weighing options before you make a move (as evidenced by your threads here on the HAMB). You're wiser than you realize and I'm confident you're gonna do just fine in retirement with all the tools and equipment (and forethought and planning) you need to do the things you want to do. You're pretty much following the advice of Luke 14:28-30. Well done!