Full Transcript for Episode 6 - How some decisions change everything

ahead in such detail about your next chapter. 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:32.240 Because you have a great story. 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:34.240 I I am pretty detailed, yes. 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:36.000 Um, but I guess yeah, it really started. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:36.879 I was 15. 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:42.720 So I know not too many people think about, I don't think that many people think about retirement at 15. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:46.800 Um, but my dad passed away when he was 53, when I was 15. 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:49.040 I was the youngest of six kids. 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:54.560 And from that point on, you know, we we were we were probably lower middle class. 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:57.600 So we had what we needed, but it wasn't rich by any means. 00:04:57.680 --> 00:04:58.959 But we always had what we needed. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:02.000 And even from that point on, my dad passed away 53. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:04.560 My mom was 50, I believe, at the time. 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:10.319 And my mom's actually 91 now, um, still alive and still financially independent. 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:20.000 So it was clear to me that somehow raising six kids in a lower middle class, my dad was able to save enough and make sure that the family was taken care of. 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:24.160 I had always known that my dad had invested and had done some things. 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:26.959 So I got some exposure to that early on. 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:34.240 That kind of started me on the course of like, okay, I need to make sure by the time I'm 53 that I have everything in order, my family's taken care of. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:35.519 That's my guiding light. 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:38.079 Anything post-53 is bonus. 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:39.360 That really drove you. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:40.000 Yeah. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:40.240 Yeah. 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:41.519 Now my mom's 91. 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:43.040 So I have no idea where I'm going to end. 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:46.160 Well, you're 55 and going strong. 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:48.480 So, you know, it's yeah. 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:53.040 What did your family and friends and co-workers think about your approach? 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:57.920 Close family and friends, they pretty much knew it'd probably happen. 00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:06.240 Some close coworkers who also, as we got older, at least, they also were sharing about their goals and what they wanted to do when they retire. 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:10.240 And so I don't think that for them it was too wild of an idea. 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:13.279 And people were aware of the fire movement and all those other things. 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:17.439 I wasn't that extreme in terms of, you know, trying to retire by 40 or anything like that. 00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:22.480 I thought 55, 53 was a reasonable number to shoot for. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:26.480 Other people at work, I think they just thought it was kind of probably silly talk. 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:34.560 I was successful at work, high-level position, large organization, lots of fun projects going on around the world, which I don't I don't disagree with. 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:35.680 And you're making good money. 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:39.839 So they're just like, when all's going well, why would anybody walk away from that sort of thing? 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:41.759 So I don't think they've believed it. 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:44.319 Uh, but were excited for me once I did announce it. 00:06:44.399 --> 00:06:45.279 But yeah. 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:49.839 So did you give a written notice like a year before? 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:51.839 What was the actual pulling the trigger? 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:57.519 I mean, I know you had it on the company calendar, but what other mechanisms did you have in place? 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:00.639 I had been managing my own finances for a long time. 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:05.759 I was investing in stocks even back in college with money that I had from working in. 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:09.759 I was aware of the stock market and I was managing it myself. 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:16.319 Then when I hit about 40, I think it was, then I engaged with a financial planner. 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:20.160 Uh, just knowing that, okay, I know a lot, but I don't certainly don't know everything. 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:22.959 And this is getting realer now as I get older. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:36.959 Uh, and so working with a financial planner and understanding different investment vehicles that I'm not familiar with on my on my own, what also helped a lot from the financial aspect is all the models that they have. 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:43.360 And so with him running the scenarios, I still remember 663 scenarios that they run in their models. 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:51.439 And when 663 models said that success is uh definite almost based on inflation and all the returns and things like that. 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:54.240 I'm like, okay, that was a good enough number for me at least. 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:54.560 Yeah. 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:58.879 Uh that no matter what happens, I still should be okay, and the family should still be okay. 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:00.800 So that was really comforting. 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:03.279 Now, do I understand all 663 models? 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:03.839 Not at all. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:09.519 So I do have a lot of trust in the professionals, and but at least that gave me the comfort to understand that. 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:12.000 I still did work a couple of years beyond that, even. 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:16.720 So he was saying I could have retired even a couple of years before that, but I was enjoying it. 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:24.000 And I think what was important for me was to go through that transitionary period to when you retire. 00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:26.160 And I think for me, it's important. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:28.959 For me, it was

important, I think maybe for others as well. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:38.159 It again, it doesn't need to be a black and white thing, like go from my mind, you know, working full time to then I'm suddenly off and I'm lost in this wilderness. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:45.279 I spent probably the last year, I didn't I hadn't announced it yet, but I knew that the date was probably gonna be that date. 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:49.919 But I also spent that last year almost like on a farewell tour in my mind. 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:56.240 So when you talk about the coping and that transitionary period, and it was okay, this is my last budget cycle. 00:08:56.399 --> 00:09:01.200 Let me just take a moment to appreciate or hate the cycle and understand it. 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:15.039 And okay, this is the last time I'm gonna be doing this, working in this particular way, to more frivolous things like going to a uh Warriors game and sitting in a box, knowing I'm probably never going to sit in a luxury box at a basketball game again in my life. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:16.000 But that's okay. 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:23.360 And just saying goodbye to things during that last year and appreciating them and knowing that they wouldn't likely reoccur. 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:27.039 So that kind of, I think, prepared me for the time. 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:27.679 Yeah. 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:39.120 Oh, that sounds like a really healthy and gratitude-filled way to manage that for yourself to find joy and to find joy in the ending. 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:43.360 How long did it take you to settle into not working full-time? 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:45.600 Not very long. 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:49.120 I tell people I'm pretty good at it. 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:51.679 I mean, I think I'm pretty good at this uh job. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:53.919 What were the key, what were the keys for you? 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:58.559 Because I know a lot of people that retirement petrifies them. 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:08.320 And so to those people or even even people somewhere in between, tell us a little bit about your mindset for that and and what you did for yourself. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:08.960 Yeah. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:16.320 I think it leads on to my grieving period, or for lack of a better term, started a year or so before I left. 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:21.039 So getting my mind wrapped around that and understanding that piece of it. 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:23.519 And then moving into retirement. 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:28.320 I've had sabbaticals, luckily, five weeks, I think, was the longest sabbatical that I had. 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:32.320 So I understand what to do in that kind of frame. 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:37.759 And I know now it's years versus the five weeks, but I've had that disconnect before. 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:47.360 So I started with that, and then I did load up my calendar a bit at the beginning to keep myself busy doing things that I had wanted to do for quite some time. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:54.240 But I made sure that everything that I had signed up for were temporary or point-specific activities. 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:56.559 Made great progress on my honeydew list. 00:10:56.720 --> 00:10:56.799 Yeah. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:04.320 Um the first few months, I think, for almost anybody will go by rather quickly because you'll pack in some things like that. 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:09.679 But don't sign up for a bunch of long-term commitments because you really don't know what your day is going to look like. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:14.399 So once I got past kind of the six-month mark, I said, okay, things have settled down now. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:16.399 I kind of know what a day looks like. 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:29.519 I have not been bored at this point, keeping myself busy with activities and kind of being able to, I put in my going away message or my LinkedIn profile says, my job now is following my random curiosities. 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:36.720 When I retired, I was telling people if I had my ideal retirement, I would do different jobs for like three weeks each. 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:38.240 I've never worked fast food. 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:42.799 I'd be interested in working fast food for three weeks, just to experience it and understand it. 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:50.480 They got me a Home Depot shirt for retirement because I told them uh, you know, if you see me again, I'm gonna be at Home Depot helping you with your plumbing question. 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:54.480 Um, you know, I just I like learning but but but only for three weeks. 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:55.440 Only for three, yeah. 00:11:55.519 --> 00:12:07.679 But the temp agencies, they don't exist from when I was younger, where you could just like I'd be a receptionist for a couple weeks just to kind of experience it and see how it all works and work on an assembly line for a couple weeks at an automaker. 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:11.840 I mean, I th that would be ideal, ideal, but I haven't been able to find how to do that yet. 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:13.360 I just love learning new things. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:19.440 So unfortunately, I have to watch YouTube videos sometimes on how those things work to learn about it, but uh that would be ideal. 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:22.960 I found in San Jose, the San Jose Planning Commission. 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:28.960 I've been born and raised in San Jose, I've always been interested in kind of the growth of the city and how things are planned out. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:33.840 The time commitment is reasonable, it's interesting topics that I'm actually interested in. 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:36.240 I can learn from, and I think I can add some value. 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:39.759 It fit all the things that that I was interested in. 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:47.840 I thought I could add some value, and it's something I get to learn a lot, which I was interested in as well, and helps me kind of keep

my mind sharp as well. 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:48.559 Yeah. 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:51.120 Wow, that's that's a great story. 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:52.559 Yeah, it's been fun so far. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:54.240 I really, I actually really enjoy it. 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:56.559 Yeah, I'm gonna switch gears again. 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:02.480 How have your personal and professional relationships changed since retirement? 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:06.559 Let's start with your spouse and then go family, friends, communitate. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:09.440 For the better across the board. 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:17.360 We could talk about individual individually, but one thing that's key, I think, across all of them, and I just I just say the word I'm present. 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:18.320 I'm there now. 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:23.360 I was always maybe physically present with them before, but I was never mentally present. 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:26.000 Even at home, dinner table. 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:33.759 I try to do my best, but then if with IT work and my wife would even say, Well, you're here, but just go to your office because you're not really here. 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:38.960 Like, you know, don't don't pretend that you're sitting with me here and we're together, right? 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:40.960 You're physically together, but we're not. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:42.720 And so I'm just present now. 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:45.519 When I'm with someone, it just feels completely different. 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:46.960 There's nothing else on my mind. 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:49.200 I'm not checking my phone, I am with you. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:54.879 And that transcends all the people my wife, the family, the friends, even co-workers. 00:13:55.120 --> 00:14:01.919 I still uh am very lucky to many of my team members I talk to monthly, and I have lunch with them each quarter still. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.320 So even on three years, I'm still meeting with them. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:04.960 Yeah. 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:28.399 How did you make that switch from always having your phone and being on to letting that go and being comfortable in your own skin and your own energy and body with like, oh, hey, I don't have to be on for all the other things in life that can like creep in and take the place of always being on like work. 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:29.519 Yeah, yeah. 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:34.240 Well, I certainly did go down the the news rat hole when I first retired. 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:52.080 I was always reading news and things like that before, but yes, afterwards, when I didn't have 50 emails every couple hours in my work inbox, I unfortunately shifted a lot of that time to news and went down kind of the rat hole of just getting so angry by reading the news. 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:54.879 I actually deleted TikTok before I even retired. 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:58.320 Like a week before, I'm like, all right, I gotta make sure I don't go down the TikTok rat hole. 00:14:58.399 --> 00:14:58.720 Yeah. 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:02.000 Um, unfortunately, all the other services have those too. 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:04.559 Um, but even there, I've set up timers on my phone. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:07.440 So, like Instagram, I only get 10 minutes a day. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:09.840 And then my phone tells me, nope, you're done for the day. 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:13.120 So I still have to set some guardrails for myself. 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:14.799 Uh it takes time, it's hard. 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:18.159 The phone has been in my hand, but it's always there. 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:23.679 You gotta be deliberate about it and and just go through your detox of getting away from it. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:24.639 Yeah, and that's hard. 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:25.919 I mean, that takes some, yeah. 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:29.840 There's no there's no easy one there either, other than maybe your wife stealing it from me. 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:32.559 I did have and my wife did one time. 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:36.480 I was on sabbatical way back, and I got a call that wasn't that important on my sabbatical. 00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:41.679 My wife actually did confiscate my phone for a sabbatical, but I could do that back then. 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:55.360 Um now it's kind of the key to my car, so I can't really get what other advice do you have for people thinking about or in the midst of creating a satisfying next chapter for themselves? 00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:58.320 You really don't know what retirement's gonna be like. 00:15:58.559 --> 00:16:05.440 I had envisioned getting a sprinter van and going out camping all the time and just being on the road. 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:10.879 But I decided to wait and then I rented one, did a trip, and I'm like, huh. 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:16.720 Maybe in my 40s I liked roughing it a bit, but at this age, I kind of want a marriott on wheels. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:25.279 And I'm like, okay, so my dream of what I or you know, of what I thought I would do a lot of didn't really mesh with my reality anymore. 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:33.200 And there's probably tons of other examples for since I was 40, I've always wanted a boat, and I just, you know, thought I'd be deep sea fishing every day that you didn't think of. 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:39.919 And you also will validate some of your dreams and say, or your visions of retirement and say, okay, that's not really what I want now. 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:41.840 There's no timeline, there's no rush. 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:47.279 That's why I keep my schedule open so there's opportunities to just do random things that I hadn't planned on. 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:48.159 That's the main thing. 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:53.039 There's no failure with retirement, it's just learning and adjusting, and just like you did in your career. 00:16:53.200 --> 00:17:00.320 So just don't build it up to something it's not, or it doesn't

have to meet your vision when you're 40 or whatever it is. 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:00.799 Yeah. 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:01.840 Try things out. 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:03.039 That's smart. 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:04.480 I think I agree with you. 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:08.400 Like, go rent a place, go go hang out. 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:15.039 Yeah, there was a time, like maybe think about going to a lower cost of living state. 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:20.079 Let's get a place in Arizona because it's nice and there's spring training and you know, da-da-da-da-da. 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:21.440 It would be lower cost for the kids. 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:22.319 I said, okay. 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:26.079 So we went there and we rented a house for a month and we did a road trip. 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:30.400 And and about a week and a half in, you know, I said nothing. 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:32.559 I like, I took tennis lessons there. 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:34.400 I was still doing my online classes. 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:35.200 I was cooking. 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:37.039 I was like, I was like, okay, I'm here for a month. 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:37.920 I'm gonna enjoy it. 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:39.359 I'm gonna go explore. 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:45.519 And about a week and a half into it, he came home and he's like, uh yeah, yeah, we're we're never gonna live here. 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:48.319 So I was like, and I didn't even have to. 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:51.279 So I'm like, okay, like I'm so glad, you know? 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:55.839 And so his whole vision of when we retire, let's have this honk and big house. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:58.000 Yeah, like I was like, I don't want to honk and big house. 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:01.519 I like our one-story ranch and very happy here. 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:02.640 Like, I'm good. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:03.440 100%. 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:05.599 We we hired a realtor in in Hawaii. 00:18:05.839 --> 00:18:08.319 My in-laws live in Hawaii, we like spending time in Hawaii. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:13.839 We had hired a realtor, we looked at places, and then I'm like, I love Hawaii, but I don't love humidity. 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:19.680 Like, I don't know, I can do this three months a year, yeah, something like that, but not a not year-round. 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:21.519 So yeah, you really got to validate. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:24.559 I mean, just like any other thing, decision in life, you got to validate. 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:28.000 It could be a dream, it could be things perfect, but yeah, yeah. 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:29.680 I mean, we're very lucky around here. 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:33.039 Three things that you would tell your pre-retirement self. 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:34.559 So enjoy the journey. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:36.960 I would also say good job to myself. 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:40.240 I've set a goal, I worked at it, I stayed on point. 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:42.160 That wasn't easy for that many years. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:46.000 You talked about guiding, you know, decisions in my career as well. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:50.720 It was like, okay, does this help me on my journey to the ultimate goal? 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:55.440 Should I get upset about it if I didn't get a promotion or I didn't get this particular thing when I wanted it? 00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:58.160 I'm like, well, does that really take me off my goal? 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:01.440 Even if I stay in this path, I'm still gonna hit my goal. 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:08.480 So I would try to let it go and say, okay, yes, that's unfair in my mind, or you know, oh, I deserve that or whatever. 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:10.160 But okay, fine. 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:12.880 But I'm still gonna get to my goal regardless. 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:19.599 That kind of helped keep me grounded as well, to be able to cast off the things that I didn't agree with or the stress of it. 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:28.720 Other pre-retirement things to say, as it gets back to number one in terms of enjoying the journey, just continue to appreciate the people along the way. 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:33.359 Nobody cares about a project, you know, three years after it's completed. 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:38.240 I certainly later in my career, I did really rotate more towards focusing on the people and the team. 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:41.119 And I think that's just as people age in general. 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:45.359 I get more joy out of seeing others successful than something that I accomplished. 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:51.920 And so if I could have done that earlier in my career, I think that would have given me uh more happiness through the journey as well. 00:19:52.559 --> 00:20:00.480 Um the last question: any surprises or things that you didn't expect in retirement? 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:05.440 I guess surprise is that time goes by so quickly. 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:06.079 Okay. 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:10.880 I just I mean, I'm used to I still get up to seven, I'm still out of bed by seven. 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:15.519 With work, I used to be at work at seven and stay at work till six at night at least and come home. 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:17.359 So I never felt I had any time. 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:20.960 So I'm like, okay, when I retire, I'm just gonna have boatloads of time. 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:27.119 And you do, but there's also things that consume it that aren't necessarily bad things. 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:30.000 We make a lot more of our meals, but I actually enjoy that. 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:33.039 Being able to go grocery shopping Tuesday at 10 a.m., there's nobody there. 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:34.480 It's it's nice, it's relaxing. 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:35.599 I know, isn't that great? 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:37.279 First, I mean, I go to Costco now. 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:41.039 I never went to Costco when I was working because there's no way I'm going on a weekend. 00:20:41.200 -->

00:20:43.839 Um, so I mean, time just goes by more quickly. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:46.079 I go for a hike or something, that's three hours. 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:47.759 I'm like, all right, come home by lunch. 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:49.680 All right, maybe I need a little nap. 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:51.920 And so time does go by quickly. 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:53.759 You have time for all the things you want to do. 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:56.480 So again, you just need to be deliberate about what you want to do. 00:20:56.880 --> 00:21:00.880 So, yeah, I think just that time still goes by quickly, but you still have time for the things you want to do. 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:07.759 And I just love the flexibility of being able to do anything on a spare of the moment and just following my random curiosities. 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:10.240 Um, I'm still learning a lot as well. 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:15.519 So I still find interest in learning about the world and traveling and exploring the world. 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:19.039 Good things, definitely just physical and mental health. 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:25.039 I used to come out of my office at the end of the day, and my face would be swollen and the stress, and my wife could see it on me. 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:26.960 My blood pressures down. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:34.000 Back to the Larry that she met in high school, maybe not as thin, um, but still, you know, as funny and good looking. 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:39.839 Um being able to spend more quality time with them. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:43.920 My kids are graduating from college or back at home for a little while now. 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:48.160 So being able to connect with them again since have they have they noticed a difference? 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:49.440 Oh, yeah, yeah, totally. 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:50.240 I mean, it's funny. 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:52.319 My youngest what have they said about it? 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:56.480 Well, like my oldest, I wasn't working quite as crazy when he was born. 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:59.599 So we talk about how we read them books every night and all this quality. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:00.160 Time. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.440 My youngest is like, Oh, what did you read? 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:01.599 Me? 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:04.480 I'm like, I don't even remember your first three years of birth. 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:09.680 I would come in, I'd sit on the floor to read with him as well, and I would just fall back and fall asleep. 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:15.279 So he remembers me snoring on his floor because I was so tired and exhausted. 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:19.200 And now he's 17 and have been retired since he was a sophomore in high school. 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:27.359 So I'm having that connection with him now that I didn't necessarily have when he was one to five years old or 10 years old when I was working all the time. 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:28.480 So yeah, they didn't. 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:33.200 Are you taking a book into his room and sitting down on the ground and go, okay, come on, come on over here. 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:36.880 I'm not gonna I'm not gonna snore tonight. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:38.000 I will do that tonight. 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:43.039 Yeah, he'll freak him out and he'll tell me to leave, but I'll still do it. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:44.480 I love making him uncomfortable. 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:46.319 I mean, that's that's the joy of my life as well. 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:47.920 Well, I'm here and I'm present. 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:50.640 We have a whole different relationship than we had before. 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:52.640 Um that's that's great. 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:54.720 That's yeah, that's wonderful. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:59.200 One thing I didn't ask you was health care and retirement. 00:22:59.440 --> 00:22:59.920 Yes. 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:06.240 Um, you're early age-wise retirement because you retired at 53. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:12.960 So you've got a good number of years before medical kicks in. 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:14.960 So do you have any thoughts? 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:18.960 I I don't want you to have to like tell too much or reveal too much about you. 00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:23.519 But tell me about healthcare and how you planned for that so early. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:24.720 No, you're absolutely right. 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:27.119 That was that was probably my number one concern. 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:29.599 Not probably, it was my number one concern retirement. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:32.799 I had an accounting background before, and then I went into IT. 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:34.160 So I've had my numbers. 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:37.599 I have all my activity in Quicken for the last 20 years. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:39.440 So I knew where I was spending. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:46.559 And so, budget-wise and things like that for retirement, I felt I had a pretty good grasp on what I spend and what areas I could cut if I needed. 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:54.880 But uh, healthcare and property taxes in California, um, two of the things you can't really influence much. 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:56.799 Um, so property taxes, that's just set. 00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:02.640 You just plan for it, and it doesn't really impact your life, you know, on a daily basis once you have the numbers set. 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:04.000 Healthcare, yes. 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:09.920 Uh, so when you do retire, you still can do COBRA from your company for 18 months, which I did. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:12.160 So I stuck with the employer healthcare. 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:16.559 You have to pay the full amount yourself, but at least you know the number and you know the coverage. 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:18.559 And there's no way around it. 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:23.039 Your employer coverage is better than your anything you're gonna find in the open market. 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:23.279 Right. 00:24:23.519

--> 00:24:24.880 So you just have to get over that. 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:30.240 So if you do have conditions or things you want fixed, definitely get them done in the first 18 months. 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:31.359 It'll be the best for you. 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:35.279 The best coverage, without a doubt, is through the employer plans. 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:42.559 After the 18 months, then you go through Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, insurance options. 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:50.559 And when you go through there, at least in California, there are, you know, like Blue Shield and things like that, but they're exorbitant in cost. 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:54.720 The most reasonable price option is through Kaiser. 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:58.400 I had not had Kaiser since I was like 10 years old and I was worried about them. 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:00.720 And I'm not doing a PSA for Kaiser. 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:02.880 It's been good for us, it's worked. 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:08.880 And the the fees are so much lower than the other insurance options that we're fine. 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:16.240 Like if you need to go get something and just private pay, it's still cheaper to get Kaiser for catastrophic and be your normal care. 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:20.480 But then, like I went to a dermatologist, so I just paid that out of pocket. 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:27.039 You can get different options, but it's gonna be a big expense and and you know it's gonna continue to increase each year as well. 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:29.440 Uh yeah, how did you model that? 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:34.079 Well, I had read 18% potentially increases per year. 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:36.640 So you just have to model that within the family. 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:42.079 And it, if you have children, once they turn 18, then they can go and get it on their own. 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:43.680 So that drops the price a lot. 00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:50.160 So certain things, yeah, when you're working, you kind of keep your kids on your medical until they're 26 or 27 or whatever it is. 00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:52.079 You keep them on there as long as possible. 00:25:52.319 --> 00:26:01.680 When you're on your own, it's much cheaper to actually have them go off your insurance and have them buy on their own because then it's based on their income and their coverage needs. 00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:03.680 So my youngest, for instance, just went off. 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:13.119 We did the Obamacare on her own, and she's making so low at this point that it's basically free medical for her as an example. 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:16.559 So you just need to look at things a little differently and understand it. 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:20.960 But there's there's blogs, there's all kinds of things out there you can read about to understand it. 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:24.480 But medical care by far, biggest expense and biggest worry. 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:26.160 I really enjoyed this. 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:28.480 This was super fun and helpful. 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:30.160 I hope you found it fun. 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:33.599 I did, and I can't wait to read a book to my son this mor this morning. 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:36.880 And I so yeah, so thank you. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:37.920 Great. 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:41.839 There are the dreamers and the planners. 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:44.160 The planners make their dreams come true. 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:49.519 This, in essence, is what Larry did for himself at the very young age of 15. 00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:56.400 He planned ahead in great detail, knowing early on that he wanted to retire before the age of 54. 00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:08.319 I liked hearing his perspective that life is decided by hundreds of decisions you make and that you chart your course, not just by the big ones, and that you can always go back and course correct along the way. 00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:13.920 His process for embracing the uncomfortable, even if you hate it, made me laugh. 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:22.960 I hope it inspires you to think about what you might need to do in your own life that's unpleasant, but necessary for you to reach your own goals. 00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:25.920 I'll leave you with a few quotes about planning. 00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:29.839 Plans are worthless, but planning is everything, Dwight D. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:31.119 Eisenhower. 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:34.319 If you fail to plan, you're planning to fail. 00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:35.759 Benjamin Franklin. 00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:37.680 All right, that's enough on planning. 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:39.200 Go out and make it a great day. 00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:40.400 We'll see you soon. 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:42.079 Thanks for listening.