TBD

Abstract

This TBD column finds me in a rather different place than I was just a couple of years ago. At that time, I made an agreement with one of my senior engineers that I would keep my safety consulting business going until he reached his retirement age goal and I reached my 65th birthday. At that point, my plans were to “retire” in some way or another. Not completely retire, but reduce my staff and begin working part time instead of full time — and choose more interesting projects.

In preparation for this event, my wife and I made a few changes to our living arrangement. This mainly involved paying off the remainder of the mortgage on our house and installing a 7 kW solar array. Those investments resulted in our having almost no mortgage and close to zero energy costs. So far this year, our total electric bill is about $20 after 10 months — including our air conditioning, swimming pool and hot tub electricity use. Now, we can comfortably live on Social Security. We also managed to put aside a retirement nest egg that allows us some flexibility to do things besides just existing on Social Security. I no longer have to work for a living; I now only work for fun.