Professional Painting Contractors Forum banner

Will You Ever Really Retire?

6K views 35 replies 12 participants last post by  RH 
#1 ·
I can not imagine a life without work. I may slow down, do projects with a more limited scope BUT retire!?! I can not imagine a life in which I am no longer a contributor. What then, hang out and wait to die? When do we reach the age when we are no longer useful?

Remember those slow months when the phone rarely rang and you got tired of odd jobs around the house. Can you really imagine that as a life style.

Is the 80th Birthday when we get told to stop living and go sit in the corner?:vs_sad: THEN :hang: ME!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: FishPaint
#3 ·
How so? Don't you have any retirement funds or assets? That would be kind of scary!

No one in my family has "retired" for some generations. One great Uncle died while roofing a house at 98, another great Uncle was a Post Master and worked til his dying day at the ripe age of 96. My father was forced to retire at 65 and was dead 6 years later. My spouse is 71 and still working full time as am I at 62. We could both retire tomorrow if we chose but would have no idea what to do with ourselves if we did.

Nothing is more frightening to me than becoming useless! I have been working for wages since I was seven years old; it's the only life I know.
 
#4 ·
Just because you retire doesn't mean you become useless! Instead of working yourself to the bone, fighting traffic, getting up too early, bitching at your spouse, or as your Uncle did, die while roofing a house at 98. Why in effin hell would anyone think of climbing a ladder and getting on a roof at that age unless they were contemplating suicide?

Instead, you could pursue things like shopping for great food products and cooking gourmet meals, watching your favorite game show(Jeopardy), reading whatever the heck you've always wanted to, surfing the net, going to museums, going to the beach, becoming one with nature, stopping to smell the roses, playing golf, taking leisurely walks, have lengthy meaningful conversations with your significant other, etc. etc. etc.
 
#5 ·
@ Brushman4 Because I love love painting. My Great Uncles loved their jobs too! Nobody thought it was strange for them to keep doing what they had always done. My father was heartbroken when they disposed of him.

I shop for great food now & cook great meals now but it is not a life in and of itself. BTW: I don't bitch at my spouse nor he at me or at least it's rare. We're partners in this life and respectful of each other. I can do all the things you list, do most, and still keep painting. I have always said I want to die with my brush in hand! I did mean it!

Clearly I'm an outlier! Doing what you love to do, you never work a day in your life!
 
#15 ·
Wow, jennifer are you saying your Great Uncle was still doing roofing jobs at 98 for HO"S? How at that age did anyone insure him?

I know for sure if I was in the market for a new roof and he came out to give me an estimate and looked a day over 90, I'd say sorry, no way. Give someone else a chance who really needs the money to support a family.

It's quite noble of you to want to die with a brush in your hand, but I wouldn't want anyone to do that while painting my house!
 
#6 ·
My target age for retiring from painting was 65. That was almost a year ago. But, I still enjoy working and still do pretty well physically so I continue to take on jobs and just renewed my state license for another two years. However, for the past year or so I have been way more selective about what jobs I take on and by this time next year I will be retiring for good. At that time I won’t be renewing my insurance and bond and will let everyone know we are out of the game permanently.
 
#10 ·
Instead, you could pursue things like shopping for great food products and cooking gourmet meals, watching your favorite game show(Jeopardy), reading whatever the heck you've always wanted to, surfing the net, going to museums, going to the beach, becoming one with nature, stopping to smell the roses, playing golf, taking leisurely walks, have lengthy meaningful conversations with your significant other, etc. etc. etc.

This all sounds like being pretty useless to me. At 73 I guess the answer is no, if I'm doing something I like why would I quit
 
#11 ·
I sure would like to retire someday, just to say "I made it." I love the PAINTING part of this life-long job, but the other parts, especially paperwork and taxes, I loathe. And, I've previously stated how much I hate taking or making phone calls even though it's the life blood of the business world. Text me and I'm happy, call me and I become "grumpy old man." I guess after so many years you get a feel for how each call is going to go based on what is said. Anymore, (and I know this sounds crazy) when someone says, "can you give me an estimate on what it's going to cost?" I already know they won't/don't have the money to have the painting work done.
 
#12 ·
I also have come to dislike the "helpless people." You know the ones. They call you, the painter, to come screw in a light bulb, put outlet covers on, blow leaves and twigs off the roof, etc. Just had one on Saturday. Customer calls and says she has a few screws loose, yes, you read that correctly. It was indeed a few screws.......on her shutters. 4 of them came loose after many years of service. It took me all of 5 mins to put new ones in. She surely had a screwdriver somewhere in her house? I'm sure if I charged her $100 for the service, that would end the crazy calls for simple stuff, but, I have a heart, I guess.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I learned early on to say sure, I can do that for you and it will only cost you $### / @ double my usual rates. I learned to do this my mid 30s when I drew the line at "Could you do a favor for me, I need my garage cleaned up enough to get my car in." SO I said sure it will only cost..." Her jaw just about hit her knees. I said, "Well, I'm a painter. If you want something that has nothing to do with paint I charge more."

I am 62 now. I have other things I do as well as painting; I do rare book cleaning and repairs, some bookbinding, furniture refinishing and I paint pictures on canvas and paper. I only take jobs I will enjoy doing and I no longer work my butt off.

I will not work for people who make me hate something I love to do! I used to really work a grueling schedule in my middle years. Now I'm the laid back painter. I have a small stable of regular clients and take the odd new one but only on a good referral. I have also simplified my tax issues and let a CA take care of the paper work. For me, this is retirement.

(I just found out we can not write 3 Xs in a row! Whats up with that?!):sad:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gymschu
#24 ·
My dad finally retired early last Fall after spending 40+ years as a hands-on painting contractor, followed by 19 years as a boat captain, having worked his way up to a 100-ton license, in addition to serving in the USMC. He pretty much worked “every day” right up to the day he finally became immobile, ultimately succumbing to terminal illness last Tuesday.

I’m 48 years in the bucket (also starting at the age of 7 like JT did...which is just short of child abuse by today’s standards) and will probably follow my father’s suit, working until the day I drop too, or become so disabled that I can no longer work.

I tend to dabble in a lot of the more artisan/less labor intensive aspects of the craft as I’m getting older but can still hump a 40 ft ladder and out-produce any young & energetic athletically inclined painter without so much as busting a sweat, with an equally quick recovery time...poetry in motion as some of my audiences put it..

I enjoy mentoring to younger tradespersons, not limited to the painting field, passing on and imparting knowledge & skills which I find are getting lost with each new generation...it’s about giving back at this stage in my career.

I’ve enjoyed this site while tending to my dad the past few months, but now it’s time for me to get back to business as usual...many more miles to go before I can rest...Semper Fi..
 
#26 · (Edited)
Had my yearly physical last week. My doctor told me he’d like to see me get a bit more exercise (which I suspect is a stock comment). It was all I could do to refrain from suggesting he come out and join me for a day in doing a vaulted ceiling or a two story entryway.
 
#27 ·
@RH and to think some people pay to exercise. Maybe we could make money running an exercise program, giving the brushes and putting them on ladders.:vs_smirk:
I suppose it's not surprising I weigh more in the winter and start losing the pounds again in the early spring as work picks up. I even have winter and summer sized pants.
 
#28 ·
Same here.

Never had many issues with my weight whereas my dad was always on some sort a diet his entire life - all to no avail. My Mom rarely fluctuated a pound or two her entire life, so I guess I took after her.

However, when I turned 60 it was like a switch got flipped; I put on an extra 10 pounds and still haven’t gotten rid of it. But have to admit I haven’t worked real hard to fix that either. Maybe THAT will have to be another hobby when I do retire.
 
#30 ·
I get my first SS payment next month. That’s partially why I will be retiring within the year. Just met with our accountant last week about the outcome of this year’s taxes and according to her we need to severely limit our painting income unless we want to jump up into the 22% tax bracket - and promptly begin paying a good bit more of what we earn to out dear old uncle.
 
#32 ·
You should be able to earn more yet reduce your taxable income by investing in an IRA? Ask your accountant about this.

It would suck to lower your potential income just because you’re worried about paying more taxes. I’m sure that you can find other ways to reduce your taxable income if you do a google search.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#36 ·
You should be able to earn more yet reduce your taxable income by investing in an IRA? Ask your accountant about this.

It would suck to lower your potential income just because you’re worried about paying more taxes. I’m sure that you can find other ways to reduce your taxable income if you do a google search.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oh, believe me, we have had that conversion on several levels. We are currently pretty much maxing out our options for reducing our tax liability but will still be hitting the ceiling if we aren’t careful. I just wish the brackets were a little less far apart; 12 to 22% seems a big too much of a jump IMO. But, guess that is a part of simplifying the process.

Starting many years ago, we began investing as much as possible and as a result, have a pretty decent investment portfolio built up. A strategy we used over those years is that whenever we took on a loan in order to make a big item purchase such as a car, when we paid the loan off we rolled the monthly payment amount into our investments. Sure it would have been nice to have that extra money to just spend but we figured that if our budget could handle the loan payment, it could handle that same amount going into a our retirement plan. Then, down the line it would be time to replace the other vehicle and we would eventually repeat the process. Also, we always staggered our vehicle purchases so we were never paying for more than one vehicle at a time and we always kept our rigs for a minimum of 10 years.
 
#34 ·
A CPA is worth their weight in gold. I meet with mine in September to deal with the current year and to plan for the next year. Too late to do anything in March.

I also pay the extra costs to have both a S corp and a C corp as I get to put 40% of my income away pre-tax by doing that. At 69 I am still keeping the business going as I have no confidence in the stock market with the banksters and no confidence in our government that is run by the likes of the Koch brothers and their ilk.

I was in Sweden, a country know for its high tax rates and while waiting at the hotel there was a group of tour bus drivers outside. I got to talking to them and they all owned their house free and clear and all had a vacation home that they also owned free and clear. In the USA most of the people I know are one serious illness away from losing their homes and being out of the streets and they have medical insurance.

My business income frees me from worry and enables me to get whatever healthcare I need without having coverage denied by some administrator at the insurance company. For me having to work until I die is the price I pay for living in this country and I accept this. It is my choice to stay and to live with the consequences.
 
#35 ·
Americans think they are the smartest, live the best and believe that nothing can go wrong, until one day it does and poof it's all gone.

People in Scandinavia do pay higher taxes, but don't have the worry of what will happen if something goes wrong. That's why they are among the happiest populaces in the world.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top