We have less than a year to go until we both (semi) retire and are both pretty young. DH wanted to retire at 50 and he's worked his behind off to make that a reality. He won't retire completely, but he's just going to be the "fill in" guy if they need him. Somehow I'm thinking he may be just as busy as he was before, but at least he won't feel guilty saying NO. He's looking forward to some already planned hunting and fishing trips. Everyone seems to think we are too young to retire, but if we can afford it (which we can) than why is it so bad? Were excited to travel the states with the camper and the pups. Plus, it's not like we can't go back to work. We're both very employable in fields that are desperate for workers. Our issue is going to be finding decent health insurance that we can buy.....but we deal with that now, so I guess we'll deal with it as we go. Thankfully we're both healthy. I wouldn't be surprised if I find a part time job somewhere else too.....just to do something different. Or maybe do some volunteering at the Humane Society.
We also have a system, but in our home her income is hers and my income is hers.
That's the system we use! LOL! He doesn't want anything to do with personal finance. As long as the frig is full, his wallet has cash, and the electric/heat is on, he's happy. I show him the statements and such but he doesn't really care. I do a personal asset sheet at the end of every year so it gives us a pretty good idea where we stand from year to year and I make him look at it. He knows where the accounts are at but he never goes there. We always have cash so there's no need for an ATM......haven't use one in over 20 years. It helps that we're both pretty simplistic and have frugal tastes.
I agree with the others who state that living below your means and paying cash for things is the way to go. We paid our mortgage off in 12 years on a 15 year note by putting extra savings toward the note since we HATE to pay interest. Plus, with extra savings we were able to take advantage of opportunities throughout the years that otherwise we would have missed out on. Hubs has flipped fishing boats, tractors, trailers, 4 wheelers, and a bunch of other things by buying them and fixing them up (if need be) and re-selling them at a profit. He likes to tinker with stuff like that and he's good at it too, so he has a hobby that is quite profitable. Cash is king, so when you flash it in front of someone, they are more willing to deal with you.
We also are not planning on any inheritance, which I'm sure there will be. It amazes me that many folks I know are PLANNING their future on inheritance money.
Although I know a lot of people like the ones already mentioned in this thread who make some pretty stupid money mistakes. So, it really shouldn't shock me. Common sense just isn't very common anymore.