Having a Business in LOS when over Retirement Age - When Do You Stop?

[Pilotman]

Chap living not far from me is building a resort down the road, very nice location and it looks like a lot of work and money is going into it, log cabins, play areas , pool etc.  I am told he also owns a restaurant in the local City and spends his time between the two, one up and running and the other an obviously expensive investment.   He must be in his late 60s early 70s I would guess, so about my kind of age.  I admire his tenacity and energy, but I don't get the motivation. To be honest, I just could not be bothered with all the hassle of a company here, at this time in my life.  When is the right time to just chill out and relax, before the Quantum World comes to call?  Why do some older people feel the need to continue to work, put in the hours and the money, when the alternative is a relaxing retirement.  I just dont get it.   I guess it's all a very personal thing, but having been very busy in my full time working life, and worked idiotic hours on many occasions, I value the time I have left to just chill.   

[beachproperty]

I built a resort in a beach town on the beach from scratch. I'm 67. But since Thailand doesn't allow me to work ....so I don't. Wife and daughter run it and provide income for them'. I'm happy ....their happy!

[timendres]

I am absolutely incapable of "chilling". Hence, I continue to work. But I love my work. I enjoy it much more than the things most people consider "relaxing".

[scubascuba3]

Maybe the wife is the motivation / driver, desire for money and employment 

[transam]

I know a bloke where I am who did much the same thing, but, he would not take any advice regarding important stuff, he was in his 70's and knew everything.

He is no longer in LOS, his now ex wife is lumbered with the creditors at the door.....????

[Kadilo]

Some people use work as their hobby and if they stop working will end up bored shi.tless. 

Edited December 29, 2020 by Kadilo

[OneMoreFarang]

I like my work and I will continue as long as I like it.

 

I find it interesting when people start with new projects like a restaurant or bar or a resort or a rice or fish farm when they never did anything like that their whole life. But it seems lots of guys "think" that some businesses like above run almost by themselves and somehow make money. Too many of those guys find out the hard way that their thinking was incorrect.

 

And then there are of course all those "investments" in these great business opportunities from the gf - who's only previous business experience was to get commissions from lady drinks.

[robertson468]

I built a small resort many years ago and because my Thai Wife cannot inherit any of my pensions, I gave it to her.  I still do the bookings and customer relations thing, but when I go to "the pub in the sky" she will have her own pension from the income for the Resort, which takes about 1.4M baht annually.  It also beats either sitting around doing nothing or becoming a bar fly, neither of which I find appealing.  As Nelson Mandella said, "I have retired from being retiired".

[1FinickyOne]

obviously, he's not you and probably doesn't understand how you can sit and "relax" - not do anything constructive all day... people are different - get used to it... accept - - my father could never understand why people chose chocolate when they could have vanilla... 

[1FinickyOne]

On 12/28/2020 at 2:35 PM, timendres said:

incapable of "chilling". Hence, I continue to work.

I loved being in business and thought I would never stop... and then it stopped being fun - so, I retired and did other things - keep the options open... if you just do what you want... so many options. I think this year I will become a painter... 

 

what is it you do? It must be fun.

[natway09]

If I did not have an interest in 2 businesses that I dabble in on a daily basis I would go stark raving crazy

as could not imagine myself sitting on a barstool at 1pm & I am not a beach person as I see many others doing.

Not criticizing just not me. Beer time is around 7pm along with in my latter years protecting my once a week tee time, again, no beer until later

[khunPer]

On 12/28/2020 at 8:02 AM, Pilotman said:

I just dont get it.   I guess it's all a very personal thing, but having been very busy in my full time working life, and worked idiotic hours on many occasions, I value the time I have left to just chill.

It never crossed my mind that I would stop working, not even when I became 70 or older. I was self-employed, had my own companies, and liked my work, which originally was purely based on interest, but there were also harder times, where it was more like surviving until the next upturn.

 

Then one day, a friend decided that I needed a holiday, and said that I owed him (equivalent to) $650; because he had bought an Aeroflot ticket for me to join him on a trip to Thailand...

 

I didn't have time for vacation, but we had talked much, during a some years, about that my friend and I should take a trip together, just like we did when we were young, so it was hard to say no.

 

After that trip I reconsidered my business situation. Why should I work so hard, and pay a lot in taxes, with the risk of getting too old to enjoy the little money left to me; money which I had been worked so hard for...????

 

So I retired instead early at age 56, but kept what little business I could easily control online. I didn't move to Thailand to work, but I learned that it's much better to set up and run some business here, with an extremely low taxation compared to my Scandinavian home country – my home country is number one in the World when it comes to taxation; you name it, we tax it – so if you can afford the risk, i.e. never invest more in Thailand than you can afford to loose, I fully understand people that wish to continue with a running business, or creating something for their family; and I am shareholder in a Thai company.

 

My only regret is that I didn't retire much earlier, but that would of course not have been financially possible. However, today I don't understand how I ever could find time to work...????

[GreasyFingers]

On 12/28/2020 at 2:02 PM, Pilotman said:

I just dont get it.   I guess it's all a very personal thing, but having been very busy in my full time working life, and worked idiotic hours on many occasions, I value the time I have left to just chill.   

Same here. There are many things in life to enjoy and I would think retiring to Thailand was one of them. There is always "work" here looking after the property but very little responsibility like running a successful business. My time is my own (apart from family commitments) and that to me is retirement.

We do not live forever so I also cannot understand why someone is so consumed with work until they die.

[mokwit]

Now at the age where I have to accept that things are going to be different going forward and I have to accept that I am retired - my concentration and drive is gone. I used to see pictures of retired people in Florida and think they were giving themselves a reward after a life of work - I now realise it was just as likely some had reluctantly opted out of career or running business because it had become too hard. Thought I would be able to go on with my own stuff e.g. stock market until my '90's - but maybe not.

[PGSan]

5 hours ago, robertson468 said:

which takes about 1.4M baht annually. 

So what are the net profits? 

[foreverlomsak]

On 12/30/2020 at 12:18 AM, Kadilo said:

Some people use work as their hobby and if they stop working will end up bored shi.tless. 

I remember an friend that was forced to retire at 65, he said after 2 months didn't know how he managed to find the time to go to work before.

2 months later he keeled over entering the bowls club, his wife put it down to the pressure of boredom, i.e. he didn't have the incentive (work) to keep going.

Make what you can of the statements they are true.

[GreasyFingers]

2 minutes ago, foreverlomsak said:

I remember an friend that was forced to retire at 65, he said after 2 months didn't know how he managed to find the time to go to work before.

2 months later he keeled over entering the bowls club, his wife put it down to the pressure of boredom, i.e. he didn't have the incentive (work) to keep going.

Make what you can of the statements they are true.

Not the first one I have heard of. What worries me is: did they have no other interests in life, because it is a big world out there.

[Bradmeister]

OP 

 

Its the same for men and women who are still gainfully employed in large corporations which don't force individuals to retire due to discrimination laws.

 

They don't know anything else, and are molded and complacent to the same grinding routine, day in and day out.

 

On a similar note, most of us were conditioned and trained to work, be the best at your craft, and the world will take care of itself, as you take care of you and your family. 

[Golden Triangle]

I retired at 58, 9 years ago, never miss work, I had about a year having fun with the gf, then settled down to properly enjoy my new found freedom, trying to grow fruit & veg for fun, did a couple of expensive crazy things just for fun, now I like to potter about the house, stay away from the affected masses, have a beer or two with mates & generally enjoy life, I'm not gonna be here forever & like many here I left school at 15 with no prospects, so all in all I'm happy with the way it panned out ????