Retirement ?????

[kenny2]

Would like some advice. Have been offered a retirement situation as of June of this year. Have crunched some figures and am sure that the wife and I could live comfortably with this amount. Am mid-fifties, still like work some of the time but enjoy it less and less.
Are there any drawbacks to not working? I always have projects that I enjoy doing and love to travel but can only travel on short trips due to the call of work.
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

[George Jr.]

Ken,

I retired on a offer 18 months ago at age 59. For the first year you wonder why did I do this. After that you wonder "how did I ever have time to work".

It is a transition like other times in your life. The key, are you and your bride in agreement "it's time". Then it's a simple decision, what is more important, my money or my time.

Last, be sure you have a reason to get up in the morning.


Best of luck,

[Porky Pig]

Originally posted by kenny2
Are there any drawbacks to not working?

You're kidding me, right?

I've been retired for a little over a year .. and Petunia retired last month ... we're both in our fifties. We take off in a few weeks on our 3 year (at least) odyssey.

We have had this planned for years ... and did all the number crunching too. If the numbers work for you ... then go for it. Studies have shown that people who retire early ... and stay active ... live longer.

[wahoonc]

I agree with the above posts. I am not quite there...yet but retirement in my early 50's is very real. Will I quit working? I don't think so! I quit my last job because I didnot want to go to work anymore. I don't make as much $$ at my current job. BUT! I enjoy going to work most days. If it gets to the level of the last one...I will quit! I will be happy in my work! Go4it!

Aaron

[Big Dee]

Hey, if you can swing it- DO IT and have fun!!! I plan on early retirement as soon as I can swing it.

[flyfisher]

When I retired, the guys at work gave me a big card.

On the front it said "Why would a guy give up a job like this making hundreds of dollars every week?"

When you opened it up, the inside continued "For doing absolutely nothing!"

The only drawback from my perspective is that I gave up those hundreds of dollars every week for doing absolutely nothing.
But at least now I can do nothing and not feel guilty about it!

John

[Davydd]

I'm still putting in typical 12 hour days. I think about it a lot especially now that I know I am the oldest person in our 120 person department in a large corporation. That's scarey when our department of professional architects and engineers is considerably older than the other 5,000 people in the corporate headquarters.

Some days you bitch as if in a Dilbert cartoon. Other days you get an adrenalin rush from the competitiveness, excitement, challenges and cutting edge happinings. But if they give me an offer I can't refuse I would leave with no regrets. The hardest part of being close to retirement is the realization there are not enough years left to make a difference or ascend and that there are an awful lot of hungry jackels nipping at your heels.

If I left I would not retire. I would simply go back in business for myself. I did a stint of that for nine years in the past and they were my most exciting and innovative years.

[norbert]

i have an affinity for all yoou "my brothers"..nothing more needs to be said...other then..those human resource types with their cookie cutter job descrips...and responsibilities.....and then specific years of experience... i just have to admit that i have been forced in to early retirement besides my self...so now there is sometin' said about old age and youthful exuberance.....look out for your back side....

[Rog0525]

I think George Jr. pegged the answer: "Last, be sure you have a reason to get up in the morning.".
I took early retirement at age 55 and have no regrets. I think retirement should be viewed as a new beginning rather than as an end.
Now you will have time to do those things that you put off during the working years. Visit the Grand Canyon, go fishing, spend more time with your brat grandkids. Do all of those things you have always wanted to. Life is short but the road is long. Worry less about making money and more about making memories.

Rog

[COLORADO_CAMPER]

I am 33 years old and nowhere near retirement, but I wonder at the reasons that people do or don't do certain things in life.

Life is dynamic. You may plan for certain "life events" to happen at certain times and some of them may occur right on cue. Other things may never happen because of circumstances and events that you could never have planned for, or would never have wanted to plan for. If you set stock in living a life that is structured and planned to the smallest detail, you will ultimately meet with great disappointment. Its kinda like planning a picnic only to have endless rain showers spoil things. Well, you can cry over your misfortune or you can adapt and do something else that salvages the time, the togetherness and the memories that you were hoping to create. Your plans for a day in the park were not cast in stone - they couldn't be because they were necessarily dependent upon factors which you have no control over. so, why should the rain bring finality to sharing a day with the ones you love? Seize the opportunity that is still available to you and forge ahead with a new plan that will achieve what you were hoping for in another way.

Maybe your retirement opportunity has come earlier than you had planned, maybe you and your loved ones will live alot longer than you had ever dreamed possible. Maybe you will someday wish that you had worked a few years longer so that you could live just a little more comfortably. Or maybe that's being greedy.

Kenny, if you and your wife have your health, a dream and a plan for tomorrow, that is all you will ever need to be happy. Don't dwell on the finality of the decisions you make, because even those that you are certain will work out as you have planned really aren't certain at all. Don't pass on planning a picnic because you fear the rain. Plan for it, be happy in the prospects of it and if it rains, plan again.

My point is that you can second guess every decision you have ever made or will ever make. But it is not fair to you or your loved ones to hold yourself accountable for plans that didn't work out. The only accountability you have is for opportunities lost.

My advice ... retire. Give yourself permission for you and your wife to chase your wildest dreams. If, someday, you decide that you were not ready for retirement then make the grandest comeback you can think of. Remember, nothing is final except death, and that is the only hurdle in life that you will never clear.

[gryphon]

My husband retired two years ago. My full retirement date was not for 15 more years. I had worked at my job 32 years. I couldn't see working the next fifteen years. I could take an early retirement at age 55. But now is when i want to enjoy life.
I retired last august at age 50. We don't have as much money. We are doing well nonetheless. When i hit 55 i can start collecting retirement.
We have an airstream. I don't regret it. I am enjoying my time. It was a hard decision, I even went to a shrink for 6 months to get the courage up to do it. And i did and i won't ever look back.
If you can by any means, do.

Betsy

[67caravel]

Some enjoy retirement, others don't.

I was able to contemplate retirement at an early age (40). I went for it... Sure, it was fun for awhile. But, what then? I hated it.

It's an individual decision based on many, many things.

Just be careful and think it through. Could be right for you. CO Camper speaks much wisdom for such a pipsqueak . You can always go back to work on your own terms.

X

[COLORADO_CAMPER]

o
<{}> Pipsqueak!??!
l l

Xray, I must admit, you see right through me!

[67caravel]

Good one CO Camper! You have a fine sense of humor too!

X

[Cruiser]

I posted this article from The Caravanner (1957) in another thread, but it fits better here in the discussion of retirement:
(page 1 of 2)

[Cruiser]

(page 2 of 2)

[kenny2]

I think I was already favoring retirement, but your comments have really helped. At this stage of life I think one has to be able to just do what you want to do. It will be interesting to be able to set out on a trip and not have to hurry back after 7 days or 10 as I have always had to in the past.

Also, will be able to do things I want to do rather than be in the office whether I want to be there or not. Am going to take advantage of some outdoor things that I have never had the time to volunteer my time for.

Looking forward to sharing my experiences with others on this board. Thanks, again.

[zduke4x]

Retiring for me meant acknowledging that I no longer was working for others (family) but could pamper myself some and get out of a career I had worn out on because I did not HAVE to do it if I didn't want to......it is very different to wake up and like a kid, decide what to do today.....it might be play or even work at something new....but the freedom to choose is good...jem

[Don in E Texas]

We also retired early. Never a regret...

Some things we thought about:
*Medical insurance (company I retired from would continue insurance until I reached 65, so we were covered there)
*Retire TO something rather than retiring FROM something. Have a reason to get up each morning! Hobbies, activities, etc.
*Do things that will "work" your mind as well as your body. Keep active! If you are a golfer and it has rained ALL WEEK what do you do? (or fisherman, etc.).... Well, that might not count -- golfers play in the rain

Time for me to start getting busy today ---- need to get the Airstream ready for Easter weekend outing. New shocks on the "Orange Monster" ---- we'll be ready to head out!

. . . . and I havn't even mentioned the daily "Honey-Do" list!!
how did I have the time to work??

enjoy whatever choice you make.

don

[Fyrzowt]

I ran across this old thread, found it interesting and decided to bring it back. I was surprised at the near unanimous opinions regarding the advice that the O.P. was requesting.

I recently retired from my Fire Department job and am working full time installing cabinets and doors. I enjoy it, but look forward to the day that I actually retire. Right now I'm just tired....
Dave