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Member |
I think you're right, but everyone's different. I've been retired now for 13 years and wish I could have even sooner. Most of my friends are retired as well and wouldn't go back to work for anything. But two still love doing deals and making the money (even though neither will ever need any more) therefore continue working which is probably best for them because I'm not sure what they'd do with their time. No car is as much fun to drive, as any motorcycle is to ride. | |||
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| Member |
Made that decision this last spring. 25 years working in prisons, 15 years escorting convicts as a contractor, several years as a retail gun clerk (part time) and I finally decided it was time. I'm enjoying it. | |||
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Member |
I'm 68 and forced into retirement 10 years ago. Most enjoyable time of my life now. | |||
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Baroque Bloke |
^^^^^^^ Same avatar as WaterburyBob (page 1 of this thread). Is that a stock SIGforum avatar? Serious about crackers. | |||
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Itchy was taken |
I'll be 66 and 10 months in April 2026 (Full retirement age for me). I plan on retiring on May 1 2026. We'll take a small hit in income, but we should be fine.Looking forward to it. _________________ This space left intentionally blank. | |||
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| Member |
I just retired a few days ago and while it is a nice feeling, I still feel like I am doing something wrong and should be somewhere, if that makes sense. I thank the Good Lord for allowing me the opportunity for making it as far as I did in my career. My body feels beat sometimes after years of punishment but look forward to whatever time I have left until God calls me home. | |||
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| Itchy was taken |
That makes perfect sense. I am starting to feel a little of that, and I'm still over 6 months out. That first Monday will be a shock, I am sure. _________________ This space left intentionally blank. | |||
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| More persistent than capable |
Retired 10 years ago and don't miss getting shot out of a cannon each morning. Our days are full and fulfilling,we often wonder how we had the time to work. Lick the lollipop of mediocrity once and you suck forever. | |||
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His Royal Hiney |
During those bad years when I thought I was stuck working until I die, golf saved my sanity. My wife let me play golf on the weekends. I met someone who was also upside down on their mortgage while playing golf and we often would meet up. During golf, nothing else was on my mind other than that white ball. I often played at dusk for the lower rates. I couldn't sleep at night because of the thoughts crowding in my mind. I used to visualize hitting the ball off the first tee. Watching it drop into the shadows up ahead. I'd walk off the tee to go search for my ball and I'd fall asleep before I even reached the shadows. "It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946. | |||
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, golf in Az is wonderful in the wintertime. On a more serious side a few guys I worked with pretty much walked away from golf at retirement. To much other fun stuff, projects, etc. to do. I won't fall into that category, at least for a the first year or two. I could very easily walk away when I don't need the stress relief. | Member |
Accept it gracefully and move on. In 6 months or less you'll realize it's the best thing that ever happened to you. | |||
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Member |
It's disappointing to not be able to retire when you want to. I went on disability just after I turned 64 almost 4 years ago. Fortunately disability benefits were part of the benefits package. I'm on the road to recovery having had double hernia surgery and two fusion surgeries on my neck, the last one was a major surgery just over 9 months ago. I'm still having trouble with after effects even though the surgery was successful. I spent the bulk of my career, approximately 30 years, working for Burroughs and Unisys as a computer tech working on mainframes, disk drives, check sorters, line printers, tape drives, file servers, laptops pc's, copiers, laser printers, atm's, cash recyclers and cash acceptor safes. I also did elevator and escalator work for a residential and commercial elevator companies for a couple of years. I also worked on the parking system , ticketing machines and parking gates at the New Orleans international Airport for a few years. Getting back to my first statement, to say that I was disappointed is an understatement. I actually should have gone on disability sooner. To this day I'll look back on my career and remember service calls I've been on and people I've worked with and for. It's hard to believe it's over. I miss a lot of the people and believe it or not a lot of the work, not the extra long work days though. "Lion Heart is all heart, Smarty Jones is all out!!!" | |||
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This Space for Rent |
Boy, you guys are making it tempting….. Still under 60 but I have the green light to retire, as long as I have a plan to keep my busy. That is the problem. Not sure what to do to stay busy. A couple years back, I was between jobs for four month and I started to get a little anxiety going midway thru. Making a salary is nice, but like others, the job is not what it used to be. I like most of the people I work with but the construction industry has changed. There is no accountability anymore. The boss is an old friend and he gives me a lot of latitude. As much as I like working there, I’m just waiting for something stupid to happen to say I’m done. Think it’s the fear of the unknown that keeps me there. But then again, the cats need to be home schooled….. Apologies on the ramble.. We will never know world peace, until three people can simultaneously look each other straight in the eye Liberals are like pussycats and Twitter is Trump's laser pointer to keep them busy while he takes care of business - Rey HRH. | |||
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| Member |
Yes. | |||
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| As Extraordinary as Everyone Else  |
When I was 40 my wife and I sat down and planned a strategy for me to retire when I would hit 60. The house would be paid off, the kids would have graduated and be in their own etc. However, owning a custom residential construction company, the ‘08 Recession hit us pretty hard. I didn’t have to fire anyone but went without paying myself for months on end sometimes to make ends meet and take care of my guys (and gals). Came out on the other end around 2012 ( yes it took that long) and slowly built the business back up. The upside was that there was less competition as several of my competitors didn’t fare as well and my reputation was stellar. However, I also realized that by the time I reached 60 I wasn’t going to be in the financial condition that I wanted to be in so I kept working. Took a few more years to get where we wanted but retired at 62. My wife has a great job with great benefits and is several years younger than me so she is still working but has decided that she wanted to retire around the end of the year, which I’m all for. I find it funny that people I know ask me “what do you do all day?” I just have to laugh as I still get up between 5 and 6 am but now get to read and enjoy my coffee instead of rushing, getting the kids ready for school, checking emails and meeting my crews on the job sites… I take it day by day and travel a lot. I don’t play golf but live on the second fairway of a private course. I enjoy watching the grounds crew mow my “yard” almost every morning! ------------------ Eddie Our Founding Fathers were men who understood that the right thing is not necessarily the written thing. -kkina | |||
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Member |
I started as a newspaper carrier when I was 12. My career took many turns and I retired one week shy of my 66th birthday. I was a SVP at a financial institution responsible for Information System Infrastructure Architecture. I enjoyed my career but, at age 65, I had grown tired of herding cats and arguing with those who believed they were the smartest people in the room (for the record, I was never the smartest person in the room, I simply knew the really smart folks). I am now 70. Four years of retirement and it has been the best. My wife and I travel, work around the house and enjoy life. My retirement recommendations? 1) Stay active. I shoot skeet in local leagues, I play disc golf, a game I took up at age 66. I serve on the board of my sportsmen's club. I study languages. I hike. 2) Plan the day. Nothing complex, I simply decide what my morning, afternoon and evening activities. 3) Make time for others. Every Wednesday is Adventure Wednesday. My wife and I do some activity together. Hikes, museums, road trips. Anything that interests both of us. Usually it involves a nice lunch, often a picnic lunch in one of the many parks in my area. Remaining involved with friends is important too. My "posse" gets together for lunch at least every two months. We have done that for years dating back to when we all worked together. It takes a bit of effort but well worth the result. 4) Beware the Internet. I watched a BIL devolve into a raging lunatic and curmudgeon after he retired and started spending the day reading "news". He was a talented woodworker but abandoned that and distanced himself from the family. I vowed never to do that. I take news in small doses. 5) Time changes. I wake up with the sun. I make a pot of French Press coffee. I enjoy my coffee catching up on email and reading the paper. French Press takes more effort then the Keurig we eliminated but I enjoy the results. I have the time. I do not have to be anywhere, I find things I want to do. My brother retired about a year ago told me that having the time to sit down and read a book is wonderful. 6) Use a calendar. During my career I used paper and computer based calendars. I continue to use a calendar for appointments, tasks at home (e.g furnace filters) and meetings. Write it and forget it. Enjoy your newfound freedom, after years of working it is like being a kid again. Let me help you out. Which way did you come in? | |||
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| Member |
I spent the morning turning off all the job opportunity emails. My inbox was overflowing every morning. lol, now what to do the rest of the day. I will find something to keep busy. Thanks for all the encouragement. | |||
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Learn it, know it, live it |
That's a great post. Several key points to having a great retirement.. | |||
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| No More Mr. Nice Guy |
Congrats on the retirement! Yes, you will find plenty to do, which can even be just sitting and watching the scenery. Retiring is a process. If you've read articles or watch any of the YouTube retirement channels, everything they say is true. Switching from being a saver to a spender is tough! For me, it was the concern over long term financial security. The key is to have a plan and stick with the plan. A typical suggestion is an annual budget of 4% to 6% of your net savings each year. With a conservative investment plan, you should be safe from running out of money. So you can relax and spend it! Your group of social contacts will change, and you may feel isolated. We lose our work friends. Make an effort to get out to activities. Meet people. You will miss some aspects of your work for a long time. You won't miss the job, but you'll miss some aspects of what you used to do. Suddenly you are on the outside. It may take a year to settle in to being retired. Then you'll wonder how you ever had the time or the desire for a job! | |||
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| Void Where Prohibited |
Actually, it's in a library provided by a member who offered to host avatars when Photobucket ended their free hosting some years ago. I have to apologize that after all that time, I don't remember who that is. But thank you for that. I've used the smoking chimp avatar for about 18 years. "If Gun Control worked, Chicago would look like Mayberry, not Thunderdome" - Cam Edwards | |||
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| Member |
Being retired is hard. No looking forward for Friday, no weekends off, no paid holidays; no paid vacation or sick leave. It’s seven damn days a week. All the projects around the house you have put off are now due. Just look around your house, garage, yard, automobiles, etc. You’ll find plenty to do. | |||
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