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It's not all financial. I retired early but for multiple reasons. My wife was a few years older and we wanted to spend time together while we could. With both of us retired the financial side worked out fine. I was unhappy with the direction my job was going and wanted out. We both found enjoyable part-time jobs. As it worked out, my wife passed before I reached 62 so if I hadn't retired early we would not have had any time together.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,726 posts, read 58,067,115 times
Reputation: 46195
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lincolnian
Today is my first day of retirement! No more pencils, no more books, no more ... On to new adventures!
Perfect, and starting early! (by my clock) Today, 02:15 AM
Make your first day of freedom lead you to many more adventures!~ I remember my first day(s) well! (3 significant retirements)
What fun
I see your early (vintage) status “Labor is the true standard of value.” — Abraham Lincoln - 01-01-2013 08:12 AM
Guess you have fulfilled that thought!
Thanks for your many yrs 'contribution', enjoy this summer like none before!
If you are truly a Lincolnian... you have likely immersed in one of my favorite authors! https://openlibrary.org/books/OL1875...other_parables (The millionaire and the scrublady, and other parables)
(I got my copy off "Paperbackbookswap' as I do most my Out-of-print stuff. )
Thanks for all the well wishes. My friend and colleague decided to retire too on Tuesday as he got a job offer on Monday for something he always wanted to do. He's young as well and looks forward to doing something he always enjoyed and getting paid to do it. Since he is not eligible for Medicare this job and his pension make working until he is able to fully retire much more livable.
it's been 6 months already since I retired. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I downsized, settled and am now enjoying a great start to the ski season with 6 fabulous days already under my belt. So far so good! The only true adjustment has been a substantial reduction in daily social contact which is much different in retirement. I was previously in an environment surrounded by a lot people, busyness, and constant noise that required talking to many different people on a daily basis. My new day involves more one-on-one brief encounters and passing greetings while walking my dog, exercising and doing activities. Most of the people I encounter are new with the exception of one retired friend. All of my other friends are still working. I have a part-time job but this is a slow time of the year so I have a lot more free time. I've got many projects to do but the ones I put on the back burner while working are still there. Lol!
Congrats...sounds like a nice life you've carved out post-work. My plan is to retire at 57 in about 6 1/2 yrs. My pension is fully vested and each year of work adds another couple percent so no worries there. Only issue these days is the market and my 401k/TSP. We were due a downturn so I've gotten defensive with my holdings, but it's been a wild couple months. I need (would like) to hit 7%/yr. to get the pot where I want it to be. 2018 is going to be a wash so am hunkering down and waiting for the tide to turn. I could always push it off to age 58 or 9 or whatever, but I don't want to. Enjoy the skiing!
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,726 posts, read 58,067,115 times
Reputation: 46195
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lincolnian
it's been 6 months already since I retired. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I downsized, settled and am now enjoying a great start to the ski season with 6 fabulous days already under my belt. So far so good! The only true adjustment has been a substantial reduction in daily social contact ...I've got many projects to do but the ones I put on the back burner while working are still there. Lol!
Several retired friends are on Ski Patrol ! (Good social contacts + Perks)
A few others work PT with the Ski lessons operations, and take the kids of wealthy people (who want to SKI, not tend to their kids) on private lessons / chalet adventures. Tubing / skating... free food, decent pay and GREAT tips! One of my son's did this gig and still gets private invitations for family outings / resorts 25 yrs later! Spent a week at a Warren Miller chalet ~ 10 guests a couple yrs ago. Pretty nice perk for a 35 y.o. retiree.
Master Gardeners has been a superb social activity. (for last 40 yrs)
Keep up the retirement, you will become a 'natural' soon.
After 14 months being retired I got a part-time job and started back to work last week. It was an opportunity that just popped up in a field I had always been interested in. One of the key reasons I got the job is because I was flexible. Many senior members of the staff are in their 60s and 70s and do not plan to retire any time soon. It's an exciting opportunity and I'm meeting some great people who truly enjoy what they do.
I have enjoyed the freedom of the past year but have realized that I'm not quite ready to be fully retired. I hit the project list hard, skied a lot, did some traveling, read many books, and enjoyed some nice walks with the dog. However, I found that being alone much of the day while my spouse and all my friends were still working left me with too much time on my hands.
I am hoping that the job I am doing can be realistically done on a part-time basis as that would be an ideal balance allowing me to do many of the things I enjoyed while retired. However, there is peace of mind entering into a new job knowing it is something you wanted to do not something that you had to do.
I do not regret one bit taking an early retirement from my former profession. I believe the past year of reflection has helped me explore new areas of interest. If I had not retired I would never have had the opportunity to cultivate and realize this employment opportunity. I don't know where it will ultimately lead, but it should be an interesting adventure.
After 14 months being retired I got a part-time job and started back to work last week. It was an opportunity that just popped up in a field I had always been interested in. One of the key reasons I got the job is because I was flexible. Many senior members of the staff are in their 60s and 70s and do not plan to retire any time soon. It's an exciting opportunity and I'm meeting some great people who truly enjoy what they do.
I have enjoyed the freedom of the past year but have realized that I'm not quite ready to be fully retired. I hit the project list hard, skied a lot, did some traveling, read many books, and enjoyed some nice walks with the dog. However, I found that being alone much of the day while my spouse and all my friends were still working left me with too much time on my hands.
I am hoping that the job I am doing can be realistically done on a part-time basis as that would be an ideal balance allowing me to do many of the things I enjoyed while retired. However, there is peace of mind entering into a new job knowing it is something you wanted to do not something that you had to do.
I do not regret one bit taking an early retirement from my former profession. I believe the past year of reflection has helped me explore new areas of interest. If I had not retired I would never have had the opportunity to cultivate and realize this employment opportunity. I don't know where it will ultimately lead, but it should be an interesting adventure.
i always thought I’d retire at 60 but, my wife wants to work until she’s 60. She’ll consider prior to that if we lose her mom in the meantime.
To your point, we were worried about my being a bit bored esp during the summers in AZ which can be difficult. Therefore, since I still enjoy my job, I continue to work. If and when it becomes other than enjoyable, I’ll retire. I’m also pushing a compliance issue at work quite hard and if that were to blow up in my face, I might become retired immediately. Lol I love my job!
Thanks for the updates. I think it was smart to retire at 55. It sounds like you were tired of your old job. Now you've got a new one that will hopefully be interesting and have a less intense schedule. And as you said, the difference between working because you have to vs. working because you want to is huge.
I hope you enjoy your new job.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 10-01-2019 at 02:03 AM..
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Enjoy the skiing!
