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I am driven by money and make no bones about it. It is one of the easiest outcome measurements to capture and evaluate. I have five and ten year plans with annual reviews, evaluations and revisions. Just finished a major paradigm shift as a result. Planning to 94 is a shorter time frame and our ten year plan carries beyond 80. Eighty is a key year as it is a CCRC go or no go age. Obviously events can change that.
I measure my success by how many fruit trees in my garden I’m able to grow and become productive. Last counting was 22, I just bought 10 more this year, so that’s 32 fruit trees on this tiny lot, that number does not include citrus trees which I may have another 20 trees.
I measure my success by how many fruit trees in my garden I’m able to grow and become productive. Last counting was 22, I just bought 10 more this year, so that’s 32 fruit trees on this tiny lot, that number does not include citrus trees which I may have another 20 trees.
It is the financial success that enabled you to buy and grow fruit trees. Many retirees can’t afford fruit. My yard and our new almost done outdoor living area costs a chunk of change and is worth it for the joys it brings. As will be my new Kamoda Joe Classic 2. More good eats and time. More space to make Q to share and enjoy!
I am glad we each enjoy our paths. How we see them is different as we are wired differently. Key thing is we both love retirement.
And that is a shared blessing!
I am driven by money and make no bones about it. It is one of the easiest outcome measurements to capture and evaluate. I have five and ten year plans with annual reviews, evaluations and revisions. Just finished a major paradigm shift as a result. Planning to 94 is a shorter time frame and our ten year plan carries beyond 80. Eighty is a key year as it is a CCRC go or no go age. Obviously events can change that.
I work as a Project Manager and I'm very money driven. I have to be as a single woman. As a part of my job, I deal with metrics everyday. I get what you're saying.
I work as a Project Manager and I'm very money driven. I have to be as a single woman. As a part of my job, I deal with metrics everyday. I get what you're saying.
LOL, sorta becomes part of you professionally. Personally I have always been numbers driven, so this has been and is one happy process for me.
Even though some claim they don't have goals or objectives (or measure things in those terms), most have reasons for doing things. Unless one simply wanders aimlessly through life, those reasons are goals/ objectives, even if they don't immediately seem quantifiable or measurable.
For example, I may play golf for the exercise or camaraderie, not the score, but, those are still goals/ objectives -- and if they are not met, I will likely stop playing. Similarly, one may enter retirement with the vague goal/objective of relaxing and enjoying life ... but, unless one achieves and maintains a basic financial income and reserve goal/objective, one is unlikely to achieve their retirement relaxation and enjoyment goals.
A basic characteristic of people (versus animals) is that people consider the future. In doing so, almost every action has some type of goal/objective attached to it. Throughout my career, goals and objectives -- and finding ways to quantifiably measure results, was a way of life. But, even though some may not establish or measure their own goals and objectives, someone does -- And that measurement (even if it's only measuring sufficient hours punched on a time clock) has a direct impact on the individual.
Similarly, in retirement, one may have no identifiable goals or objectives, but, one still gets out of bed in the morning, rather than simply lying there and thinking, "I have no reason to get up." In that sense, I believe everyone has reasons for doing things, which become their life goals/ objectives ... even though they may seem nebulous or non-quantifiable.
I work as a Project Manager and I'm very money driven. I have to be as a single woman. As a part of my job, I deal with metrics everyday. I get what you're saying.
I'm a retired actuary so definitely a numbers person and also a financial control freak! I lavished a lot of attention on spreadsheets projecting savings and investment returns up to retirement age, which I think gave me a real incentive to save and to weed out under-performing investments. I still track investments at least monthly, and monitor expenses by category, not because I'm worried about them but more for information.
As for the other aspects of retirement- I'm winging it! At age 61, I called DH (already retired) on a Friday and said, "I think I'm going to quit my job on Monday"- toxic politics were getting out of hand. We talked about it over the weekend, I looked at the numbers again, and left the office for the last time the next Friday.
I've increased the amount of time I spend traveling, doing volunteer work and working out at the gym but have no other major goals (other than not outliving my savings) or milestones. I'm done with that!
I'm more of a people person than a things person. I think it is my values system that drives me. The qualities that I value in myself and other human beings are what motivate me.
It's very nice to live long enough to know yourself and what brings you contentment, isn't it? It's even nicer to finally realize that it may be different for different people and that is how it is supposed to be.
I know that if I don't violate my values system I have a better chance of maintaining a life of personal satisfaction and inner peace and to me those things are success.
I'm more of a people person than a things person. I think it is my values system that drives me. The qualities that I value in myself and other human beings are what motivate me.
It's very nice to live long enough to know yourself and what brings you contentment, isn't it? It's even nicer to finally realize that it may be different for different people and that is how it is supposed to be.
I know that if I don't violate my values system I have a better chance of maintaining a life of personal satisfaction and inner peace and to me those things are success.
I'm a retired actuary so definitely a numbers person and also a financial control freak! I lavished a lot of attention on spreadsheets projecting savings and investment returns up to retirement age, which I think gave me a real incentive to save and to weed out under-performing investments. I still track investments at least monthly, and monitor expenses by category, not because I'm worried about them but more for information.
As for the other aspects of retirement- I'm winging it! At age 61, I called DH (already retired) on a Friday and said, "I think I'm going to quit my job on Monday"- toxic politics were getting out of hand. We talked about it over the weekend, I looked at the numbers again, and left the office for the last time the next Friday.
I've increased the amount of time I spend traveling, doing volunteer work and working out at the gym but have no other major goals (other than not outliving my savings) or milestones. I'm done with that!
I agree. I'm in the planning stage so I'm all about the numbers. Once I do finally retire, I plan on changing my focus.
Birds are my favorite but not squirrels. I would get my water gun out for them. They are thieves of my garden bounty.
For us it's raccoons. We have an outside cat that we like to feed in our greenhouse. If Rufus doesn't show up in time the damn raccoons come and steal the food. They are sneaky critters and I'm pretty sure aren't that friendly.
We love our birds. We set out about a pound of seed a day and get to enjoy a nice variety, Robins, Blue jays, Pigeons, Red wing Black birds, Rufous sided Towhee's, Evening Grossbeak's, Western Blue birds, Dark eyed Junco's, Pine Siskin's, and of course Humming birds that feed on our liquid feeder. We have a large picture window that provides a great view of the birds.
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