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I got myself a clock with no alarm lol. I also got customized cards that said today is my day off with a blank to fill in as otherwise you never get a day off from retirement lol
Maybe.... I bought a never completed vintage race car kit prior to retirement to be one of my post-retirement activities. Still not completed three years later, but substantial progress has been made!
I rented a few premium sports cars from local airports and rung them out for a day each. Pounded a lot of miles and always went over my "free" mileage limits. Hey, you only live once.
That was pre-Covid. I have no clue what car rental companies have now for nice cars in their fleet, post-Covid. It is very likely you can't rent them from Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, & etc., anymore but I haven't tried so I don't know.
I had planned to include exotic cars but they only seemed to be in Las Vegas & Hollywood and such. I didn't want to have to also book a hotel room just to rent a nice car, especially when I was going to maximize time in the car, not the hotel room.
When I do retire in a few months, I'll consider retirement itself to be gift enough. I suppose the gift I gave myself was the sacrifice and determination to stay long enough at a govt. job I didn't really enjoy to get a pension, that combined with SS and insurance, would allow me to retire at 65.
I guess you could say I gave myself the gift of freedom. Better than any material thing I could imagine.
Some years ago a colleague of mine retired and shared with me that he bought himself a retirement gift. It was a Gibson Les Paul (nearly $3k). It got me thinking that wasn’t a bad idea.
Anyone buy themselves a retirement gift? If so, care to share?
If approaching retirement, have you thought about getting yourself something to mark the occasion?
Personally, The Les Paul is also on my list. But a trip to somewhere special is a likelihood (like playing golf at St. Andrews in Scotland, or at Pebble Beach in Cali). We’re not wealthy, but this is a milestone life-event, so I think it is justifiable.
I did. I took my annual leave payout and bought a nice, carbon fiber bicycle.
Although I enjoyed my job, I retired early at age 55 and had sixteen wonderful years of retirement with my DH before he died.
I consider that the greatest gift of all.
Right, same here (though I was not fast enough to outrun the sudden death of the partner). But I bought myself a retirement at 60 - what other gift could match that? :-)
No. IMHO nothing's more valuable than time to oneself after a life lived by the clock (a career plus all the school years leading up to it). Retirement provided that. Being able to look back and feel a sense of accomplishment/self worth is a welcome bonus.
Last edited by Parnassia; 09-24-2023 at 04:00 PM..
My BIL retired from the military, bought his dream car, nothing too extravagant.
A Honda Accord with all the options he wanted.
Not even sure is was THE top option or trim package. Just know he got everything he wanted with money not being the issue.
Personally, I'm not retired yet. But it's in sight.
I'm torn about spending money on something as a "retirement gift."
Does it really make sense for me to:
- toss all my pots and pans in order to get a new cooking set just because I want one? Not really. Or...
- cut rid of all my cutlery and flatware, because I want new?
(ever since I treated my sister to a top of the line complete Cutco knife block set I've wanted a Cutco -- or even Zwilling or Heckles set)
- donate all my work clothes to get a new wardrobe, when the clothes I have a re more than fine, some with tags still on them
- Get a new car, just because?
There is no trip I want to take, place I want to go, thing I want that I could buy or have now if I wanted it.
So my treat for myself will probably be a very practically -- longed-for -- fierce decluttering and purge to a more minimalist home.
That simple thing will make me happy.
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