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I am actually struggling with early retirement myself. I am 45, work slowed down at my old company (software engineering) and they offered a buyout package for volunteers to leave. I worked hard for 22 years, saved and invested wisely, and decided that I could take the buyout and retire.
I am having a hard time feeling like I can just retire, probably for a lot of the same reasons other's have felt. I feel like I should be doing something productive. What about health insurance? What if the market tanks? What if need to go back to work and can't because my skills are stale?
Now, a few months later, I have been job hunting and have been talking to recruiters and interviewing for jobs I don't want. I don't want to go back to the high-stress environment that I escaped from, but for some reason I feel like I have to.
...and the only down-side is that you never get a day off from it!
so true.
I hope to retire before I hit 45.
The day, I have a constant rental (commercial) income of $15k/month is the day I will retire.
What will I do after that?
build stuff as a hobby, raise my kid full time, go back to school for some interesting subjects and eye-candy (don't worry, I have a masters in chemical engineering ).
In a word...NOPE! No guilt. I used to get the raised eyebrow right after I retired at 51. Now we've moved to a neighborhood filled with many retirees and it is just not considered unusual. Many of our neighbors could not retire as early as us, but they don't begrudge us that fact. Many of my friends back home in our age bracket, with many years left to work, did.
I retired at 52, my husband at 60, and neither of us had the slightest guilt. We worked extremely hard for decades at our own business and saved obssessively just so we COULD retire early.
When people asked me those same questions such as "are you working at anything now?" Or "what are you doing in retirement?", I would just answer, "I'm working hard at enjoying life!"
I will be 60 in a few months and recently lost my job. Even though I am offered another one, I'm getting very adapted to the "retired" life, while I wait for security clearances to move from one agency to another. But I ran the numbers on our finances and met with our advisor and ascertained that neither my wife or myself need work again . I have a pension and health insurance for life. I have hobbies I like to do (skydiving, scuba, bicycling, etc.), plus volunteer activities, and, of course, spoiling my two granddaughters.
The reason I'm posting in this thread is because in contemplating all this, I began to feel somewhat guilty because I could retire now, while others my age cannot. So I searched "feel guilty" in this forum and after reading many sections, I was pleasantly surprised that the overwhelming opinion is: "Guilty? HELL, NO!"
Thank you all for participating in the forum. Now I think I may turn that offer down. I'm going on a cage dive with great whites in South Africa on my birthday anyway!
I certainly don't and most people say I earned it since I put up with an abusive husband to get his survivor benefits at a "youngish" age. There are a few that do say I'm selfish to be retired with no children and now single in my 40's but I'm free and happy.......finallyI am sad that my husband had to die for me to get these benefits, but, he did this to himself
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).
guilty? Perhaps Not!
. I have a pension and health insurance for life. I have hobbies I like to do (skydiving, scuba, bicycling, etc.), plus volunteer activities, and, of course, spoiling my two granddaughters
.......finally
