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Thread: Challenge of change

  1. #11
    Senior Member flowerseverywhere's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    I retired at 60. You are retiring from a job - that is all. You are not retiring from life. So many men fail to find a purpose for their lives after they quit work.
    just as many women as men have problems adjusting. In fact, some women have more problems.

    in our case, I retired at 52, DH at 55. So what will you do all day if you don't have to go to work. Really think about it. Are there any causes you truly believe in? One for me is literacy. I volunteer at the library and work on projects that give a lot of money to local schools. DH and I also support our local combat veterans to careers organization. DH teaches adults to swim and I teach quilting. In my classes we make quilts that benefit a program that helps the working poor move into safe affordable housing. A bonus for us is if our kids need us, we can hop in the car on a moments notice and help them. They are very independent, but it is great to know we are there.

    What it boils down to is every night you lay your head on the pillow and reflect on your day. Did you make a positive contribution to your family? Your community? Your country?

  2. #12
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    Retirement is a very individual thing. I have one friend who still has and runs his own business, into his mid 70's, because he enjoys it. He only takes work when he wants to, which generally are from a select group of people (myself included). (thank you for this thread, it reminded me to look up the model hot rod he is building)
    My retired chef neighbor, took up a job at a golf course, to pay for fee's and give him something to do. He otherwise gardens, spends time with the grandkids (who are getting older now) and takes walks with his dog (who pulls him over to me when she see's me outside/wants petting).
    A couple of my married friends, retired and found their spouses and children had long lists for them, and ended up getting jobs, just to get away from home. They tend to try to find something connected with hobbies, and work in that industry for discounts (woodworking store, for example).
    Best thing in my mind, is to figure out are you set so if you retired tomorrow, could you start collecting your pension. If not, when? Then you have a set date that you could go straight by feel. After that, it is what do you enjoy, what have you always wanted to do, and what do you want to do next?
    The inheritance, I view as a lottery. I wouldn't spend any for six months, minimum, just to act like I didn't have it. That helps me (maybe not you), eliminate acting on wants, and then the buying, oh I need this to go with that, etc. cycle that doesn't really bring me happiness.
    I would also be getting my estate in order, because life and death are what happens to what one plans. Then when your doing that, you might be looking at, "I can give x amount away a year, and this could help grandkids go to college, kids to pay off their mortgages early, etc". The joy you get is actually a greed thing (you crave joy, more then the money). When you have enough money for security (sucks when you have so much to have to hire guards or have electric fences surrounding your property), that is no longer an issue.

  3. #13
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dmc View Post
    I don't get the work till you drop thing. My dad quit working when he was 57, said he should have done it sooner. I quit just before my 50th birthday. Do the math and if you can afford it, and it sounds like you can, why work?

    Sometimes I think about the money I would have made, but I'm still worth more now, and it's been 10 years. I could be dead, I've been able to do quite a lot in the last 10 years. Also I see my friends and relatives in their later years having health issues that keep them from doing many of the things they like.
    I pretty much could have written this. I had to leave my career five years ago at 53 (extreme burnout which was affecting my health).

    The plan was to expand my photography hobby into a business to bring in some money. I never anticipated that photography would entirely replace my IT income (especially in those "peak earning years"). In fact, the business never did anywhere near that well. But, by then, the need for the replacement income was much less.

    And it's not like I had nothing else to do. I was the househusband while DW worked full-time; two years ago grandchildren started arriving; and I was able to support some favorite causes far more deeply than I could when I was working. And, as IL noted, there is value to being able to respond quickly to the needs of others.

    Then again, I've never lived to work. I have never understood "I'm bored!". So maybe that's a basic difference among people. Retirement does not have to mean sitting in a chair on the porch, whittling. It's time to investigate those activities there never was time to consider before. And there is much to be said for enjoying free time while you're still healthy enough to do so.

    If you don't have to worry about the financial aspect of retirement, then it becomes a question of how you think you will spend your time. But you're in charge of that.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  4. #14
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    Like Steve, I left full time employment because of extreme health breakdown due to toxic work environment. I was 60. I still work part-time. My only regret is I have no pension and need to continue to work for several more years to have enough to live off in retirement.

    SanOnofre guy, if I were you,I would leave tomorrow, very happily. You have the security of the money that will last you the rest of your life, so why stay at that workplace?
    That does not rule out working again, if that is what you want. But I would leave that job and get my bearings as to what I might want to do to please me with my time. Because that's where I find myself, that I have a strong desire to do other things, and would pursue more vigorously if had the money needs covered more securely.

    What a gift and what a great life opportunity! Hooray!

  5. #15
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    I retired at 58 from the state because I was sick of the environment not the work. I now teach an online college class and do minimal consulting which is perfect. I have no intention of quitting this.

  6. #16
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    Thank you to all for your input. I am taking it slow with my change. One should not make hasty decisions with major life changes. I feel a great sense of responsibility and humility as a caretaker for family money. I don't believe in spending down legacy money, but at the same time I will do something with the earnings.

    i do plan on volunteering with perhaps Red Cross disaster relief, trail maintenance groups, native plant societies or theater and symphony groups as an usher to see performances for free.

  7. #17
    Senior Member Rogar's Avatar
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    SOG, that sounds like a good plan, to me. At one time I had intentions of moving to Mayberry and sitting on the porch peeling apples in a small quiet place. The chances for volunteering expand in towns that are a little larger. Our usher program at one of the performance centers is actually full as is their waiting list. Our Natural History Museum and county open spaces use hundreds of volunteers and some of the duties require technical skills. If you are interested in plants and the outdoors, there should be plenty of opportunity.

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