Retirement

Today is the first day I did not have to go to work for the rest of my life.

As is traditional. 

SCREW YOU!

zordak said:

Today is the first day I did not have to go to work for the rest of my life.

Fan-tas-tic, man!  Massive congratulations to you!  I hope you enjoy it for a long time to come.  Got any plans?  It's OK if you don't.

Looking forward to joining you in... about 80 days.

I hit the last of three "OK to pull the trigger" milestones just a week ago.

Portfolio value = March 20th.

60 years old = Late June.

20 years of service with my main company = September 20th.

I've always feared failure more than death and now that I've crossed the finish line of success, the fear is gone which makes showing up to the office far, far less stressful.

My wife is much younger than I and for whatever reason, she doesn't recognize where I am in life...if I were to ask her basic questions like "how much do we have" and "how much is required to retire comfortably with a generous safely margin" I would get a blank stare.

WARNING:  Sappy & melodramatic comment to follow...

I completed my marathon of life career / economic objectives on Friday, September 20th...I came across the finish line sweaty and aching and beaten up but I was so happy that I made the 26.2 miles without failure and honestly, I was surprised by how well I finished in the ranking.

Nobody was there at the finish line to congratulate me...welp, do the right thing even when no one is looking. 

Good on you!

A little side story: My dad was super-smart. 160ish IQ. Yet he spent a career as a driver, then dispatcher for the San Francisco municipal transit. He has a masters degree from a prestigious institution and once I asked him why he wasn't a tenured professor or something like his younger (lower IQ) brother.  His answer was that he wanted to pursue his interests without the burden of expectations. Well, now that I'm 61YO and looking at my screwed-up life I finally get it. He retired with his sweet union defined benefit retirement plan at an early age. Guess he was smart after all.

It took me a year to not wake up at 5:00 am!  DO NOT  miss the State Worker Gran Prix down 87.

I went back part time during Covid, and even at $52/hr, I'd have to really think about it.

Congrats Zordak, enjoy the ride.😎

Congrats!

I'm nearing the finish line...not like I'm keeping track of it, or anything. 

Congrats!

You gonna love it.

zordak said:

Today is the first day I did not have to go to work for the rest of my life.

Welcome to the club.

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

"pursue his interests without the burden of expectations".  That resonates with me.

Congratulations. I just turned 69, retirement is a theory at this point. Luckily I'm healthy. 

Congratulations!!!  I'm 18 months into retirement and now find myself working more than I ever did before I retired.     The key difference...and it's a big difference...is all the work I do is because I WANT TO not because I have to.  I'm thrilled pursuing the things I've only dreamed of in the past.  Opportunities are popping up left and right and I'm seizing the moment.  For example, I may wind up working the Mecum auction in Kissimmee in January.  That would be awesome!!!  Reminds me, maybe I should update my thread.

Enjoy your new life!!

I retired 16 years ago. Never missed going to work one little bit, although I did miss the folks I worked with. I've managed to keep myself busy enough to not be bored....played with cars, golf league, and hockey until health issues intervened. I need to find something to occupy my time now that fits with my limitations, but otherwise life has been very good. Enjoy your new found time !!

Welcome to the club.  Enjoy the first six months that will feel like a vacation or playing hookey. The new reality takes that long to sink in. 

I am about three years in. I have always been one to seek out new learning and experiences. However, I have never bought into the contrived sense of urgency that drives the world. Retirement is working just fine.

Pretty soon you wont have a clue how you used to get so many things done in a day!

Congratulations!  My biggest problem with retirement is that I never have a day off.

I turn 60 next year. Retirement is so close I can sense it.

Paid off mortgage makes the entire thing less scary. I could probably orchestrate going at 62 and do okay (but not actually quit working fully), but if I run it out to 65 I get a small pension. Tough decision. I figure I'll make that call when 62 actually gets here.

All I can say is, thank you compound interest for making my impending future possible.

Congratulations! Welcome to the club. I'll bet you'll be just as busy in retirement as when you worked. Only now you'll be busy doing things you want to do. Enjoy your new freedom!

I struggled with retirement and ultimately failed.

I had (completely and totally unfounded) money anxiety, and had it bad. So when my employer asked me to come back a few days a week I did it. I now know better and am finally comfortable with cutting the cord. I expect to finish what I started, complete the winter, and retire for good.

Don't be like me.

NOHOME said:

Welcome to the club.  Enjoy the first six months that will feel like a vacation or playing hookey. The new reality takes that long to sink in.

My oldest BIL was an engineer.  He spent a decade slowly cutting back his hours until he finally retired at age 70 or so (he's now 80), at which point he was probably working 4 hours a week.

When I told everyone I was retiring at the end of '24 (just shy of my 60th birthday), he said, "I bet in 6 months you'll be looking for freelance work."

Nope.  If I was going to do that I would just stay working part time at my current job.  When I pull that switch, it is staying pulled.  I'm looking forward to actually having time and energy to do more fun stuff.  I don't think staying busy will be an issue in any way, except it will be fun stuff I feel like doing, when I feel like doing it..

I'm beginning to look at "retirement" as a mythical, much-fabled place for folks who weren't underachievers their whole lives...

But congrats to the OP!  

i'm old enough to save for retirement but still young enough to worry that i'll oversave and end up with more than I need in retirement and die with regrets that I didn't have to have.  

ClearWaterMS said:

i'm old enough to save for retirement but still young enough to worry that i'll oversave and end up with more than I need in retirement and die with regrets that I didn't have to have. 

We've got two daughters.  Anything left over will get split between them.  No regrets.

In reply to Duke :

I have two daughters as well and my legacy plan has an eighty percent likelihood of leaving more to them even after adjusting for inflation than what I'll have at the beginning of retirement.

I spent my life working hard and living modestly...I can't imagine spending my last phase watching everything I've created slowly evaporate. 

RX Reven' said:

In reply to Duke :

I have two daughters as well and my legacy plan has an eighty percent likelihood of leaving more to them even after adjusting for inflation than what I'll have at the beginning of retirement.

I spent my life working hard and living modestly...I can't imagine spending my last phase watching everything I've created slowly evaporate. 

We're in the same spot, for the same reasons.  We do plan to travel more, but we don't expect a significant increase in expenses other than that, barring catastrophic health issues (knock wood).