Retirement, it's here like a ton of bricks

What everybody else said, plus...

I was a little worried because I got totally fed up and quit my last job 2 months prior to being eligible for Social Security. (Yet another time when my Navy pension saved my sanity...)

After scaring myself badly once 30 years ago I became very diligent, not to say compulsive, about tracking where every dime went.

About 6 months into full retirement, I noticed that I had somewhat more disposable income after retirement than before. Some of that is because my last job was part time and poorly paid (one of the reasons I quit) and my SS was actually slightly more than a month's pay from my job. Other than fewer miles driven (some weeks NO miles driven...I have an eight year old Corolla with less than 40,000 miles on it...) and no money spent on lunches, the rest is something of a mystery.
 
Retirement takes a little getting used to after the “this is like being on vacation” phase wears off. When I retired, it was like being on vacation. When my “normal” vacation time expired and I still didn’t have to go to work the next day, I was like “Hey, this ain’t too shabby.” I finally had all the time I wanted for fishing and learned to fly fish and tie my own flies and discovered trout can be a challenge. Plus, I picked up a couple of other hobbies along the way, such as the one that brings us all to H-M. But, I have to say, you aren’t fully reaping the benefits of retirement until you get up one day and say to yourself, “Self, I’m not doing a darned thing today and I ain’t quitting ’til I’m through.” ;) Enjoy!

Tom
 
Aukai said:
I have done commercial fishing, and gave it up recently after 22 years on my own boat a 30', twin diesel. Cars, and machining from now on.....



Click to expand...
In Vermont, I've seen coolers full of fish, but never the back of a pickup truck. Sheesh!
 
I worked for the same company for 33 years. The last 5, without a day off, on call 24/7/365. The stress nearly killed me, so I retired at 59. Sold everything I owned, moved south, started a small business & was having the time of my life till God took my wife of 57 years last June. Now at 77, I need to readjust everything again. You will manage as long as you think positive & keep busy. If you are here you have lots of toys to play with, LET THE FUN BEGIN.
 
Hey Mike , Congratulations on your retirement . Hope to see another project up on the site soon . Maybe a 67 SS ? :encourage:
 
Thank you everybody, sorry for your loss Fix, it was my 25th anniversary yesterday too. Bryan I had many sizes of coolers, there is a small one in the picture. the market that took those fish is just down the road, and temps are checked on delivery. It cost me 400.00 to start a trip, and I never left with less than 700-1000 lbs of ice. :)
 
I went through the same sort of anxiety before retiring at 65 last year, but I got over it fairly quickly. What you have now are choices:
you can work part time, volunteer, or just loaf and fish if that's what you want. I traveled four days a week for 27 years when I
was working, so I'm catching up on all the deferred projects and maintenance that didn't get done and I have several hobbies as well.
I think a lot of folks define themselves by what they've done
in their working lives, and when that ends abruptly, they question their value as productive people. But of course, they haven't changed:
they're just as useful or productive.
You'll figure it out: just give yourself a break while you're doing it.
 
I'm getting near that age as well and have yet to ask a financial planner, "is it enough." My worry is that he'll say something like "at this rate, you may be able to retire when you're 90..."

Seriously, the thing that gets me are the two great unknows, how long we'll live, and when and how we'll get sick. Both of those directly set "how much is enough", but we can't know them. The real worry to me is outliving one's retirement. Guess that's why they have greeters at Walmart...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top