Well... Tomorrow's the big day.. "R" Day!

[deserteagle71]

EDIT: One piece of advice; keep an open mind, don't let yourself become a crabby old man stuck in some mythical good old days.

Too late! Why didn't you tell me this 20 years ago???

 

[lman]

My wife is giving me a hard time about retiring before she does. I just say to her, just think you will never have to go grocery shopping again. And that house cleaner you always wanted will now be me. I will have no issue going to the grocery store very early in the morning before anyone gets there, and it wont bother me to spend a few hours each week cleaning inside the house.

When I had my 6 week retirement before I went back to work part-time, my wife got the groceries since she was in town. During that 6 weeks, I think I only went into town twice. I had plenty to keep me busy at home. Now my wife and I get off work at the same time so we get the groceries or anything else we need to get in town. It saves trips into town. We are both just working part-time at gravy jobs.

 

[deserteagle71]

I only know one guy who died shortly after retirement. In his case, going to work was the only thing keeping him sober for a significant chunk of his life. He only lasted a few months.

As long as you have other interests that are not self-destructive, retirement is great, IMHO.

I've known several. And each case was essentially the same. Each stated in essence "I'm retired and I'm not going to do anything but kick back, the rest of my life". And that's what they did...sat in the house watching TV all day - or in a casino yanking slot handles all day. Each passed away within a year of retirement.

Lesson is, you may not want to go back to work but you'd darn well better do SOMETHING to move around, stimulate the body AND the mind, or you are done!

 

[Duds13]

I've known several. And each case was essentially the same. Each stated in essence "I'm retired and I'm not going to do anything but kick back, the rest of my life". And that's what they did...sat in the house watching TV all day - or in a casino yanking slot handles all day. Each passed away within a year of retirement.

Lesson is, you may not want to go back to work but you'd darn well better do SOMETHING to move around, stimulate the body AND the mind, or you are done!

I just don't understand how people can become bored in retirement? I'm going fishing more, plan on playing at least 9 holes of golf at the ass crack of dawn on days I am not fishing, then working on the property all day. Sh*t, I'll mow every day if I want to. lol

 

[Oaktree]

I just don't understand how people can become bored in retirement? I'm going fishing more, plan on playing at least 9 holes of golf at the ass crack of dawn on days I am not fishing, then working on the property all day. Sh*t, I'll mow every day if I want to. lol

Some people just can't sit still. My wife is one of them. She's "retired" several times, finds it nice at first but after a few months she gets antsy. Never was one who had a lot of hobbies, etc. She doesn't want to work fulltime anymore, but 10-15 hr/wk tends to keep her in balance.

Like many others here, I don't have that problem. Always can find something to do, even if it's just sitting on a hammock in the yard reading a book.

 

[not2old]

I only know one guy who died shortly after retirement. In his case, going to work was the only thing keeping him sober for a significant chunk of his life. He only lasted a few months.

As long as you have other interests that are not self-destructive, retirement is great, IMHO.

The reason I retired a little earlier than originally planned was that a good friend of my mom and dad was an engineer who worked for two extra years in order to finish a very large project for the company. He had a retirement lunch on a Friday afternoon and died at the curling rink on Saturday morning.

 

[Jstpssng]

Good luck! Too many people wait to maximize their retirememt income, then find themselves with health issues and never am able to enjoy it.
It seems like there are two kinds of people; those who retire, sit in their chair to watch TV. And those who start doing things and a year later ask; "how did I ever get anything done before I retired? Those really are in their golden years.

The first group of people are those which PaulsHarvey mentioned.

 

[Jstpssng]

The reason I retired a little earlier than originally planned was that a good friend of my mom and dad was an engineer who worked for two extra years in order to finish a very large project for the company. He had a retirement lunch on a Friday afternoon and died at the curling rink on Saturday morning.

Ouch!
My brother is a lot smarter than me, and was able to take early retirement at 57.
After a couple of years he and his wife moved from AZ back to Maine, bought a boat and snowsled and have been enjoying life.
10 years later he's been diagnosed with incurable lung cancer (50 years of smoking took it's toll).
They are trying to keep it contained but I'm just thankful that he was able to enjoy those first 8 years.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I retired a year ago at age 47.

I had a pretty intense and cool job... So leaving that left a psychological mark. That has taken about 12 months to really overcome.

Outside of that, my hobbies, interests and property upkeep, keep me busy. I don't know how I could never work a job again!

In the summer I'm busy 7-8 hours per day with my property, bees and produce. In the winter I hit the gym a few times per week to keep myself in shape for the next summer.

If your identity was at all tied to work, you'll have to overcome that. I accepted Christ a couple years ago, so I really leaned into that relationship for purpose and meaning.

Bonus was that I get to spend my sons last two years at home before college, with him every day, all day (homeschool). I missed 14 years of his life, at least I get his last two at home.

 

[Dawg in Fl]

Congratulations on the impending retirement!

I don't have any great words of wisdom - I'm still working but am considering retirement in the next 0 - 5 years. Even though I have so many things/interests that I want to do, I still enjoy my work - a client told me that when the passion for the work is gone, then it will be time to retire. I think that's pretty good advice.

Best of luck to you Mr. Part-time-farmer and to all of you other folks as well. I am sure I will join the ranks of the happily retired in the future!