Almost there...

[toddm]

I will be retiring at the end of this month – February 28th. I’m 58, and have been a Software Engineer at various companies for the past 33 years.

I’ve been an avid reader of this forum for the past several years. When times at work were particularly difficult, due to a terrible commute, shifting projects and management issues, your posts gave me hope that one day it would all end.

My original plan was to retire at 62. The deaths of 3 good friends in 2018 who were my age (including my best friend from high school) caused me to reevaluate.

My father passed away at age 77, my mother at 72. I realized that if I lived as long as my dad I only had about 20 years left. Time is precious, and once the numbers lined up, I decided to make the move.

While I have some plans for the near future, I also intend to take the advice of many here and let retirement “come to me”, rather than over planning my activities at the beginning.

Looking forward to great things ahead!

 

[pacergal]

Congratulations!
Looking forward to hearing more from you. This is a great forum.

 

[Carpediem]

Good for you and congratulations! May you have a long and happy retirement.

I lost one of my closest high school friends to cancer on July 4th, 2018 at age 59. He never got to experience retirement with his wife and 5 kids. This weighs heavily on my mind as I contemplate my own retirement.

 

[38Chevy454]

Good for you, the time you have now can never be replaced. The time in the future can not be predicted, as health or other events can make drastic changes to your plans. There is also a point mentioned here many times, where no amount of money will be able to buy more time. I think you made the right decision, assuming you have the necessary savings and financial plans to meet your needs in retirement.

 

[Chapter 3]

Welcome and congratulations! Only two months in but I certainly agree with the idea of no immediate major commitments. So far I have filled most of my new found time with activities (golf and running) I liked, but did not have much time for while w*rking. My focus for at least six months is on physical activities / improving my health, and avoiding any other commitments. So far it is awesome!

 

[HI Bill]

Congratulations! Yes, death has a way of putting retirement and priorities in perspective. When one's younger, it may put things in perspective, but you may have to wait a bit to act on that perspective!

 

[Rianne]

Great introduction and welcome! Not a single NW, monthly spending, debt, future spending, house value, portfolio balance...just simply "I'm ready." Very well said.

 

[flybynight]

Congratulations!! I'm right behind you and also motivated by the realities that you mention. Like the Oregon Duck in those ESPN commercials...I find myself staring out of my office window daydreaming quite often.

 

[Dtail]

Congrats. That's the way to do it and guess what some days you might do absolutely nothing and those days are great too.

 

[dtbach]

Welcome and congratulations. I was burnt out from an IT career after 56 years.

 

[Col. Klink]

+1 Congratulations! Enjoy the time you now control.

 

[WestUniversity]

Congratulations! I only retired in December myself. So far it’s been great!

 

[24601NoMore]

Similar experience to OP - the loss of several friends and family members in their 50s and 60s over the past year or so definitely was a factor in me deciding it was time to ER at the beginning of January. Also spent my entire career (35+ years) in software and do miss it..

You only have so much time..seeing those close to you not make it to their next birthday definitely puts things in perspective.

 

[street]

I'm very happy for you and you get it, I know many that don't. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Octogirl]

Congratulations! When you are mentally ready, its difficult not to RE

 

[HI Bill]

Congratulations! When you are mentally ready, its difficult not to RE

+1!

 

[kimcdougc]

Congratulations! Hope to hear more posts from you after you finally are "done."