|
I’m retired and very happy!
04-23-2014, 07:16 PM
|
#1
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Rockport, TX
Posts: 65
|
I’m retired and very happy!
I was laid off about 5 years ago at age 62 and just decided I didn’t need to work anymore, so I haven’t. I should have retired much earlier, but just didn’t know exactly how much I had in assets – lesson learned - know what you have and track it. Since then we moved to the Texas Gulf Coast, bought and paid for our house, got involved in the local activities. I took up saltwater fishing and wood carving along with maintenance activities. DW took up Master Gardening and Master Naturalist studies and recently became a volunteer for the Padre Island Turtle Watch to save the eggs of the turtles coming onshore to lay their eggs. My saying is that if you’re bored when you’re retired, it’s because you want to be bored because there are a myriad of activities and interests to keep you busy.
When I was in college I had it figured out I could retire by age 44 with no trouble, and then life intervened. Got married, had two boys, became a contract engineer who followed contracts around the country, got the kids through college, and finally really started saving for retirement.
I can learn from everyone here and maybe give the kids a course correction at the appropriate time. I look forward to going through all the posts!
|
|
|
|
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
04-23-2014, 07:24 PM
|
#2
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: West of the Mississippi
Posts: 17,175
|
Impossible. We know you must be bored and poverty stricken. We read it on the internet.
__________________
Comparison is the thief of joy
The worst decisions are usually made in times of anger and impatience.
|
|
|
04-23-2014, 10:48 PM
|
#3
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 185
|
Welcome Joggernot. Glad to see retirement is working out well and you are NOT bored. Red drum are legendary on the TX Gulf coast.
__________________
This is no social crisis, just another tricky day for you...
|
|
|
04-24-2014, 06:06 AM
|
#4
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Rockport, TX
Posts: 65
|
Thanks for the welcome. Yes, I read that I was to be bored, poverty stricken, and sit all day watching TV. Cancelled the cable tv, and found other things to do. Red drum (redfish) are excellent, black drum are excellent, and a bunch of other things we catch down here.
|
|
|
04-24-2014, 08:17 AM
|
#5
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: West of the Mississippi
Posts: 17,175
|
You sound like you will do well as a retired guy. Congratulations.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
__________________
Comparison is the thief of joy
The worst decisions are usually made in times of anger and impatience.
|
|
|
04-24-2014, 08:19 AM
|
#6
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 122
|
Congrats on your retirement! If you find a way to fit in more activities during the day, let me know. It's great to have so many interests and not enough time to do them all :-)
|
|
|
04-24-2014, 05:52 PM
|
#7
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Rockport, TX
Posts: 65
|
This is some of what I do with wood carving. These occupy my "spare" time
|
|
|
04-24-2014, 07:26 PM
|
#8
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 956
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joggernot
Thanks for the welcome. Yes, I read that I was to be bored, poverty stricken, and sit all day watching TV. Cancelled the cable tv, and found other things to do. Red drum (redfish) are excellent, black drum are excellent, and a bunch of other things we catch down here.
|
Congratulations! My wife caught her first redfish today, and she was VERY happy.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app
|
|
|
04-25-2014, 06:08 AM
|
#9
|
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eastern WV Panhandle
Posts: 25,304
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joggernot
This is some of what I do with wood carving. These occupy my "spare" time
|
Impressive! Wood carving is not an ability I have but I appreciate the work involved. I especially like the dragon.
__________________
When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected.
|
|
|
04-25-2014, 02:14 PM
|
#10
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: West of the Mississippi
Posts: 17,175
|
Joggernot, you have the right attitude.
Those people who think we will be bored, irritable, lonely and just die young because we retire don't know what they are talking about.
Today, I framed two photos from last year's vacations (note the plural in vacations!) Installed a CO2 detector, started the first phase of this year's her garden, made plans to meet a friend for coffee on Saturday (he still works, poor soul), and read the newspaper while slurping down an extra cup of diabetes preventing coffee.
Sure beats working!
__________________
Comparison is the thief of joy
The worst decisions are usually made in times of anger and impatience.
|
|
|
04-29-2014, 06:50 PM
|
#11
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,360
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joggernot
I was laid off about 5 years ago at age 62 and just decided I didn’t need to work anymore, so I haven’t. I should have retired much earlier, but just didn’t know exactly how much I had in assets – lesson learned - know what you have and track it.
|
While hindsight is 20/20, it sounds like getting let go was the best thing that ever happened to you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joggernot
My saying is that if you’re bored when you’re retired, it’s because you want to be bored because there are a myriad of activities and interests to keep you busy.
|
Amen!
I suspect that most of the people who have difficulty in retirement were previously so consumed by their jobs that they had made no time to develop or indulge other interests. It's hardly surprising that they have problems without the routine of paid employment; but whose fault is that?
__________________
"To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive". Robert Louis Stevenson, An Inland Voyage (1878)
|
|
|
04-29-2014, 11:02 PM
|
#12
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 103
|
Nice carvings! It's great that you having a good time after the trauma of a layoff. Living well and happily is a great way of making lemonade out of lemons. People who don't know what to do with themselves after they retire are sadly lacking in imagination.
|
|
|
04-30-2014, 08:02 AM
|
#13
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Rockport, TX
Posts: 65
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckanut
Joggernot, you have the right attitude.
Those people who think we will be bored, irritable, lonely and just die young because we retire don't know what they are talking about.
Today, I framed two photos from last year's vacations (note the plural in vacations!) Installed a CO2 detector, started the first phase of this year's her garden, made plans to meet a friend for coffee on Saturday (he still works, poor soul), and read the newspaper while slurping down an extra cup of diabetes preventing coffee.
Sure beats working!
|
That's about it. Already started carving a small "hobbit house" and cleaned and maintained the "water feature" out front. Now for some more coffee and a good book for a while. This afternoon looks like the perfect afternoon for riding the motorcycle around Texas to see places I haven't seen before. Guess I won't be bored today... Guess I'll have to be bored tomorrow, if something doesn't come up
Thanks for the encouragement on carving. It's something I have enjoyed since grade school off and on, and now I have the time to try many more things.
|
|
|
04-30-2014, 03:45 PM
|
#14
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Tampa Bay Area
Posts: 1,866
|
I love these "happy endings" stories. They inspire me. The wood carvings are great ! I love the big eye big lip fish trophy !
__________________
"For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." ~
Hebrews 12:11
ER'd in June 2015 at age 52. Initial WR 3%. 50/40/10 (Equity/Bond/Short Term) AA.
|
|
|
04-30-2014, 06:53 PM
|
#15
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Madeira Beach Fl
Posts: 1,403
|
Well done. Beware of spring break.
__________________
_______________________________________________
"A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do" --Bob Dylan.
|
|
|
05-01-2014, 11:43 AM
|
#16
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Rockport, TX
Posts: 65
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Live And Learn
I love these "happy endings" stories. They inspire me. The wood carvings are great ! I love the big eye big lip fish trophy !
|
I made the dragon for a grandson. The fish was made for my son who suffered the loss of "a big one". This became his mounted trophy fish in his "man room" (read basement).
Spring break down here is family oriented, so nothing like you see on TV. Families playing on the beach; BBQ and grilling; and fishing. In the five years I've been here I've only seen one "party boat" and it was labeled as "party boat" and not getting any takers. They didn't show up the next year.
|
|
|
05-05-2014, 01:17 PM
|
#17
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 150
|
Congrats and keep up the good "work"! Nie carvings!
__________________
Best!
-AJ
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Threads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Quick Links
|
|
|