Advice from Fired 5 & 10 years ago

[Alan]

Now into our 6th year and it has been everything we planned and hoped for. I did expect to need to add a hobby or 2 but that didn't turn out to be the case.

 

[Moemg]

Retired seven years . The only surprise was how much I could lose in the recession and still be okay .

 

[RAE]

5 years and counting here. As several others said, it has been basically all good so far. A few minor annoyances involving family members (who never learned how to manage their money) asking for money from time to time, but I'm learning to deal with that. As for missing the social aspect of work, that is not a factor with me. I was never all that social to begin with, and while I do miss a few folks from work, I've made some new friends that I now spend more time with, and that's been plenty of social interaction for me. The free time I have in retirement is priceless.......I would never be able to go back to the working world now, after experiencing the freedom I now have

 

[sengsational]

Only retired for 397.96 days, so I'll make it short.

One surprise was how much less our taxes were. You can get a good idea by taking a copy of your 2014 tax return and changing your earnings to 0 and making any other needed adjustments (for like a pension or SS starting or 401k/IRA withdrawals).

+1

Another surprise was realizing just how many projects I had always dreamed about working on during retirement were fundamentally profit-motivated, which I didn't need now being FI and retired, and I lost interest in.

+1

 

[Terryjm51]

Thank you all very much, most appreciated
I could sure see how family could throw a hitch in retirement if you were not prepared
A close friend retired a fews years ago and came back as s consultant. He told me a month or so into retirement he had to fund $40k for motherinlaw in a nursing home. It was very unexpected



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[travelover]

8 years as of next Sunday. I miss my windowless basement cube.

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[marko]

10+ years retired. What has surprised me is the fact that all of my unsophisticated stubby pencil back of the envelope planning has paid off so well.
.

Yeah...took me a while to say: "hey! the plan is actually working!!"

 

[Independent]

Independent: why no travelling? That is what I'm looking forward to the most.
.

1) Health. My wife spent a year in cancer treatment plus a couple other serious problems. (No sign of cancer today.)
We also stayed close to home when one of our kids had a serious problem.
2) Other priorities. One of our children adopted 3 kids all at once. We wanted to be around to help with that.
3) "I" vs. "we". I was looking forward to traveling more than my wife.

 

[walkinwood]

We are approaching 7 years of ER.

- Educate yourself on the reasoning behind your investment and withdrawal plans. You'll need that conviction to stick to your plan when things go south.
- Track your spending down to the $ for a few years so you know how much you need. A mistake here could be costly.
- Be flexible. In your spending as well as willingness to earn a little if conditions call for it. Or to move, or down size. Or to tighten your belt or loosen it.
- Be prepared to be different - To hell with what anyone else thinks.
- Be curious. You'll have the time to learn anything that attracts your fancy.

All the best.

 

[psweath]

3 yrs. retired for me, 5 for my wife. We moved to a 55+ Active Adult Community which we absolutely love. What has surprised us is how, for the most part, no one gives a flip what you did for a career in your working years. I mean, sure, it comes up, but usually only very briefly. They want to talk instead about your kids, your grandkids, your travels, and your experiences (other than work). It's great!

I work with, in kind of a mentoring relationship, younger men at our church, and many of them are all puffed up about what they do, how many hours a week they do it, etc. Man, do I get some icy, quizzical stares when I tell 'em, "Ya know, when you're my age and leave the corporate world, no one's gonna care a bit about how great you did in your career! Probably won't care about your career at all"

 

[marko]

I work with, in kind of a mentoring relationship, younger men at our church, and many of them are all puffed up about what they do, how many hours a week they do it, etc. Man, do I get some icy, quizzical stares when I tell 'em, "Ya know, when you're my age and leave the corporate world, no one's gonna care a bit about how great you did in your career! Probably won't care about your career at all"

Yeah, but don't discourage 'em!! We need these guys to keep paying our Social Security and Medicare! They'll wise up soon enough.

 

[psweath]

Oh you're right marko! I do encourage 'em - that's one of my primary roles in the relationship - there are a few that need a big serving of humble pie though!