Does anyone out there "work" in their retirement?

[CourtneyC]

I always imagined retirement would be a great opportunity to finally open up a business or two that interests me without taking on a significant financial risk. Right now I dabble around with a few internet sites but would like to open up a home design store eventually. Is anyone out there using their retirement to finally pursue a business they've always wanted to try out? If so, how's it going?

 

[retire@40]

You can make a hobby that you enjoy into a part-time job. In fact, this is how many self-employed people get started.

For example, if you enjoy playing a musical instrument, you can start a home-based business teaching, assuming you have the necessary patience and skills. You could take on as many or as few students as you want and make your own hours.

Use the extra cash from this business to upgrade your instrument, buy music, etc. and you've just turned what would normally be non-deductible expenses into business-related deductions.

You just need to be creative and the number of businesses out there are unlimited. For example, if you live near the ocean, buy a boat and start a "burials at sea" business. I just thought of that one off the top of my head, so I haven't thought through what kinds of permits or licenses you would need, but I'm assuming you could do this in partnership with a licensed funeral home.

 

[donheff]

A good friend of my wife's retired from a legal practice, went back to school for a masters in landscape architecture and is consulting on landscape design. A former boss retired from IT and then got a PHD in Education and is teaching at the school. I retired, period

 

[Dawg52]

No, I don't believe in work after 'retirement'. I wouldn't be retired then.

 

[kumquat]

I sometimes help relatives on the farm. Don't get paid. Is it work if no money changes hands?

 

[bow-tie]

I sometimes help relatives on the farm. Don't get paid. Is it work if no money changes hands?

I help out on the farm, too. Absolutely it is work... it's just not a j-o-b...

 

[Moemg]

I sell on ebay and amazon .It's not really work .It's more like a profitable hobby .

 

[megacorp-firee]

I don't work, but the beauty of retirement (I have found) is that I can do whatever the heck I want to... ... and on my schedule.
... It's good to be me (and my fellow FIREes)
... rivaled only by my grandson (... IT'S REALLY good to be him).

 

[Beststash]

I help my neighbor bale hay - rake, I trade off for work around my place.

If I could muster up the drive I would really like to become a local advocate for solar energy in my rural community - so far I'm just thinking about it but maybe in the future.

I have become a bit lazy in my retirement and don't take anything that seriously.

Peace

 

[calmloki]

We are pretty big rug/textile junkies - maybe 5 years ago we bought something like 36 pre '60s Navajo rugs - all one price, no cherry picking. We sold them, and a fair number of Caucasian and Turkoman textiles, on the bay. It was fun and exciting, but found that it took something away from the pure enjoyment of the rugs - sold a few i really wish i'd kept. Same way with VWs and BMWs - there i am, just having a good time, and then i start selling them and it becomes a business. Maybe others do better with that.

 

[macdaddy]

my dad is a doctor and practices part-time - about 10 or 15 hours a week. he mostly does it to stay involved and keep his clinical skills sharp. he enjoys it. they pay him about 125k per year plus health insurance. it seems like a pretty low stress set up for him. he also consults sometimes. he worked 80 hours a week for 40 years and i don't think he could ever just stop.

 

[JonnyM]

OK, I'll admit it, I do, sorta. It's the only job I would even consider and I originally proposed it to my Management a few months before I FIRE'd. Little did I know they'd be jiggy wid it. My terms were consulting or special projects that could be performed in a non time-critical time-frame. IOW, stuff that would be of benefit to the company, could be preformed in the background with no deadline, would make use of my years of experience, and would be interesting to me, and could be performed on a totally flexible schedule requiring no more than 10 hours of my time per week, with no more than one day on-site.

So for the last 12 months, and probably about 12 months more, I go in to the plant once per week, usually but not always on Thursday (cause it just seemed like a good day of the week) for about 8 hours, with a couple more hours doing research or monitoring systems from home. And I'm totally out of the chain of command, don't have to supervise anyone, and have extremely little supervision of what I'm working on at any given moment. All this and I still get my ending hourly rate from my full-time higher-stress career, which was pretty good

As you can see I could never find a better deal, it adds to the nest egg, and it will be easy to ease out of when the times they are a changing - it's no longer fun - management changes and they decide I'm not all that necessary - I move out of state, whichever comes first.


Good work if you can get it...

 

[kat]

Well, I didn't officially retire from my law practice. I didn't have to, because I'm the boss and sole employee.... I decided to cut back a few years ago, and now I do just enough paid work to cover health insurance. If there's more income, I put it toward repairs my old house will need some day. I'm just doing the work because it's easy.

As for unpaid work, there's a lot of ways to help people out and it's nearly always interesting.

 

[73ss454]

Before I retired I thought that I would like to do something PT. After a few months of having all my time to myself, well I just changed my mind.

 

[REWahoo]

Before I retired I thought that I would like to do something PT. After a few months of having all my time to myself, well I just changed my mind.

Some might say you were lazy and a drain on society. Not me, of course.

 

[W2R]

Some might say you were lazy and a drain on society. Not me, of course.

If somebody said something like that about me, after I retire, I'd be tempted to display a rude gesture.

 

[REWahoo]

If somebody said something like that about me, after I retire, I'd be tempted to display a rude gesture.

I would too, if I didn't know with 100% certainty the person saying it was 1) in the exact same situation and 2) had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.

 

[dumpster56]

I am now teaching elementary school physical education on Tuesday mornings and fridays until 2:30. K thru 3rd graders. All we do is play, teach them how to play and exercise.

Fantastic fun. And they pay me 310 dollars a day. 620 a week part time. total of 10 hours of well retired work.

 

[W2R]

I would too, if I didn't know with 100% certainty the person saying it was 1) in the exact same situation and 2) had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.

True! After all, if someone works hard and earns enough money to retire early, he has already earned his place as a retiree who has contributed to society.

Sorry - - guess I was feeling a little excess "Protestant ethic" guilt at the idea of retiring.

 

[Meadbh]

my dad is a doctor and practices part-time - about 10 or 15 hours a week. he mostly does it to stay involved and keep his clinical skills sharp. he enjoys it. they pay him about 125k per year plus health insurance. it seems like a pretty low stress set up for him. he also consults sometimes. he worked 80 hours a week for 40 years and i don't think he could ever just stop.

$125 per year for 10-15 hours a week? I would like that job!

 

[REWahoo]

Sorry - - guess I was feeling a little excess "Protestant ethic" guilt at the idea of retiring.

That's OK. I have a special place in my [-]future SS check[/-] heart for those who are unable to pull the plug.

 

[73ss454]

I would too, if I didn't know with 100% certainty the person saying it was 1) in the exact same situation and 2) had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.

Yeah, we both have a lot in common. We are even in the same state now.

 

[ESRBob]

Kalmloki, MacDaddy, NewGuy, Johnny -- wow those are all great stories. My own approach to semi-retirement doesn't make much income but it sure is fun. I found my 'inner artist' and have been making sculpture. (And writing books about the joys of semi-retirement :-0 ) For me it gives structure and purpose to my life-after-full-time-career. "Sideways" was a great movie and introduced me to Pinot Noir, for which I am very grateful, but without some structured projects/challenges, I'd probably drift into a Sideways-like existence which wouldn't be good for me.

 

[Goonie]

You can make a hobby that you enjoy into a part-time job. In fact, this is how many self-employed people get started.

Though I don't ever plan on w*rking in retirement, I have a good friend that opened a hobby shop after he ER'd. He was a teacher at the local HS, and an avid model railroader. He figured it would be nice to be able to buy all of his supplies at dealer cost, so he became a dealer! His family owned several commercial building in town, and when one of their tenants closed their business, he opened his. When he out grew that building, he moved into another one that he owns, and rented out the first one.

He said since the property is already paid for, all he needs money for is utilities, taxes, and insurance, so he puts a VERY small mark-up on things and sells just slightly above dealer cost to everyone!

He's open evenings during the week, and for about 6 hours on Saturday. He's normally there anyway, "workin' on the railroad", so it doesn't really take any of his free time away. Plus he gets to see all of his friends, since we drop in quite regularly.

So his small business is just an extension of his hobby, and we all benefit because of it!

 

[chinaco]

I help my neighbor bale hay - rake, I trade off for work around my place.

If I could muster up the drive I would really like to become a local advocate for solar energy in my rural community - so far I'm just thinking about it but maybe in the future.

I have become a bit lazy in my retirement and don't take anything that seriously.

Peace

That is a great idea! But you are correct it would take some work.

You could help by educating people and working with manufacturers to get some solid implementations in your area to showcase the technology.

If you pursue it, keep us informed.