Hobbies in retirement

[Zipper]

Your #1 hobby should be staying fit and healthy.

Get out and exercize for at least an hour a day.

[Jarhead*]

Your #1 hobby should be staying fit and healthy.

Get out and exercize for at least an hour a day.

Good advice to work out for at least an hour each day.

However, to make that your #1 hobby sounds pretty boring

[RockMiner]

I'm an advocate of reasonable fitness habbits, but sometimes I see people busting their tails every day at the gym or endlessly training for marathons...are these people really going to live longer or better?

I'm not sure this has been demonstrated. If you enjoy working that hard that's great, but there may be a point at which mechanical wear on the body becomes a negative which outweighs the fitness benefits.

Granted, uh, I'm not likely to find out.

[larry]

After just starting ER at 43 I'm finding that I'm having to spend time (daytimes anyway) with an older crowd due to the fact that there are very few of my peers who are ER'd with me. I don't mind this but it relegates spending time with peers on a night or weekend (or vacation) basis.
I too have started the exercise path and also started prunes (don't stereotype me now, LOL) for the cholesterol as I am wanting to get off the meds.
I still enjoy fixing things around the house and now concentrate on money saving efforts like grocery shopping, utilities and other small feats.
My wife is still working PT and at times I chauffer her around to her jobs. This gives us time to discuss things and helps her out to make her job easier.

[Martha]

Larry, I read your post and had a bit of an epiphany. My DH is retired and I work. These cold winter mornings he gets up far earlier than I am sure he would like, warms the car and drives me to work. He cooks wonderful meals that wait for me when I come home. He dotes on me and I love it. I think I worry I will lose some of this when I retire. I don't want to start cooking! Maybe I will have to work longer to afford Donner's maid.

Or I will have to figure out something else to pull my weight. :P

[Nords]

Being a guy, I have to suspect two motives:
1. "Survivor guilt" over being retired while you're not, or some other past guilt for which he still feels indebted. Either is expiated by the penance of getting up early, braving rush hour, cooking, etc.
2. ER is sweeter when you can get up early, fight the traffic, wave bye-bye to your hardworking spouse, and then go back to bed!

Well, yeah, it could be that love & fidelity & support stuff too, I guess. And maybe, like TH, he just enjoys cooking...

Well, I get up with my DW on the days she works, and I do warm up her car on cold mornings. However, I do
little or no cooking. She is a fabulous cook, and I could
exist on cereal and bananas. Anyway, I have no guilt issues. My money can produce more than her employment and I am working every day to get her ERed
and insure her future security. She doesn't see it which is a bit
frustrating, but I am pressing on regardless. As I have posted before, she has no real insight into the big
financial picture, and any discussion produces mostly
unpleasantness.

JG

Regarding hobbies - I'm definitely working out more and taking care of myself. I'm also spending a lot more time remodeling the house. If reading is a hobby - I definitely read more. I also socialize a lot more. All were "hobbies" prior to ER that I spend more time on now.

One hobby that has been reduced is travel. I used to travel a lot (adding exotic minivacations onto international business trips). I don't do that as much both because of the expense and because I don't seem to need a vacation as much as I needed to before (life's a vacation). I used to want to "see the world" but it doesn't seem as desirable as it once was. I also feel a lot more guilty leaving the family for a period of time - it's harder to take off without a business excuse.

I too found it much easier to travel when there was a
business purpose, but that was primarily because
someone else was paying

JG

Hiking and fishing, used to be a backpacker, not sure how my rebuilt back would like that now, but I still like to hike. Always wanted to do a long distance trail like the AT, or PCT. And being retired gives me lots of fishing opportunities, and spending a hour or so per day on the web........Shredder

Shredder,

You've gotta read this. It is written by a guy with a great sense of humor about his Mexico to Canada hike along the PCT.

http://www.angelfire.com/trek/nz_usa/

-helen

[Shredder]

I'll check it out.

[gayl]

As for walking; I used to walk even when the weather was bad because I needed the stress relief it provided. *I often got up early to walk before work. *Now I am a lot more laid back about it. *If the weather isn't good, I skip a day or two. *I find I enjoy the walks I do take more than ever.
* * * *Grumpy

Same thing happened to me. I used to take the pager off and walk 30 min every day as a stress reducer. Now its only when its dry, which is most days. Walks are significantly longer and more enjoyable.

I used to really enjoy financial planning, but I am drifting towards index funds now. I hardly ever read the business section anymore.

I've taken up cooking, remodeling, and traveling ... three things I did not have the time for before. Never used to cook, now I prepare a big meal every Friday. Still don't do much on the other days.

[Shredder]

I've have a new hobby brewing, homebrewing beer! I got a mr. beer for x-mas and now I'm thinking of going all in and getting a 5 gallon set up. The mr. beer is only 8.5 qts. The only bad thing (OK one of the bad things) is now regular beer has no taste. It's amazing how good handcrafted beer is. Now I understand how people from Germany feel when they can't get there good brews here...Shredder

[kz]

My hobbies didn't change all that much but I had more time to do them. Instead of 1 mile walks, I could do 3-4. Instead of 15 minutes of reading, I could read for hrs.

Hubby retires in a few months which means he'll have more time for woodworking, cutting firewood, and walking. He's already planning on replacing his hand-me-down drillpress, bandsaw, etc. with brand-spanking new ones. And, or course, there's work to be done at oldest son's new house which will keep him busy for some time!

We took up hiking a few yrs ago but only get to go on his days off. Pretty soon we'll schedule a hike a week. And we'll travel more now that we have the time and the money. (the last few yrs were spent getting the boys thru college) We're heading to a friend's house in Alaska for 2-4 weeks late this summer.

And since we live in a county with more water (4 large lakes, 2 rivers) than land we'll probably buy a fishing boat and take up fishing again. Something I grew up doing when my parents lived on a large lake.

Living in Wisconsin and not fishing is close to heresy,
like not being a Packer fan

Sure wish I had some aptitude for DIY stuff. I did buy
a used table saw at auction with an eye toward a
pretty basic winter project (since aborted).
Sold the saw for a nice profit though.

Just waiting now for the ice to be gone so we can start
fishing again.

JG

[Shredder]

Living in Wisconsin and not fishing is close to heresy,
like not being a Packer fan *
JG

Pretty much the same thing here in N. MI. I plan to get back into fly fishing again. I'm gearing up now. I used to go but life (work, marrige, ect.) got in the way. I'll have to go about it a little different now since I don't think my back can take all day wading, but a little should be OK, and I have a friend with a driftboat, so I can't wait till spring. I'll have to let steellhead fishing, beer making, exersizing, home repairs, reading, the internet, house cleaning, cooking for my working spouse, maintaining our vehicles, taking my mom to her DR. appointments, playing with the dog get me by in the meantime. You know you always here from retired people they did not know how they had time to work before, and now I know how they feel since I is one.....Shredder

Hello Shredder! Your day sounds about like mine.

As far as "I don't know how I ever found time to work"........It is so trite, but so true.

JG

[LovesLife]

Ain't that the truth. I never knew how much I could get done in my PJ's.

LovesLife

[kz]

OK, that settles it, we're getting the boat! And, yes, we're Packer fans.

[gayl]

This may be slightly of the subject but....

Soon after I retire next year, I plan to do a lot of international travelling over the next 10 years. Althought I hadn't thought about it until you brought it up and also being very stingy frugal, I like the idea of writing off some of this "business of life" *travel. Anyone have any suggestions on having Uncle Sam share some (I'm not that greedy, only 30% to 50%) of the expenses?

MJ

According to IRS's Publication 970, http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch03.html#d0e3087, you're out of luck unless you can prove that it is somehow related to a job. So find a part time hobby, that can pay you cash, start a small business <like real estate or tax prep>, and write it off or forget it. BTW: you have to at least break-even for this to continue working