Is FIRE a disappointment?

[Chuckanut]

Having mailed in my retirement paperwork, but with another six months to go, my only regret is the six months to go.

 

[nicolette]

Better to be "pissed off" than "pissed on"

 

[audreyh1]

For me it felt like a true beginning, so I did not experience a let down at all. Rather I had a whole new set of challenges to rise to. But finally I was in charge of my own life day-to-day, and that very quickly became very rewarding!

Audrey

 

[Hnicols]

I've been running my FIRE spreadsheet for 5 years, actively thinking about it for the past 10 and now that I'm actually there it's a bit of a let down. There have been other things that have taken me few years to accomplish and I know that after they were achieved, and the initial euphoria of success, I felt as if I'd lost something. So once your spreadsheets or FIRECALC etc said you could actually retire was it a bit of an anticlimax?

Just retired...today! So no time yet to be disappointed. But do worry that until now I was a man with a plan. for 30 years I was largely my profession, a lot of people listened to me (I was the boss so they all pretended I was smart) and I felt that i could make lots of things happen So now I have to figure out who I am. Find a new plan, and maybe a purpose. That is not disappointment but it is a bit daunting.

 

[Midpack]

Just retired...today! So no time yet to be disappointed. But do worry that until now I was a man with a plan. for 30 years I was largely my profession, a lot of people listened to me (I was the boss so they all pretended I was smart) and I felt that i could make lots of things happen So now I have to figure out who I am. Find a new plan, and maybe a purpose. That is not disappointment but it is a bit daunting.

As noted on the other forum, I'd suggest you check out How to Retire Happy, Wild & Free by Ernie Zelinski, and complete the Get-A-Life Tree. Work Less, Live More by Bob Clyatt would also be helpful. I read both before I retired, and they helped me finally pull the trigger...

 

[JBmadera]

I'm not disappointed per se, but I am much more anxious than I thought I would be. No pension/bene's so we are doing it ourselves and while all the calculators say we're good I find that I've got this constant low level anxiety that is always there. We are making even more cuts to the budget (all frivolous stuff really but the cuts will add up), perhaps some additional breathing room might help.

happy new years all!

 

[Chuckanut]

while all the calculators say we're good I find that I've got this constant low level anxiety that is always there.

Yes, I know the feeling. I have six months to go and it feels a bit strange to think I will not have a job by the end of the year. It does make me a bit anxious. However, when I return to work tomorrow, I might just find the cure to that anxiety.

 

[BigNick]

Being FI was a comfort when my entire department was let go, with severence pay. I was able to retire a little earlier than expected and not worry about finding another job. One of those options it is nice to have.

+1. DW and I are close to FI and there are a small number of layoffs coming at my work. Instead of being one of 2,000 people wondering if I'll be one of the 10 "unlucky" ones, I'm hoping to get lucky - the payoff would put us over the top on our FI numbers.

Now my problem is to convince my boss - and especially his boss, who has the final say - that I'm dispensable. As a person, I know I am, but they would also have to abolish my post, and it has internal political significance. In my favour, though, I'm one of the highest paid people at my grade (with seniority, allowances, etc), so getting rid of me would put them closer to achieving their budget savings targets than most other candidates.

 

[rescueme]

Now my problem is to convince my boss - and especially his boss, who has the final say - that I'm dispensable.

I thought you were going for additional education to advance yourself in the workplace?

BTW, "bonne année" (from somebody who worked in Lyon, in the past)...

 

[Hnicols]

As noted on the other forum, I'd suggest you check out How to Retire Happy, Wild & Free by Ernie Zelinski, and complete the Get-A-Life Tree. Work Less, Live More by Bob Clyatt would also be helpful. I read both before I retired, and they helped me finally pull the trigger...

Yeah, I have the first book but a quarter of the way through decided just to step back for a bit. Have some winter camping I want to do this month with some skiing in between. Planning 30 days on appal trail end of march with my dog. Got horses coming in in May and that will keep me entertained for a few weeks and then my pontoon boat hits the water and I have two weeks camping on an island mid summer. So I guess I have decided to make the first 8 months the summer camp I never had and then figure it out.

 

[Ronstar]

Hnicols - your "summer camp" sounds like my kind of retirement!

 

[BigNick]

I thought you were going for additional education to advance yourself in the workplace?

It's become a personal development project.

 

[flyfishnevada]

I retired 7 years ago today at age 54.
Pretty much no planning beyond realizing I could live on the reduced pension (with good health insurance).
I have described it as a "run screaming into the night" retirement.
Never regretted the retirement.

That is awesome. I'm kind of like that. Kids in high school, big mortgage, car payments. Time to take my pension and I did it. Had enough saved to pay off my cars and that allowed me to live on the pension. Will be easier when the kids have moved on, but until then its a little seat of the pants around here. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[Midpack]

Yeah, I have the first book but a quarter of the way through decided just to step back for a bit. Have some winter camping I want to do this month with some skiing in between. Planning 30 days on appal trail end of march with my dog. Got horses coming in in May and that will keep me entertained for a few weeks and then my pontoon boat hits the water and I have two weeks camping on an island mid summer. So I guess I have decided to make the first 8 months the summer camp I never had and then figure it out.

No rush, you have plenty of fun stuff to do. I'd only say the Get-A-Life tree exercise is only a few pages in the book so you could do it anytime and it's not necessary to even read the book first. I found the exercise to be fun and enlightening independent of the rest of the book. Best regards...

 

[kz]

A disappointment? No, no, no and NO!

 

[militaryman]

Hmmmm,
Makes me think of the story I heard told about a newcomer to town asking his new neighbor "what people are like around here?" . The neighbor asked back how were folks where you came from? The newcomer replied "Oh, they were rude, short and lacked common courtesy". The neighbor replied " I think you'll find alot of the same around here" ----
Later that day the neighbor met another newcomer to town who asked, curiously, the same question "what people were like around here?" .
You guessed it ... The neighbor asked back how were folks where you came from? The second newcomer replied "Oh, they were kind and respectful, genuine folks". The neighbor replied " I think you'll find alot of the same around here"
So I am thinking, in generalities, that the same may hold true for folks moving into retirement or any other stage of life .... If your day to day life as a worker bee, father (mother), husband (wife), student, etc etc has been dull, arduous, routine, OR exciting, and meaningful .... I think you'll find alot of the same awaits you in your retirement years.....

 

[Cassius King]

I agree with this as well...

At just over 7 months into my FIRE. The biggest question for me has become "Why was I so worried about this?". I reviewed my ER to death... from every angle and through every scenario. (It didn't help that the few people, I confided in, were dissuasive.)

Now, however, the very thought of going back to work is almost physically repulsive to me. On the rare day that I wake up with nothing on the schedule, or with a hint of melancholy... I only need to think about my previous life to I snap out of it.

Then, with a shake of the head and a "whew," I grab the leash and take the dog for a walk.

This is quite possibly the best thing I've read in a long time. This is definite sig material. Okay if I use it?!

 

[marko]

My two cents:
It took me about 2 full years to "come down" after 30 years of 70 hour weeks being in a Dilbert cartoon.

I believe that if you think each day is a 'vacation day', you haven't fully retired mentally. (Vacation is what working people do).

Instead, retirement is just a different way of life. As noted elsewhere on this forum, not every day is exciting or fun or full. But eventually you realize that you really, really don't want to work again and find that your 'time' is a currency in and of itself.

Seven years (as of last week) and counting!

 

[Nuiloa]

Disappointment no...relief yes. Once I pulled the plug I had a much more difficult time emotionally with actually making that first withdrawl from what I had worked so hard to save. That really set my mind spinning.

I was wondering about that. It will be a very scary thing to watch the numbers in the 'ol savings account go down, instead of up.

 

[tightasadrum]

My two cents:
It took me about 2 full years to "come down" after 30 years of 70 hour weeks being in a Dilbert cartoon.

I believe that if you think each day is a 'vacation day', you haven't fully retired mentally. (Vacation is what working people do).

Instead, retirement is just a different way of life. As noted elsewhere on this forum, not every day is exciting or fun or full. But eventually you realize that you really, really don't want to work again and find that your 'time' is a currency in and of itself.

Seven years (as of last week) and counting!

Well put. After 2+ years, or is it 3 , since going to work each day, I'm just getting into realizing that retirement is "...just a different way of life." I'm only now beginning to learn how to best spend my new "currency."

 

[Alan]

Our plans today were to drive 6 miles to the YMCA, attend a class at 8:30, spend some time in the gym, socialize with our friends over coffee then drive home for lunch, calling at the store to pick up a few things.

However, it stormed all night and was still storming this morning when we got up. So we had breakfast, walked 50 yds to the exercise room here at the complex, spent an hour exercising on the machines and with free weights, then went into the clubroom for coffee and a game of pool.

I've never been disappointed at all in FIRE, but days like this when we can change our plans for the day instantly because of bad weather makes us even more grateful for the extra control over our lives.