What's Good About Being Retired?

[Ronstar]

The best thing about being retired is having 100% of my time to do what I want to do. Before I retired, I worked 1-2 days a week mostly from home. That was nice, but nothing compared to having 100% of my time for myself.

 

[scrabbler1]

NAPS!!! I forgot to mention them. So wonderful and so satisfying.

Before retiring, I hadn't taken naps since Kindergarten. And when I was little like that, I couldn't sleep during the day and hated naps. Now I love them.

When I was working FT, the only naps I could get were on Fridays if I got home from work a little early and was going out later (to give me a decent second wind), and on Saturdays and Sundays. They would last from 45 minutes to 90 minutes.

When I began working PT, I was able to expand on the number of weekly naps, which was nice, to 4 or 5. But once fully retired, those naps have become a daily feature, the best part of my day!

 

[Midpack]

Freedom to do what I want.

+1, the overriding answer to me. What we all do isn’t important, we all have different wants and needs. Having full control over what I do and when is the greatest reward. Some days I’m busy, though never as busy as during my career, and some days I’m lazy - it’s nice.

Every once in a while I consider taking on a part time job, mostly in winter when there’s less for me to do. But having to adhere to a work schedule stops me from taking it any further.

And I’d agree with the above, having full control over who I associate with is the second best benefit. Even at the end I still “liked” most of the people I worked with. But there were that 10% that caused 100% of the aggravation for all of us. During our careers we all have to put up with some a$$hats, whether we’re grunts or execs or in between - no one is immune.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

I am so glad you started this thread. I am retiring in March. My single only thought that bothers me is giving up that paycheck. I’ll be turning 64 in March and paying my own way so to speak for a year until age 65 and collect my annuity and have Medicare. Like you, I am FI but over 40 years of saving, not withdrawing gives me a little anxiety without a paycheck.

But when I look at all the soon to be benefits......oh my, they far outweigh my unfounded fears. That needs to be my focus. I have realized that I place way too much importance and concern on temporary things like my stressful sales job.

 

[braumeister]

I see two good things about being retired.

First, you're 70 years old, so you can take max Social Security.

Second, you have $5 million in the bank.

 

[Which Roger]

ER Eddie - a few questions:
1. Do you enjoy your job and work environment?
2. What are your reasons for retiring?

3. What's your financial situation? Do you clearly have enough money to support your desired lifestyle? If you do, you won't miss the paycheck.

4. What do you want to do in retirement? If you can't answer this, use the next 8 months to shift your mindset from getting fulfillment, identity, social life, etc from the workplace to getting those things outside of the workplace.

 

[ER Eddie]

Thank you, everyone. Some very good posts here. Very encouraging.

The sleep/nap thing strikes a chord. My sleep seems to suffer during my work days. I've come down with a cold today, which I think is related to the stress of sleep deprivation, which is because of work. If I didn't work, I could sleep when I wanted and take naps in the middle of the day. As it is, I'd have to be like George on Seinfeld and try to take naps under my desk.

ER Eddie - a few questions:
1. Do you enjoy your job and work environment?
2. What are your reasons for retiring?

3. What's your financial situation? Do you clearly have enough money to support your desired lifestyle? If you do, you won't miss the paycheck.

4. What do you want to do in retirement? If you can't answer this, use the next 8 months to shift your mindset from getting fulfillment, identity, social life, etc from the workplace to getting those things outside of the workplace.

1. I'm tired of my job. I don't hate it, but I've been doing it 15 years, and I'm bored by it. It isn't interesting or stimulating to me. I like the people I work with, but the job itself is feeling very stale.

2. Freedom is the main reason. Freedom to do what I want, on my own schedule. Freedom from the various stresses associated with work. A second big reason is more time to spend on things I value, like learning in areas of interest, getting healthier, growing spiritually, building a better social life, having more varied experiences, etc.

3. I have more than enough to cover my costs in retirement. I've run the numbers many times, so I'm confident in that. I realize that my fears/worries of being without a paycheck are irrational. Nevertheless, there they are...

I suppose it might be like getting over other fears -- you have to expose yourself to the thing you're worried about (i.e., go without a paycheck for a while), then realize nothing catastrophic happens and it's okay, and then gradually the anxiety fades.

But I also think my mindset is playing a role (i.e., my tendency to focus too much on what I'm giving up, not enough on the good stuff retirement offers), so until I can do the exposure therapy, I'm trying to shift my mindset a little.

4. In addition to what I mentioned in #3 (learning/growth, health, social life, spirituality), I'd also like to move to a different part of the country, spend more time with people/dogs I care about, spend more time outdoors (e.g., hiking), read more, take classes, and get more involved in causes I care about. Maybe explore creative pursuits of some kind. I haven't completely ruled out the possibility of short-term or part-time work, either, but it would have to be something I was genuinely interested in, not just something I was doing for the money.

Thanks for asking. Good questions.

 

[Dtail]

Why not start researching other place to move to, in order to help pass the time to the finish line?
This can be very exciting and interesting and it sounds like it is not money motivated, so even more so.

 

[6miths]

Stress turns out to be quite bad for you. Much less of it these days.

 

[athena53]

I was out the door a week after I made the decision to ER- the politics got toxic and my BS bucket was full. I was 61 and have never regretted it.

My favorite things: being able to travel without worrying about vacation days (my son and DIL and the grandkids are 3 hours away, Dad and siblings halfway across the country and I take vacations in faraway places), rarely having to set an alarm clock, being able to do volunteer work but on my terms. I've occasionally walked out of meetings with a simple, "I really have to get going" when they go on and on with no timed agenda. The last case was a "short meeting" after church that had gone on for an hour and 20 minutes. Couldn't do that in corporate life. More time to exercise and cook healthy foods.

And I like naps, too!

 

[FreeBear]

Lost: the bullsh!t
Gained: freedom

Good trade!

This says it all for me

During my school and w*rking existence, I lived a double life. Most of the day was filled with "must do" and "have to do". What I wanted to do was crammed into late night and harried weekends. I was sleep-deprived since high school

Now in FIRE, we have our church commitments and the usual meal prep. and home and car maintenace, but we still try to keep at least 3-4 days of largely fun stuff or unstructured open time weekly. Since I'm introverted I need these 3-4 days to be me and we (DW and I) time, not social or logistical commitments. This is how I recharge.

I don't miss the alarm clock and skipping breakfast just to make it to w*rk. I now get up when I want, and enjoy coffee and a book or devotional time before a lazy brunch.

I don't miss w*rk meetings and pointless "team building". I don't miss forced social contact. I have much more control of my social calander, essential to my happiness as an introvert.

I don't miss required overeseas travel and last minute "fire fighting" trips to places few would visit on vacation. Instead, we've learned to make most trips, especially local day outings, in optimal weather instead of toughing out marginal conditions just to get outside in our short season. I've leaned that I really need sunlight and now have the time to chase it.

I don't miss 5-7 hour of sleep nightly for decades. I now get 8-9 hrs. regularly and feel great. I now enjoy my mornings now that I have enough sleep and time to enjoy geat coffee at home.

I don't miss the stress of keeping up appearances just to keep a j*b. My industry had been offshoring for decades when I departed. My j*b and career are history and I'm moving onto the next stage of life while DW and I are still healthy and reasonably energetic.

 

[W2R]

3. I have more than enough to cover my costs in retirement. I've run the numbers many times, so I'm confident in that. I realize that my fears/worries of being without a paycheck are irrational. Nevertheless, there they are...

Those fears/worries are real! Nobody wants to suddenly be without enough to live on. I felt exactly the same way before I retired.

What helped me a little with that was that I devised a withdrawal strategy that to me seems like having a paycheck. I'm not saying this would work for everybody, but that it works for me.

What I do, is this: During the first week in January, every year, I decide what my annual withdrawal will be for the coming year. I withdraw that amount from Vanguard, and put it in savings. My original plan was to move 1/12th of that amount from savings to checking, on the first of each month, like a paycheck.

After a short while I stopped moving money from savings to checking on the first of the month like that, but just kept track of how much I had spent, and for me that works as well. I can see that I still have X dollars in the bank to last me until the end of the year. To me it still feels like a paycheck because I have the security of having the rest of the year's pay, right there in savings.

Maybe you can figure out some sort of withdrawal scheme that will feel like a paycheck to you.

 

[FreeBear]

4. In addition to what I mentioned in #3 (learning/growth, health, social life, spirituality), I'd also like to move to a different part of the country, spend more time with people/dogs I care about, spend more time outdoors (e.g., hiking), read more, take classes, and get more involved in causes I care about. Maybe explore creative pursuits of some kind. I haven't completely ruled out the possibility of short-term or part-time work, either, but it would have to be something I was genuinely interested in, not just something I was just doing for the money.

I suggest focussing on these things that you want and get involve in at least a few NOW, before you retire. Maybe you've alrealy done this. Take vacation time to look for a new place to live, without pressure to come up with an answer. Use all your vacation, instead of cashing out at the end, to begin to explore your eventual new life in FIRE. Basically, FIRE for a few (vacation) days at a time as a trial run.

What helped me a little with that was that I devised a withdrawal strategy that to me seems like having a paycheck. I'm not saying this would work for everybody, but that it works for me.

I also give myself a "paycheck". I hold 1-2 year's expenses in online savings. I then transfer a fixed amount monthly plus a lump sum for taxes and occasional trips or big ticket expenses.

 

[athena53]

Maybe you can figure out some sort of withdrawal scheme that will feel like a paycheck to you.

I've developed a system that works similarly and it helps. I retired in mid-2014 and as time goes on I feel more comfortable with that; the bull market has been a blessing. My assets have increased by 3.2% annually AFTER withdrawals so I feel it's sustainable.

 

[Willers]

I agree that mornings are the best part. I had a very stressful ending position and slept very poorly. To wake up now after 8+ hours sleep and having a relaxing breakfast is such a blessing.

I do occasionally have irrational money stress, but have an AA and plan that I know will work if asteroids stay away. That stress is nothing compared to what I used to experience.

Best of luck!!!

 

[Red Badger]

What's good about being alive? For some, not much- as evidenced by suicide rates.

Remember the first day of summer vacation as a kid? That's how my retirement feels every day. I get to be alive and free. I. Love. It.

 

[Walt34]

So, help me out. Let's talk about what is good about being retired.

Oh gosh, where to start?

Turning off that damn alarm clock for one. No more getting up at 0430 for work. I am by nature a night owl (married to a morning person, not sure how that happened!) and I like sleeping in.

Not dealing with commuter traffic. While traffic is certainly lighter here in WV than near D.C. where we used to live, there is still a certain amount of rush hour traffic here and there is rarely a reason for us to be in it.

No job pressure. I was in law enforcement and if I screwed up an innocent person could go to prison or a guilty one go free. If I screwed up badly enough, people could die. So the margin for error is zero and that did put some pressure on me.

Like several others, I'm an introvert. I like spending time in a quiet environment (preferably home) and do not enjoy being in a noisy fast-paced arena. Of course in my job there were times I had to do that but it was the exception, not the rule.

And simply not having to work. Or do anything (within reason) that I don't want to do. Since I have a pension, and now SS, all I have to do is maintain a pulse and they send me money every month. Is that cool or what?

 

[RobbieB]

I get money for nothin' and chicks for free!

 

[Dtail]

I get money for nothin' and chicks for free!

Sounds like you are in Dire Straights......

 

[scrabbler1]

What's good about being alive? For some, not much- as evidenced by suicide rates.

Remember the first day of summer vacation as a kid? That's how my retirement feels every day. I get to be alive and free. I. Love. It.

I have sometimes compared My ER to the 7 weeks between the time I finished my last class at college and my first day of work at my full-time job. I had some stuff to do in that time, but otherwise it was a lot of fun and I had pretty much total freedom.

Imagine 7 weeks turning into 10 years and more!

 

[pacergal]

What's good about being retired? Just about everything!
I do not miss the alarm clock, nor the commute. I do not miss the stress of getting things done on time or under budget. I do not miss having to do the things I wanted too, be crammed into after work or weekends. Nor do I miss being told when I could take vacation time.
What I gained was Peace. Waking up on my own sleep schedule. Lazy mornings. Working in my garden. Reading. Having time with family. Spending time with friends if I want. Even finally being able to go to the salon and have longer nails and wear nail polish! (working in direct patient care most of the time, short bare nails were required)
I did go back and work one day a week for 8 months this past year and that was more than enough to remind me why I retired!!
I think the worry about finances is normal. I have pension, but still worry about their solvency (even though is is pretty well funded and is government). However, spending time on this forum gives me reassurance.
Jump in, the waters fine!

 

[W2R]

Since I have a pension, and now SS, all I have to do is maintain a pulse and they send me money every month. Is that cool or what?

I get money for nothin' and chicks for free!

Wow, here I take a few moments away from the forum, and you two NAILED it!! Who wouldn't like this aspect of retirement?

What Walt and Robbie said is so true. Honestly every month when I see that SS deposit magically appear in my checking account, well gosh, it is just so amazing.

And really the same is true for money from my portfolio. I don't have to work a minute for it, at least not any more.

 

[scrabbler1]

Like what W2R wrote about Walt34's and RobbieB's posts, I am reminded about a great line from a Seinfeld episode ("The Junior Mint"):

George: "Yeah, interest. It's an amazing thing. You make money without doing anything..."
Jerry: "Y'know, I have friends who try to base their whole life on that principle."
George: "Really? Who?"
Jerry: "Nobody you know..." [Jerry makes a funny face]

My favorite part of the month is when the months change, starting with the announcement of how much money my big bond fund will dump into my bank account. Then, a few days later, it magically appears, with me not having to DO anything! Sometimes, I get extra money which just magically appears. Woohoo!

 

[Scuba]

I get money for nothin' and chicks for free!

[emoji23]

 

[Scuba]

For me, freedom is the big gain. In addition to avoiding the horrible So CA rush hour traffic and the alarm clock, it’s great to be able to take long trips (6 weeks, a month, 3 months plus several shorter trips in the last 18 months). Best of all for me is doing what I want to every day.