Yahoo Finance - Dead is the new RE!

[DougViages]

retire-and-be-happy: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

Dead is the new retirement. OK, that doesn't sound appealing, but working till you drop is a heck of a lot better than playing crappy golf at the country club, eating chicken salad sandwiches for lunch, and complaining about your gall bladder.
At least, it is if you can find a job in retirement that brings meaning and happiness. So says Marshall Goldsmith, whose blog entry "Brett Favre and the Difficult Art of Retiring Successfully" appeared last August on the Harvard Business Review's Web site...

A shot across FIRE's bow.

[Midpack]

I think the article is on the money. People who retire with adequate $ resources and no other plan for 'what to do' all day are risking disappointment. Some people are lucky/smart enough to naturally have meaningful activities and relationships in place and do well without conventional work, but many are not and it takes them by surprise. I'd encourage reading How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free AND Work Less, Live More several years before retiring. 'What to do' planning is just as important as $ planning IMHO but many people only focus on the latter.

[Kroeran]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack People who retire with adequate $ resources and no other plan for 'what to do' all day are risking disappointment

as I get close I have been trying out various things. I got involved in the neighbourhood association and dabbled in national politics (well, our little corner of it). Found the same politics and BS as at work, but wasn't getting paid for it. I think I am done with the volunteering thing.

then, just when my numbers start to make sense to leave, I get the best boss in the universe (3000 miles away) and actually meaningful work that is effortless for me to do. Nice problem to have though.

[bbbamI]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougViages Dead is the new retirement. OK, that doesn't sound appealing, but working till you drop is a heck of a lot better than playing crappy golf at the country club, eating chicken salad sandwiches for lunch, and complaining about your gall bladder.

I don't complain about my gall bladder since I don't have one anymore. Anyone wanna hear about my back aches.....?

[unclemick]

Hmmm - like mastering meditation on the sound of one hand clapping I have yet to attain guru status in the art of doing absolutely nothing all day.

But I have worked very hard at it for 15 years. Us lefthanded INTJ's never say die.

heh heh heh - 16th year I'll get it - you'll see. Not so sure about the Saint's upcoming season though.

[MJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclemick Hmmm - like mastering meditation on the sound of one hand clapping I have yet to attain guru status in the art of doing absolutely nothing all day.

When I tell people I no longer work, the next question they usually ask is "what do you do all day?"
Well, I look at them with an exhausted smile and answer, "I'm soooo busy doing nothing all day, I just don't have time to do anything else"

[Notmuchlonger]

Doing nothing is an art form. Bunch of no good #$#@@! I'm an artist!

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notmuchlonger Doing nothing is an art form. Bunch of no good #$#@@! I'm an artist!

After 4.5 years, I believe I have mastered the art.

This morning I sipped tea and felt the cool breeze, and watched the birds and squirrels on the lawn for ~20 minutes. I didn't do anything, I didn't think about anything; I just was.

[BunsGettingFirm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ When I tell people I no longer work, the next question they usually ask is "what do you do all day?" Well, I look at them with an exhausted smile and answer, "I'm soooo busy doing nothing all day, I just don't have time to do anything else"

Hey, you're back, so did you end up in the Southwest? If so, how's the cycling? Are you finding that you do more cycling now than you did before retirement? Are you burning out on all the cycling, or is that still holding your interest?

[Dawg52]

I'll take my crappy golf, peanut butter sandwiches, and gall bladder talk any day over work. What's not to like?

[MJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BunsGettingFirm Hey, you're back, so did you end up in the Southwest? If so, how's the cycling? Are you finding that you do more cycling now than you did before retirement? Are you burning out on all the cycling, or is that still holding your interest?

Hi BGF. I am still in Chiang Mai Thailand. I haven't been back to the U.S. since late 2007. For me, the bicycle has always been more like owning a stock horse. It still is my main mode of local transportation. It keeps me fit and I enjoy wonderful rides around the surrounding country so unless I am physical unable to ride, it will remain an intregal part of my lifestyle. I love the idea that I am not poluting the air and not spending money on gas. That's why I love Chiang Mai. It is so easy for me to cycle here. Of course, I am used to dealing with city traffic. Cycling in CM is a piece of cake compared to NYC, Bangkok or worse, Saigon, cities I have spend time cycling about.
I've been having some minor knee issues (no pain yet) that have curtailed my serious bi-weekly mountain climbing rides as well as any serious cycling trips for now. I am going to take it easy for another 6 months and see if the knee improves. It did 6 years ago.

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI I don't complain about my gall bladder since I don't have one anymore. Anyone wanna hear about my back aches.....?

Wanna borrow mine (gall bladder)? Special weekly rate this month.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI Anyone wanna hear about my back aches.....?

Look at the crappy posture those boots/heels is causing. No wonder your back hurts! Wear something sturdy and practical and your back woes will vanish.........

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet Look at the crappy posture those boots/heels is causing. No wonder your back hurts! Wear something sturdy and practical and your back woes will vanish.........

Where's the fun in that?

[growing_older]

Quote:

working till you drop is a heck of a lot better than playing crappy golf at the country club, eating chicken salad sandwiches for lunch, and complaining

Wow - I understand this premise may be appealing to some people, and there is some appeal to the idea of "doing something meaningful" while retired. But the notion that ER would leave me drifting without meaning and forced to participate in sports followed by leisurely lunches just to fill the time is both laughable and wrong. Besides I think I could even spend quite a few years doing so and enjoy it much more than wasting my time in a maze of cubicles following directions from clueless and mean spirited managers, ruled by a timeclock. This author doesn't seem to have worked at anyplace I ever did, but then I wasn't CEO or QB like the examples cited.

[Khan]

I'd rather be dead than back in the cube farm.

[Kroeran]

Quote:

Originally Posted by growing_older wasting my time in a maze of cubicles following directions from clueless and mean spirited managers,.

for those still in the system, I think boss shopping is far more important than the type of work.

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kroeran for those still in the system, I think boss shopping is far more important than the type of work.

I was given this book by a co-w*rker many years ago when I was in a negative boss situation after a reorganization.
Reading it really gave me some tools to deal with...well, you know.
Amazon.com: How to Work for a Jerk: Your Success is the Best Revenge: Robert M. Hochheiser: Books
I passed it on to a very deserving friend when I FIREd.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 I was given this book by a co-w*rker many years ago when I was in a negative boss situation after a reorganization. Reading it really gave me some tools to deal with...well, you know. Amazon.com: How to Work for a Jerk: Your Success is the Best Revenge: Robert M. Hochheiser: Books I passed it on to a very deserving friend when I FIREd.

I used to have a "negative boss situation" too (love the phrase! so I borrowed it). A co-worker transferred to a different section two or three years ago to get away from the negative boss situation, and I had the opportunity to do so as well. I turned it down because I would have had to start over from scratch over there and really wasn't suited to that job opening, but it was a tough decision.

But, that horrid boss of mine got promoted to a job in another part of the organization, and NOW I have the best boss I have ever even heard of, much less had. Life is a bowl of cherries.

The relatively nice boss of the transferred co-worker retired, and now she is working for the Devil himself - - the worst, most psychologically abusive boss imaginable.

So, I think boss shopping isn't necessarily helpful. Outlasting a negative boss situation is a very satisfying experience, though.

[Kroeran]

yes, I have witnessed that...fleeing a negative boss situation, only to have the negative boss transfer into your area or to be your boss

the fellow in question had formally grieved a promotion competition that the boss had mangled, and made an enemy for life. that guy ended up having to leave town to finally get away

my other tips are:
- try to work for bosses that match your profile as closely as possible, ie. if you are a female latino, find a female latino boss - leverage bias and prejudice in your favour
- try to work for bosses at least 2 pay grades above yours, so that they have room to promote you within the group
- try have lunch or a coffee with a prospective boss. If they cannot pull off an hour of human conversation with an underling, forget it. Remember that many open positions are positions that the locals won't fill because of the boss. Then again, if you have a very strong stomach, some people get ahead by specializing in such situations.
- try to find a boss who is not looking to get promoted.
- avoid bosses younger, shorter (men), less attractive (women) than you are, that might be threatened or jealous of you
- avoid bosses with no personal life, who love overtime panics at the office, or who get too close to their staff.