There is a company - I forget which - that ran some great little bits about how people spent their first day of retirement. I think that's pretty cool, doing something memorable that day. I'm years from that day still, but I'd love to hear ideas. How did or will you spend that first day? I wish I had a great idea for myself, but I don't. Yet.
Day One?
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RetiredAndFree
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I left immediately for a seven day RV trip along our coastline. I woke up every morning of the trip pinching myself that I really and truly did not have to go into the office.
Actually, my favorite memory is what I did immediately after giving notice - left for a two week cruise through the Panama Canal. Best trip ever for obvious reasons!
Actually, my favorite memory is what I did immediately after giving notice - left for a two week cruise through the Panama Canal. Best trip ever for obvious reasons!
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Since it has been almost nine years I don't remember exactly how I spent my first day - other than with a huge grin on my face. 
My first day I went for a bike ride...
I actually retired 4 months before I orig. planned to so on the planned date
we took our son, his wife and 2 child. on a cruise. Best vacation we ever had!
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
November 10th, 2009, was my first full day of retirement. I know EXACTLY what I did, because I posted about it on the "What did you do today" thread. Here's my post:
Day one of ER:
This morning I opened my eyes at 4:10 AM. I could have gone back to sleep, but it occurred to me that this day is MINE. So, I just couldn't!
When rush hour was mostly over, at around 8:45 or so, I left for the gym. There I did a one hour workout, and took the time to learn how to use the rowing machine, which I have never used. Traffic on the way home was a breeze.
After showering and changing, and resting for a little while, I decided to go shopping for a "good for me" present. A few weeks ago in my favorite dress shop I found some slacks that are very comfortable and wash easily, so I went back to that store and bought two more pairs. The cashier gave me a 10% senior discount that I didn't know about. She told me it is only exists on Tuesdays. So, I felt like my day was progressing pretty well!
Then I strolled about the strip mall for a while and enjoyed browsing through various stores. It was sunny out so I wore my sunglasses and enjoyed the weather. I loved being able to move around and be more active during the day, instead of being chained to my cubicle.
When I got home, I was tired, and napped on and off for several hours. Then I watched the news, and then played on my Wii for a while.
It's a ROUGH LIFE...
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Lcountz
Recycles dryer sheets
Prudential.
HFWR
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I'll start the day thusly...
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Wouldn't it be preferable to do that the night before?I'll start the day thusly...
HFWR
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Wouldn't it be preferable to do that the night before?
A veritable suppository of wisdom!
I think I would spend the first day of retirement getting rid of all the vestiges of my working life.
One of the first things I'd do is update my LinkedIn, which is the only social media thing I'm on (I'm not on Facebook or Twitter), and the only reason I ever joined in the first place was for career and job hunting reasons.
I've accumulated so many contacts over the years, that I'm going to clean that sucker out. I'll first update my status and title to "Retired" and then delete hundreds of contacts, leaving only 10 or so very close friends of minds. All the rest are people I've never really talked to anyway.
I also want to take two big garbage bags and start filling them with all the accumulated work junk over the years. In one, I'll put all the company clothing I've gotten over the years - jackets, shirts, etc, that I never use (I'm not a vendor swag kind of guy) and donate them. In the other garbage bag, I'm going to put all the other crap I've accumulated over the years (pens, mementos, meaningless plaques and awards, etc) and throw them away. I don't know why I kept all that stuff anyway, it just takes up space.
The only thing I want to keep from my career is the money in the bank. All the rest can go in the garbage.
I'm going to enjoy that day so much. Out with the old, in with the new, and never look back.
One of the first things I'd do is update my LinkedIn, which is the only social media thing I'm on (I'm not on Facebook or Twitter), and the only reason I ever joined in the first place was for career and job hunting reasons.
I've accumulated so many contacts over the years, that I'm going to clean that sucker out. I'll first update my status and title to "Retired" and then delete hundreds of contacts, leaving only 10 or so very close friends of minds. All the rest are people I've never really talked to anyway.
I also want to take two big garbage bags and start filling them with all the accumulated work junk over the years. In one, I'll put all the company clothing I've gotten over the years - jackets, shirts, etc, that I never use (I'm not a vendor swag kind of guy) and donate them. In the other garbage bag, I'm going to put all the other crap I've accumulated over the years (pens, mementos, meaningless plaques and awards, etc) and throw them away. I don't know why I kept all that stuff anyway, it just takes up space.
The only thing I want to keep from my career is the money in the bank. All the rest can go in the garbage.
I'm going to enjoy that day so much. Out with the old, in with the new, and never look back.
steelyman
Moderator Emeritus
I just didn't go to work. That was enough!
robnplunder
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Wouldn't it be preferable to do that the night before?
Good catch, LOL! But never too late.
HFWR
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Wouldn't it be preferable to do that the night before?
On second thought, waking one more time at dark thirty to really hit that snooze button would be worth it...
I think that was about what I did but can't really remember. At the time I was focused on getting the old house ready to sell and moving from all that traffic so I didn't really relax until we were established in WV.
There were lots of little chores to be done with the new house and it was kind of neat being able to take all day to do just one of them. That was when I became more relaxed.
Ready
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I went for a bicycle ride. It started pouring out. One of the worst rain storms all year from what I remember. I got soaked, and yet still remember thinking this sure beats being in the office one more day!
SoReady
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I proudly attended my last child's graduation from college. Knowing all my kids were graduated and gainfully employed made knowing I was retired that much more enjoyable.
Cassie
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My 1st day was Jan 6, 2014....I sat at my favorite slot machine having my morning coffee...cha ching!
PERSonalTime
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I did absolutely NOTHING! Loved absorbing the transformation of the dream of ERing becoming a reality.
No good ideas from me.
On my first day, I woke up at 5:30 and could not get back to sleep. Took my MIL to get an MRI later that day. Read a book. Two weeks later and I still feel like it's just a nice vacation. Thankfully the sense of loss I experienced faded after the first couple of days. At first, I felt pretty lost. After two weeks the "holy crap, this is awesome" feeling is back.
On my first day, I woke up at 5:30 and could not get back to sleep. Took my MIL to get an MRI later that day. Read a book. Two weeks later and I still feel like it's just a nice vacation. Thankfully the sense of loss I experienced faded after the first couple of days. At first, I felt pretty lost. After two weeks the "holy crap, this is awesome" feeling is back.
Brett_Cameron
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I got up and took the kids to school then went home and took a nap. Just before going to sleep I remember thinking "WHAT have I done!?". I slept fine. Still do.
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My last day was a few Fridays ago. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I say that the weekend "didn't count" because I would have had those days off anyway.
On the Monday after my last day I signed-up to get health insurance through the PPACA healthcare marketplace. Or should I say started the 'adventure' of signing up.
On the Monday after my last day I signed-up to get health insurance through the PPACA healthcare marketplace. Or should I say started the 'adventure' of signing up.
Huston55
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
1st Day
I didn't start the day off planning to record my activities but, I got about half way through it and thought it'd be nice to remember how I spent my first day so, I logged it.
1st Day of Retirement---
930pm-100am: Clancy's Irish bar with mates to celebrate and ring in my first day of retirement.
5am: Up without alarm (old habits die hard ) and feed and walk the dog.
530-630am: Check email and E-R.org.
0630-0730am: Catch Zs (new habits form quickly)
0730-0900am: Coffee, hang, more coffee, more hang.
0900-1030am: Crepes for breakfast at local French creperie with DW. Run in to retired friend at restaurant, and his friend from France; discuss travel, Tibetan Buddhism, and architecture (he's an architect); unfortunately, none of them are golfers.
1030am-1230pm: Errands with DW, all within walking distance.
1230-130pm: Appointment with DW.
130-300pm: Walk dog; have lunch at local Gelateria/sandwich shop; dog gets a "doggie gelato" which is the highlight of his day.
300-330pm: Nap (new habit training).
330-430pm: Call from dear friend to discuss and savor first day of retirement.
430-500pm: Email buddies and reserve tee time for Sunday...they all still work.
500-600pm: Hang, walk dog, dog charms passersby.
600-800pm: Local pub rooftop garden/patio, listening to an outdoor Bob Dylan tribute concert.
800-830pm: Dinner at local Mexican place, watching soccer on the big screen tape delayed, and coeds live; I'm old(er) but, not dead yet, and DW says looking is OK.
830-930pm: Return to Clancy's to close out the first day (24 hrs) with a bit of Mother's Milk, then off to home and slumber.
All in all, it was a wonderful day! And, one of the best aspects of the day was that, other than the "appointment" in the middle of the day, I /we did it all walking from our place.
I didn't start the day off planning to record my activities but, I got about half way through it and thought it'd be nice to remember how I spent my first day so, I logged it.
1st Day of Retirement---
930pm-100am: Clancy's Irish bar with mates to celebrate and ring in my first day of retirement.
5am: Up without alarm (old habits die hard
) and feed and walk the dog.530-630am: Check email and E-R.org.
0630-0730am: Catch Zs (new habits form quickly)
0730-0900am: Coffee, hang, more coffee, more hang.
0900-1030am: Crepes for breakfast at local French creperie with DW. Run in to retired friend at restaurant, and his friend from France; discuss travel, Tibetan Buddhism, and architecture (he's an architect); unfortunately, none of them are golfers.
1030am-1230pm: Errands with DW, all within walking distance.
1230-130pm: Appointment with DW.
130-300pm: Walk dog; have lunch at local Gelateria/sandwich shop; dog gets a "doggie gelato" which is the highlight of his day.
300-330pm: Nap (new habit training).
330-430pm: Call from dear friend to discuss and savor first day of retirement.
430-500pm: Email buddies and reserve tee time for Sunday...they all still work.
500-600pm: Hang, walk dog, dog charms passersby.
600-800pm: Local pub rooftop garden/patio, listening to an outdoor Bob Dylan tribute concert.
800-830pm: Dinner at local Mexican place, watching soccer on the big screen tape delayed, and coeds live; I'm old(er) but, not dead yet, and DW says looking is OK.
830-930pm: Return to Clancy's to close out the first day (24 hrs) with a bit of Mother's Milk, then off to home and slumber.
All in all, it was a wonderful day! And, one of the best aspects of the day was that, other than the "appointment" in the middle of the day, I /we did it all walking from our place.
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RockyMtn
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
you're going to need to find some new golfing buddies who don't work during the week! Congrats!
pjm-7
Recycles dryer sheets
Since today is my first day of retirement (joined class of 2014 yesterday 6/6/14) I thought I'd comment. Got up and had breakfast. Went to the animal shelter to clean kennels. Talked to other volunteers who have retired from their day jobs. Picked up some dill on the way home. The other dill in the garden got flattened the other day. Might do so small items around the house. Going out to dinner tonight to celebrate. Gee, I can handle this.
Moscyn
Full time employment: Posting here.
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- Mar 14, 2009
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- 728
I celebrated it by spending more time on every activity I loved to do but rushed over doing it during my work life. I had a good sleep, no alarm clocks, long breakfast, read my newspaper at the pace I always wanted, did a really unhurried exercise routine (remembering to stretch well before and after. Then I can't remember exactly what special thing I did but I sure enjoyed myself. All I know is that it was a great start and I am coming into my 4th anniversary of my retirement soon.
