What's Your Top Retirement Insight

[Trawler]

With time now I am finding I am much more mechanically functional than I thought. We have fixed many different things around the house that prior I would of hired out or replaced. You Tube and the intranet has been very helpful. With the saved money here I can spend on fun !!

 

[Dog]

Biggest surprise is that I don't miss work. I love my freedom and have been able to finally play again (XC ski, snowshoe, hike, backpack, climb, cycle and kayak). Also enjoying traveling for fun instead of business (Tucson, Ireland, and Hawaii). DH joins me next May


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[Tree-dweller]

It's funny reading all the posts from the nap fans. I had just started to appreciate them myself when my wife recently joined me in retirement. Now she shames me out of them with all her "newly-retired" energy/antsy-ness that I recall having when I first retired.

 

[walkinwood]

My 2 cents
- You'll never be bored if you are curious about the world around you
- Life goes on in ER. No hassles of paid work, but good things and bad things and just things continue to happen and always will. Working is just one aspect of life. You still have many other aspects of life to improve but there's fun in that too.

 

[Danmar]

+1
On getting in shape/healthier. Since May DW and I had gone from a BMI of "obese" to "normal". I can't believe the difference. I no longer take any medications nor do I have symptoms of any disease. DW has reduced her meds by ~75%.

Things we couldn't do for years are now possible and enjoyable. Did I mention how much better our relationship is? Big bonus.

Good for you!!!!! Being mobile is so important as we age. My mother is confined to a wheelchair mostly because of inactivity. It robs you of possibilities.

Most people on this site like to track things. So how about this. I burned about 204,000 calories doing workouts in 2013, about 195,000 last year, and about 176,000 so far this year. Average workout is about 725 calories. My motto in retirement is "burn calories". Use it or lose it.

Also nothing wrong with a short nap in the afternoon. I just got back from my trainer session where I burned off more than 1000 calories In a little under 2 hours. Little tired. Need a nap

 

[Bir48die]

I discovered that my blood pressure had been going up on Sunday evenings.
For my entire life, Monday morning meant going back to work, and I was (unknowingly) priming myself for that on Sunday evenings by thinking about what I should jump into Monday morning. Sundays became much more relaxing.



Yep. I remember a month in I was removing a very large shrub and the job was going slower than expected. I was trying to hurry up to get done in daylight -- that would be my normal response when I used to do these things on weekends.

Then, I realized that if I didn't finish today, I had nothing scheduled the next day. And, heck, if I didn't finish the next day, there was a whole day after that....

One of the reasons I went P/T was to remove Mondays from my schedule. Everyone had to leave me alone after 5:00 on Sunday because I had to zone out to get ready for horrible Mondays. Now I find that the couple of days that I do work seem like Mondays. So, what's the solution? Quit working.

 

[FreeBear]

Here are sufficient examples to keep you entertained for years.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/what-did-you-do-today-37868.html

I must confessed that I was a bit worried reading these stories before I FIRED. They seemed so, well, ordinary and pedestrian. Now that I'm retired, I'm loving it! Yet virtually all of my days sound just like those in the link, ie I woke up whenever I wanted, took DW to lunch at our favorite restaurant down the street, sat there for a few hours drinking coffee while occasionally chatting with the restaurant owner while the w*rking stiffs had to scurry back to w*rk

Don't get me wrong, there are parts of days when I feel like we did something really crazy. I work through it and grow a bit. Still, I've never had a really bad day since I ER'd. Most days are very good, and I have a couple of great days every week. If you are financially and emotionally somewhat prepared, you can make up the rest as you go on to live a great life.

FB

 

[FreeBear]

My top insight? Looking back at a job/career I was relatively successful at and thought I enjoyed while doing it, well...I look back and wonder how the hell I put up with the regimented BS for so long. It seems so alien now.

+1 That about covers it!!

Sometimes you put up with what you have to. After FI, then no longer have to if don't want to...

 

[scrabbler1]

My wife and I are close to retiring. We're okay financially, but we wonder about the non-financial aspects of retirement.

For those of you who have been retired for awhile, would you please share your top non-financial retirement insight. In particular, did you learn anything in retirement that was different than your pre-retirement thinking.

Having worked part-time for 7 years between my 16 years of full--time work and ER 7 years ago, it was the switch from FT to PT which had a bigger impact on my day-to-day life than going from PT to ER.

Having some weekdays free to do things I liked such as volunteer work was a big plus. So was being able to do more things in the evening once I had the time and energy to do them on nights following the days I wasn't working. And lastly, being able to do common errands such as shopping during days and times the stores were not busy was the last big plus.

None of those things changed much when I went from working PT to ER. I just had far more flexibility to do them now that I had all 5 weekdays free. I was more easily able to expand on those things I liked, too, because some activities I could do only on certain weeknights and I often was working that day. Also, I often faced scheduling conflicts between two things I wanted to do at the same time on the same weekday. Those conflicts pretty much disappeared once I had 5 instead of 2 or 3 weekdays to do everything.

And one last thing which made me glad to be ERed: I had some health issues a few months ago which landed me in the hospital for a few weeks. Being able to devote 100% of my time and energy to getting well again, especially in the months since I got out of the hospital, without having to deal with working even as little as 2 days a week, has been vital to my recovery.

 

[grasshopper]

I stopped calling it a vacation and simply call it a trip now.

+1 I call it travel, I am always on vacation.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Traveling for a longer time, and not having the fear of overwork when I get home.

My parents treated my sister's family and our family to a majority together week in Maui in 1995. We returned home on 12/23. I was scheduled to work 12/26. On my answering machine which I checked at 1AM on 12/24 was that I was needed to work on 12/24 and be on call for 24 hr. Needless to say my decision to seek other employment 6 months earlier was cemented with that message.

The last time I travelled was a 2 week driving trip, and I was 100% present and enjoying the experience. No worries about work when we got home.


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[Options]

The sense of calm and contentment that's come over me in such a short time.

 

[6miths]

It's really nice! There is still not enough time. The people at work seem to be muddling through just fine without me!

 

[kcowan]

Couch potato may be a good investment strategy but it is an awful retirement strategy!

Nice line!

Probably the most insightful observation about retirement choices ever made.

 

[kcowan]

Don't sit around not doing all those things you planned to do. There will come a point where you are physically unable to do so...

DWs friend was a model but during the last few years of her daughter's life (she died of CF at 40), she relied on cooking as an outlet. Her weight got out of control. Now she need knee replacements but must lose the weight before getting them. Catch 22 and so far just getting more immobilized.

So we travel with our fit friends and she is relegated to driving trips, getting worse.

(I had 18 months of plantar fasciitis, spider bite, and then a broken bone all in my left leg. Just finally OK lately to resume exercise. Dodged a bullet.)

 

[Bikechuck]

Sounds wonderful but I am conflicted

Reading this thread makes me realize how wonderful life is on the other side. However, I do wonder if I do pull the trigger if I will fret so much about outliving my savings that it will take all of the joy out of my retirement.

I an 62 and 5/12 years old and emotionally ready. However neither my wife nor I have a pension, so for us it will be SS and a conservative spend down of the assets we have accumulated (most of which are in tax deferred savings).

I am more conservative financially than my wife and this will be a challenge as well when the day comes.

I have two daughters, one that is still in school working on her PhD unfortunately in the humanities. She has a full ride but we help her out with gas, phone and some other expenses. I don't mind that at all while we have two incomes but it makes me think I should stay employed until she is more independent.

I also know that I need to focus on my health, lose weight etc. and that is tough to do with my current job which requires > a 40 hour week. What good is working a few more years if it takes a decade off your life?

Man oh man am I conflicted!

 

[MRG]

My phone hasn't rung in the middle of the night. I haven't had a 2:00 AM conference call since I left.

 

[Redbugdave]

I found that locking myself into certain expectations,( ie: things I would definitely do in retirement) was just wrong thinking. I have changed the things I do and dont do, quite a bit in retirement. And all for the good.

I think what Helois said is one of the most important things I have noticed also since I have retired nearly two years ago. You learn to live more in the moment and be more spontaneous. I still get up around 6am and have my day planned out, but can change it on a whim if need be. It is Wonderful. I do not have to deal with difficult people anymore.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

It's funny reading all the posts from the nap fans. I had just started to appreciate them myself when my wife recently joined me in retirement. Now she shames me out of them with all her "newly-retired" energy/antsy-ness that I recall having when I first retired.

Nap shaming? What is the world coming to?!?

Most days I hate that my DW continues to w*rk. But then I think about how much of a busy body she is and that would most CERTAINLY cramp my hammock-life-style so I continue to support her in her decision.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I have recently started to explore other channels like meetup.com to expand my social horizons a bit, and it's actually been a great experience just getting out there and meeting all kinds of new & different people. That's another great thing about retirement -- you can go to any meetup, anywhere, anytime, without worrying about your schedule!

You better watch out for the riff-raff you meet on the street. There are some unsavory folks out there. Especially the ones that enjoy a nice cold beverage at the local watering hole.

 

[jkern]

Retired for 6 1/2 years now. The biggest surprise is how easy it is to be content, happy and fulfilled. Sometimes just poking around the house is fine with me.

Typically I play golf or go fishing on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I go to the gym, hiking and home & garden on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I take weekends off for entertainment and social activities. Also, I reserve the right to mix it up and do anything I want at anytime!

 

[urn2bfree]

Coming up on my two year anniversary, I would say I agree with so many of the previous comments about what the Italians call Il dolce farniente (the sweetness of doing nothing) BUT you requested my TOP Insight- so I think I would say it is this:

People who are not retired understand retirement the same way people who have never had children understand what it is like to have children. You can read about it, watch others do it, imagine it, investigate it, but until you experience it, you really cannot KNOW what it feels like. But it changes you. The lack of time pressures makes things easier, but also different. You may not get the same sense of relief from things like "getting a list of things done" or "vacation," because there is no need for relief from anything.

This disconnect can make some people uncomfortable- just as childless couples and new parent couples sometimes drift apart.


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[ExFlyBoy5]

This disconnect can make some people uncomfortable- just as childless couples and new parent couples sometimes drift apart.


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I can agree 100%. When you so young (41 in my case) and child FREE () you start realizing that you are a lot different than your peers, and the things you have in common are damn minimal.

 

[Focus]

Along these lines, here's an article from nextavenue.org, which is a good site for aging-related stories:

Living Without a Calendar in Retirement

You’d have to drag me kicking and screaming back to a life so regimented it requires a fail-safe system to maintain. For the most part, my routine-averse nature and I have waited a lifetime to be free.

For me — and many who by choice, or chance, now eat when we’re hungry, nap when we’re drowsy and plan as we go — retirement’s biggest perk is the freedom to concoct our own mix of solitude, socializing, purposeful engagement and…

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[Taxman59]

I am amazed at how each day is different. Some days I have energy and go for walks and get 6-7 miles in. Other days I am lucky to get much more than a mile total! What I love most though is that while my middle son has been looking for a job, I have been able to go with him to the cities where he has had interviews (not a helicopter dad, he asks me to come). He goes off to the interview while DW and I see the new city, win - win. He just got the offer he wanted (I wish it was for more $, but he isn't a materialistic guy), it is only 90 minutes away so we can see him frequently (if he wants us to ). I have felt less pressure to DO things, and have time to eat better at a similar or lower cost. Life is simpler.


Have the day you deserve, and let Karma sort it out.

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