Do I stay or do I go?

S

Sullidc

Confused about dryer sheets
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Messages
4
Always wanted to retire at 59. Now have the opportunity to do so at 57.5 with full bridging for full retirement. Moneynot the issue but concerned about filling the time. Don't have a great plan-but lots of ideas. How concerned shou;d I be and how did yall do it?// JACK
 
It's really as simple as doing what you have always wanted to do. Follow your dreams, do the things you always wished you had the time for, the things you used to catch yourself daydreaming about. This is your time and there is a world to explore and discover. Go do it in your own unique way.
 
Sullidc said:
Always wanted to retire at 59. Now have the opportunity to do so at 57.5 with full bridging for full retirement. Moneynot the issue but concerned about filling the time. Don't have a great plan-but lots of ideas. How concerned shou;d I be and how did yall do it?// JACK
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Wouldn't it be the same question at age 59 or at age 65? If you're not worried financially, seems like the question is do you want to retire at all or keep working. If you were seriously planning to jump at 59, then you may as well do it now if you have a good opportunity.
 
You won't feel any different if you wait another 18 months. If you go now just view it as practice for the long planned real thing.
 
Don't forget, now that you can retire with bridging funds, if you stay and work there, you'll be working for the difference between the salary and the retirement. If you feel you must work, retire and get a job at another company.
 
I'd say get the heck out and see the world. Move to Vietnam where I live or someplace off the grid. It's a big globe we're on..
 
I'd say get out, find something you love to do, and go do it. I would not, however, do it in HCMC, Vietnam. I really don't like it there. Wayyyy tooooo hot and humid, and still much too 3rd world, but to each his own.

R
 
Weather in Saigon

10 Day Weather Forecast for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - weather.com HCMC
10 Day Weather Forecast for Phoenix, AZ - weather.com Phoenix
10 Day Weather Forecast for New York, NY - weather.com New York
10 Day Weather Forecast for Tampa, FL - weather.com Tampa Bay

Weather here in HCMC compares favorably to just about anywhere as well as having no winter and very predictable patterns. Florida is without a doubt hotter and more humid than Vietnam and we don't have hurricanes. Come visit me for a while and see for yourself, it's not the developed world sure, but that's a GOOD point ;)
 
I'd have no problem pulling the rip cord, but if you're seriously worried about it, you could always take a week "staycation" at home and see if you're ready. (Though it would likely take far longer than a week to get acclimated to being retired.)
 
flyfishnevada said:
It's really as simple as doing what you have always wanted to do. Follow your dreams, do the things you always wished you had the time for, the things you used to catch yourself daydreaming about. This is your time and there is a world to explore and discover. Go do it in your own unique way.
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My FIL, had a terrible time in his retirement years. During his long work years, he had no hobbies, nothing outside of his 12 hours work days for several famous banks. In retirement, he had a fabulous income, that he started receiving in 1985, which is $30,000 more a year than I actually make in 2010. But he didn't have a clue what to do. He just sat around.

My Dad had lots of hobbies and love to travel. He was actually busier in retirement than he was during his workaholic years. But he did it all when he wanted to do it. He did all his hobbies, traveled a lot, made us all watch his endless slide shows of his trips, refinished funiture, played viola in the local orchestra, and on and on.

The moral of this story is: Cultivate hobbies and activities outside of working when you are working, or it will be really hard when you stop finally.
 
Carnage said:
I'd have no problem pulling the rip cord, but if you're seriously worried about it, you could always take a week "staycation" at home and see if you're ready. (Though it would likely take far longer than a week to get acclimated to being retired.)
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A week is just a vacation. You need to take 9 weeks and see if you have enough to do. I have seasonal employment, so I've been renovating my house for the past 9 weeks at about 5-6 hours a day.
 
HsiaoChu said:
....

The moral of this story is: Cultivate hobbies and activities outside of working when you are working, or it will be really hard when you stop finally.
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I had several hobbies I thought I would pursue in retirement. I'm two years into retirement now and one of those hobbies fell by the wayside. I've concluded it was something I did to escape work and I don't need it anymore. I've picked up three new hobbies and still take classes which were wonderful contrasts to the workday over the years.
 
You have always wanted to retire at 59. Just because you now have the opportunity to go 1.5 years ahead of your schedule does not mean that you should do so.

Your post doesn't suggest that you hate your job. Apparently there are no other activities upon which you would rather spend your time. So you might as well stay put.

You can use the next 18 months to plan what you will do in retirement, and you'll probably enjoy retirement more than if you fall into it prematurely.
 
Money not the issue but concerned about filling the time.
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I think if you try out lots of stuff you will find 3 - 4 hobbies, clubs, volunteer groups etc. that really interest you. My friends and relatives that seem very happy in retirement all have a variety of hobbies and belong to a few social / volunteer groups. Stuff like save the environment, church, Lion's Club, history buff clubs, yacht club, archery, volunteer Boy Scout leader, rock collecting (with lots of field trips), docent work, etc.
 
In your shoes, I would jump at the chance to retire a year and a half early. However, everyone is different. I spent years dreaming of the day I would retire, and had all sorts of hobbies/activities/volunteer stuff lined up when that day came (and couldn't wait to spend more time doing them). I retired 8 months ago, at age 54 years, 7 months, and have not regretted it one bit. I'm busy every day (doing things I enjoy), and can't imagine trying to fit "work" back into my life anymore. You only live so long........think about what you really want to do with the time you have left, and go for it.
 
I FIREd @ 56 with 30 years in Megacorp. W*rk was NOT my passion, but I was good at what I did, therefore, what I term semi-successful. My plan was to get out @ 30 just because it was a milestone of sorts. No economic or other rationale. I have always enjoyed traveling and have another time consuming hobby or two. That's what I'm doing. Go find your 2 or 3 things.

I wake up when I am refreshed, I go to sleep when I am tired and sleepy. I get around 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, which I NEVER got when I was w*rking. I did not know how much stress I was under until I had FIREd.

IMHO you should pull the rip cord. Other poster is right ... if you don't do that you are working for a discount.

Best of luck to you.
 
HsiaoChu said:
The moral of this story is: Cultivate hobbies and activities outside of working when you are working, or it will be really hard when you stop finally.
Click to expand...
That's golden retirement advice! ER or not!

Audrey
 
CuppaJoe said:
I had several hobbies I thought I would pursue in retirement. I'm two years into retirement now and one of those hobbies fell by the wayside. I've concluded it was something I did to escape work and I don't need it anymore. I've picked up three new hobbies and still take classes which were wonderful contrasts to the workday over the years.
Click to expand...
Yeah - I had several activities that I dropped too after retiring. It turned out that sailing, for example, was a huge stress reliever while working, but when we started traveling a lot, AND I wasn't nearly as stressed, we didn't have time for it, because other things took priority. But when I was working - it was so essential.

And other ideas were dropped because they turned out not complement higher priority hobbies/ideas.

It took us a couple of years to really establish/refine the priorities when it came to how we spent our free time. I think we got some pretty strong clues within the first 6 months, but we were open to experimenting for a while before making deeper commitments to our favorite activities.

My vision of my retired life ended up being quite different than how reality evolved for us. It's a process, and that is a lot of what being retired is - a process where you explore your own life and decide on your own priorities, and you get to focus a lot on what will be most fun/rewarding (rather than other considerations like whether you can earn/save money).

Audrey
 
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