Just quit, feeling panicky

[tmitchell]

I’m brand new to freedom. Quit my job last October and have been consulting since, but that’s ending next week.

I find myself feeling a mild panic now. Is this normal? I’m also having a hard time shifting away from a saving mindset. The numbers seem fine but I’m not feeling all the warm fuzzies I thought I would. I haven’t decided what I’m retiring “to” other than more time.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

 

[pacergal]

Take a deep breath. Yes it is normal.
Give yourself some time to fully settle into retirement. Don't force yourself into the "what will I do all day" question/answer period. You need some time to fully detox from work.
You will find things to do and soon be amazed you had time to work at all!

There have been many threads related to this, that all have great info.

 

[REWahoo]

Seeing past posts about your net worth indicates your panic is much ado about nothing.

I highly recommend focusing on enjoying your new freedom rather than stressing about things that you need not be concerned about.

Why ruin a perfectly good retirement, something you worked decades to achieve, with needless worry?

Retirement, like a mind, is a terrible thing to waste.

 

[Lsbcal]

Suggestion: make a list of what you have always wanted to do or what you really enjoyed before your work life took over. Then try those things out.

 

[Walt34]

Take a deep breath. Yes it is normal.

What she said.

Yes it is normal. It is a huge life change, and in many cases irreversible. Of course you're concerned!

We had the same concerns too. By leaving the D.C. metro area and moving to West Virginia for a better quality of life we left a lot of money on the table. Almost anyone would have second thoughts about that. Six months later we went to see my sister in northern VA and the first thing she said when she saw us was "You two look more relaxed than I've seen you in years".

We knew right then we'd made the right choice.

 

[MRG]

Retirement is a process not an event.


Relax it's going to be ok.

 

[rdy4er]

Just posted a similar topic in the fire and money forum. Feeling the same way after sending my two week notice yesterday. Had a bit of a freak out at 3:30am this morning [emoji15].

 

[Car-Guy]

My panic (if any) was limited to my last drive home from work. I had already suffered through 2 years of the OMY syndrome so I was more than ready. Now, ten years later, I often mentally kick myself for staying those last few years.

Basically, from my POV, if you are comfortable that you have enough money and have had enough of work, then it's time to go.

 

[pb4uski]

... Anyone have thoughts on this?

Very typical... humans are creatures of habit and what you are doing is disrupting old habits so it is normal that it is outside your comfort zone.

One thing I suggest is to select one of your retirement accounts that your spending will come from (at least for the next year) and set up an automatic withdrawal that moves $x to the checking account that you use to pay your bills. I call mine my monthly "paycheck".

In my case it is easy because I usually keep at least a year of spending in an online savings account that is part of my nestegg so I have regularly scheduled withdrawals from that online savings account to my checking account.

 

[rodi]

I was panicked for a while... probably took a year before the mild nervousness subsided... And I continued to background worry about sequence of returns risks for a few years.

Now, 7.5 years in, it's all good.

All of that is a way of saying, it's normal, but not always rational.

 

[Bamaman]

I'm 13 years into this retirement. I was preparing for retirement many years before leaving at age 58.

My problem is that I have too many interests--chronic building, international travel, collector's car and 2 boats.

Take your interests one at a time, and go for it.

 

[tmitchell]

Very typical... humans are creatures of habit and what you are doing is disrupting old habits so it is normal that it is outside your comfort zone.

One thing I suggest is to select one of your retirement accounts that your spending will come from (at least for the next year) and set up an automatic withdrawal that moves $x to the checking account that you use to pay your bills. I call mine my monthly "paycheck".

In my case it is easy because I usually keep at least a year of spending in an online savings account that is part of my nestegg so I have regularly scheduled withdrawals from that online savings account to my checking account.

Thanks for the input everyone. In thinking about this all day today, I feel like part of the panic is just a feeling of being unmoored. It's not so much a concern about money as it is feeling like I'm a leaf in the wind after years & years of grinding it out and knowing that the reason I'm getting out of bed is to earn a paycheck and save for FI. Old habits die hard like you said @pb4ski.

I set myself up with a year's worth of cash that I'm using as a spend-down. Curious how you keep funding the next year's stash?

 

[Dalmore]

I do the same thing, I've estimated what I will need for the year to supplement DW's pension, and have that in a bucket that we will spend down. This last year, I was able to fill that bucket entirely with dividends from taxed accounts. We haven't touched 401K/IRAs yet. Maybe next year if we feel good about traveling again.

 

[street]

It is most defiantly a norm. Something that we have been doing for 30 to 40 years and just like that it's done. It will be a process and you will find your way. I hope you have a plan for spending your time may it be a hobby, a passion, volunteering or something that will make you happy.
Good Luck!

 

[Ronstar]

Congrats! I don't know if a mild panic is normal upon retiring, but just sit back and relax for a while. What to retire to will eventually come to you.

 

[tmitchell]

Congrats! I don't know if a mild panic is normal upon retiring, but just sit back and relax for a while. What to retire to will eventually come to you.

Hoping for that! My job was really demanding and I was honestly too exhausted to “decide” on what to retire to. But I knew it was time for a change so I summoned the courage and took a leap of faith.

I know that was the right decision.

 

[pb4uski]

... Curious how you keep funding the next year's stash?

I replenish it as part of my annual rebalancing.

 

[RobbieB]

I had the panic. Lasted 30 seconds -

 

[Katiek]

I haven't retired yet, so I can't say my feelings after giving notice. But I can say that every time I've made a change (took a new job, moved to a new city etc), I had moments of panic when I questioned what I had done and why I changed it.



But each time that panic of "I've messed things up by making this decision" goes away and I'm glad I did it.



So I suspect this is natural and you'll quickly be comfortable with your decision.

 

[Major Tom]

As others have said, it sounds pretty normal. I didn't have much difficulty adjusting to not working, but I did experience some challenges with spending. For the first year or two, I was spending less than I could have. My degree of frugality/cheapness was slightly affecting my enjoyment of life. Gradually, it dawned on me that I really didn't have to do anything, and more money would keep magically appearing. It feels like the eighth wonder of the world! Once this realization had set in, I slowly loosened up, and stopped being concerned about money.

 

[old medic]

I'm 31 days into my retirement, still dazed and confused... trying to get my sleep pattern back to normal after 30+ years of swing shifts.

 

[tmitchell]

As others have said, it sounds pretty normal. I didn't have much difficulty adjusting to not working, but I did experience some challenges with spending. For the first year or two, I was spending less than I could have. My degree of frugality/cheapness was slightly affecting my enjoyment of life. Gradually, it dawned on me that I really didn't have to do anything, and more money would keep magically appearing. It feels like the eighth wonder of the world! Once this realization had set in, I slowly loosened up, and stopped being concerned about money.

I hear you on this. I’ve been tracking expenses very closely. So far so good, but I will be happy to see the plan still working after a couple years!

 

[Koolau]

I felt a bit strange but never panicky. Ducks in a row tends to prevent panic but YMMV.

 

[Dash man]

I felt a bit strange but never panicky. Ducks in a row tends to prevent panic but YMMV.

DW’s mantra is “Panic first!”

 

[tmitchell]

Update: panic gone! That didn’t take long

Been slowly putting a little structure in my mornings so there’s some routine. But leaving afternoons wide open. The routine seemed to help create an anchor.