Pulling the trigger - What things should I do or consider?

[Biker_on_FIRE]

I've decided to pull the trigger and give my two weeks notice next week. See this post for the details.

So what are the things I should do or consider before I leave? Here are some things I am thinking about:

-Increase Roth 401k contributions
-Extend my official end date with my vacation time (I have about 9 weeks of accumulated vacation) so I continue to get 401k matching and health care insurance for a couple months longer
-Make donations for company gift matching (my company matches qualified charitable contributions 1:1)
-I already received my share of our profit sharing in March and there is no other bonus expected in 2022

Anything else? Thanks!

 

[RetireBy90]

I would suggest reviewing what you plan to do with your time once the man doesn't have claim to it any more. We prepared financially but didn't spend enough time planning to be retired. Many have no problem with this and will post as such, but some like me found it an issue to have to find things I wanted to do every day. I'm not one to sit around idle so it was some time before I found things I wanted to do and how much time to spend busy as opposed to a puzzle or book or TV.

 

[levindb]

If you have personal emails in your business email account that you want to save, forward them to your private email before you leave. You may not have access after you depart.

 

[Walt34]

One of my favorite pre-retirement things to think about was using a giant hammer to smash that &^%#* alarm clock!

(I am not a morning person and hated that thing.)

 

[justlikebike]

Specifically what to organize before leaving w*rk?
Any contacts you want to keep, forward to your personal email.
Back up anything that you may get asked/blamed for later. Once you leave, you will be the common scapegoat for all issues.
What should you plan for after leaving w*rk?
Try not to buy any big items in the first year, or at least calculate your finances minus the big items. RV can be expensive for example.
The first 3 months after leaving can feel like you are missing an arm. I like to putter, so tried to give myself 3 things per day to do but to do them slowly and correctly. In the old days I had weekends to rush through my TODO list. Now you will have all the time in the world. As my father used to say. Now you have time to do it right!

 

[Helen]

In the old days I had weekends to rush through my TODO list. Now you will have all the time in the world. As my father used to say. Now you have time to do it right!

This is one of the best parts of retiring. When I was w*rking, the part of my life that was rushed was my personal life. Now I can take my time grocery shopping for example to read the labels and plan meals. I can exercise and take time to do a steam bath/sauna/shower (pre-covid) afterward. I can go for long walks and hikes during the week when the trails aren't crowded and not have to race through it.

Life is good!

 

[CindyBlue]

If you have personal emails in your business email account that you want to save, forward them to your private email before you leave. You may not have access after you depart.

I agree with this, and will add to move any items you want to make sure you keep out of your office before you give notice, in case they "walk you out." In my case, it was all the books, furniture, and office supplies I'd bought with my own money (and had receipts for) but that they might have thought was school property.

 

[38Chevy454]

If you have any medical appts, get them in while under your insurance. Especially things like dental or eyeglasses, as those benefits may disappear once retired.

If you were considering to get a HELOC, do it now while working as it is much less hassle with regular W-2 type income vs being retired.

 

[pacergal]

Nothing else to add to what has already been said, except enjoy retirement !
Are you ready for your wife to join you if she sees you having all the fun
She may have plans to continue working, but that could change!

My DH retired before me, and even though he took over almost all household tasks, so all i had to do was come home and eat dinner and rest, it was still hard to get up and go to work every day. Luckily for me, it was only 6 months until my date. But it was a vary long 6 months!

 

[Aiming_4_55]

Congrats!
A few to consider:

- Spend up full year amount of your Flexible Spending Account (even if you haven't contributed the full amount yet) like eyeglasses, eye care, bandaids, safety kits, dental work, etc.
- If your company has discounts partners, stock up on things you need or use. My company has access to some discounted gift cards.
- A joke but I know some have, stock up on office supplies like batteries, post notes, etc. Yup, may be illegal or moral issue.

 

[COcheesehead]

Increase your credit limits on all your credit cards while you still have income.

 

[Humbooster]

Increase your credit limits on all your credit cards while you still have income.

Also get yourself a Home equity line of credit while you still have income, you just never know when it could come in handy.

 

[Midpack]

You’ve read through this https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...-answer-before-asking-can-i-retire-69999.html

 

[GreenER]

Nothing else to add to what has already been said, except enjoy retirement !
Are you ready for your wife to join you if she sees you having all the fun
She may have plans to continue working, but that could change!

My DH retired before me, and even though he took over almost all household tasks, so all i had to do was come home and eat dinner and rest, it was still hard to get up and go to work every day. Luckily for me, it was only 6 months until my date. But it was a vary long 6 months!

My husband retired just 4 months before me and I was chomping at the bit during those 4 months! Like Pacergal my husband assumed the lion's share of the household chores, so that all I had to do was continue to drag myself off for a grueling commute and then spend multiples of nights away from home, which was hard enough as I really wanted to be done with it too, but had to do the time to get my pension.
I can say I definitely would have resented it if I'd been coming home to a full plate of chores. I think Pacergal's cue is one to take to heart. Do all you can to ease her life and then don't wallow or gloat to much about your free time(this will be the hard part, you don't want to let on to her how absolutely fabulous not working is!)and it should all be fine.
Good luck and enjoy your retirement!

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