What was the biggest unanticipated downside of your ER?

[Which Roger]

I can't really think of any downsides, much less any that were worse than anticipated. Well maybe there is one. Before I retired, I anticipated that retirement would give me ample time to do everything I wanted and then some. In reality, time flies by and there's not enough time in the day to do everything I want to do.

 

[Tree-dweller]

Gotta admit, all the time I encouraged my DW (3 years junior) to join me in retirement, I had not anticipated the difference in how each of us would react to our own freedom. While I (after a short period of adjustment) am comfortable living a substantially less productive/contributive life after 5 years of retirement, she is more "What do I do next?" after 2. Not all bad: she keeps me on my toes, and I help her chill.

 

[Ronstar]

Could you take it out sometime on Sunday? That's what we do. Actually that's what he does, since he takes mine out for me now that I live next door. (Thank you, F!! )

I may try the late Sunday routine. Hopefully no raccoons, coyotes or whatever ransack it.


I remembered another downside. The lunch places near my former workplace were great. No nearby lunch spots in RE.

 

[Moemg]

You sometimes have to get out of your pj's . Unless you sleep in your yoga pants then you are good to go or you can always accessorize your Pj's with a fun scarf and some tasteful jewelry and you are also good to go .

 

[Meadbh]

Thinking.......



Thinking.......

 

[Mo Money]

I can think of only 1 unexpected negative about ER. It has been the increased uncertainty about obtaining and retaining affordable, comprehensive health insurance. (I am not looking to make this political, mods.) Since I ERed in late 2008, I have had 5 different HI policies from COBRA to a policy which left me underinsured for 2 1/2 years (pre-ACA). I faced some big premium increases (pre-ACA) which I thought was going to bust my budget. And now I am facing some more uncertainty with the ACA.

+1000

 

[old woman]

Mine is lack of a schedule. When working I would stop on the way home from work for groceries, need to play on the weekends. Now nothing is urgent so I put it off. I wanted to go to Costco on Saturday but got invited to play cards, Sunday I decided weekends were too busy, Monday I think I will wait until Tuesday since I have to go out for a dentist appointment. So something I was going to do that takes one hour will now take me 4-5 days or maybe much longer. I am not self motivated so need deadlines or I do nothing. I like doing nothing but have a list of things to do and don't do them.

 

[Onward]

For me the only downside was completely unexpected: I found I desperately missed the feeling of investing new money. Of course, it wasn't just the feeling of investing; it was the "high" that came each paycheck when I carefully placed another golden brick in the wall between me and all the world's BS.

About three years into FIRE I started a company which generates enough income to allow me to get my fix, so to speak.

 

[nuke_diver]

Not much but honestly the HC thing is a concern even though it is in the budget and I am significantly below budget every year so far.

That and it is harder to get to the gym than it was when I was working, especially on these cold and rainy days lately.

 

[FireBug]

Life is life.....I suppose teenagers that have a whole life ahead of them and have tight firm bods can have unique and even serious gripes. A young 25yr old may struggle to find their path as well. Retirement at least in my case, does not send you down the street throwing daisies. Life will still (as it should) still present obstacles (health, finding purpose in the latter stages, etc). But, a 'downer' it is not. It is great to free from the daily grind. I can hardly wait for DW to be free....ideally mid 2017

 

[respond2u]

I've only been retired for 10 months and the only unexpected downside is that I keep wondering when I will get bored and yearn for the anodyne of work.

I expected struggling to change from incautious spending habits to thrift, and that's going better than expected...

 

[Live And Learn]

first and foremost: like so many others: risk of losing healthcare due to pre-existing conditions

second: there are so many great things that I want to (and can) do that I've over-extended myself and find myself "too busy".

 

[Winemaker]

I've had 2 major issues with retirement. First, I regret that I didn't do it earlier, and second, there is still not enough time in the day to do the stuff I want to do for ME or DW!

 

[donheff]

No negatives from retirement but 12 years in I am starting to see some minor negatives. The worst is a proclivity to break bone if I get when I get unexpectedly airborne crashing my bike.

 

[John Galt III]

If there's something at home you want to avoid, you no longer have the w*rk excuse.

 

[Danmar]

Not much downside other than the obvious: lack of paycheck, maybe social contact at work, intellectual challenge of work perhaps. In the overall scheme of things not much that can't be easily overcome with a bit of planning and effort. The benefits far outweigh any possible downside.

 

[brucethebroker]

One thing I did not project properly was that it is likely when I start taking SS and RMD's I will be in the 25% tax bracket, not the 15% bracket. If you have a high SS payment, and are single, there is very little room left between half of SS plus dividends to stay in the 15% bracket. I am still trying to wrap my head around this.

Also, with four non-COBRA years of health care before Medicare, I am a bit worried about what the ACA changes will be like. If we are honest about it, the rich people here that get ACA subsidies are gaming the system and that loophole will probably get closed.

Congress subsidizes actions it wants to encourage. Renters without a mortgage could complain about that deduction. A person without capital gains could criticize that one, and so forth. Yet, both are available to people across the the income/asset spectrum.

 

[athena53]

For me it was definitely the scramble for health insurance. Exactly one week passed form the day I called DH and said, "I think I'm going to quit my job on Monday" and the day I walked out for the last time. It took them a couple of weeks to get COBRA paperwork to me (and I had a sprint triathlon in the meantime and was scared witless of what would happen if I crashed my bike and had only the promise of insurance). DH was Medicare-eligible (had been on my policy up to then) but even with a good insurance agent it was a bewildering maze to sort out.

The last two years since I retired, I've gotten notice that my policy will not be available in the new year but here are some alternatives the company offers- which, BTW, have zero coverage out of network. So, I had Company A in 2015, Company B in 2016 and now I've got Company C. Premiums have gone from about $450/month to $775/month (latter is for a lower deductible but I would have preferred a higher one with lower premiums). I am SO ready to be on Medicare early next year.

 

[brucethebroker]

BTW, to answer the OP's question, no complaints after 3+ years.

I do have an income producing side gig, very little stress, and something I used to do for free as a hobby. At about 10 hours a week, it helps me keep just busy enough. And I can choose not to participate for weeks or months at a time if needed. Plus, enough extra $ to allow a few luxuries.
Livin' the dream.....

 

[Bamaman]

If there's a downside, I haven't found it in 15 years.

I never had time to work anyway.

Since retiring 8 years ago, we've had 2 grandchildren come into our lives to keep us busy. I feel like a bus driver now--by choice. We have some amazing conversations taking them to school.

The next oldest grandchildren are in their mid 20's, and they're less amazing.

 

[HFWR]

Yep, none...

 

[H2ODude]

Had to really think on this one. Thankfully I was able to cover HI through last employer, who basically allowed unlimited COBRA coverage. Not cheap ($1300/month) but good coverage.

I guess what is frustrating is our inability on deciding where to go. We have a son with 2 grandchildren living in Tanzania who SAYS they'll repatriate to within an hour and a half of us in less than two years. Cool. We're skeptical that will really come to pass though. Meanwhile, Daughter and her brood of 4 grandchildren returned to states (DC) two years ago from London with intend to stay. We've never believed they'd be permanent anywhere, and now her husband is in final stages likely being offered a long term assignment in Nairobi Kenya. Great.

So while we do like where we live, any motivation to move (and we've been here forever, 20 years) is dampened by where in the heck our family will be. I suppose we can just retire to East Africa....we've been many times and like it but that ain't gonna happen. So we stay here and continue to enjoy those flights to East Africa via Amsterdam. Ugh. Not really retirement's fault, but it sure casts a damp cloud on it.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I put a lot of thought into this and have found no downsides. If you are a social person, retirement could add some difficulty in scratching that itch. I also notice that time seems to go by much, MUCH faster

 

[MRG]

OK Healthcare. On the other side of the same coin, I now really understand healthcare costs and what's occurring(many thanks to the posters who have helped educate me). Potentially became a better consumer of Healthcare.

 

[N02L84ER]

Healthcare. Never had to use it other than annual exams while working. Have had 2 emergency room visits for gallstones and one hospitalization for a gangrenous gallbladder removal. The last bill is stressing me out big time.