Wow, I can't believe Im getting nervous. anyone else had this issue?

[DrRoy]

I was an engineer and often relied on the math. My numbers said I was good, the market has remained generally friendly, I have things to do, and all has been well.

 

[wbrecht333]

It’s an adjustment!

After 30 years of “accumulating” funds to retire, your all of the sudden in the withdrawal phase. It takes time to adjust, but like many of these responses, you’ll get there. And boy is it worth it. Is there anxiety, yes a little. Is it worth it, 100%, yes. The stress of day to day work is replaced with “ what am I going to do today”. We love it.

 

[Pellice]

I dunno, that monthly credit into my checking account from my retirement accounts seems just like a paycheck to me. And it's less dependent on an outside entity. It's MY paycheck.

 

[meleana]

We are just a year in and I fluctuate between worrying about having enough money to forgetting that we don’t have unlimited money.

I have no idea what will happen but I’m just living each day. The thing we are going over the most in our budget is eating out ( because of new friends and organizations we joined to become part of the community) and some leisure activities, though minimal.

Oh, well...,

 

[catii]

Back in the mid-80s, I was making a solid six-figure income as an engineering manager, but it had stopped being FUN! So, with the consent of my wife (also an engineering manager), I dropped the paycheck to start up my cumputer consulting company, on July 1.

That was downright scary, but I was immediately so busy, that I didn't have time to worry about it! When we reconciled in December, we were both astonished to find that we had already topped $1 million, in only 6 months! Needless to say, I never looked back, & sold the 111-person company when I retired, a few years ago, for more than enough to retire on.

As others have said, jump on in, the water's fine!

 

[UKadventurer]

You'll get used to it and the negative feelings of not having a job will fade. I'm only 9 months into early retirement and I'm over that feeling. Being financial secure without risky investments might help. My early retirement funds are just in a bank but I should move the funds into something that returns something without much risk. Right now, there's no risk but little return (0.35% interest).

 

[FIREarly]

The only thing I’ll have to think about then is taxes.

This is a post with minor due diligence regarding taxes. I've been watching YouTube vloggers @OurRichJourney who moved from federal USA jobs to buying a property in Portugal. They've spoken about how great the healthcare and cost of living is in most parts of Portugal and how it is a major ex-pats destination for retirement.

This is a BIG step and, obviously, not to be taken lightly but it is one possibility for you and some other people.

 

[bclover]

This is a post with minor due diligence regarding taxes. I've been watching YouTube vloggers @OurRichJourney who moved from federal USA jobs to buying a property in Portugal. They've spoken about how great the healthcare and cost of living is in most parts of Portugal and how it is a major ex-pats destination for retirement.

This is a BIG step and, obviously, not to be taken lightly but it is one possibility for you and some other people.

In a weird twist, my late husband was of portugese descent, use to spend time in Lisbon early in our marriage. lol back in the old days when you had to dial a phone

 

[imnontrad]

I was nervous too. I got over this by creating a budget and then tracking all my expenses (even that $1 soda). By doing this, I realized that I was living far below my income (and much further below my 4% of NW) and would be fine. 3 years later, I still have not tapped any of my retirement funds except to do Roth conversions.

 

[brett]

I was one of those who worked 10/12 hours a day. Lots of travel. I loved my job but in the final two years it was loosing it's glow. The only good part was the compensation and the stock options.

My spouse was shocked that when I left at 58/59 I walked away completely. Had some offers afterward that I did not even follow up on. Perhaps I was burnt out, or perhaps realized that it was time.

Absolutely never looked back, never pined for a return, never visited and kept in touch with very few.

Only one regret...that I was not able to get a package two years earlier.

When it's over, it's over. Move forward, don't look backwards.

 

[Unpaintedhuffhines]

I was one of those who worked 10/12 hours a day. Lots of travel. I loved my job but in the final two years it was loosing it's glow. The only good part was the compensation and the stock options.

My spouse was shocked that when I left at 58/59 I walked away completely. Had some offers afterward that I did not even follow up on. Perhaps I was burnt out, or perhaps realized that it was time.

Absolutely never looked back, never pined for a return, never visited and kept in touch with very few.

Only one regret...that I was not able to get a package two years earlier.

When it's over, it's over. Move forward, don't look backwards.

Yeah, I'm in a similar spot. I have my date (after the next big vesting of stock and annual bonus), but I've started to get anxiety. Looking at the math, many people would think I was insane for walking away from that kind of $, but I've been planning this for a while. My biggest (current) fear is that coming up to the date, things seem to get much better at work, and I lapse into OMY syndrome. I don't know - some days I feel very selfish for taking this step.

Thank goodness I have 100% support from my bride, and firecalc seems to say "why are you still working?" Our assets would support well above what we spend.

 

[BlueberryPie]

You've already done your due diligence and have made certain the numbers make sense. I would suggest a quick inventory of your back-ups to your retirement plan. The "if this, then I'll do that." If Megacorp reneges on it's 5 year plan to help you fund your health insurance, you'll cut back on one trip per year and one meal out per week to fund your equivalent ACA medical insurance plan. If the roof starts to leak, you'll take from your 6-month or 1-year cash stash and rebuild your cash over the next year by cutting back on expensive wine (go with boxed or Costco's finest.) If the car breaks down, use the other car between the two of you until your cash fund can swing the repairs.

Play a few "what if" games until you KNOW that you've covered most things that can go wrong. Don't worry about the asteroid with your name on it - think how famous you'd be.
.

That is solid gold advice!

 

[brett]

What helped us was that we had a specific plan once my employer said goodbye. Job one was to get a lawyer to negotiate the termination package. That took two months.

Then there was the downsizing that came from an empty home. That took us about 7 months, minus some trips south in between. Painted every room to get the place ready. 37 4L cans of paint. The color determined by an interior decorator/real estate agent. Plus the usual cosmetic repairs.

After that it was a week on market. Sold. Then four plus weeks of more downsizing. A month later the container was dropped in the driveway and we had a week to empty the house, fill the container, and get out.

In between we were planning for our first two months of travel, including two cruises and an African safari. Nothing planned for the months after that other than a month in January at a condo in Costa Rica.

So...we did not have have a great deal of time to mope around and decide what we would do with our lives. The only givens were that we would travel until we were tired of it and we had no home to come home to as it were.

It all worked out. We came home and got on with our lives. I really think the best advice is to keep moving forward, don't look back. You can change your future but not your past.

The only bummer now is that we cannot travel and had to spend this winter in the snow belt. But....that is such a small price to pay given that we both have good health, never contracted the covid virus, and those places on our respective lists will still be there when travel resumes. Nor have we, or our direct family members been impacted from a health or a financial perspective. Could not be better could it?

I believe that it is so much better to focus on the positives, the possiblilities , and the opportunities. They will be different for everyone. But doing nothing, stuck in a rut is , to me at least, a recipe for poor health and a certain degree of unhappiness.

 

[PoorOldCountryBoy]

Hello All,
about 6 years ago I got my "please go away nicely" letter for mega corp, so I decided to actually pursue a passion of mine (baking) and immediately got a part time gig at a local bakery. due to a new owner and covid, the job is not so nice now so I've decided to hang up my apron. I definitely won't miss the 4 am time card punch.

what's surprising me is my anxiety. this will be the first time in 47 years (I've worked at some thing since I was 13) that I have not had a paycheck and it's making me wacky.

Been playing in this sandbox for a while so I'm totally surprised that I'm feeling this way.

I've done my due diligence so I'm financially set. I'm one of the lucky few that still gets retiree healthcare from mega corp so not to much stress there. they look like they won't crash and burn within the next five years (when I'm eligible for medicaid) but you never know. lol

anyone else go through this?

Reflect on the sociological hints we absorb daily - EVERYTHING is about your job!

"What do you do?"
"Here's the weather for your workday"

Most religions spend a whole lot of time messaging about work if you parse it carefully.



So having this anxiety is because you were paying attention to all the messaging. Check your retirement math, then take the plunge!

 

[O2Bfree]

I retired August 2019 with some anxiety about not seeing those nice paycheck numbers go into my bank account every two weeks. Time passed, and yesterday I logged into my SS account and looked at my earnings history. The numbers ramped up to a 6-figure amount over the years. Then last year's entry showed $0. Didn't faze me a bit, because the plan I'd put together has been working fine, even with the market craziness last year. I've been living comfortably far below my budget, with plenty of room to start doing the traveling we'd planned.

In short, it's been like stepping off a cliff and discovering that you can fly.