So very close to pulling the plug

[Time2re]

So I have been lurking for about 6 months now, and appreciate all the friendly discussions.
My DH retired 5 years ago - now 63, I am 57. Have a NW that easily supports our annual expenses of $60,000. No debt, no kids, only one parent still living, FIL that lives in assisted living near us that we watch over. We have health ins paid until DH goes on Medicare, and I can stay on employer plan as an early retiree until Medicare. My one concern is how I will fill the day - after working 60 hour weeks for the past 5 years, most of my hobbies have fallen off. DH seems to stay busy, so I probably worry too much. Really enjoy discussions on "What did you do today?" and "how happy are you?" No questions, yet, just saying HELLO.

 

[Walt34]

Welcome to the forum!

One of the longest running (if not the longest running) threads is this one: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/what-did-you-do-today-37868.html

There should be a useful nugget in there for you.

 

[Nodak]

Welcome aboard

 

[rodi]

Welcome.

Can you cut back on hours enough to see if you get bored?

I can't really relate to the worry about how I'd fill my time - I had the opposite problem - worktime was impacting my interests and life outside of work.

 

[kimcdougc]

Welcome aboard! You will find lots of suggestions here with what to do with your time. The thing is you will now have the time to decide and take action!

 

[swakyaby]

I too worked long hours and some weekends as well. While I had no control over the length of workday, I did manage to negotiate one weekday off each week. It was a very wonderful respite. It reinvigorated my desire to pick up old hobbies and more importantly, exercise more.

The more time you take off, the more things you find you enjoy doing.

 

[heeyy_joe]

You should retire; please don't pull any plugs!

 

[38Chevy454]

Welcome and I have one thing to add: the beauty of retirement is you can do what you want to do. So if you find yourself wanting or needing to do more, you can choose something new or go back to something you are familiar with. Even work, you can do that if you want to, maybe at something you are interested in and want to learn more about?

An important aspect of FIRE is having the ability to do whatever makes you happy. You are not tied to having to get that paycheck.