5 Reasons I'm Not Retiring Early

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nuiloa Very well said. You have put my fears down in a nutshell. While I know I don't want to keep working, I'm deathly afraid that I will wind up as a clone of "Gilbert Grape's" mother. I base this on the fact that I seem to spend every weekend on the couch, watching endless (and mindless) TV shows and letting the housework pile up. "Individual initiative" seems to be lacking. To counteract it, my plan is to leave home for 6 months the day after I retire.

Well it's great you have a plan!

I think when you are working, it can be hard to distinguish between burn-out and exhaustion during the weekends due to work or just not being inspired in general. It can be very difficult to get motivated to create and active life outside of work if you are spending all your creativity and survival skills on the job.

And once you retire, it can still take 6 months to "decompress" - unwind from the job related stresses and exhaustion.

Having plans of things to do for the first six months might be a good idea. Just don't pile too much on your plate. Understand that you will be going through some kind of recovery. And keep an open mind when you first retire so that you can discover what you might like to do for the longer term. Until you get free of the working life, you really don't have enough quality time to really think about the future. In other words - sometimes you have to retire before you can really figure out how to be retired.

Audrey

[Beryl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawg52 5 reasons I did retire....... 1. I'm not poor 2. SS is just gravy if I get it 3. I was bored at work 4. Having time to play golf gives me a social outlet 5. Now I have time to exercise and stay in shape Idiots.

Except for #3 (I hated my MegaCorp job laying off US citizens to manage the poor work being done in Brazil and India), THIS.

[Free To Canoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclemick 1. I was layed off. 2. Then I got pissed. 3. I discovered financial independence allows one to be pissed off. 4. Pissed off is better than pissed on. 5. Taking time time to become a curmudgeon on your own terms is a lot of fun. heh heh heh - it is sometimes amazing what media produces to fill time and space.

+1. This deserves more than a +1 but hey, I'm retired and it is the best I can do at the moment.

[obgyn65]

Well I AM retiring early at the age of 47 next year so I guess none of these reasons apply to me !

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo 1. I don't do poor 2. I don't count on Social Security 3. I would be bored 4. Work provides a social outlet 5. It will keep me in shape

[Nords]

I just put up the post. I wonder if the author is tracking her links...

Five reasons to NOT retire early | Military Retirement & Financial Independence

[Chuckanut]

Great arrticle Nords. I am not military, and a lot of what you wrote hit home with me. SS is not doomed, there are other sources of income one could and should develop, friends should not be limited to fellow workers, and, in my case, I will get much more exercise when I have the time to do it!

Thanks for your insights.

[Midpack]

Very nice site, what I read was well written, I'd never looked before as I am not ex-military!

[whittonm]

5 Reasons I delayed by early retirement by one year:

1. Our only child (son) is taking a temporary job out of town
2. We have no grandkids yet
3. Another year of work means a better chance of buying that sports car I wanted during my past mid life crisis
4. Work keeps my weight down
5. My wife is going nuts waiting for grandkids and she wants to live in same town as our son and I don't want to be at home with her if there are no grandkids because she will take it all her frustrations out on me and the dog in that order...

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut Great arrticle Nords. I am not military, and a lot of what you wrote hit home with me. SS is not doomed, there are other sources of income one could and should develop, friends should not be limited to fellow workers, and, in my case, I will get much more exercise when I have the time to do it! Thanks for your insights.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack Very nice site, what I read was well written, I'd never looked before as I am not ex-military!

Thanks!

Some of my best material comes from this discussion board.

[martyp]

It seems to me that the author is laboring under a lot of preconceived notions of what retirement is or is supposed to be. She is characterizing retirees as poor, bored, socially isolated, and in-firmed. Personally I think she is being condescending and dismissive toward retirees. While there are no shortage of examples of retirees with the above listed characteristics it by no means follows that that has to be the case or that it is the case for many or most current retirees.


As Nord has said in his blog regarding this thread and as has been said over and over again on this forum, retirement starts with becoming financially independent. Financial independence is much a psychological state as a monetary fact. It presents to you the opportunity of free choice. This can be frightening to people who go down of path of society's expectations. I don't get the sense that she has a deep understanding of herself and that she has then chosen to work to the end . She is apparently is not ready to see past stereotypes. Maybe she is too immersed in her work.


And there is another issue, which is very hard to explain to young people, and that is that priorities and perspectives on life change and evolve as the decades pass. She probably has car insurance, health insurance, property insurance, etc. So why not self insurance for the unknowns that some with advancing age? For people who can't conceive of stepping away from a high spending lifestyle, or who do not have a robust social life outside work, they are going to have a hard transition if the future doesn't go as planned. Living within your means; having activities and interests outside of work; making and having friends outside of work; and doing your best to stay healthy are choices you can make at any time. None of this negates the respect, intellectual challenges, and friendship she currently gets from work. It is all about your values and life balance.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyp And there is another issue, which is very hard to explain to young people, and that is that priorities and perspectives on life change and evolve as the decades pass. She probably has car insurance, health insurance, property insurance, etc. So why not self insurance for the unknowns that some with advancing age? For people who can't conceive of stepping away from a high spending lifestyle, or who do not have a robust social life outside work, they are going to have a hard transition if the future doesn't go as planned. Living within your means; having activities and interests outside of work; making and having friends outside of work; and doing your best to stay healthy are choices you can make at any time. None of this negates the respect, intellectual challenges, and friendship she currently gets from work. It is all about your values and life balance.

If you don't mind, I'm going to work up another 500-1000 words on the metaphor of "retirement & lifestyle insurance"... this probably works a lot better than the "work until you die" or tough-love approaches!

[martyp]

Be my guest. You have a way with words.