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Five Year Mark! A report card...
Old 07-31-2017, 08:11 AM   #1
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Five Year Mark! A report card...

It's the last day of July so it must be the five year mark since the end of full-time work! All that was left in 2012 was a couple weeks of holiday and a couple of farewell parties and that was that after 25 years.

I've bored you all with yearly (or there about) report cards so I hope you don't mind another to mark what I consider a real milestone.

Personal: Super. I'm relaxed, healthy, spending really good quality time with DW. Started running, down 25 lbs from my peak. I feel a different man. We travel a lot, and that's our major expense.

Work: I've done some consulting and enjoyed it. Not so much as to interfere with fun, but hey, it's paid for some extra trips and new computers and kept me feeling involved and stimulated.

Financial: The markets have been kind to us all. I claim no wisdom here. But even after all my spending and withdrawals, my liquid assets are up an annualized 4.76% on what they were when I left and after I collected my tinsel handcuff payoff. My current spending level is 2.69% of current assets -- and 3.09% of the starting 2012 level, adjusted for inflation. And yet, we're doing everything we want and don't feel constrained despite being able to spend at a faster rate according to most studies and formulas.

As I've mentioned before - great thanks to this board for providing company, comfort and stimulation when those around me seem in a very different professional and financial place.

Regrets: No regrets. The only sadness is realizing how big a place in my life work and more particularly work friends had been. I've certainly made good use of all the time I have, but I don't have nearly as many social interactions as I used to and that sometimes feels lonely. Were they "real" friends? Of course not. But they were good "mates" and "pals" and time with them was enjoyable and that is probably the biggest gap - something for those not yet ERed to think about perhaps. It just isn't as easy at 57 to make friends, at least for me.

Best of luck to you all - those who long ago passed my five year mark, those approaching it and those yet to take the plunge!
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Old 07-31-2017, 08:34 AM   #2
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Congratulations on your 5 year anniversary!
Regarding work friends, I think of most of mine as co-workers/acquaintances. There are only 3 that I am close to and do things outside of work. These 3 are friends.
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Old 07-31-2017, 08:37 AM   #3
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Congratulations on achieving the 5 year retirement mark! Yes, the market has been good to us that retired in the last few years and let's hope we have many more to celebrate.
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Old 07-31-2017, 09:16 AM   #4
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Nice, Love the updates. About work friends, I went to a 30 year reunion & I saw old friends there I hadnt seen in a dogs age. They were real true friends, just life got in the way and we didnt keep in touch(transfers, marriage, etc...) One guy offered me a 80k a year supervisor job, I hadnt seen him in close to the 30 years. He said he needed someone he trusted and he knew he could trust me. I didnt take it, as by that time (2014), my life had taken a different turn.
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Old 07-31-2017, 09:32 AM   #5
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Congratulations on your 5 year anniversary!
Regarding work friends, I think of most of mine as co-workers/acquaintances. There are only 3 that I am close to and do things outside of work. These 3 are friends.
+1

Only a few friends. The rest are colleagues, etc. I filled the social "void" through volunteering. I do it on my schedule, it gets me out and about, and is very rewarding.
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Old 07-31-2017, 09:39 AM   #6
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I'd say you got an "A"!
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Old 07-31-2017, 09:53 AM   #7
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Congrats! A+.
Have done lots of traveling solo. Can't wait for my wife to join me in five years when boys go to college.
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Old 07-31-2017, 10:05 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dd852 View Post

I've bored you all with yearly (or there about) report cards so I hope you don't mind another to mark what I consider a real milestone.
Au contraire, Pierre, I don't find these updates boring at all. They're more than welcome, and particularly interesting when they recount happy results.

Poor schlubs like me, still toiling away in the salt mines, rely on your tales of paradise for encouragement. Sometimes the only thing that gets me out of bed at oh-dark-thirty on Mondays is the sense that retirement is real and getting a skinch closer every week.

Please keep them coming. And congrats on your milestone! I look forward to having a similar one someday.
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Old 07-31-2017, 10:07 AM   #9
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Congrats, sounds like you're doing well.

After 6 years, my summary would be much the same. I really enjoyed being retired for 9-10 months each year (winter ). The pros easily outweigh the cons, but retirement isn't without cons - "paradise" would be too strong a description to me.

And I very much agree with your regret. I consciously avoided making true friends of work-friends, but I miss those daily interactions with lots of peers. I also retired at 57, retirees my age are still few and far between making new friends scarcer. And I was sure DW would retire shortly after I did, that was 6 years ago. She still surprises me after 37 years...

Shopping and running errands during the day is a different world though, lots of blue-hairs and SAHM's with small children. Almost no peers.
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Regrets: No regrets. The only sadness is realizing how big a place in my life work and more particularly work friends had been. I've certainly made good use of all the time I have, but I don't have nearly as many social interactions as I used to and that sometimes feels lonely. Were they "real" friends? Of course not. But they were good "mates" and "pals" and time with them was enjoyable and that is probably the biggest gap - something for those not yet ERed to think about perhaps. It just isn't as easy at 57 to make friends, at least for me.
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Old 07-31-2017, 10:07 AM   #10
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Au contraire, Pierre, I don't find these updates boring at all. They're more than welcome, and particularly interesting when they recount happy results.

Poor schlubs like me, still toiling away in the salt mines, rely on your tales of paradise for encouragement. Sometimes the only thing that gets me out of bed at oh-dark-thirty on Mondays is the sense that retirement is real and getting a skinch closer every week.

Please keep them coming. And congrats on your milestone! I look forward to having a similar one someday.
+1 !!!
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Old 07-31-2017, 10:21 AM   #11
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Sounds so wonderful!
I'm just 7 months it's just indescribable how free I feel.
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Old 07-31-2017, 01:44 PM   #12
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Poor schlubs like me, still toiling away in the salt mines, rely on your tales of paradise for encouragement. Sometimes the only thing that gets me out of bed at oh-dark-thirty on Mondays is the sense that retirement is real and getting a skinch closer every week.
Too funny. I wish you well on your journey. And for this week anyway , you got the Monday out of the way.
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Old 08-01-2017, 09:04 PM   #13
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The only thing I miss (beyond the paycheck) is the people I left behind at w*rk. I was only close to a couple of them and I have stayed in contact with them. Still, the setting was a good place to make "acquaintances" and w*rk mates. Now, I don't have that kind of access to that many people. All in all, I prefer being retired, but there is always some price to be paid for "freedom." YMMV
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