Just passed 11 yrs in Retirement 2.28.12

[SJ1_]

I was going to write about it at 1 yr then 2 etc. etc.
I have a difficult time putting thoughts together.

so I decided to wing it...

It's been a dream come true for me. I think there are 2 keys
1) we lived way below our means and made smart investments (stock and Real Estate) so we are not worried (yet) about money
2) In retirement I'm doing something I love, sports photography

during my working yrs I did part time photography for a D1 college football program and did work for a number of NFL teams.
after a 10 yr layoff (break) I volunteered to do a local Pickleball tournament in 2016 which led to covering pro pickleball. Got to shoot for some of the best players in the world and sold photos to a number of companies.
I hated travel so about a yr and half ago started photographing all sports for a D2 school which was close by and said goodby to pickleball.

This past fall I also got to cover the defending D1 national champions in soccer which was a lot of fun and a great experience.

Takes up a lot of time but Love doing this. Absolutely love the creative side
and all the people I have met.. .

I think if I went this career path it would of become more of a job and because of the lack of
money in this I would be forced to still work and do photo jobs based on money not on what I would prefer to do.

I read a lot about retirement before I left the grind (computer programmer) one thing I read over and over again is seriously think about what u want to do with your time.

This site was great in giving me the confidence of having the $$ to let go of the 9-5 routine
Thanks

D1 is Division 1 best athletes big time sports money and winning rule
D2 is Division 2 smaller family atmosphere.

 

[pacergal]

Glad you are enjoying your retirement. That is what it is all about, doing what you want to do on a daily basis.
I agree that creativity comes out more, at least for me. I am finding more creative cooking, because I have the time and energy to devote to it. I enjoy developing my own recipes.

 

[MarieIG]

Thank you for sharing your experience!

 

[ER Eddie]

I'm glad to hear that your retirement is going well. You're absolutely right that it's all about finding worthwhile/enjoyable things to do with your time. There is a lot of free time in retirement, so that can be challenging at times.

It's good that you have hobbies and interests that keep you occupied. I know some people who won't retire because they don't have those things. They fear (perhaps rightly) that they would just end up sitting around watching TV and wasting away.

Anyhow, hope things continue to go well for you.

 

[38Chevy454]

The best part of retirement is being able to do what you want to do, not what you have to do. Seems you found a good hobby activity to do for many years now.

What age did you early retire?

 

[GravitySucks]

Congrats
Sounds like you’re enjoy your time.