"You'll Be Bored!!!"

[scrabbler1]

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Originally Posted by Ronstar I'm far from being bored. I have so many hobbies and projects going that it's hard to keep them all straight. I think it's important for a prospective retiree to set up leisure activities before they retire so that boredom has no chance of setting in when they retire. Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

I worked part-time for 7 years before I fully ERed so I had already set up a good set of activities in those 7 years. All ERing did was to free up 2 more days to do them, hardly a big change to my everyday life in that regard (but working ZERO was a big change and a nice one!).

[pb4uski]

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Originally Posted by Mulligan Mine hasn't given me a hard time but he doesn't "get it". In fact he is pushing 80 and after taking him for a surgery a few days ago within 10 minutes of being out of recovery room he was already saying he hopes the surgery got rid of the pain enough to go back to work. It just cracks me up. He says maybe he can now get a few more good years of work in before he dies. And no he doesn't need any money.....

Dad has passed and enjoyed his retirement, but his brother/my uncle is the same as your dad. Up at 5 am every morning, working every day despite being an 85-year old multi-millionaire and not needing the money. He just like to work. The nice thing is he owns his own business and can go at his own pace and delegate things he doesn't want to or can't do to his crew.

Good for him, but not what I want. While he hasn't said anything to me, I suspect he takes a dim view of his nephew (me) giving up a good, well-paying job to retire at 56.

[GTFan]

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Originally Posted by LoneAspen Isn't that the truth! When I was a kid, video games fascinated me, and then the age of personal computers at home began. My first computer was an Atari 400. So I got drawn into the whole computers and programming thing, which led to a career in the IT field. For for first handful of years, I enjoyed it, but as time went on, I grew to hate it. Sitting in an office building, in a cube, pecking away at a keyboard, and starting at a computer all day got old. Plus, every program ever written does the same basic things - take input, process it, and produce output. After a while, every program and system I ever wrote (and still continue to write) seems like I'm just doing the same boring thing over and over again. That's probably the curse for 99% of the workforce out there. People get pigeon-holed into working at something they might be good at, but don't enjoy (or in my case, don't enjoy any more).

You just described me to a T, down to getting into Atari PCs early on. I feel like sitting in a cube all day is slowly taking my life force away, which is why I'm taking a buyout package from Megacorp even though I have a cushy IT job, good coworkers and manager etc. I'm good at it and they are sad to see me go, but once I hit my FI number I quickly lost interest (and patience) in the work and the ancillary BS after the 25 years I've put in.

Back on topic, I've got a nice ToDo list of stuff around the house made up that will take me 6 months to a year, easy, assuming I work on it every day. I don't plan to once I get my Fun List setup, so it will probably take a lot longer.

Also, I've had that question too - what will you do to keep from being bored? All I can say to that is, does it matter when you do this? Doesn't matter if you leave at 51 or 61 or 71, you have to know that you're done and that's all that counts.

So even though I am somewhat anxious about leaving at 51 because I don't know exactly what I'm going to do every day, I'm pretty sure whatever it is will be better than what I'm doing now.

[daylatedollarshort]

We're fixing up the house to sell, decluttering and looking for a downsized place so I am busier than ever. Plus DH is home with me now so we go out to lunch together often and take a lot of day trips. Last week we went to the see a California Shakespeare Theater play, took a Hazel-Atlas mine tour, went hiking in the Redwoods and visited the railroad museum in Sacramento. This week I have tickets to the Academy of Science at Golden Gate park.

And my new hobby is bargain hunting. So all the activities we go to are usually free with reciprocal membership agreements or library passes, and the rest are cheap with Entertainment book, Groupon and Goldstar tickets.

Coming up I have tickets for the Exploratorium, Fioli Gardens, Quarryhill Botanic Garden, and the Oakland Zoo.

It is pretty cool to be able to see attractions 2 -3 times a week all year that many other people only get to do on vacation. Once we downsize we will have more free time for other hobbies, clubs and meetup groups, too. There are a number of clubs we would like to be more active in but just don't have the time right now.

[rodi]

"You'll be bored"

Answer - "Work is MORE boring!"

[unno2002]

Was talking with the daughter yesterday about work, retirement, & boredom… She's about to start her first full-time job. I retired "early" several years ago.



I related being dead-bored at quite a number of my jobs, even when I was physically working hard, or trying to figure out some situation, that while she might find some things boring, she needed to do her best.


I opine that I am less bored in retirement than when I was working.

[robnplunder]

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Originally Posted by rodi "You'll be bored" Answer - "Work is MORE boring!"

Another answer - being bored beats working. YMMV.

[CaliforniaMan]

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Originally Posted by LoneAspen Isn't that the truth! When I was a kid, video games fascinated me, and then the age of personal computers at home began. My first computer was an Atari 400. So I got drawn into the whole computers and programming thing, which led to a career in the IT field. For for first handful of years, I enjoyed it, but as time went on, I grew to hate it. Sitting in an office building, in a cube, pecking away at a keyboard, and starting at a computer all day got old. Plus, every program ever written does the same basic things - take input, process it, and produce output. After a while, every program and system I ever wrote (and still continue to write) seems like I'm just doing the same boring thing over and over again. That's probably the curse for 99% of the workforce out there. People get pigeon-holed into working at something they might be good at, but don't enjoy (or in my case, don't enjoy any more).

+1 for me too. I started in embedded systems, loved making machines move, getting that input and finding ways to process it. But over the years you are right, you do the same things over and over. BTW, got a lot of saved Southwest miles flying from San Diego to San Jose my wife and I are planning to use this time for fun trips.

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Originally Posted by jjquantz I tried fighting this by changing careers every 5 years, but it can be difficult to improve one's financial situation if one is really rebooting into a totally new field every five years (plus it can be hard on the family). So eventually, I just started changing workplaces every few years. This helped, but not much. In retirement I can flit from interest to interest and not worry about how it will effect my income.

+1 For me it was becoming a consultant, got to work on a lot of different and sometimes very interesting projects over the years, but after a while they did begin to seem the same. And now this year as I completed a big project, just could not see myself looking for another.

Been fully retired now for only 4 months, but already find too many things to do (none of them having to do with programming!) and my list of things I want to do, places to travel, already stretch two years into the future. Two years ago I could not have contemplated actually being retired, now I cannot contemplate being anything else.

[audreyh1]

Retired life is so busy I need a vacation!

Aug 9 is my 15 years retired anniversary!!!!

Seriously, we're going on a Europe trip later this month, which I have been furiously planning for, and it will be a major break from our normal retirement "routine" of chasing wildlife and photography. We almost never "sight see" or go to museums otherwise. So it will be a neat break. And then we'll back just in time for butterfly season!

BTW, our yard butterfly species list is up to 125 species! Number 125 was so rare, it hadn't been seen in 10 years! You never know what you'll find when you go out looking for stuff (even if it is 100 degrees out).

Did I mention we're not bored yet?

[CaliforniaMan]

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Originally Posted by audreyh1 Retired life is so busy I need a vacation! Aug 9 is my 15 years retired anniversary!!!! Seriously, we're going on a Europe trip later this month, which I have been furiously planning for, and it will be a major break from our normal retirement "routine" of chasing wildlife and photography. We almost never "sight see" or go to museums otherwise. So it will be a neat break. And then we'll back just in time for butterfly season! BTW, our yard butterfly species list is up to 125 species! Number 125 was so rare, it hadn't been seen in 10 years! You never know what you'll find when you go out looking for stuff (even if it is 100 degrees out). Did I mention we're not bored yet?

Your comment (bolded) made me smile!
Hope you have a great trip, we are planning Europe for next year, springtime or maybe fall. Not too much into being "sight seers" or checklist tourists ourselves, want to try to plan a slow stay in only maybe two places. Looking forward hopefully to your posts about your experiences.

[pb4uski]

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Originally Posted by audreyh1 Retired life is so busy I need a vacation!....

+1 between golfing a few times a week and the DIY work I am doing finishing off our new garage and the other things going on in my life..... how in the world did I ever find time to work?

[Calico]

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Originally Posted by FlyBoy5 Funny you mention that. Every Sunday he holds a "Happy Hour" (that lasts about 4-5 hours) that some of his retired older friends (75+ years old) attend on a weekly basis and it is one of the great highlights of my week! I guess I just have an "old" heart!

They sound like a fun group! Lots more fun than the crotchety relative telling you you'll be bored.

[Rdub]

We just got back from our annual trip to Maui, checking on the rentals. We left the day before the storm(s) hit. It was very cool to see the hurricane from 35,000 ft! While there we had lunch with one of my wife's friends who retired early (both in their early 40s). They live in Maui and are thoroughly enjoying life. He said his big mistake was not retiring a couple years earlier. He surfs most mornings, works out, goes to local markets for fresh groceries and loves the island life. He said a lot of his friends told him he would be bored to tears... he says they just don't get it and is having the time of his life.

Today I had lunch with my friend/old boss. He retired 3 months ago at 50 and says he doesn't have time to be bored. He said his biggest adjustment is trying to schedule his workouts, since there is always time to do it later. He is loving it and can't wait for me to join the crowd. It is great chatting with friends who have retired early and loving every minute of it. Neither one of them misses working.

[braumeister]

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Originally Posted by ChicagoGal He sold his business and retired about 7 years ago (at age 70) and probably still regrets it. He's used to running things and running the condo association just doesn't cut it.

This comment rang a bell with me.

I retired at 55 (21 years in the AF, then 12 in a civilian job) and it has been wonderful.

But DW (2 years younger) was hard over on not joining me in RE. She truly loved the social aspects of w*rk. Going out to lunch with her friends and that sort of thing. It took another dozen years for her to realize that retirement wouldn't be so bad after all (even though there was no financial reason she couldn't have done it when I did).

It was OK for us. I love to cook, so I took over all the shopping and meal preparation, and most of the household chores. I had the time and it was no big deal to me, so I was able to give her the option of enjoying her job.

Eventually (about a year ago) she actually retired when she turned 65 (I think there was something lurking in her subconscious about that age), and for the past year she has come to thoroughly enjoy it as much as I do.

The only big change has been that instead of me going off on solo "vacations" so much, we are doing more joint trips. We both love that, but we still occasionally go on solo trips to indulge our own interests.

The result is that I don't have a problem understanding why some people don't want to retire even when they could,

[Walt34]

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Originally Posted by braumeister The result is that I don't have a problem understanding why some people don't want to retire even when they could,

I don't either, I really did enjoy my job and stayed on about four or five years after I could have retired simply because I liked the job so much. It was actually fun for me and for a long time I felt like "I can't believe they're actually paying me to do this!"

But it was the strain of trying to get time & money for the needed upgrades and ongoing training, plus the DC area traffic that makes getting anywhere a chore, that got me to leave.

[braumeister]

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Originally Posted by Walt34 the DC area traffic that makes getting anywhere a chore

Precisely the reason my AF career ended at 21 years instead of much longer. I actually liked my job, but that commute wiped me out.

[Chuckanut]

Just today, I had some spare time in the afternoon. I spent it working on my Italian using Duolingo. I could probably study Italian for years. Maybe when I become fluent (yea, right!) I will hive time to get bored.

[scrabbler1]

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Originally Posted by braumeister Precisely the reason my AF career ended at 21 years instead of much longer. I actually liked my job, but that commute wiped me out.

As I have posted many times, I simply could not stand my commute on the trains, even as little as 2 days a week. I had to leave once all the pieces fell into place, which they did!

[Nords]

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Originally Posted by FlyBoy5 Here's my problem. I have a family member that just can't it through his thick skull that I *can* and that I *will* retire in a few months and will be perfectly happy NOT HAVING A J*B EVER AGAIN!!! He is absolutely convinced that I will be bored out of my mind and will have to go find a j*b to occupy myself. Never mind the fact that I already have a nice long list of stuff I would like to do in retirement that will keep me very occupied for a significant amount of time. I wonder if his lack of money skills which resulted him retiring late in life (almost 70 years old in spite of a Lt Col pension!) is being shifted to me as jealousy. I also think he feels since I am a enlisted guy...there is NO way, I could be FIRE. Truth be told, I don't like this family member anyway, so it's very much inconsequential...but he's not the only one to have said it...and quite frankly it's annoying as hell. I initially thought that most folks I know would be happy that I am able to RE, but I am getting much the opposite...and I do know much of it is jealousy.

Well, my first thoughts are that this is not your problem, and maybe you need a new family member.

But I haven't solved the problem either. I've been ER'd for over 12 years, and my father-in-law is still convinced that my chronic inability to find a job means that his daughter is going to be on the streets any day now. At least his only granddaughter has managed to escape the nest with her own career and income, although it bothers him to hear her fantasize about the same crazy goal. Clearly this ER hallucination is inherited or contagious.

The polite response to your family member (and the rest of society) is "Well, I'm going to spend a few months with family & friends and then take a look at my next career." That's probably the only response you should give, and if he pursues the details then you could give him a cool look and change the subject. It's working well in my family.

Myths Of Military Retirement And Early Retirement - Military Guide

It's possible that family member sentiments are based on love & concern. Perhaps my FIL thinks that too. However you can't change their attitudes or fears, and envy/jealousy is also their problem. The best you can do is to set a good example of a happy spouse and human being. You may never change their mind, but they'll eventually stop talking about it.

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Originally Posted by FlyBoy5 I think this is because there is very little education in the military (at least in the Air Force) about finances and money management. I have heard that they are making the new guys (in the AF anyway) go through a basic finance class once they get to their first duty station. I am not sure what this involves though...I have to assume that with some of the sweet rides the youngins are cruising around in, it's nothing more than "Pay your bills to stay out of trouble!".

Financial responsibility, not financial independence.

DoD needs to discourage servicemembers from selling our secrets to the enemy, and nobody wants to see military veterans sleeping under highway overpasses. But beyond those basics, financial education is not a defense program.

[John3754]

My advice would be to stop worrying about what other people think, most people are dumb assess anyway.