Downside of retirement

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omni550

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Not saying that this applies to most folks here, but there's been another recent thread where someone with 10s of millions net worth in his 40s and had been retired for 2 years and was a bit unhappy/depressed.

Darrow Kirkpatrick's blog post addresses some issues and concerns that some folks have with regard to retirement.

The Downside of Retirement - Can I Retire Yet?

omni
 
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"Yes, retiring is great fun for most people, at first."

I'm 10 years in and it's still fun to me. Maybe the fun stops in the next 10. ;)
 
Yeah, I dunno.

I read that article and wondered what he was talking about. None of it made any sense.

Maybe I avoided all that angst by not retiring "too" early?
 
I just finished my 8th year of retirement and I can't begin to imagine working ever again. Looking forward to my next 8 years of ER, then 8 more and 8 more and 8 more......


Even though it has been 8 years since I was regularly part of the daily rat race including the awful commute I had (and it royally sucked even twice a week), I still take some small joy whenever I see local traffic and transit reports or hear a story about the latest problems with the Long Island Rail Road (as long as nobody got hurt). And I dread it whenever I have to drive around in rush-hour traffic, a rare event even in the afternoon.


The way I have set up my medium-term and long-term retirement, I'll have MORE money available in 6 years, when I will have unfettered access to my IRA, the first of my "reinforcements," with the others being my frozen company pension and SS.


Nope, no downside of retirement here......
 
Of course. There's a downside to everything. Just watch the news and read stuff on the internet and you will plunge to the depths of despair in no time at all.

You can do it too. Start up your own blog and make big money making people miserable. Just when you thought you had it good...nope, no way, see it says right here that your life is meaningless and it's all your fault.

Amazing.
 
Admittedly, I'm only 7+ months into ER, but I can't fathom that I would ever get tired of it. In fact, I just turned down a lucrative offer to come back to my former mega for some sporadic consulting. Can't picture myself dealing with the tedious stuff anymore, if I don't absolutely have to.
 
No downside here. My only regret is that in hindsight we could have watched our expenses closer and retired 10 years sooner.
 
Again, I believe it stems from what place your w*rk takes in your life. If you job is more or less the center, your quest in life, the thing you want to do *and* outside of work you really don't have many interests/hobbies... then yes, retirement, long term, might be a challenge. But if your w*rk is really just a distraction (not to say you don't like it) and a means to pay your bills *and* you can take time off and never be bored at home, have all kinds of hobbies/interests and "stuff you want to do", then I'd wager that retirement will be the nirvana you hope it to be.
 
Lakewood90712 said:
Just think of the poor slob who has to do the job you left behind , especially if you weren't replaced and your workload was added to someone :mad:
Click to expand...

The guy who replaced me was eager to have the job and enjoyed it, as I did. Later on he was enticed into private industry with their underhanded tactic of tripling his pay. Last I heard he was a VP of something at a major defense megacorp.
 
REWahoo said:
I'm now on the short end of the stick and will someday be running out of time to enjoy it.
Click to expand...

When I want to really feel depressed, I use the tape measure analogy -- where each inch marks your age. A stick is a little too subjective.
 
braumeister said:
There's a downside? Really?
Click to expand...

Yes. Now that I am retired, I no longer have weekends. Or long weekends. Or holidays. Or vacations.

I do not get that great Friday afternoon feeling that the weekend is here. Or the excitement of leaving the office early to start a vacation. Or the thrill of Monday morning, ready to get back to the grind.

I often forget what day it is. It seems like it's always Saturday. My projects take longer, as I start them later and stop working on them sooner. I do not put in as many hours as I can, just as many hours as I want.

I hope the workers here count their blessings.
 
REWahoo said:
At the 11+ year point about the only downside I can think of is I'm now on the short end of the stick and will someday be running out of time to enjoy it. :)
Click to expand...

In my 21st year. Not only can I not imagine working I almost can't believe I worked all those years. Sometimes I'll come across an old picture or something from those days that reminds me and I'll say: Yep. That's me alright. I can't pretend it didn't happen

As the years go faster and get fewer it reminds me of that that Neil Young song's lyrics: It's a dream. It's only a dream. And it's fading now. Fading away. A dream only a dream just a memory without any place to stay.

And of course the ever popular: The record shows, I took the blows and did my way.
 
REWahoo said:
The trouble with a tape measure is that it has a defined length. A stick, OTOH is of undetermined length. :)
Click to expand...

But even an 8 footer has more inches than the vast majority of people have years
 
I know, you prefer a stick - :)

Me, I like a stake better. Yeah, I could measure my life in stakes...er steaks that is. I just added another last night. A wonderful wagyu NY - :)

But the steaks are getting low in the freezer and the lobster tails are gone. Time to buy on the next "internet specials" coming soon!
 
My DH is going back to work at age 57. He retired 5 years ago when laid off and could not find work. He has worked on consulting projects and went through 1 1/2 without any work and is itching to work. This new project will be 2-3 years (h e is an engineer) so that will probably take him into real retirement. Everyone is different.
 
scrabbler1 said:
The way I have set up my medium-term and long-term retirement, I'll have MORE money available in 6 years, when I will have unfettered access to my IRA, the first of my "reinforcements," with the others being my frozen company pension and SS.


Nope, no downside of retirement here......
Click to expand...
I am 2 years in and don't miss standing on the LIRR platform in the winter at -5F only to find a short train with standing room only. Then find the trains have been cancelled later on. Don't miss micro-managing petty bosses with TPS reports. Don't miss setting "goals". Don't miss all the joys of an organization that can barely function.

Like scrabbler the "reinforcements" will come in due time and give me more than enough. I don't know how anyone can tolerate the corporate world it is the worst.

No downside for me.
 
I was going to say the downside is no more pay checks, but DW retired in June and discovered the school was still paying her old salary via direct deposit, plus her pension checks. Nice while it lasted! :LOL:
 
travelover said:
I was going to say the downside is no more pay checks, but DW retired in June and discovered the school was still paying her old salary via direct deposit, plus her pension checks. Nice while it lasted! :LOL:
Click to expand...

Sweet deal while it lasts!

I also received my first retirement check before my last paycheck when I retired. To my surprise, about five months after I retired I received another direct deposit for a few hundred.

Turned out it was the portion of the clothing allowance I got because I was in a unit that had to wear suits so we received extra compensation to buy them, normally about six months in arrears. I had completely forgotten about it.
 
I just read the article and he describes downsizing out of the family home as traumatic. Obviously he never has had any real trauma in his life.
 
REWahoo said:
I don't measure my life in inches....:)
Click to expand...
My wife has a plaque we bought on a trip. It says"
LIFE is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but the moments that TAKE OUR BREATH AWAY"
I have been retired for 7 years, and we just celebrated our 9th anniversary
 

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