How to reflect on one's ER experiences (OK, an "annual review"?

[Pellice]

I'm coming up on my Year 1 anniversary of retirement. It's been a really happy year. I may still be subconsciously trailing w*rk experiences like seaweed after me, but somehow I feel I should reflect in some way on the year. (I cannot even bring myself to use the words "review,," "assess," or "evaluate" although I suppose that is broadly what I am doing.)

I'm just beginning to think about it. My starting point is "what would I want from such a thought experiment?" and I know I want to think about the things I've been doing that have contributed to that happiness. And I know I want to do more in Year 2, so I would need to move on from there.

I want to ask all of you how you approach your FIRE anniversaries? I'll bet there is a range from "I don't even remember it" to "I do a formal review of financial and activity goals and discuss with spouse." Do you still ask yourselves what you will regret having not done in 3 years?

 

[Aerides]

You've obviously put a lot of thought into this, so I don't want to sound dismissive, but the first thing that comes to mind is that putting 'annual reviews' behind me is one of the great things about ER'ing.

So aside from that, nope we don't do any sort of look-back assessment. We occasionally look at expenses vs. budget, but less in year 3 than we did in year 1. We map out a few plans re travel over the next year or so. But mostly we're just chilling in the present and looking at the near future.

I think the idea of regretting having no real post-ER accomplishments might be something that is more your old work mindset. I do like to get some things done but they are more on a continuum now - keep the garden, work on my health and fitness, hobbies, home projects, etc., - not milestones and goals and accomplishments.

 

[joeea]

I want to ask all of you how you approach your FIRE anniversaries? I'll bet there is a range from "I don't even remember it" to "I do a formal review of financial and activity goals and discuss with spouse." Do you still ask yourselves what you will regret having not done in 3 years?

I don't worry about "FIRE anniversaries". After a while, you won't either.

I don't regret things I haven't done. For me at least, the secret to life is to find ways to enjoy each stage. I enjoyed my young years. I enjoyed my work years. I'm enjoying retirement.

Thus, there is never a need for any "regrets".

 

[Rianne]

Our FIRE anniversary is a mixed bag. We are FI, but DH chose to keep an LLC and earns $$ from home. He works on his own schedule but wants to keep a toe in his industry. He had many friends and contacts and likes to keep up while earning extra ($42K/year). I'm fully RE and volunteer for forest preserves.
There are no regrets. We are still healthy and can take vacations that require stamina and strength, like our last one taking only carry on bags and jumping trains from country to country ) Loved it.

I equate happiness with stress. The less stress the more happy. We can adjust our spending whenever we want, as long as the stress level is at its minimum.
IMHO, I would quit evaluating and enjoy. Let go of reviewing and assessing. Those are work terms. Start thinking relax, enjoy and look forward to making your own decisions based on how you feel that day. Think about making plans to enjoy life with less worry.

 

[Dtail]

My 2 year anniversary of FIRE is at the end of July. I will review where finances and investments are at that time, but then again that is no different than any other month.
Will probably reflect a little on how great it has been to date.

 

[Pellice]

Aerides - I like your idea of a continuum. I'm going to play with that. No, I have NO regrets about Year 1. I've made so much in my life better. However, I can imagine having some regrets by Year 3, so I'll have to think about that.

You've obviously put a lot of thought into this, so I don't want to sound dismissive, but the first thing that comes to mind is that putting 'annual reviews' behind me is one of the great things about ER'ing.

So aside from that, nope we don't do any sort of look-back assessment. We occasionally look at expenses vs. budget, but less in year 3 than we did in year 1. We map out a few plans re travel over the next year or so. But mostly we're just chilling in the present and looking at the near future.

I think the idea of regretting having no real post-ER accomplishments might be something that is more your old work mindset. I do like to get some things done but they are more on a continuum now - keep the garden, work on my health and fitness, hobbies, home projects, etc., - not milestones and goals and accomplishments.

 

[iloveyoga]

I note my last day of work Anniversary but that is about it.

 

[SumDay]

Funny, this just popped up in my inbox: https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-biggest-lesson-from-my-first-year-of-retirement/ "Just as with the birth of a child, life is a lot different now that I’m retired. Just as with marriage, life is better after having achieved this particular milestone. Life was good before, and life is good after. Life is often better after we achieve major milestones, but it’s still life. Life goes on."

My retire-versary is coming up in August. I may think about it then.

 

[Gumby]

Obviously, I'll need to plan ahead for vacations and trips, but I see retirement predominantly as a chance to live in the moment. Like Aerides, I see no need for retrospective evaluation.

 

[T-Minus]

My official ER date was 12/31/17. At the end of every year, I create and save a financial snapshot for our entire portfolio and then create an overall theme for the following year. For year 1, my plan was to prioritize spending on experiences vs. things. For year 2 (this year) my plan is to focus on health. I’m thinking that my year 3 theme may be “simplification.” That’s about as detailed as I want to get.

 

[pacergal]

DH is coming up on year 3 this week. We both looked at each other and remarked "can't believe how fast those years have gone by." I will hit 3 years towards the end of this year. The only thing I routinely do is overall financial update.
Enjoying every day!

 

[Bigdawg]

not RE yet but... don't think I will be evaluating, assessing or any of that. Just a guess. I am already FI and I am on a downward trajectory regarding the Jay Oh Bee. I am down to 32 hour weeks. Three day weekends every week is awesome plus still raking in 6 figures. Sometime in 2020 (my 55 yr) I plan to go to 20 hr weeks (from home) eventually going down to zero. Not anticipating an actual retire-versary because I will continue to officiate sporting events (volleyball and baseball) for the foreseeable future.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

...I see retirement predominantly as a chance to live in the moment. Like Aerides, I see no need for retrospective evaluation.

+1 on this. I think the only thing I "evaluate" is performance of investments, but I really only do this once a month or so. My pension covers all of our expenses, so there isn't a concern (at least for now?) that we will eat into our principal anytime soon.

One time (about 3 years into ER), I did some back testing of what the overall financial portfolio would have looked like if I had continued to w*ork and save (which when I retired, my savings rate was 60'ish%) and although it would have been bigger...we wouldn't have done anything different, so it was a wasted exercise.

For the most part, every night I reflect on the day and count my blessings, of which I have many.

 

[marko]

I started keeping a diary when I first learned I'd be leaving the company. 15 years later I still make an entry every few days. I'm not much on self-reflection but writing down my feelings and thoughts--essentially verbalizing them--was almost like sitting with a psychiatrist, especially as I dealt with the disorientation of suddenly not having a job.

But here's an odd one:
Outside of my wedding anniversary the only anniversary I (mildly) celebrate is the day I GOT my job. It was, by far, the single luckiest day of my life. It led to a great job for 34 years, tremendous perks and travel opportunities and paid well enough for a RE at age 52. It was also where I met DW so, double lucky.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I can’t remember my exact date (sometime in August 2002) but the hubs is 08/08/08—pretty easy to remember and every year we just say damn it’s been a good xx years. End of introspection.

 

[Osprey]

I won’t have my first retirement anniversary until next January but plan on looking back on the year, which has been fabulous, exceeding my expectations for how quickly I adjusted to my new life. My inspiration is my having read Gretchen Rubin’s book the happiness Project.

Not a formal work type review, just a look to see what if any changes would bring even more happiness to me and my loved ones.

 

[jetpack]

certainly there is the financial tally / budget to make sure everything is in line.

but for personal growth / learning, you might want to look at this
free little worksheet/booklet that helps you reflect on last year and plan for the next. https://yearcompass.com/

 

[Cobra9777]

In January every year, DW and I always discuss priorities for the coming year. We have a large discretionary budget for travel, home improvements, and other large purchases. Obviously, it's important that we are aligned on how to use that budget. The list is much longer than the budget allows so we have to make choices. Some years, we travel a lot. Other years, we do lots of home improvement projects. This year, we bought a new car and had some major plumbing repairs done. Most years, we do a little of everything.

As part of that discussion, we review prior years travel, home improvements, and other big purchases... basically just a recap of how we used this budget in the past and where we are in the "master plan"... which is really just a travel bucket list as well as things we want to change with the house and a long-term plan for our vehicles. It's always nice to reflect on how much we've actually done. It helps in the decision process for the coming year.

I track our financial status periodically throughout the year. We've been under-spending for 6 years now (relative to FireCalc 95%). So most of this analysis is geared toward trying to get myself comfortable with increasing our discretionary spend, which ties into the discussion above.

As for my actual ER anniversary, I don't pay any attention to it. I'm as happy as a pig in slop. DW... not so much. She worked well past FI because she liked the daily routine and interaction with people. I know she misses that. She doesn't have multiple hobbies like I do. After 3 years, she's still trying to find a rhythm that works for her. It's been stressful as well because she was the main caretaker for her Dad before he died last year and now she keeps a close eye on her 85 year-old Mom.

 

[Pellice]

certainly there is the financial tally / budget to make sure everything is in line.

but for personal growth / learning, you might want to look at this
free little worksheet/booklet that helps you reflect on last year and plan for the next. https://yearcompass.com/

Thanks, jetpack. It's a little too involved for me, but I am going to look through it and adapt a few of the questions. Which I suppose is the intention.

 

[Jerry1]

I’ve only been retired for about a year and a half so I’m not sure what I’ll do as far as a look back each year, but I did do something after the first year. Pretty simple though. I take pictures on my phone when I’m doing something. Not a big picture taker, but a pic with my phone just to record the event. Looking back over my first year of pictures, I was satisfied that it was a good year, defined as I got out and did a number of things. A couple concerts, couple small trips, a special golf outing, the holidays and birthdays with family . . .

My main concern is to make sure I don’t waste a great opportunity that I’ve been blessed with - retirement.

Then once a year, we do a financial review, but that’s a lot different matter. I now realize, I could have a great retirement with less money but I also realize that I could screw up a great time in my life even if I had a lot more money by being lazy. I think a review is good if for nothing else to make sure you’re doing something fun, interesting, helpful . . . and not wasting your life in front of the TV. So far so good for me.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I’ve only been retired for about a year and a half so I’m not sure what I’ll do as far as a look back each year, but I did do something after the first year. Pretty simple though. I take pictures on my phone when I’m doing something. Not a big picture taker, but a pic with my phone just to record the event. Looking back over my first year of pictures, I was satisfied that it was a good year, defined as I got out and did a number of things. A couple concerts, couple small trips, a special golf outing, the holidays and birthdays with family . . .

My main concern is to make sure I don’t waste a great opportunity that I’ve been blessed with - retirement.

Then once a year, we do a financial review, but that’s a lot different matter. I now realize, I could have a great retirement with less money but I also realize that I could screw up a great time in my life even if I had a lot more money by being lazy. I think a review is good if for nothing else to make sure you’re doing something fun, interesting, helpful . . . and not wasting your life in front of the TV. So far so good for me.

We do something similar with pictures. We don't take a lot of them, but we will take some when something is more interesting than normal. At the end of the year, we pick 12 of the best and use them for a Cafe Press type calendar. It's fun to do a review the next year and on occasion, we will look at older calendars and have been doing this since 2007.

 

[Bamaman]

What I like about ER is freedom. Freedom to not think about something I find distasteful to think about. Freedom to not get up until 10:00 a.m. if I want to. Freedom to not balance a checkbook--or even think about my financial portfolio.

I like doing what I want to do, and not doing what I don't want to do.

And then the wife calls for me to cut the grass, mop the hardwood floors, pickup the man-cave, feed the dog and walk that beast. Well, I guess that's about it for freedom.

 

[workmyfingerstothebone]

I'm in year 3 ... i think, maybe.
Guess that means i don't do much reflection.

 

[rk911]

I'm coming up on my Year 1 anniversary of retirement. It's been a really happy year. I may still be subconsciously trailing w*rk experiences like seaweed after me, but somehow I feel I should reflect in some way on the year. (I cannot even bring myself to use the words "review,," "assess," or "evaluate" although I suppose that is broadly what I am doing.)

I'm just beginning to think about it. My starting point is "what would I want from such a thought experiment?" and I know I want to think about the things I've been doing that have contributed to that happiness. And I know I want to do more in Year 2, so I would need to move on from there.

I want to ask all of you how you approach your FIRE anniversaries? I'll bet there is a range from "I don't even remember it" to "I do a formal review of financial and activity goals and discuss with spouse." Do you still ask yourselves what you will regret having not done in 3 years?

i'm more of a..."hey, i retired X-years ago!" kind of guy. it'll start year 15 on august 11. my wife nor i can even remember the date on which she retired.

 

[scrabbler1]

I note it, but only for the purpose of describing my ER as "I have been retired for X years" instead of "I have been retired for nearly X years." Or, I can begin describing my ER as "I am now in my X+1th year of ER."