what do you tell ppl when they ask what youre doing after you "early retire"?

[retiringat50]

what do you tell ppl when they ask what youre doing after you "early retire"?

Im really not sure what Im doing. I'll be starting off by recovering from bunion surgery.
Then I tell them "wherever life takes me" - no real answer

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I just tell them that i'm a freelance gynecologist.

See one of the various "Whadda ya do all day?" threads.

 

[Khan]

Embracing a life of inner seeking and outward peace.

Striving to become one with 'that which is'.

Pushing the envelope of being.

Watching the squirrels.

 

[W2R]

I tell them I am going to be "not working"!!

Or, "enjoying the rest of my life, doing whatever I want to do".

Or, "Oh gosh, there's so much to do. I have enough of an imagination that I'll never get bored."

Or, "moving North".

Or, "sleeping in!"

Or, "getting healthy, working out every day at the gym!"

Or, "everything I can't do while I am stuck in a cubicle!"

 

[Purron]

Im really not sure what Im doing. I'll be starting off by recovering from bunion surgery.
Then I tell them "wherever life takes me" - no real answer

I have faced these questions too. The interesting thing about this kind of question is the discomfort many people have at the thought of retirement. Given our "work ethic" focused society, people are defined by what they do for a living. When you reach financial independence, you no longer have to define yourself by your job.

It seems tremendously important to many people to be "busy and productive". It's as if people are no longer comfortable without lots of busy work to keep them from thinking about anything expect a frantic life revolving around work deadlines, traffic battles, and too many personal chores crammed into too little time.

My advice is to not worry about what people think. Retirement means the freedom to be who you are and do what you want without worrying about how others judge you. Actually, I kind of like your response of “where life takes me”. The reality is, for many of us, retirement ends up taking us in a different direction than we planned. The people who know and love you will understand and support you no matter how you describe your plans for retirement. Bottom line - enjoy your freedom!

 

[prgsdw]

Or maybe turnabout is fair play: "So what do you do when you're not working?" Let them ponder that themselves.

 

[Gotadimple]

When asked, what are your plans when you retire, I've been responding:

Whatever I want to do, and on my schedule. BTW, I got the attitude from this board!

For those who still frown at the answer: "Well really, it's a entirely new adventure, and I have a long time to explore."

-- Rita

 

[Nords]

what do you tell ppl when they ask what youre doing after you "early retire"?

See one of the various "Whadda ya do all day?" threads.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f47/faq-archive-but-what-will-i-do-all-day-30655.html

 

[Rambler]

Not there yet, but the answer will be..."whatever I want", i.e.

getting in shape,
cooking real food
beautifying my home and landscape
adventures in the RV
seeing people and places I have longed to see
sleeping until I want to get up
staying up until I want to sleep

....and most importantly:
enjoying the company of my DW

R

 

[TickTock]

I tell them I am going to be "not working"!!

Or, "enjoying the rest of my life, doing whatever I want to do".

Or, "Oh gosh, there's so much to do. I have enough of an imagination that I'll never get bored."

Or, "moving North".

Or, "sleeping in!"

Or, "getting healthy, working out every day at the gym!"

Or, "everything I can't do while I am stuck in a cubicle!"

De-toxing.

 

[crazy connie]

Watching paint dry after I paint and watching grass grow after I mow it.

 

[tuixiu]

Ask them if they had an option to not set the alarm clock tomorrow and face traffic to sit inside all day, would they take it?

 

[Dawg52]

If they ask me in one of those you can't really be happy tones, I reply....'I'm doing what I've always wanted to do, nothing.'

That usually gets an odd look or two.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i'm with dawg. i just tell them i'm a lazygood4nothinbum and let them think whatever they want.

edit: i'm going to start complaining about how all the non-retired people can be so inconvenient. i have to wait until after rush hour before i leave the house in the morning so i'm not caught up in their traffic. and then i have to get all my chores done before the evening rush starts. i have to go to the matinee just to get a decent seat. and don't even talk to me about early-bird specials.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Private portfolio manager.

 

[jIMOh]

tell them you stopped living at work and now you work at living.

 

[M Paquette]

Private portfolio manager.

"Personal Financial Manager"

Huh? Wazzat?

"Don't worry about it. You couldn't afford me.

 

[travelover]

These days, I say that I've finally found something at which I excel - loafing.

 

[unclemick]

Not to cross thread too much - but several years into ER(after the deck, the pier, and several rounds of creative remodeling, her stuff, etc) I became utterly fasinated with the life cycle of the human turd. So after much research being a legend in my own mind(a personal affliction) built a reverse process - intense chlorination low volume, then dilute to holding lagoon and then out into my 'big swamp' (not exact but sorta like the city of Slidell, Fritchie swamp).

It's not bragging when your swamp cane is twice as high as your neighbors and the object of lust and envy when ' cut cane for the duck blind season came around.'

I did notice over the years when people asked 'what do you do all day?' and I launched into my personally designed 'Turd' system details - it seemed to shorten the conversation somewhat.

Of course that may have been just my impression.

heh heh heh - and there's always 'doing nothing in particular and only getting half of it done.' - various versions being sort of a forum motto.

 

[Animorph]

I hate that question. I feel like I'm expected to answer with a single activity that is filling 8 hours a day. I do lots of different things, but none of them for 8 hours.

Dan

 

[RetireeRobert]

If anyone asks me, sometimes I tell them "It's really none of your %%#@%& business what I do now, is it?".

Other times I may tell them "Whatever I d*mn well feel like doing. You got a problem with that?"

And even less often, I sometimes tell what I actually did the last few days.

 

[Ronstar]

I cut back to working 3-4 days a week, but I still get the questions about what I'm doing with my spare time now and what will I find to do when I totally pull the plug. I tell them the boss (DW) has a list of house projects for me, + boating, biking, yardwork, woodworking, traveling.

 

[freebird5825]

easy one...laughing all the way to the bank. now that would be mean to say, wouldn't it? <snicker>

out loud, i really say any of : volunteering, socializing, driving around, learning Playstation 3 gaming (gone to the dark side), planning my tomato & veggie garden, whatever pops into my head.

the reactions are either "way to go!" or you see that hooded expression with the darting eyes that says "i envy (hate) you!"

 

[Walt34]

Oh, whatever I feel like doing that day. Drag out the boat & go fishing, maybe, if I feel like it. Go for a bike ride or walk along the C&O canal. Some TV. In the winter I pretty much hibernate. Have free time to spend with family. Read books.

Enjoy being disorganized, not having to deal with obnoxious people, heavy traffic, or anything else I don't like.

 

[Lsbcal]

Generally I'm only asked very occasionally if I'm retired -- to which I reply somewhat hesitantly, yes. That's about as far as the conversation goes. Perhaps it's the grey hair and the fact I'm 59 that helps. Now if I were in my 30's it might be another type of conversation.