Feeling guilty about early Retirement?

[jollystomper]

No guilt here. I already have 1 sibling in ER and another who just gave her notice to ER. So when I do, I will be joining the crowd. I can talk about it with my siblings but keep it quiet beyond that. I have had to warn DW not to mention my plans, due to reactions she has gotten that made her feel guilty.

 

[Music Lover]

But let's remember back to the late '60s. None of the boomers at that time were EVER going to 'work for the man'. We were going to live off the land and the generosity of strangers, raise our own food, live in communes, share everything, etc. We were going to show our parents how chasing a buck wasn't the right way to go...
Whahaaappened?

I bet that most of the people who were going to "live off the land" had a very rude awakening as to how hard it really was if they actually tried it. Then they found out that the generosity of strangers never amounted to much, and the "share everything" mentality attracted too many people who wanted to "share" the fruits of your hard work without doing much work themselves.

In other words, reality ruined their fantasy...

 

[evilanne]

But let's remember back to the late '60s. None of the boomers at that time were EVER going to 'work for the man'. We were going to live off the land and the generosity of strangers, raise our own food, live in communes, share everything, etc. We were going to show our parents how chasing a buck wasn't the right way to go...
Whahaaappened?

In the late 60's, I was in Kindergarten...maybe you can enlighten us Probably one of the reasons I don't identify with Baby Boomers...I was born year after Kennedy was assassinated, with Watergate being the first major political event that I recall growing up. I just figured the Boomers bought into the capitalistic system.

 

[kcowan]

After 14 years of retirement, DW and I resent having to get out for an appointment before 11am. Even though I am a morning person, it is too much activity too soon in the day.

We also don't like staying out after midnight. 11pm is our preferred limit.

We also love relaxing on the patio together and having a snack and a drink around 5pm.

 

[hollowelm]

I look forward to not feeling a smidge of guilt when I do RE.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Well, I will admit that I had a tinge of guilt today.

I had a hankering for some red meat, so around 2 (after the lunch crowd, of course) I went to a local burger joint. Even though it was after 2, there were quite a few business folks eating and two gentlemen sat next to me. For the next 45 minutes, these gentlemen discussed ONLY w*rk related stuff and for a good 10 minutes were almost yelling at each other over the release of some software patch a vendor requested. Anyway, as I got up, one of them caught the smirk on my face...it was really a big smile too...the result of knowing that my life is free of that kind of BS. Sorry guys...

OK, I feel better now..guilt is over.

 

[braumeister]

I just figured the Boomers bought into the capitalistic system.

Actually, the Boomers were the original Flower Children.

Nevertheless, capitalism has served many of us quite well.

 

[Milton]

Gen-Xers like me.

Nice try, Boomer!

Strauss and Howe agreed with you, FWIW.

 

[Scuba]

I bet that most of the people who were going to "live off the land" had a very rude awakening as to how hard it really was if they actually tried it. Then they found out that the generosity of strangers never amounted to much, and the "share everything" mentality attracted too many people who wanted to "share" the fruits of your hard work without doing much work themselves.

In other words, reality ruined their fantasy...

+1

 

[Koolau]

Actually, the Boomers were the original Flower Children.

Nevertheless, capitalism has served many of us quite well.

I suppose that living in the heart of the midwest "protected" me from buying in to the Hippie mind-set. Though university costs were quite manageable back in the day (state school - not private) I still had to w*rk at relatively menial stuff (from mowing lawns to driving delivery truck, etc.) to make ends meet. I don't think I EVER considered "dropping out."

Heh, heh, I recall sitting in a Sophomore Psych class and listening to some guy from the west coast bemoaning the fact that we had not had a riot or sit-in at the school. Full disclosure: A year and half later, there WERE sit-ins, but they were primarily motivated by the school's proposal to raise the fees by quite a bit. I attended a "rally" in which the "Peace Union" more or less usurped the leadership for our "protest." It went something like this: PU guy "We're going to roll back the fees, right?" Us "Yeah!!!!" PU guy "We're going to tell the university president to go forth and do likewise." Us "Yeah!!!!!" PU guy "We're gonna stop the war in VN, right?" Us ....... cricket sounds and puzzled looks.

If I'm making a point it would be that MANY (and I would actually venture to say most) Baby Boomers were never into flower power and were always capitalist at heart. Not saying the issues of the day (especially VN and Nixon) didn't affect our overall forward-looking and thinking outlook. It's just that we typically did not loose sight of the fact that we all had to make a living - and we wanted to make a decent one! Why else would we commit 4 years of our lives to living in relative poverty and beating our heads against the wall to "learn" all the stuff that would "buy" us that sheep skin at the end. YMMV

 

[Out of Steam]

With three years to go, I wouldn't 'share' with your employer or co-workers; there would be no upside, and some possible adverse consequences. Plus, a lot can change over such a period, and you might as well keep your options open.

Agree. I've been a little too open about my readiness to retire. Even in my Government office, I don't think it has been my best life decision.