First Day of Early Retirement 11-1-21!!!

[pacergal]

OP--congratulations and great plan to do the housework and cooking! My DH retired several months before me and he did that. It was wonderful coming home from work, having dinner ready and not needing to do any housework then or on the weekend.
Also--get up in the morning with her as she gets ready for work, make coffee/tea, make her lunch to take (if she does). This was a wonderful added thing my hubby did.
It kept any resentment away--lol.
Who knows, your wife may see you having all the fun and want to join

 

[Ballhawker]

That should work. If the housework has always been her domain, some thoughts:

Pay attention first to her definition of "clean" which is probably not the same as yours (any two people). Ask her to show you anything you're not sure of - don't let her come home to a broken dishwasher lol!

Some things she might not want to delegate, others she'll be glad to. But don't put the burden on her to assign you tasks or expect praise when you do them.

Pro-tip: prioritize the kitchen. Clean counters, sink empty of dishes, etc. (unless you're in the middle of cooking dinner).

Thank you for the advice! Yeah it's going to be an adjustment for us both for sure. I will take things slow and most importantly, listen! Communication is so key, and we kind of struggle with that sometimes. And yes the praise thing is important, if I receive it that's great but it's never something I should expect.

 

[Ballhawker]

OP--congratulations and great plan to do the housework and cooking! My DH retired several months before me and he did that. It was wonderful coming home from work, having dinner ready and not needing to do any housework then or on the weekend.
Also--get up in the morning with her as she gets ready for work, make coffee/tea, make her lunch to take (if she does). This was a wonderful added thing my hubby did.
It kept any resentment away--lol.
Who knows, your wife may see you having all the fun and want to join

Wow, that is really a high bar your DH has set! Hopefully I can get somewhat close to that, although I'm not sure

 

[Safire]

Hi there and thanks! Sorry, I don't have any advice to give- I'm just a novice investor and I don't ever want to lead anyone the wrong direction. As they say, do your own due diligence.

My high dividend portfolio is mostly in three categories, oil services, big pharma, and REITs. I'm currently invested in the following dividend stocks:
SHLX, MMP, EPD, STWD, WPC, ABBV, PFE, MO, SUNS.

I also hold large chunks of VTI, VIG, VT, QQQM, a small chunk of IWN, and very small positions in a few growth stocks: BNGO, FCEL, DARE, FUBO.

No this is all pre-tax income, so I will need to account for that in my expenses.

Good luck with your plan!

Thank you so much! This definitely helps! Congrats again and cheers to a happy retirement!

 

[Winemaker]

Congratulations!
I’ve worked with several women whose husbands retired before they did.
Their husbands cooked, cleaned, and took care of household issues.
These women enjoyed working even more with all of the extra work taken care of.

I retired 8 months before DW. 3 months later, she was supposed to retire at the end of the 2nd semester, under a contractual incentive. It was approved at the beginning of school year, after 2 months then they reneged. She then threatened to retire mid term. School districts like it when one retires along with school year calendar, as they can eliminate positions without effecting schedules. DW would gone along with that, but 7 other teachers were reneged upon ,also. Upon hearing that, the school board made a better incentive to the 8 teachers to work to the end of the school year. WIN,WIN,WIN!

I had a blast playing house (still do to an extent) cooking, gardening, cleaning, for those 8 months. Working on 8 years now, still having a blast.

 

[e2kmck]

Did the same thing after 30 years in state government (retired last month). My wife and I are the same age (57) and she wants to keep working. She loves her job and the people she works with. I had enough of work and after reaching FI I just didn’t have the motivation and passion I once had.

I enjoy doing the house cleaning and grocery shopping or whatever needs to be done. My wife works remotely and can work from anywhere she has a wifi connection so we can still travel.

Enjoy your retirement!!

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Looks like FatFIRE.

 

[FIREarly]

I'm planning on doing a little traveling, some volunteering, catch up on projects around the house and working on hobbies, such as photography, hiking, biking, reading, golf, disc golf, and gardening. I also want to take over more of the cooking duties.

Congratulations, the above sounds like an amazing plan.

+1 for disc golf. It's been too long and a great and relaxing hobby. Burns some calories too

 

[lawman]

Good luck. I retired 4 years ago..Second biggest mistake I ever made..I would say to actively cultivate any interests you have and don't assume you will always have those same interests..

 

[Jim59]

Good luck. I retired 4 years ago..Second biggest mistake I ever made..I would say to actively cultivate any interests you have and don't assume you will always have those same interests..

Retiring from work was the second biggest mistake you made ?

Did you retire when too young ?

Otherwise I can’t understand when taking paid vocational freedom would ever be a mistake. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.

 

[lawman]

Retiring from work was the second biggest mistake you made ?

Did you retire when too young ?

Otherwise I can’t understand when taking paid vocational freedom would ever be a mistake. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.

I retired when I realized I had more money and income than I needed. I assumed I would enjoy the freedom that comes with retirement. I assumed I would always have things to do that I wanted to do. I assumed I would not miss all the personal relationships with co workers and the public in general. I assumed my sense of self worth and personal identity would remain. I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. The only one of those I was right about is the first one...And that does not bring happiness.