i haven't experienced any personal guilt (i've done nothing wrong: that's my story & i'm sticking with it) but some minor & hopefully temporary annoyances have come out to play.
before quitting, everyone i know expressed only happiness for me and it seemed there would be no ill effect. however, over this past first year, some envy has surfaced. from where it wells appears obvious. again, nothing for me to feel guilty about.
my older brother, 52--who has already inherited the family engineering business (no one gave me my own company) and so he has made way more money than i--thinks he is forced to continue working because he wants to pay for cars and college for three kids (aged 10-16). also he loves a wife who loves him but also who loves cash.
i thought she was coming around, and she has evolved much since they first married. but then just yesterday, again, she said to me: "how can he give up the business if it is still making money." for now, his reprieve retirement is scheduled for age 55 but from my conversation with the warden wife, seems that's only when the parole board has agreed to review his case.
until then, he'll continue pricking me with little digs. one, regarding this forum, i likely deserved. when i told him i was involved online with a support group for early retired people, i thought his eyes were going to roll right out the back of his head. but mostly he just offers little jabs. i have too much time to think about my mother dieing, he says. i'm spending too much time thinking about finance, he complains. just stupid stuff i do my best to simply shrug off.
i have two local cousins who are very good friends. one hadn't worked in the last 20 years, living like donna reed off her husband who was a wiz with money. unfortunately, he was also a wiz with his penis and so now that her alimony about to expire cousin has rejoined the work force at aged 49. she takes it mostly in stride and jokes that she already had her retirement so now it's my turn. but i have noticed her pulling away from me. she's so busy with work that she doesn't have much time for me, but she does have time, apparently, for her working friends.
my other cousin hasn't withdrawn from me, but was always a bit more stand-offish anyway. i've noticed now almost every time we are together she mentions how she won't be able to retire until medicare kicks in. i don't think this type of conversation is so much invoked by my presence as by her husband who has terrible knee problems and so can't get insurance they could afford without her corporate job. but perhaps being around me makes her more aware of her own trap.
of my two best friends, one earns a third more than i ever did and the other makes about twice that. the latter, aged 51, is completely happy in his own overspending life. he makes a lot, he spends a lot, he drinks a lot. he has no intention of ever changing his lifestyle or living beyond 65. he's leaving me $10k so i can throw a little party when he's dead. he never says anything bad about my retirement. is only happy for me. and has not changed one iota towards me
the former, age 50, badly wants to retire, hates work, but refuses to take all the steps required to retire early. while she's saving better than most baby boomers, she intends to quit by age 60 whether or not she can afford it. she figures she'll just kill herself when she runs out of money. she feels trapped by her own life. everyone she knows including all her 7 siblings make more money than she does. but she'd rather have the bigger car, the new kitchen, the vacations than do without what they have. she also mentions retirement almost every time we are together, which is fairly often. as she never takes my financial advice, i've become quick to steer us to other topics.
to paraphrase one of the greatest minds that ever walked the pages of a comic book, what me guilt?
it's not my fault mom's leaving me a million bucks. it's not my wrongdoing that i lived below my means for all these years. it was not my misadventure to risk improving a shabby neighborhood, to invest in my own property, to become board member on government committees, to do my very small part to help this become one of the hottest areas of the country.
so i have nothing to feel guilty about.
"this house is clean."~~again, that cute yet scarey little poltergeist lady