retirement was painful

[SteveR]

Hi Mike and welcome to the board. As you have already seen there is a wide diversity of backrounds and opinions here.

I am a two time retiree. My first was very short-lived and does not really count in the greater scheme of things but my second one has been nearly 11 months so far and I still can't believe I ever had time for a job.

A lot of retirees stop working at a job but don't stop working at something. Many just channel that energy and time into areas they want to explore or master rather than be a slave to a career, business or a job. Life is too short to waste time doing things you don't want to do. The key is being able to feed yourself and keep a roof over your head while you chase your dreams or just chill out doing nothing.

Financial independence makes a lot of things possible. If running a business makes you happy then by all means keep doing it. The concept of FIRE is really about doing what makes you happy and being able to chase your dreams without the millstone of a job around your neck. FI and RE usually go together but not always. Some folks have done it backwards and others like yourself, are more into the FI aspect rather than the RE part. Do what makes you happy.

Good luck to you.

 

[freebird5825]

Volunteer work has been an essential part of my ER. Here's what I like about volunteering:
- I get to do something I enjoy (in my case, doing adult literacy tutoring and also - in a separate venue - helping older military veterans.)
- I get to set my own hours. I tell them how much time I'm willing to put in; they appreciate what I do and have learned not to push me to do more. I volunteer Sept - May but take the summer off. (I hike, paddle and work on my yard June - Aug.) They understand that.
- Because of the work I've done, I'm well respected in the organizations in which I volunteer.
- I don't have to go to staff meetings! Because I've worked up credibility where I volunteer, I've been offered the "opportunity" to attend staff meetings. (They think I'm one of them.) My answer is always the same: "Thank you very much but, being retired, I dont do staff meetings any more."

i couldn't have put it better meself.
the key is setting your own hours. up front with no arm twisting allowed.
and...if you have 2 different volunteer jobs, you can always tell a little white lie about prior commitments to the 2nd org if the 1st org gets too intense about monopolizing your time. works every time.

 

[NotSoonEnough]

Perhaps this is a topic for another thread, but I've been wondering for a while: everyone around here loves their retirement, but the "experts," from psychology to finance, seem to all claim that retirement is a big mistake. Why the disconnect?

Seems obvious to me, some psychologists may believe that "most" people don't have many interests beyond their jobs/careers and financial 'sperts understand that most people can't afford to retire. They are both probably correct in their assessments. I don't much care for blanket statements, but I think most folks "around here" don't fit into either category.

 

[MGYog]

I may not have ERd if work was not work - in other words - it was enjoyable and provided me with the lifestyle I wanted. And I did have it easy in my previous position - 165K salary - TV/Internet in office; worked 9-5 mostly and had a staff that did the grunt work. But I had the money and youth to ER - the work and lifestyle it provided wasn't worth my staying.
So what would work look like that would keep me working?
Salary - 150K - 250K
Days/Wk - 4
Hours 9-5
Vacation 2 months (amybe 3)
Content - something that challenges my mind in a wide area interests with a good team of people
Failing that I'd rather be bored.
Also; another thing to consider is that there are phases to ER and while there are boring time. I think those times are pointing towards a need for development.

PS - There is nothing wrong with working if you want to now and will not regret it in the future for missiong something.

After 34 years of working and exactly doing what you mentioned above the last 6 years +, I decided to say enough. I want to do something new and different, now. But, I am 62, and not your age.