shape
carat
color
clarity

Retirement Plans?

Polished

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
1,160
My DH and I were talking about retirement plans recently. We decided we would probably prefer to keep our hand in with work and drop down hours and take more holidays in preference to giving away work altogether. I guess there is plenty of scope with his work, in particular to do this.

Retirement perspectives. How do others feel? Does there come a point where you think I really don't want to work anymore and if you're fortunate you don't need to.
Who is enjoying their retirement and is happy they no longer need to work?
 

azstonie

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
3,769
I like being the master of my time and efforts enough that I quit my job early---I left at 55---and as the months roll by I wouldn't give it up now. My schedule is the schedule that is best for me, my DH and our Westies (one is geriatric and needs more care now). I need not ask for permission to do anything, I explain myself to no one.

Now that I'm not working I've lost 25 pounds and exercise every day. That is a good investment in the rest of my life.
 

jordyonbass

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Dec 6, 2014
Messages
2,117
I actually work with some formerly-retired people and the only reason they are working now is because they found it so utterly boring and monotonous at home all day. One of the ladies was retired for all of 18 months and re-entered the workforce as she was not happy being at home all the time.
The president of my lapidary club is somewhere in between her and the happily retired; he opens up the lapidary club 3 days per week for the members so it's obviously something to keep him occupied and busy but I don't think he has any interest in returning to the workforce.

Personally, I'm looking forward to all the free time I can get to hit the water when I am older :naughty:
 
Q

Queenie60

Guest
I haven't worked outside of my home for 23 years and am now able to keep my own schedule. My daughter went off to college this past August and I'm still taking a breather from all of the volunteer work I did throughout her school years. Our oldest will be leaving the nest real soon. My husband is still working however since he is self employed and well established, we are able to take a day now and then to spend some quality time together. We are waiting for our daughter to finish college so she can take over my husband's business. We look forward to this. We will then travel and enjoy the life we have work so very hard to achieve. We want to do this in our fifties rather than wait another decade. You never know what card life will deal to you.
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
58,547
I stopped teaching about 5 years ago when we moved to be closer to our younger daughter's new high school. I have stayed extremely busy during that time doing things including moving to a new home, wedding planning for older daughter, private tutoring, and helping care for our older daughter's babies when she went back to work, etc. I just moved on to doing things that were still meaningful and rewarding to me, yet I have more control over my time and the freedom to adjust schedules when I want. On the other hand, my husband has a high stress job, works too many hours, and he is counting the days until he can retire early at 62 in a couple of years. He also has hobbies and will stay busy doing those, or else I'll suggest he find a part-time job at something he enjoys to keep him busy! But we plan to do a little traveling and that kind of thing, so we absolutely look forward to not being tied down to jobs, and we saved all along so we'd have the freedom to do that.

I think it is wise having something to do whether it is a hobby, sport, volunteer work, part-time paid work, travel, etc.
 

missy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
53,978
I have heard the argument from some before about how boring it is to retire. I don't understand that argument. If work is all one really has in life I find that sad. I have interests outside of work as does my dh and we both look forward to retirement. And there are so many worthwhile causes one can work for on a volunteer basis that there is no reason one stops feeling viable during retirement.

While we both enjoy our careers I am ready to do what I want when I want to and the only reason I am holding back are financial reasons. We are accustomed to a certain lifestyle and want to be able to continue that way when we are retired.

What I have done is cut back on my work days so I am part time and enjoying that very much. I don't really want to fully stop working till my dh can retire because he is my partner in crime and many of the activities we enjoy we do together. Though my dh has so many hobbies there is no way he would ever be bored once he stops working.

My goal is to be able to retire together while we both still have a long stretch of good health ahead so we can enjoy our retired lives together.
 

redwood66

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
7,329
I am retired from my first career and had a stint of not working but am back to work earning another retirement until this summer. We have horses and thoroughly enjoy them. I cannot wait to be finished working so I can get to the job of upgrading many things inside and outside our home. Many plans for new flooring, countertops, paint and a large greenhouse just this year. I have so many things planned that I might wish I were back at work to take a rest. Not! :lol:

Missy I also do not understand the thought of being bored and going back to work. I only went back the second time because I wanted all the debt gone. I have so many things I enjoy. We also have plans to set up our land to board other's horses which will supplement the income and pay for all our horse feed. Win! Win! If I am at home and feeding ours why not?
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
Messages
38,364
Although I am too young to retire, theoretically, I would work part time to keep busy, have time to relax and still pull in some play money all at the same time.
 

sarahb

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 20, 2012
Messages
1,976
The retirement word has been discussed more frequently this year than ever before. Hubby has worked his way up to the top of the totem pole where he is, & with the crazy hours he works, who couldn't blame him for thinking about the time when he doesn't have to rise to the alarm clock every morning.

For me, I'd like to keep going until I drop, or cull down my clients. I have an ongoing home business, client base has been with me since day one 20 years ago. I love my business & most days it seem like a hobby rather than work to me.

I'd love to travel, in fact I'd love to get a motor home & just go with the wind where ever it takes you. That would be number one. In short order after that: more gardening. Learn to knit. Paint. I can think of a ton of things I'd like to do.
 

december-fire

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Messages
2,385
What's right for one person is not right for another.

There are people who spend most of their time on something they find incredibly rewarding. They choose to do this activity, not for financial reasons, but because its their passion. It may or may not also be their profession. I would never tell someone to cease doing what they love because its a career and they 'should have things in their life besides work'. Who says they don't. And their friends may happen to also be colleagues or clients; fellow musicians, scientists, artists, etc.

I'm incredibly grateful to the people who dedicated their lives in fields such as medicine, engineering, music, art, teaching, writing, etc. Many of them do what is rewarding to them long after their financial requirements are satisfied or they reach 'retirement age'.
 

missy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
53,978
Good point December Fire. I agree. If one is passionate and engaged with one's life's work it is more of a hobby than a job. I was talking about people who say they don't want to retire because of fear of being bored with nothing to do. I do agree that for some their career is so rewarding and engaging they just want to keep doing it. That's amazing and more power to them. :appl: My grandfather was like that and worked till he died at the age of 89.

My dream (during retirement or right now) would be to open an animal refuge if we had the funds necessary and take care of all the animals who needed a safe and loving home. I found out that the Peace Plantation in upstate NY closed recently and it is heartbreaking. They had done so much good for a long time but couldn't make it due to not enough funds/support.
 

december-fire

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Messages
2,385
Awww, Missy, that's sad that the animal refuge had to close due to lack of funds. A common struggle for these types of centers. There is a wild bird centre near me that continually faces financial concerns. My family has appreciated the services of the centre when we've come across a wild bird needing assistance, and we've contributed financially to help the centre stay afloat. Thank goodness for volunteers and people making donations of funds, blankets, etc.

That's wonderful that your Grandfather found something he loved and was able to do it for so long. :appl:

For people who are heading into retirement, I think its important to plan ahead in terms of activities not just finances. Retirement is not the same as taking a vacation, even a six-month long vacation. Its a big adjustment and, without sufficient planning, a person can feel lost.
 

Puppmom

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
3,160
My in-laws often tell us they are busier in retirement than they ever were while they worked! It took some getting used to (and some driving one another bonkers with their boredom). They're biggest disagreements at the moment (from an outsider) seem to be when and where to travel and how much they're willing to spend on said travelling. Sometimes they end up going nowhere because they can't agree.

MIL has watched both of our boys full time for 15 months each and still now 2 days a week - they're 5 and just shy of 3. I think she's insane for it! Definitely not my vision of retirement!
 

packrat

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Dec 12, 2008
Messages
10,614
Dad retired..two years ago? I think? Mom did when she was 55, about 11 years ago. Dad is much more relaxed now. I think it's funny/irritating that they used to refuse to watch the kids b/c they didn't want to drive into town b/c of gas prices--but now they drive to town up to three times a DAY. 10 miles, each way, in the morning to have coffee w/my gramma, and then they'll come back to town in the evening for coffee again, or even come in the afternoon and then back again in the evening.

They've kept pretty busy..one of dad's friends retired before dad, and I saw his wife after, and she was like, tell you dad NOT to retire if he wants to stay married-all he does is sit around! I asked if I should have dad set up a play date and she said he'd refuse, he just wants to sit and watch tv. But, dad's been coming in to help in our shop quite a bit, so he's staying somewhat busy. And they've got 10 times the yard we do, so that takes a lot of work.

We'll never be able to retire, we'll just have to work until we die.
 

Dancing Fire

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Messages
33,852
missy|1453727141|3981068 said:
I have heard the argument from some before about how boring it is to retire. I don't understand that argument. If work is all one really has in life I find that sad. I have interests outside of work as does my dh and we both look forward to retirement. And there are so many worthwhile causes one can work for on a volunteer basis that there is no reason one stops feeling viable during retirement.
That's what my wife said too. She have been retired for the past 9 months and said she don't miss work nor fighting the morning traffic. She will never feel bore.
 

cflutist

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Messages
4,052
Retired from corporate America at age 54.

Enjoying retirement, a lot less stress, and we can shop at Costco during the week. Can travel more now too.

Volunteering at our local police department doing crime analysis, it is fascinating and so different from my previous career. Hubby and I give back more than 1000 hours each year. Have made many new friends there, both sworn and non-sworn staff.

Still playing principal flute in a community college orchestra but can practice any time during the day.

Life is good (except for the residual nerve pain from my brain surgery last year).
 

Trekkie

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
1,331
diamondseeker2006|1453700040|3981022 said:
I stopped teaching about 5 years ago when we moved to be closer to our younger daughter's new high school. I have stayed extremely busy during that time doing things including moving to a new home, wedding planning for older daughter, private tutoring, and helping care for our older daughter's babies when she went back to work, etc. I just moved on to doing things that were still meaningful and rewarding to me, yet I have more control over my time and the freedom to adjust schedules when I want. On the other hand, my husband has a high stress job, works too many hours, and he is counting the days until he can retire early at 62 in a couple of years. He also has hobbies and will stay busy doing those, or else I'll suggest he find a part-time job at something he enjoys to keep him busy! But we plan to do a little traveling and that kind of thing, so we absolutely look forward to not being tied down to jobs, and we saved all along so we'd have the freedom to do that.

I think it is wise having something to do whether it is a hobby, sport, volunteer work, part-time paid work, travel, etc.

This is pretty much how I feel. I'm 32, my husband is 42. He's a scientist and in his field retirement is when you really start working - you've built up your professional network, you're valued as an expert in your field - so all retirement really means to him is that you don't have to deal with your institute's politics and bureaucracy. You still go in to work every day, still do field work, still do lab work, still mentor students and do everything you used to do, but for a reduced paycheck.

Me? F$%^ that. I started saving for retirement when I was 19 years old. The moment I hit 55 (and the hubs is 65) I'm outta here. I want to have fun! Maybe I'll be fortunate enough to babysit my grandchildren (doubtful, seeing as the spawn will only be 24 when I'm 55), but if not, I want to take on more volunteering at the Aids organisation I currently volunteer at. I want to socialise kittens at our animal shelter. I want to say, "f@#$ it, let's go camping for the week" or "Husband, I see you have a conference in Tahiti/Iceland/Wales/Argentina next month, I'm coming too!"

However, I don't want to stop working (yes, I consider volunteering working) because I've seen over and over again how when people retire (with nothing constructive to do) they get old... And I'm not ready to get old. I had my son so late in life I worry that I won't really get to know my grandchildren, and I know what a blessing my own grandmother (and great-grandmother, for that matter) has been in my life, so I definitely want that relationship.

But formal work after 60? Going into an office every day and counting down the days until the weekend or my next vacation? No thanks. Not for me.
 

Polished

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 28, 2012
Messages
1,160
I've noticed one of the priorities of the people we know who have retired is to get fit. Stress and long hours did appear to take a toll on some and now they're doing gym work, swimming. One has taken up bush walking with a passion and reported his blood pressure for the first time in a long time was back to a normal range. I work part time hours and keeping fit is important to me - plenty of walking dogs. I've resisted gyms but recently taken it up - those machines are unbelievable, they work muscles you didn't know you had. I am sore and sorry but I think after the second day I am an addict.

One of the great things about retirement or semi-retirement is the freedom to be able to enjoy a variety of activities - like we're put on this planet for a balanced experience. This is what I aim for. However we have another friend who retired to the coast and literally just surfs from the start of the morning to the evening every day. I hope he loves every minute of it but it's more hours than a job.

Missy I was interested in your desire to start a shelter for animals. I think this could be such rewarding work but I know I wouldn't be up to doing this in a big way as I would take losses terribly hard. I guess one of the strategies if one was undertaking such an endeavour was knowing how one would manage feelings. My brother in law shows me over and over how much better he'd be than me at working with animals. He loves them, is fantastic with them but he also knows how to be hard headed when needed.
 

missy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
53,978
Polished said:
I've noticed one of the priorities of the people we know who have retired is to get fit. Stress and long hours did appear to take a toll on some and now they're doing gym work, swimming. One has taken up bush walking with a passion and reported his blood pressure for the first time in a long time was back to a normal range. I work part time hours and keeping fit is important to me - plenty of walking dogs. I've resisted gyms but recently taken it up - those machines are unbelievable, they work muscles you didn't know you had. I am sore and sorry but I think after the second day I am an addict.

One of the great things about retirement or semi-retirement is the freedom to be able to enjoy a variety of activities - like we're put on this planet for a balanced experience. This is what I aim for. However we have another friend who retired to the coast and literally just surfs from the start of the morning to the evening every day. I hope he loves every minute of it but it's more hours than a job.

Missy I was interested in your desire to start a shelter for animals. I think this could be such rewarding work but I know I wouldn't be up to doing this in a big way as I would take losses terribly hard. I guess one of the strategies if one was undertaking such an endeavour was knowing how one would manage feelings. My brother in law shows me over and over how much better he'd be than me at working with animals. He loves them, is fantastic with them but he also knows how to be hard headed when needed.

Polished, you bring up the critical factor (besides not having the necessary funds to start and maintain this rescue sanctuary) in all this for me and are so right. That is exactly the part I would be no good at. When I was young I was very interested in the field of psychology and thinking about all my options and my parents and friends and family who knew me well at the time tried discouraging me from going into that as a career because they thought I would take things too much to heart and not being to handle the emotions working with people who were dealing with traumatic situations would bring. They might have been right but I will never know since their discouragement of going into that field helped me decide to go another way.

However I am older now and I feel that while yes it would be quite hard for me to deal with the loss that this kind of work would bring the fact that we would be doing so much more good and helping so many stray animals that would otherwise find no refuge might make up for that. IDK I do find it hard now volunteering with animal rescue groups whereas when I was younger that was easier so not sure how it would go. I think just knowing we were saving animals would help soften the trauma of losing some and knowing we were doing all we could would allow me to move forward doing the best we could under difficult circumstances, However right now it is just a dream because it takes a lot of money to keep something like this going. But if one doesn't at least dream there is no chance of making it come true right?

Thank you for your thoughts. They are true and we are similar in that way. I wish we were a bit more like your brother in law so we could help animals in need without each loss hitting us so hard and eating us up inside.


Thank you december fire.

Puppmom, ha your in-laws sound like my parents. They seem super busy all the time running around with the grandchildren, watching them etc. And they are loving every minute. So while it might not be everyone's (yours or mine lol) cup of tea they are enjoying their (very busy) retirement. :appl:
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top