Community Chat

[buyornot]

I'll be retiring from teaching soon and I'd like suggestions that any of you before me have had success with or "watch out for's"...both financially and personally. Tighter $ will be an issue  I'm both excited and afraid.

[Fona]

Buyornot7:  To me, the most important thing when retiring is to make sure that you have already worked out how your finances will go, and I am sure you have done that already.  So the best advice I would offer (based on my own retirement) is to know before you even retire just what you are going to do with your time.  When thinking of leaving my busy job of many years, I was very aware of how easy it would be to just sit around and vegetate, so the best thing I did was to start volunteering right away in a totally new and different field and this really keeps me, and my brain, active. 

I will add that, having worked hard all my life, during the first few months I did not find it easy to accept that my time was my own, but believe me I soon got over that...!! 

It is an exciting, and rather frightening, time but with some advance organization it can open up a new world for you.

My very best wishes - enjoy your new freedom and your new life. 

[cotton4me]

Congratulations on your retirement!  It’s a new phase of life so I understand having mixed feelings.   I went through an adjustment period.  The good part is no more stress or commuting in bad weather and being able to sleep when you want.  The feeling of complete freedom is incredible. The difficult part for me was trying to figure out what to do with my time.  I’m very active and somewhat hyper so it may have bothered me more than most.  I found something I love to do which keeps me very busy and active.   

Financially, I don’t drive as much so I spend a lot less on gas/car.  I rarely buy clothes because I no longer need them for work.  Those were two areas where I noticed savings right away. 

[151949]

I had a horrible job where I worked insane amounts of overtime.Since I was paid hourly I made way above my base salary, and I had no time to shop or basically spend any money.When I first retired it was due to having a surgery to pretty much rebuild my ankle so I was in a wheelchair for months then doing the rehab thing for many months after that.Then my DH retired and our income went to about 40% what it previously was. However, we have not found this to be any hardship for us at all.Apparently the costs involved in going to work every day are much higher than you realize when your doing it. We have gone down to only owning one car which is a tremendous savings.We eat at home most of the time - another big savings. Not needing to buy work clothes - esp. big savings for my DH as he wore suits to work. Anyway, we adjusted to the financial part fairly easily. As soon as he retired we had a new house built and moved to Florida, so that kept us busy for about a year or so.Plus we made new friends at our new home and new church. Then we started to find volunteer opportunities that we enjoy, and that has been great too. It makes us feel that we are still relevant and a part of the community. 

All best wishes for your happy retirement.

[151949]

If you work in a large department as I did (50 nurses plus other staff) you end up spending a tremendous amount of money on things like baby gifts, wedding gifts, shower gifts, buying girl scout cookies, band hoagies, raffle tickets and the lists go on & on & on.How many co workers over the years did you buy birthday gifts and Christmas gifts for? How many times did you have to throw a $20 bill into a pot for someones family crisis or achievement like getting a masters degree or something. If you could add that all up it would probably be an astounding amount of money.

[meallen616]

[ID2]

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@buyornot wrote:

I'll be retiring from teaching soon and I'd like suggestions that any of you before me have had success with or "watch out for's"...both financially and personally. Tighter $ will be an issue  I'm both excited and afraid.

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And you haven't seen a financial advisor yet? Have a sit-down talk with one, you will feel much better about your retirement success. 

[IMW]

Congratulations! How you are feeling is normal.  So far great advice has been given. I would add go slow re spending until you find your way. It is far easier to loosen up rather than tighten up.

I retired 9 years ago, I am now 65. Love being retired. 

Relish having my time be my own. Love reading, watching movies, just hanging out with dh. Unfortunately health issues have been a problem- but I am one happy camper.

Good Luck!

[AngelPuppy1]

I am not a teacher but I am mulling things over with the hopes of retirement perhaps in the next year or so if I can manage it also --- so I understand your concerns and worries.  I think to allay these fears the best thing to do is to clear a time slot and really go through your financial situation.  What you owe currently, if anything.  What your monthly expenses are, so you know pretty much what you will need to survive.  Figure out some extras --- you can't be exact on these things --- but an estimate ----- $$$ for fun things such as going out for meals, personal care --- for hair, nails, travel expenses, etc.  Also, if you feel you have the need, consult a financial adviser and he/she will go over your finances as to what you have accumulated in the way of assets, etc.  Make sure your health care plan is in order.  Once you have all these things figured out, your mind will be set at ease and you will be able to enjoy your retirement with a clear mind.  Best wishes! 

[StylishLady]

Congratulations for sure. DH retired from teaching in 1994. We have a good pension and with social security returning some of our money, we live a nice modest life here is southwest Florida. Remember, that the end of your teaching career does not mean you have nothing else you can do. Teachers have great organizing skills and other abilities that lend themselves to different jobs and volunteer work if that is your goal. Wishing you the best that life can give.