Retiring Next Month - Anything catch you off guard you'd care to share?

Venus · ‎03-16-2010

I "hope" I have all my ducks in order for retirement, but I was wondering was there one thing that caught you off guard when you retired? If so, I'd love to hear what it is. Thanks in advance.

hckynut · ‎03-10-2010

I retired in 1991 and at the time it was because of a company buyout. I was only 52 so really hadn't considered retirement for quite a few years down the road. With the things that were happening with the company in relation to the jobs I was being declined, coupled with the offer of a buyout? It was something there was no way I was going take advantage of it.

Since the only family I had concern about was my "now wife" and our felines it was easy for me to transition into retirement. For many the transition has to do with them keeping busy because after a certain amount of time, which varies with each individual, the find themselves with nothing to do but bug their wife or SO.

For me that was not an issue because I had many things I had done for decades to keep me occupied and now, 23 years later, I have never found myself bored or looking for something to do to pass the time. Now if one has no hobbies or other outside work environment things they do? Many decide to look for a job because they are no longer happy with all this time on their hands.

Financially I have always lived for the present and not for the future(who knows when their future might start), I did however know how to handle finances in such a way that it is not a problem. Sure the state of the economy has caused me to tighten things up, but anyone that hasn't is probably in a different financial bracket than I.

Nothing caught me off guard and I am still enjoying the fact that I worked 33 years for the same company and was able to retire at age 52. With the hobbies and interests I've had for decades prior to retirement, I have also been able to use those skills to supplement my income any time I choose to spend more time doing those things.

Happy retirement to you.

hckynut(john)

AnikaBrodie · ‎03-10-2010

First of all I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous retirement.

I can't recall one big thing; however, my spending habits changed quite a bit after retirement. My clothing expenses actually decreased quite a bit and that was an interesting reality. Post retirement I got involved in volunteer opportunities that I did not have time for when working full time. I had and still have very rewarding experiences as a volunteer.

"Faith, Hope, Love; the greatest of these is Love." ~The Silver Fox~

jeanlake · ‎03-10-2010

Venus -- congrats and blessings. I'm semi-retired. Retired 2 years ago from higher education career. Relaxed for a year after retirement, then went back to work part time for a year now. Husband and I will totally retire together in five years.

Prepare yourself emotionally -- it's a life transition. You'll better understand this once you are immersed in retirement.

I missed the laughter at work. I didn't count on that, but I have terrific friends I no longer see everyday. I was surprised how much I missed the conversations and laughter.

I reunited with friends and a sis whom I didn't spend a lot of time with when I worked 10 hours a day. Yowzers, some of them were negative nellies and I remembered why I didn't spend as much time with them. DO NOT surround yourself with negative people. It will drag you down.

Find a humanitarian or volunteer project. Give back.

If you're bored, don't go out and spend a lot of money. Traditionally we won't have as much expendable income when we retire.

Love it - enjoy it - cherish your days!

"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees." Henry David Thoreau

Financialgrl · ‎03-13-2010

Here's my two cents - as long as the money part is covered, retirement is fantastic - if money is not an issue your options are endless. You have the ability to work a few hours a week doing something you might liked to have done but it didn't pay enough to cover bills as a career. Better yet, you can volunteer doing something that is meaningful to you. The absolute BEST part of all this is that if money is not the reason you are doing something if you don't like it, quit and move on to the next adventure.

I retired, took a year off and then worked PT doing something I thought I'd like and only lasted 3 years - it was not my thing. I took the money earned from this PT work and put into a travel fund for years later (and it's now years later and I travel a LOT with friends). After the PT job I moved on to volunteer work. I did that for 5 years and then moved on from that. The key here is that if you try something and don't like it, move on. You have the flexibility to continually redefine your retirement to meet whatever your needs may be at any time (funds to travel, social interaction, etc). I always put my all into PT work or volunteer work and yet found my outlook was very different when a job (PT or volunteer) didn't have the ability to affect my livelihood or ability to pay bills.

Hooty · ‎03-09-2010

If you don't like sleeping late and staying up late, doing what the heck you want to, when you want to, staying inside when it rains or other bad weather, and not having to buy "work" clothes ............. then you won't enjoy retirement, LOL! I love it!

raspberrygal · ‎09-03-2013

I have been retired about 8 years. At first it's exciting having all the time in the world to do what you want but as the years go by it gets harder and harder to fill in the hours during the day. You then tend to repeat things like 3 cups of coffee a day, reading, watching t.v. You can try volunteering but it depends on your nature whether you are sociable or a stay at home and also your town where you live. Is it filled with lots of volunteer opportunities or very few. I live now in a large city area and am finding that a lot of out of work people are grabbing the volunteer spots, but that's just my town. Finding how to just fill the days with activities is the hardest. My husband works p/t and doesn't intend to sit at home so I am on my own with this retirement for now. So if you have an active social calendar now you will do okay. Good luck in your retirement endeavors.

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

With private retirement, I was able to walk away from the workforce at age 57. My health insurance is provided through my husbands military disability, but I COBRA'd my vision and dental coverage for the 18 months allowable. Within 6 months of retirement, my former employer changed providers for my COBRA coverage, and it has been nothing but a hassle. I did not receive notification about the change until 1 1/2 months after the switch, and the notification came in the form of a termination notice. It took a week to get that straightened out, then my payment wasn't credited, so I got another termination notice, and so it goes. At the time, I thought I was doing such a good thing with the COBRA coverage, but now am not so sure that I should've saved myself both money, and the hassle by just dropping the coverage when I retired and not worried about it. Wishing you the very best with your retirement!

Zoologist_1 · ‎09-03-2010

Retired from 34 yrs of working FT in 2005.

One son was starting Jr. High, another starting kindergarten.

The biggest O.M.G. was not realizing that the tide had turned while I was working those 3 decades.

Most every mom was a non-working SAHM when my 3 older kids (not those last 2) were young and I was working FT. They did the typical coffee GTGs every morning, weekly lunches someone fun, golf, tennis, swim at the country club, etc. Really looked down their noses at me not being a "good mom" by working.

For over 30 yrs I couldn't WAIT to do that! Was so excited!

Then when I did retire, nobody else is a SAHM now around here. Everyone works FT, and the neighborhood's a ghost town til 5 pm.

I'm turning 61 now, but still have a son who's finishing his freshman yr of high school next week still home, so I'm not able to do what my age group/former co-workers all do ..... travel with their spouses, go to Florida 3 months/winter, etc.

I'm still doing all the sleepovers, homework, cooking, etc. lifestyle I've done for 35 yrs b/c I still have a 15 y/o still at home.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

I think we did too much at once - retired Dec 31 - by the 10th of Jan we were in Fl for the winter , looking for a home we wanted to build. Ordered the house Feb 16 - went home mid March to start preparing to sell our current home. Dang house sold in 9 days -then the fun really started , getting everything packed and finding a mover etc.In the meanwhile, our home in Fl was under construction under the watchful (and overly critical ) eyes of my uncle and his friend who live in the area. Well, they are in their 80's and both engineers so I bet you can figure out how that was going. At the closing the construction boss said they should have been allowed to sur charge us for having to deal with my 2 uncles. We closed on June 30 and moved in July 3. We had all the time in the world but we were still approaching this like we were working on a deadline. If we could do it again we would have taken our time, sold our house first, then taken our camper to Fl. and looked for a home to build, or maybe an existing home to renovate. Anyway we survived it and are happily snowbirding between Fl in the winter and a camper in Pa in the summer.