I'm really enjoying being retired

[captain queeg]

I worried a little about money at first but I live pretty cheap. Just rent and helping my kid out a little with college. Paid my car off and some of the usual monthly things like car insurance and cell phone and pretty minimal medical bills (I still have my insurance which is huge in retirement). I felt a little guilty for awhile about not working, worked my whole life since I was 16 but I’m getting over that. I sleep when I want as much as I want. If I wake up in the middle of the night I don’t stress about it. Once I get my taxes paid maybe I’ll take a little trip. Americans work too much for too long, you only get one go around. I might take care of 2 or 3 errands a day and that’s usually it. Don’t know how I had time for everything when I was working.

[cherryinpa]

1. How much you reckon

You spend a year?

[captain queeg]

5. Not counting helping my son out, probably a little over $2k a month, maybe 30k per year

I’m not sure yet because I’ll probably owe some taxes. Certainly this year because of taking money from my 401k.

[cherryinpa]

6. Thats a pretty

Lifestyle, congrats!

Does it cover your scotch and beer needs? If I could cover all my food + rent + cable and then scotch/beer I think I'd be happy.

I feel thats the key sometimes, not earning more, but needing to spend less.

[captain queeg]

14. Agreed. I tell my son just that.

Live below your means.

[guillaumeb]

2. Congratulations.

And stay active. Enjoy a long retirement.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. I "retired" (from my corporate life) at 54 - but 10 years later find myself working harder at what

I love. It is GREAT. My wife quilts, I write and garden - we make "enough". Social security in two years, Medicare next year.

I actually thought about retiring from the very first time I started my pharma job when I was 28. Never enjoyed it. Money good, life and culture horrible.

Best part - I have one boss - ME!

Congrats and continue to enjoy - it only gets better!

[cherryinpa]

7. I'm in Rx biz too

What was your "magic number"?

Lots of folks these days seemed to have reached theres, but I definately havent!

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. when I was 52, I had 25 years in, so got my life time health benefits

next year I go on Medicare, so it served my wife and I well for a long time!

[cherryinpa]

12. Based on your user name I think ...

I can guess who you work for.

Snap.

[NRaleighLiberal]

18. 6 versions...

1984, SKF...then SKB...then SB...then G...then GW...then GSK!

the merger sequence made it seem I worked for 1 Co. for the full time. Lucky!!!

[cherryinpa]

19. I joined in the 3rd version

Will retire or redundant before the next one for sure!

[Skittles]

4. I can't wait

I had to take a week vacation just to do chores - DMV trip, car issue, etc - It is hard to do that kind of stuff working 12 hour night shifts.

[MissB]

13. Ugh!!!

Then again, staycations are just a retirement teaser.

I switched my schedule last year so that I telecommute on Friday each week. That’s really helped me, since I can walk away for 5 minutes every hour (instead of taking a lunch) and throw in a load of laundry or scrub a toilet. It’s such a positive change.

Now, DMV still requires me to take part of a day off now and then to wait in line and get things done. They are shifting a lot to online so there’s that.

[Skittles]

15. get this: I got a jury summons

try to imagine reporting there at 08:00 when you normally sleep from 7AM to 2PM

day shifters have zero clue what night folk go through :0

[Coventina]

20. As a former night-shifter, I feel your pain.

Nobody gets it, unless they've done it.

[Skittles]

22. especially 12, 13, 14 hour shifts

yup

[Coventina]

24. I was on 4 10s. n/t

[Skittles]

32. I average about 52 hours a week

it always cracks me up when I hear about the "40 hour work week" - I have NEVER had that

[Coventina]

34. I get it, I really do. My sister had to work mandatory overtime like that for 20+ years.

(and then the company fired her for being too old to do her job anymore).

The workplace is like a game of Running Man.

[Skittles]

35. I have to pick up any slack on both night shifts

so if anyone is on vacation or sick, I am the fill-in - easier for me because I have no family

[Coventina]

37. That's my best friend! She works graveyard as well, for a financial company.

She does their overnight financials. (Actually, that's where we met, because I did the same thing).
She's the only dependable employee left on that shift, and she gets called in all the time for the same reason: never married, no kids, so everyone assumes she has no life and can pick up all the slack all the time.

[MissB]

21. Oh that's awful!

I worked the night shift.... back when I was a senior in high school. (No parents around senior year). I was 18, and it was easy peasy. I imagine it wouldn’t be anywhere close to easy nowadays!

[BeyondGeography]

9. As an aspiring slacker I love this thread

[doc03]

10. Best job ever as long as you have an adiquate income

and your health.

[Ohiogal]

11. I am glad you are enjoying it!

My husband and I are both retired, and the one thing he tells everyone is that he doesn't know how he had time to work!

The nice thing about retirement is that you can be busy when you want to, and lazy when you want to. Not having to worry about money is huge, although we are far from wealthy ....we have always lived pretty frugally (raised 3 kids and put them thru college on a teachers' salary). I still have to pay my own health insurance, I won't have Medicare for a few years yet. I find myself not caring anymore if I have the newest clothes, newest car, newest house, etc. I don't really care about material things anymore. I would rather focus on family,friends, and hobbies. Good luck to you and keep enjoying your life!

[demigoddess]

16. some of us don't have it that easy. I am 72 and still

changing diapers everyday. Making meals, laundry, cleaning. I would guess you have no one to be responsible for. Many families do.

[captain queeg]

17. Yeah, only have one kid. Away at college.

I have been helping him out financially but no home duties nowadays. You sound like my mom. She had to take care of my dad and mostly raise my niece. Cleaned houses on the side to make ends meet. Hope they appreciate all you do.

[smirkymonkey]

23. I would give anything to be retired. I am just really tired of the daily grind.

It's not that I don't like my job, but its just the routine and the monotony of it that is getting to me. Also, I don't sleep well and I have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning. I just wish I never had to set an alarm for anything.

[captain queeg]

25. I think I remember you posting a few months back.

I posted early on when I retired, guess it was about April. You were ready back then. Sorry, hope you can swing it soon I’d probably have kept working longer but a health crisis pushed me over. As it turned out my health rebounded but now I’m glad it pushed me into making the decision. Hopefully I’m still young enough to do a few things. Both my folks worked till they just couldn’t any more. I didn’t want to end up like that. I was like you, had a pretty good job but the last 5 yrs or so were so monotonous I just couldn’t get myself to do more than the minimum needed.

[LizBeth]

26. Good for you. I am happy for you.

I think I will be working until I die because, well, money. But, I am glad you are able to enjoy retirement.

[VarryOn]

27. You are blessed!

Since I was 28, I've maxed out my 401(k) contribution. I want to retire by 59. You are a hero!

[captain queeg]

29. I made it to 62 so I could get SS, wouldn't have been able to pull it off earlier.

[brewens]

28. I've found it's easy to stick to an excercize routine when you really have nothing else

you have to do in the morning. I look forward to my morning walk and workout. A half-hour walk and a half hour light weight training has me looking better than I have in years. I lost weight and am off the BP meds.

[Skittles]

33. heh

I work 50+ hours a week and still exercise about 6 hours week

easy if you have no family

[captain queeg]

30. 👍 that's great. I've been walking, looking to add some more stuff

Maybe join a gym.

[samplegirl]

31. Enjoy every minute

of it! I never dreamed at age 63 we would still be working.
My poor husband had double knee surgery and right back to work. His shift is 3:00 am till 12:30 and it’s really tuff at this age.
After losing his job at age 55 after 31 years the retirement plan was off the table.
I hope we both make to 66 1/2!!! His knee surgery was the longest he had ever had off in all the years he worked.
It made me realize how great it would be to be retired!!!

[benld74]

36. Good for you enjoy

My wife retired last year.


I’m calling it in January ‘21.

[yonder]

38. Congratulations!

I retired a couple of years ago and like you, it's a mystery how I had time to do stuff when working.

[Mme. Defarge]

39. I retired at 63

and never looked back. Love not having a schedule or a boss. Have done various volunteer gigs, served on the board of a couple of non-profits, including board president of this amazing vocal ensemble https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappella_Romana

Have completed manuscripts for two novels, but have yet to submit anything for consideration to an agent. As far as I’m concerned it’s a cheap hobby. Definitely cheaper than knitting, yarn is expensive! But I do that too.

I now get my exercise at a health club since my most recent near catastrophic fall walking in my neighborhood. Hit a crack in the sidewalk and did a belly flop onto a side street. Black eye, broken glasses, sprained hand and wrist and banged up left knee, but, hey, after a couple of Good Samaritans helped me up I finished my 3 1/2 miles. Glad that I have good bones.

Anyway, that’s undoubtedly way too much information but trying desperately to avoid all of the distressing news.

Cheers!

[llmart]

40. Funny I should happen upon this thread title today.

This morning I was just thinking the same thing about my life. I retired two years ago and I just thoroughly enjoy it. No schedule, no alarm clock, no annoying coworkers/bosses, no morning and afternoon traffic jams, etc. As a woman I don't have to get up every morning and wonder what to wear to work. I do my four miles in the park every day based on what the weather forecast is for that day. I can go any time. I can sit in my pj's with my morning coffee. No gulping it down to get out the door. My gas bills and the mileage I put on my car are like the proverbial old lady.

I've always had a lot of outside interests and read a lot, so I had no trepidation about how I would adjust to not working. Truth be told, I never really loved the routine of working. Actually, I don't like routine of any sort. I'm financially comfortable but that's mainly because I have never been materialistic and the habit of frugality just stays with you as you age. I despise shopping and always have, so it served me well. In fact, as someone else on this thread stated, the best advice I would give people is to adopt the concept of voluntary simplicity. I've practiced that since my forties and now it's just second nature to me.

[captain queeg]

41. I liked hearing everyone's experience, at least those that have made it

For those not yet there, who wish they were, I feel bad. I guess on the up side most of us will be living longer and healthier than our predecessors. My folks lived into the 70s and 80s though their health wasn’t great. Lots of people stay very active into those years now. I had one grandma who made it to her 70s, the other grandparents died by the time I was born and most of my aunts and uncles only lasted till their 60s, with a few exceptions. I’m fortunate to have my health. It was looking pretty bad 2 years ago but I made it through and considering all I’m fairly healthy. I hope we all manage lots of years where we can relax a little and enjoy the rest of our lives.