Anyone taken early retirement and regretted it?

Eliza_2

I think a lot of early retirees have now found themselves so busy that they wonder now how they ever found time to go to work. A lot of organisations such as voluntary groups and parish councils for example, are keen to recruit people with recent work/ business experience, especially as they are likely to be very computer literate, possibly just a generation or so younger than some of the exisitng officials. (In my experience anyway) Nowt wrong with walking the dog down to the pub though, I just wish I had time to do it.

There are also lots of little part time jobs out there that maybe younger people won't consider ( I have applications in for one that is 9 hours and one that is 11 hours at the moment) which are all the more interesting when you feel you don't have to go to work.

There are just so many choices when you've retired early. Personally I can't wait till I get my oap next year when I will have masses more money and therefore even more things in life to choose from! £400 a month will go a very, very long way

brewerdave

The only time I regret being forced into early retirement is in the depths of Winter when its too cold/wet to get out in the open air (for my walking or fishing) and I'm at home on my own (my wife is still working).
Looked for something to fill my time initially - but didn't find any paid work which "floated my boat", and fortunately, my company pension plus my wife's salary, allow us to live comfortably if not outrageously!

JoeCrystal

I am all feeling envious reading all these early retirement posts! And I am not even remotely near it from distant lands of mid twenties.

Cheers

Joe

LeafyBarnet

brewerdave wrote: »

the depths of Winter when its too cold

That's an issue isn't it? Having the heating on at home for longer than if one was out at work all day.

Perhaps the heating cost is countered by savings made on buying lunch everyday; must be cheaper to cook and eat at home than to buy an M&S sandwich every day.

Some excellent perspectives expressed in this thread; it's great reading for a prospective early retiree.

anoneemouse

It probably really is true of quite a lot of people to use the old cliche "I dont know how I found the time to work".

But it seems to me that a lot of people spend their hard-earned retirement doing things like being a carer or being a grandparent (whether the traditional version or maybe the "modern" version of doing a lot of unpaid childcare to free up their adult children to hold down a job). Also a lot of people just spend time being ill. Being ill can be very time-consuming - particularly if the medical care is being received from the NHS. All those medical appointments/special exercises for some ailments/the time wasted being kept hanging around waiting for appointments (if the medical care is in the NHS).

If none of those things applies and the retiree has avoided illness and being a carer and isn't a grandparent - then there is a lot of time to be usefully and/or enjoyably occupied and it won't be a case of "I dont know how I found the time to work".

I say this because that is the position I myself will be in when I retire. I am thankful that illness and being a carer won't apply and being a grandparent doesn't apply. With that, then I will need a Grand Project or two.

Is there any retiree in this position or someone else who knows that all their time will indeed be their own in retirement and, if so, what are/will be your Grand Projects?

Eliza_2

I think that you use the skills you used in your work environment to manage your retirement, so for example you timetable in the various activities, whether granny duties ( I do those now), voluntary work, paid work, carer responsibilities, walking dog to pub and so on. Some days are planned for you and others are free for you to organise as you will. Some days you may totally waste - I am the queen of the faffers and can potter for England. But so what. All of these things are 'me' time now, not at someone else's beck and call.

A friend of mine, when planning her retirement, got some big sheets of flipchart paper and stuck them to the kitchen wall and every time she heard or thought of something she might like to do if she only had time,she put them on the sheet. She and her husband planned around these ideas, retired early and ended up selling up and travelling before settling down on an island by the sea. He died soon after of an illness related to his previous work and she is so glad they made and carried out the majority of their plans while he was still here.

Like some other people my age, I bought a little campervan and it's great fun to go off for a day or two midweek. I also find that little things please me much more, like a grandchild finding wonder in the number of types of grasses there are in a field, or the sound of the rain on the roof of my van while I snuggle under my duvet with a brew (ok, wet dog smell ignored here!!)

Obviously illness is something you can't plan easily for, but as a young retiree I don't see that you should expect illness any more than anyone 20 years younger and it certainly isn't something I waste my time thinking about, other than doing my best to keep well by eating healthily, taking exercise (back to that walk to the pub!!) My mother is 85 and full of energy and thriving, hopefully I have her genes!

Anyway, better get dressed and off to work - and that's the other thing, working on a Sat or Sun is great, you have more time off during the week when the rest of the world is at work. Like everything else in life, you're the only one that can make it work for you, you make your own choices.

tanith

anoneemouse wrote: »

It probably really is true of quite a lot of people to use the old cliche "I dont know how I found the time to work".

But it seems to me that a lot of people spend their hard-earned retirement doing things like being a carer or being a grandparent (whether the traditional version or maybe the "modern" version of doing a lot of unpaid childcare to free up their adult children to hold down a job). Also a lot of people just spend time being ill. Being ill can be very time-consuming - particularly if the medical care is being received from the NHS. All those medical appointments/special exercises for some ailments/the time wasted being kept hanging around waiting for appointments (if the medical care is in the NHS).

If none of those things applies and the retiree has avoided illness and being a carer and isn't a grandparent - then there is a lot of time to be usefully and/or enjoyably occupied and it won't be a case of "I dont know how I found the time to work".

I say this because that is the position I myself will be in when I retire. I am thankful that illness and being a carer won't apply and being a grandparent doesn't apply. With that, then I will need a Grand Project or two.



Is there any retiree in this position or someone else who knows that all their time will indeed be their own in retirement and, if so, what are/will be your Grand Projects?

But you don't know that illness won't apply to you do you? no one does.. it may spring upon you when you least expect it and your Grand plans go out the window or at least are governed by you illness.. I have an illness but I put it on the back burner, take care of the pain and carry on doing my thing in the best way I can..

Eliza_2

tanith wrote: »

But you don't know that illness won't apply to you do you? no one does.. it may spring upon you when you least expect it and your Grand plans go out the window or at least are governed by you illness.. I have an illness but I put it on the back burner, take care of the pain and carry on doing my thing in the best way I can..

Exactly!! you could also win the lottery, get run over by a bus, meet a greek god toyboy or a million and one other good and not so good things could happen while you're deciding what to do. All the more reason to go for it!

Right now, ericonabike, you've now had 2 days worth of people's views - that's quite long enough. What's your decision?

Highview

anoneemouse wrote: »

I say this because that is the position I myself will be in when I retire. I am thankful that illness and being a carer won't apply and being a grandparent doesn't apply. With that, then I will need a Grand Project or two.


I was pretty healthy but woke up one day to find out that I was not...

anoneemouse

Obviously I am sorry for those who have encountered health problems and hope you will recover from them soon.

I don't understand what the point is of mentioning them on this "plan for retirement" thread though?? I'm sure you can't mean it that way - but it almost comes over as "I got ill and it is spoiling my retirement to some extent - so I'm not going to be that unhappy if I get some company in being ill".

I'm sure I must be reading more into that then is warranted and actually you really hope that everyone else will be healthy enough to get on with retirement as they want and believe that most people will be???