What do I say....

jamesd

People are quite unlikely to ask retires for money. You can explain about frugal living if someone is more curious and that would tend to reinforce the no money available message.

ams25

You are working from home as an investment manager...looking after your various investments.

fortunately the hours are good! (Like the commute)

eswyatt

Love some of the responses - my partner is "retiring" later this year at 48. She is just telling people she spending some time on personal projects!

Eric_the_half_a_bee

longleggedhair wrote: »

I will be 40 when I finish, however if I do leave work and take it easy what do I tell people when they ask me what I do!!

Just tell them you are now a freelance consultant/worker in the same field you have been in. People won't ask for details, and won't be surprised to see you around not always (i.e. never) working.

PuzzledDave

Lots of options really:

I am longleggedhair, celebrity gigolo.

I am a portfolio manager (well, it's true ! It's just that you manage a single portfolio).

I am working on a life art project, carefully not recording your day to day activities.

You are starting a race horse company, any day now you will make your first purchase.

You have started a Death Metal band and are busy working to find your unique sound.

Marine_life

"Consultant" and then if they push you say "financial consultant" that should shut them up

OldMusicGuy

Say you are writing a novel/working on your concept album/knitting a copy of the Bayeux tapestry or whatever it is you will be filling your hours with. Because that's what you will actually be doing. That avoids the question nicely and should start up an interesting conversation. If people then say "don't you work?" you can then just say you retired early. And if you want to really impress them you can say you managed to retire early through hard work and astute saving/investing.

I'm retiring next year at 60 and many people say to me "how will you fill the time?" When I start listing all the things I will be doing they either change the topic of conversation fairly quickly or want to find out more. And one of the things I shall be doing is working on my concept album, but you probably don't want to know all the details.......

FWIW I have the opposite problem. I have such a specialized job I can't explain to most people what I actually do........

atush

Beware here.

I have a small circle of friends and am not a particularly social person so probably won't be coming into huge contact with others,

Once you loos contact with people you work with, your circle will become much smaller. So be careful not to become socially isolated?

longleggedhair

atush wrote: »

Beware here.



Once you loos contact with people you work with, your circle will become much smaller. So be careful not to become socially isolated?

I care for my elderly parent and am very close to my partner. It's a bit of a family thing to be anti social! I have always been the same and just prefer to be "left to my own devices" another reason for finishing work- I long for the privacy.

As far as work goes most people are plesent but we had a meeting a couple of weeks ago and looked around the room (with these plans at the back of my mind) and I can honestly say there is not one person I can class as a friend and certainly none I would keep in contact with.

OldMusicGuy

longleggedhair wrote: »

I care for my elderly parent and am very close to my partner. It's a bit of a family thing to be anti social! I have always been the same and just prefer to be "left to my own devices" another reason for finishing work- I long for the privacy.

I'm with you. My wife and I are pretty anti-social. My wife struggles in social situations so we limit those. And there's nothing wrong with that! We prefer our own company rather than that of others. So regarding my earlier post, do you have any hobbies? In retirement I will be defined by my hobbies, not my job.