What made you 'pull the trigger'?

indiasign

Ebeneezer9 said:

I am in my 46th year of work and I love it, 4 years till my official retirement date and I’m dreading it. I enjoy my commute on the underground, have a brilliant laugh with work colleagues and work with nature, more like an adventure every day than work.  The one bright light on the horizon is the chance to get another dog, plenty of time to sit and enjoy each other’s company, go for walks, pet friendly holiday destinations ( St Ives in Cornwall, everyone seems to have a pet accompanying them ), I and my sweetheart miss our departed pets every day.

Always good to hear from someone who enjoys their job - you sound like the physical embodiment of the old phrase “do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life” 😀

Albermarle

SouthCoastBoy said:

 I got there in the end 

I think in recent posts, you were still planning 'One more Year' ( or two or three) . So a bit of a U turn but about time !

Albermarle

arnoldy said:

barnstar2077 said:

Have you thought about getting a rescue?  My sister got two quite young dogs that needed a home from one.  So many people got dogs during lockdown that many rescues are full of cute little fur balls now.

It will be my mission to save one or two myself when I eventually manage to retire!

General thoughts amongst many is the last thing you need when you retire is a dog or cat as they will stop stone dead many holidays and short breaks. Again think long and hard about that.

Our dog died about 3 months after I retired, but for exactly the reasons above, we decided not to get another one.
I still find it a bit strange going for walks without a dog, but it does mean more freedom to get away etc.

trevjl

Our dog died about 3 months after I retired, but for exactly the reasons above, we decided not to get another one.
I still find it a bit strange going for walks without a dog, but it does mean more freedom to get away etc.

One reason I was retiring 4 months ago (health, has postponed that). My two are 9 in June and I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible as dogs lives are short.

I was shocked when I started my spending spreadsheet a couple of years ago just how much they cost and as you all state, they are a tie. However, in my world a Caribbean holiday or time with my dogs it's no contest (vastly overrated IMO and I have been all over with work). We do have holidays both with the dogs and without and I don't really see me ever being without one until I cant get about myself.

Lifematters

barnstar2077 said:

arnoldy said:

barnstar2077 said:

Have you thought about getting a rescue?  My sister got two quite young dogs that needed a home from one.  So many people got dogs during lockdown that many rescues are full of cute little fur balls now.

It will be my mission to save one or two myself when I eventually manage to retire!

General thoughts amongst many is the last thing you need when you retire is a dog or cat as they will stop stone dead many holidays and short breaks. Again think long and hard about that.

Don't worry, as I have discussed before on these forums, I take dog ownership very seriously and plan to do a lot before getting one.

I’ve said this before but the best way to enjoy the companion of animals, with minimal cost and no disruption to holidays etc is to foster. Lots of retired people foster dogs at our local shelter which frees up space for other rescue dogs and helps to get them adopted 

chubsta

My two lurchers are a big part of why I want to retire - my OH gets to walk them everyday and when I am working I really miss out! Can’t wait to spend days just lazing around and then going for long walks, our lives and holidays revolve around them so want to have as much time with them whilst they are still young enough to enjoy it. To many this sort of ‘goal’ wouldn’t appeal, which I why I guess there is no catch-all reason for when to retire, for me it is all about having the time for the things I love, fortunately all of them are cheap!

Silverbullet036

Everyone seems to want to be social and say its a must for retirement. Personally I cant think of anything worse , I retired to get away from people and enjoy the peace and quiet

chubsta

Silverbullet036 said:

Everyone seems to want to be social and say its a must for retirement. Personally I cant think of anything worse , I retired to get away from people and enjoy the peace and quiet

believe me, I know where you are coming from - a life away from the endless 'banter' that makes up most work conversations looks like bliss to me! I have met some very nice people with whom I still hope to remain friends, albeit 'casual', but the vast majority I could never see again and be pleased about it. Being forced into very close proximity with people for no other reason than you have the same job is not good, I much prefer to be with people with whom I share interests.

fly-catchers

Silverbullet036 said:

Everyone seems to want to be social and say it’s a must for retirement. Personally I cant think of anything worse , I retired to get away from people and enjoy the peace and quiet

When I go on my long country walks and don’t see a soul that is a good day!

LV_426

Is anyone delaying retirement to preserve assets for their kids? I could technically retire now (56), but I'd be pretty much burning everything down. I wish to preserve my DC pension funds and hopefully be able to help the kids with house buying. I have a DB pension, but that doesn't start paying until I'm 65. And both me and the Mrs will get full state pensions.