Retirement is great!

Sarahspangles

Nebulous2 said:

I still haven't cleared out my garage, and am not beating myself up about it. 

….

Think about lockdown / the pandemic. Every body had plans, to bake, learn foreign languages, exercise, lose weight and get fitter. Some of them even followed through and achieved it. For most people however they sat around more, ate comfort food and drank too much. There are similarities between suddenly being expected to work from home and not being able to go out so much and retirement. 

I’d say ‘are you my OH?’ as he also hasn’t cleared out the garage… except I know you’re not as he’s out on an all-day bike excursion with a group of friends.

Apart from cycling, which I expected, OH has taken over sourdough bread making which I started during the pandemic. I didn’t expect that, or his brand new interest in an art hobby. So he hasn’t spent as much time as I feared watching old episodes of Top Gear.

He also hasn’t replaced his car, now that he’s not commuting that’s fallen off the bottom of his list of priorities. That’s a big chunk of expenditure we can dodge.

Unfortunately I’m the one getting fatter - we used to have a weekday/weekend split but now OH needs calories for cycling, so there’s more food about, plus it’s just too tempting to walk up to the club for a drink when I finish work.

Exodi

fly-catchers said:

Go for long countryside walks when most people are at work so nice and peaceful!  

But still ensuring that weekly shops are strictly reserved for the weekend so you can enjoy watching people in your rear view mirror shout in their car while you drive around town at 15mph?

Sorry, went off on a bit of a tangent there.

I'm extremely jealous, your whole starting post is what I aspire to (speaking as someone in their 30's, there never seems enough time to do anything).

Albermarle

This lack of interaction has severely affected my mood far more than I expected that it would and I'm now looking at volunteering and mindfulness things to lift my mood and get me out more. Both himself and I are at home now but for him much of his work was solitary so the lack of interaction isn't such a big deal and he is loving retirement.

Although I had interaction with customers, and with colleagues abroad, effectively I was on my own most of the time. Either Home Office, driving, in hotels etc . So like your OH, in some ways retirement was not all that much different than working, apart from having less hassle over the phone !

katejo

dealyboy said:

@katejo said:

I have been in my post for 33 years and my manager has  told me more than once  that she will leave if I go. 

... hide round the corner and go back in when she leaves ... about time you were the boss eh? 

No I don't want her job now. I did apply for it years ago but not now...

katejo

Nebulous2 said:

katejo said:

Nebulous2 said:

Our finances are sound, but the psychological adjustment from committed employee who felt there was a sense of worth in what I was doing, to being cut loose, was much more difficult than I expected.  

It is this last part which makes me nervous. Probably fine if I am fit, active and involved in things. Not so good if I were in poor health and isolated at home with no purpose in life. 

I'd say have a plan. Don't get too hung up on sticking to it, be prepared to adjust it, but have one. I still haven't cleared out my garage, and am not beating myself up about it. 

I exercised a lot, but had a health scare last year which curtailed it. I still do more than most people of my age, but not as much as I used to.

Think about lockdown / the pandemic. Every body had plans, to bake, learn foreign languages, exercise, lose weight and get fitter. Some of them even followed through and achieved it. For most people however they sat around more, ate comfort food and drank too much. There are similarities between suddenly being expected to work from home and not being able to go out so much and retirement. 

Think about:- What are your motivations? What will keep you going?

I worked with a lot of health care staff who had retired and came back to help out during the pandemic. They all appreciated being back, and said they got a lot from it, even for one 6 hour shift a week. The phrase I heard most from them about their retirement was that they had been 'drifting.' 

I didn't see this coming - I thought the main issue for retirement was finances, and gave no consideration to dealing with change. Two years in I'm now getting there, but it could have been better with more preparation.  

I am glad  that I wasn't in a position to retire just before lockdown started. I would have found the isolation at home hard then with no activities to go to outside and cafes shut. I wasn't on furlough then. I was working from home. 

sgx2000

I love these threads.
I will retire sometime within the next 2.5 years.....

There really is no better advice than from someone who has already done it....

43722

I agree that retirement can be great, and so far has worked well for me. However, this does depend on having a sufficient income, bit sure that i would be saying that retirement is great if i could not pursue my interests.

katejo

43722 said:

I agree that retirement can be great, and so far has worked well for me. However, this does depend on having a sufficient income, bit sure that i would be saying that retirement is great if i could not pursue my interests.

1 friend of mine retired pretty early at 57 last October. She is with a partner who was a high earner (also retired but younger I think). Since retirement, they have been on several holidays. I do wonder how she can be sure that her income will last.

sgx2000

katejo said:

43722 said:

I agree that retirement can be great, and so far has worked well for me. However, this does depend on having a sufficient income, bit sure that i would be saying that retirement is great if i could not pursue my interests.

1 friend of mine retired pretty early at 57 last October. She is with a partner who was a high earner (also retired but younger I think). Since retirement, they have been on several holidays. I do wonder how she can be sure that her income will last.

I think the answer to that is to keep a careful eye on your pension incomes.
If in drawdown - perhaps take 3% in periods of high inflation and 4% in periods of low inflation....
(yes I know that is too simplistic - but it cant be too far out)

Albermarle

katejo said:

Nebulous2 said:

katejo said:

Nebulous2 said:

Our finances are sound, but the psychological adjustment from committed employee who felt there was a sense of worth in what I was doing, to being cut loose, was much more difficult than I expected.  

It is this last part which makes me nervous. Probably fine if I am fit, active and involved in things. Not so good if I were in poor health and isolated at home with no purpose in life. 

I'd say have a plan. Don't get too hung up on sticking to it, be prepared to adjust it, but have one. I still haven't cleared out my garage, and am not beating myself up about it. 

I exercised a lot, but had a health scare last year which curtailed it. I still do more than most people of my age, but not as much as I used to.

Think about lockdown / the pandemic. Every body had plans, to bake, learn foreign languages, exercise, lose weight and get fitter. Some of them even followed through and achieved it. For most people however they sat around more, ate comfort food and drank too much. There are similarities between suddenly being expected to work from home and not being able to go out so much and retirement. 

Think about:- What are your motivations? What will keep you going?

I worked with a lot of health care staff who had retired and came back to help out during the pandemic. They all appreciated being back, and said they got a lot from it, even for one 6 hour shift a week. The phrase I heard most from them about their retirement was that they had been 'drifting.' 

I didn't see this coming - I thought the main issue for retirement was finances, and gave no consideration to dealing with change. Two years in I'm now getting there, but it could have been better with more preparation.  

I am glad  that I wasn't in a position to retire just before lockdown started. I would have found the isolation at home hard then with no activities to go to outside and cafes shut. I wasn't on furlough then. I was working from home. 

Normally pre Covid, I worked from home about half the time and travelled around UK and Europe sometimes for internal and external meetings. During Covid all the travelling stopped, and the the thought of going back to traffic jams, airport delays, waiting for taxis etc was what pushed me to decide to retire.
Luckily agreed a date well in the future and Covid was well  in retreat by the time I actually retired, so the timing was good.