Plotting for an early retirement - anyone want to join me?

Anonymous101 wrote: »

Great. Enjoy your holidays and retirement!


I changed jobs recently and although I knew I was going to a better job I struggled with the emotional side of parting ties with people I'd worked with for years.
When you think about it many of us spend far more time with colleagues than we do with anyone else.

I'm the odd one out (again), not only did I not work in IT and frankly have no idea what GazHol and nigelbb were talking about:o, I havent really missed anyone. Apart from my financial manager, I only saw the rest of my staff very I frequently and usually only for 10 minutes when I did. There are a couple of customers that I had good conversations with, but other than that it's not been a backward glance.

JoeCrystal wrote: »

There is a possible halfway choice. Since every permanent job I did in the past was starting as a temporary casual. I always thought that to top up my income if I retire was to find a casual job during Xmas time, plenty around like Royal Mail or in Manufacturing sectors. Since it is a temporary job, there is no surprise once they let you go at the end of the contract, although it is hard to avoid disappointment. So that is my plan in order to work sometime. The thought of retirement with no work terrifies me actually.

I cant say dont worry because I dont know you, but I'm 7 weeks into retirement and it feels like i left work 7 years ago. Theres stuff i wanted to do in September which I'm already putting back to October. I'd say the first two weeks were discombobulating be cause it felt like an at home holiday, but I knew I wasnt returning to work.

I have ended up with a big project earlier than I anticipated, but I've been looking at narrowboats for 35 years, so when I saw one that I thought was the one, I didnt waste time!:D

barnstar2077 wrote: »

I am so jealous. Let us know how you get on with the boat!

You'll soon be begging me not to bore you all to death!

lisyloo wrote: »

Well it’s an idea, but I’d still rather do my job for 3 times the pay (and more importantly 1/3rd time) that pick boxes at Argos.
I thought the point was to do things you love like maybe walking dogs.

There are loads of things on offer if you don’t want to be paid but you are more in control of your hours and stopping when you want. Examples are

Dog walking (if you like dogs of course)
Some kind of volunteer charity work (I fancy helping old soldiers claim their benefits).
Walking horses for the disabled
Community project e.g. building carnival floats
Soup kitchen for the homeless.
Drive old people or disabled people around.
Become a befriended e.g. just read to someone in a nursing home.

Plenty of things that would give deep meaning, help people, be enjoyable and possibly add some physical activity without the drudgery of the daily grind.

You can get paid for dog walking.

MallyGirl wrote: »

You can but you need things like liability insurance so it is probably not a great fit for part time work. On the other hand if you just fancy spending time in the outdoors with a dog, without the commitment of ownership, then it might be a way to go.

My daughter has used https://www.borrowmydoggy.com to get her fix of doggos (family allergies mean we’ve never had one)....
Worked well for her and a pal!

lisyloo wrote: »

There are loads of things on offer if you don’t want to be paid but you are more in control of your hours and stopping when you want. Examples are

Dog walking (if you like dogs of course)
Some kind of volunteer charity work (I fancy helping old soldiers claim their benefits).
Walking horses for the disabled
Community project e.g. building carnival floats
Soup kitchen for the homeless.
Drive old people or disabled people around.
Become a befriended e.g. just read to someone in a nursing home.

I guess it depends on what you mean by "doing something you love". What I mean is that I loved doing the job I did 10 years ago. Since then I have been promoted several times, so make more money, but don't do that job any longer. I do budgets, and appraisals and meetings and conferences and things like that. Its well paid, but dull and not the actual work that I really loved. So when I hit my number, I am going to go and get a job that pays a third of what I do at my level, but is back doing the work I really enjoyed.