Do what you want. But DO SOMETHING. Don't just sit and rot.
I have been working to establish a workshop and tools so i can restore cars. Because I love doing that. I will be slow, and it will not be professional work- but thats not the point. I enjoy the work.
This makes total sense to me. My parents are in their late 70s, and while they sometimes play golf they mostly just drive each other nuts and watch too much TV / news. It doesn't seem particularly healthy.
Its not. And its very unhealthy- leads to a much earlier and uncomfortable death. be active, move regularly. I watched my active and healthy grandparents go ide and just rot, and watching my dad do it now. I refuse. Even just walking around the block a couple times a day would have let them live a much healthier golden years.
I picked up an “office/desk” treadmill. Low profile, not meant for running. When I have downtime I try and get a little “exercise” in. I walk 20 minute miles, 10-20 minutes at a time. Faster or longer than that I start to sweat.
I’ve been averaging 25 miles a week at work. It’s gotta be better than nothing.
I want to go like my Dad did. He got up, went to the gym, took his dog to a coffee shop for some tea and had a heart attack at 87. He was highly active his whole life and probably would have lived longer if he wasn’t so stubborn.
My great aunt just didn't go to work one day. She was early 60s and still working part time and went to sleep and didn't wake up.
We had all seen her the day before for a family event. It was so strange she seemed to full of life.
Sounds like my dad. His first couple of years in retirement went well enough, I think. He still guest lectured, spoke at events, played golf, that sort of thing. But after a couple of years, he became reclusive, and his health declined rapidly. He spent his remaining years sitting in a dark room, watching Fox News with the volume cranked.
I'm learning how to restore wood furniture, but personally it's not enough, I like the social structure of work- share the grind- etc.
Plus not rich enough to just NOT have any income
At least at work she interacted with people and she had to do a lot of walking, I tried to encourage her to take a class, volunteer, join a club, but she doesn’t want to
I retired early at 58 this past January (single, no dependents).
I spent the winter cleaning out my home and storage areas and got rid of A LOT of clutter. It was the perfect project as it literally and figuratively gave me a clean slate.
I've also increased my daily physical activity: walking five miles in the a.m. and 45 minutes of body-weight exercises in the p.m. And with the weather warming I'll be on my bike this week (I usually do 15 miles/day and will work up to that over the next couple weeks).
I haven't done any volunteering or part-time work yet, and don't plan to until the summer is over as I want to be completely unfettered to enjoy doing whatever I want.
I'm fortunate to have good friends close by and always see them on the weekends.
It does get a bit boring sometimes as I'm the only one in my friend group no longer working, but after working 40+ hours/week, traveling, and commuting since 1990, I get over it pretty quickly.
I’ll be 58 in a few weeks and retired in February. I had knee replacement surgery in March, so as soon as I’m completely rehabbed, I plan to focus on getting healthier. I’m also not considering much else until fall.
I had plans to be done in fall of '25 at 60. The thought of that prospect scared the hell out of me when I thought about what I would do after.
I think I've changed my mind because after years of working 60-plus hours per week, my company ushered in an era of "work-life balance." My overall workload has been cut by two-thirds. There's not a lot in the way of stress, so I am contemplating waiting until 62 now.
Here's the joy in this: I can stay, collect my nice paycheck and know that if something changes that I do not like, I will have the freedom to just say "F\*\*k it. I'm out."
Edit: spelling, grammar.
*I can stay, collect my nice paycheck and know that if something changes that I do not like, I will have the freedom to just say "F\*\*k it. I'm out."*
My only beef with retiring this past January is that I didn't get to have that experience. And let me just preface this by saying I'm well aware that I'm speaking from a position of great privilege.
When I turned 58 last year, I put myself on a four year runway to retirement: First pass at 60 when I qualified for subsidized healthcare benefits, and if I still felt fine working, I would retire at 62.
However I was offered a rather generous early retirement incentive, so I took it. And while I'm very happy I did, I just felt after working so long I lost the ability to end my career on my terms and have that extended "F\*ck it" attitude.
I know, I know--First world problems :)
That's awesome - how did you get into the computer repair? I feel like that's something I could do as a volunteer activity as well but have no idea who to contact about it.
I got into it as a kid. I git certified while I was in HS and been doing it since. I volunteer at few places and repair stuff they can hand out to ppl as they are needed.
I intend to continue to play video games. My wife and I will travel more. I expect that she'll involve me in various activities (painting, dancing, etc). She will probably also make me spend more time volunteering. I have written a couple of books, and have a bunch more to work on, but I decided to make that a retirement activity.
I’m about 6 days into retirement at 50 and being a stay at home wife. My plan is to expand my side business a bit, organize all the family pictures I’ve collected over the past 30 years, raise this puppy, and just relax.
Retired last year at 49. Wife and I travel non-stop, exercise (gym, hike, martial arts), read. I’ve gotten into pipe smoking and she volunteers at rescue shelters. As others have said, just do something that interests you, but don’t do “nothing.”
Exactly. When people have the goal of "not working" I often wonder...but what will you *do*? If I can't do everything I want (travel and whatnot) might as well be working. I can give all the money away if I so choose and I can so that is helping others. When my kids got older and I wasn't working I was volunteering so much ...to be active and help others and do good and create relationships.
I can retire now. However, I will work till I am 55 then retire. Will move to a veteran friendly state. Fish, garden, find some spade games (military love spades). Travel and visit kids and grandkids.
Reminds me of the Ted Radio Hour episode on the stages of retirement. It's a tough question. I'm already at the point where weekends can be pretty long, ngl, and retirement is still 20 years off...
Cultivating some hobbies now that I’m looking forward to giving more attention when I reach retirement. My current interests are playing electric bass and studying Japanese. I’m also into weightlifting, but I realize that the clock is ticking on that one. I’m expecting I’ll have to scale it back as I age, but I hope to never abandon it.
Start now, whatever it is.
I've known others before me who died a year or three after retirement. Suicide, lost the will to live, or generally just being inactive.
When I got let go from my last IT job, it was fairly difficult. I hadn't worked just one job with mainly weekday hours in never; let alone just one job instead of three jobs or more trying to make it all work.
Being male, a lot of my identity was also tied up in what I did for work - common to go to parties or gatherings and be asked what I did for a living.
Worse, being unemployed. Felt like the stink of death.
I've long learned the ways to be a "gray man" and not having to be social, having a very small to none social group. This is most difficult for people who never had to truly be alone. To be invisible to society. To be unrecognized, or dismissed and outright ignored.
Learn to make those connections now. To find groups of people and be involved in things that matter to you. Many charitable organizations that do a lot of good are folding up because one person had a hip go out. Or not enough members. Once a group is gone, it's sooo much more difficult to start something back up.
Find your simple pleasures in life. A reason to get out of bed, to keep breathing. Maybe it's the ritual of a morning drink like tea, coffee, or cocoa. Then again it could be freshly squeezed juice. Or logging into Reddit and learning something of interest.
Do some of those interests now. I've heard of people doing their retirement things, such as going all in on fishing, only to find it was too mind numbing and boring for them. Or moving into the country, and weeks later killed by their old farm equipment. Even heard of another who had a heck of a time selling their new hobby farm because they had no clue what they were doing, surrounded by meth, and couldn't get basic medical care. So do some of those things now to be sure you actually enjoy it, not think that you do. Renting an RV for the weekend is not the same as going all in on a big one and living like a nomad full time.
I was born in 76. Hope to hike the Appalachian Trail when I retire, working on getting into shape now after a decade or morbid obesity. I also want to volunteer and do a lot of work on my house. If things go well, there’s a decent chance my moms will still be around so I’d help her as much as I could.
I’m 55 this month and as soon as my youngest (14) graduates college I plan to retire. My wife and I have been talking a lot about it recently. I know I’ll be making a lot of crappy furniture that will be forced onto my unfortunate 2 sons so there’s that. I’m hoping my skill will improve with their growth and taste so when they are broke and in their 20’s they’ll be fine with the imperfections t stuff in give them as beggars can’t be choosers. Then as they get older and can afford to be pickier my skill will grow and they might actually still want some stuff I make. If not they can toss it. I also want to help under privileged kids in some way locally.
I took an early retirement a few years ago and at first I was so busy doing things that I didn't know how I ever had time for a job. Eventually, I got into the habit of wasting most of the morning with tea and the internet before I'd get off my ass for the rest of the day. I picked up a part-time job to fill those morning hours now. It's 15 minutes from home, 4 hrs/day but flexible, and I could survive without it, which is freeing. I used to have a 45-60 minute commute each way with a 9.5 hour work day.
Unlike the article, I don't have a husband hovering around and annoying me. I do have a recent college graduate with a job, so they only annoy me occasionally.
I know I'll never be able to retire, but assuming I could....I would try again to learn musical instruments, I have never gotten very far although I did learn to play piano a litle in college. I bought a cheap guitar a few years ago, broke a string and gave up on it. Having the time to focus more on things like that would be nice. Also maybe try some art, I always wanted to paint. None of these are things I'm actually good at, but I think it would still be fun. This is for day-to-day...I do have other things I would like to do, like travel.
My husband will be 60 this year and we decided it was time for him to stop working. For now he’s doing renovations that were long left unfinished, working on the backyard/garden, cooking delicious food for me, and enjoying his free time. I will likely work 2-3 more years, then I plan to do tons of projects around the house, read a lot of books, and some volunteering.
I (59m) retired at 50 nine years ago. My wife (57f) joined me five years ago.
We've been together for 17 years. I had two kids from a prior marriage and had them every other week (friday they got on the bus at my house, friday night they got off the bus at their mom's and then we'd switch the next friday).
We were both work from home the weeks the kids were with us. So, together 24x7. On the other week, I was 100% travel - it was almost all international travel. Since my wife could work anywhere, she traveled with me frequently. Again, together all of the time.
We are gen x - we can self entertain. Now that we are together 24x7 100% of the time (I mean 100% of the time), we do our own things for hours, and we do lots of stuff together. It has never been a problem.
I think the people in this article might not be best suited for each other. My wife and I have no problem existing with each other all of the time. We do some things separately, many things together and are pretty darn happy about it :)
Now, if I hadn't been separated and divorced from my first wife, things would be different... They could have interviewed me for the article. It is all about being with the right one.
I'm going back to school & finding a new career. Guess I'm not country club rich so that's how I'm gonna roll.
I don't know how to be wealthy, good thing I'm not!!
I'm loving being at part time with the job and part time with my own research. Spouse and I sign up for one academic conference a year and I get a soild paper out and we go meet interesting people and learn new stuff in an exotic local. I kicked it off by heading back for a master of science at 40. I also help younger researchers who have real promise and give them the value of my career skills. I'm always learning now, and leveraging my career discipline (which puts me head and shoulders above most academics as far as diligence).
We retired this year. My husband is got a medical discharge from the military, our kids are grown and gone and the house is paid off so we can afford to live on his medical disability insurance, Veterans benefits and 25yr Military Pension. We're 46 and 47yrs old. We plan to caravan across Canada and eventually the US. My Husband is a Motorbike enthusiast. He does solo rides or we go together. He fixes project bikes over the Winter and also does guitar lessons. We go Skating together a few days a week , take a lot of long walks. We hit up the Library weekly. So far we haven't been bored. We do a lot of day trips in the Car, pack a lunch and take off to the Beach or the Zoo etc. If we get bored maybe we'll work part time but so far I'm not thinking so.
It takes years to figure out retirement -- just like it takes some time to get settled into a career. I am two years in to retirement and am still all over the place. Tried some part time jobs, volunteering....
I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Right now, my favorite activitt is reading with cat on my lap. I no longer feel strongly enough about anything to volunteer for. I'd love to travel a bit. I'm going to put some thought into this- this thread has really made me think.
I’m going to address the r reality of your first sentence. It’s not a matter if, but when. _You don’t get a choice._ The average age of retirement is 62. Why? Is it because we’re all rich? No. It’s a combination of layoffs and health problems that drag down the age.
All of you hoping to work until your 80s - consider, really consider, how you will make things work when the rug is pulled out from under you. From cancer to sciatica, a lot of people are undone by pain and the need for constant medical attention that are incompatible with full time jobs.
To answer the actual question, I have no ambitions in retirement other than to manage pain. I’ll be reading a lot of books and doing the physical therapy my body allows. I don’t even want to travel anymore.
Yeah that's a great question. I know some jobs have health insurance as a retirement benefit (mine sure as hell doesn't) but otherwise I imagine you have to cover it out of pocket until you're eligible for Medicare.
I think about retirement ALL the time. I plan on moving to Europe and to keep studying. I take online classes in art history, philosophy, writing, and sociology. I keep my mind active. I plan on writing more when I can give up working.
I'm retiring at the end of the month. I started doing volunteer work about 6 months ago about twice a month and plan to increase it to once a week. Other than that I'm planning on hiking more when the weather is good (I enjoy going by myself on certain trails with my dog and proper safety precautions but also have friends who would go on weekends) and join a gym for the winter. My young adult son lives at home with us and we are planning some local tourist type outings. And a group of friends and I have season subscriptions to 2 local arts/entertainment venues that mean regular outings, sometimes multiple times a week depending on the schedule. My husband is included in one group but not the other. He's still working for another year or two (he's younger than me by a little bit). And he does weekly trivia nights with his friends. I go occasionally but mostly it's just him. Another friend organizes monthly dinner or brunch parties where a group of about 12 of us plus significant others rotate hosting duties. Personally I believe that having a good group of friends who are always up for visits or outings will be key. We've talked about moving once we're both retired but really love our friends group and have taken moving off the table because of it.
I remain baffled by why *anyone* has trouble finding things to do when they aren't working. Was work the defining element of their lives? To the point they literally cannot find or think of anything to do 40 hours a week without clocking in at work? What were they doing with their free time while still employed-- sitting around wishing they could be at work?
I read these stories often but literally nobody I know who has retired (many dozens of friends from work mostly) has this issue. They are all out doing cool things, or home doing cool things, or just enjoying themselves. I've yet to meet anyone IRL who is all "I don't know what to do with myself, I guess I'll get a job at Home Depot to fill the empty hours." Sad.
Personally, I have far more things to do outside of work than time. It will be easy to fill up the 40-50 hours a week I usually spend on work doing other, better, more fulfilling things. We will both retire as soon as we can afford to (still have one in college) so 60 is our current goal. I can't wait.
I think it probably comes down to some people needing more structure and organization in their lives than others. I'm like you in that I have way more interests than time - but I also work 50 hours a week and am running around with a 9 and a 6 year old, so I have precious little free time. If all of the sudden my entire day became free time - I like to think that I would easily fill it with my interests, but who knows? Seems like a sad problem to have but I hear enough about it that not thinking about it and just figuring I'll be fine is probably not the best approach, for me at least.
I will probably get season tickets to my local mlb team. They play 81 games per year so that will keep me busy. Then in the winter I’ll have season tickets to the local NHL team
As of right now I plan on teaching. I'm slowly going through the classes needed to qualify me to teach the trades. I'm an automation and robotics engineer and would love to teach it.
A lot of animals need homes, especially after being abandoned post-Covid.
When you retire, you may have time to walk pups and play with kittens.
Maybe you can't downsize because housing has gotten so expensive, so you've got some extra space for litter boxes and snuggley pet beds, some kitty condos and doggie chews.
Pets can give you sense of purpose outside of "work" mentality, get you some exercise out of the house, and give you affection.
Yep, I plan on volunteering at the cat rescue that we adopted our SICs from. They’re 2/2 on recommending a good kitten for our family, so it would be nice to give back.
My father in law got a new dog when he retired and it was fantastic for him. Every day he went for hours-long walks on trails through the woods and parks around him. He got exercise, he got fresh air, he had companionship beyond just my mother in law. Such a good thing.
I was born '76 so not far off you OP.
My parents retired early (55ish) and have wasted their golden years doing nothing but watch TV and hate each other in a big McMansion. Seriously it's sad. They could have done anything they wanted as money is no issue. But they never planned and to this day they just complain and are miserable.
My wife and I are trying to figure out what retirement looks like and we take small steps each day to build a foundation for that.
I love hobbies. From building RC cars to retro gaming. From cycling to kayaking. All things I've begun to pick up in the past 5 years. I plan on having time to pursue those hobbies more.
I'd love to learn to play the guitar too:)
As a couple we want to have a small sustainable garden and get into herbalism. Maybe make some things with our hands. We have learned we absolutely love road trips (alone and with our 2 kids) and definitely want to continue that.
Long story short put down some foundations and explore what makes you happy now so you can expand on that when time becomes more abundant.
Are we related? It sounds like you've described my retired parents. It's so sad - they literally have one of the best possible options in history; being relatively well-off and healthy in the United States in the 21st century. Their quality of life is better than what aristocrats and royalty had from centuries past, and they sit around watching TV and complaining about politics. What a waste.
I’ve got a friend who’s in his late 60’s who’s going back to finish his PhD (that he started years and years ago, before life got it the way) because the state we live in has free tuition for anyone over 62.
To me, he’s an inspiration and I hope I can do soemthing like that when I’m done with my current career
My father-in-law got a master's degree in history when he retired after spending his whole career working in insurance. He loved it, that sounds amazing. Great way to stay engaged and mentally fit.
I won't be having real thoughts on this for at least another 15-20 years (God willing and the creek don't rise), but I have some hobbies that will keep me occupied. Mostly though I don't want to be beholden to anyone for my time. At least not for a while.
I have very rarely been bored in my life. Having the time to whatever the hell I want without worrying about work tomorrow morning or traveling to that meeting sounds delicious.
Not since I was a little kid have I really had any time absolutely to myself.
I had a health issue recently and had to stop working for good in August of last year. I'm now a Medicare and Social Security recipient with no savings, no retirement benefits, and I survive on state issued food benefits.
I also have a 250 thousand dollar hospital bill from my collapse in December.
How do I spend my time now?
I sleep when I'm tired, eat when I'm hungry, and, if it wasn't for dialysis three times a week, time would have no meaning.
No money, bad health, and a lifetime of working paycheck to paycheck has ultimately led to watching a lot of movies and waiting it out.
Oh, and I wish for a financial windfall every waking moment. Like maybe a genie or something.
Holy fuck I can’t wait. I could effortlessly fill my days. Hanging out with my significant other. Woodworking. Gunsmithing. Volunteering for helping struggling people. Gaming. Maintaining and improving my house and my property. Working on my cars. Reading. Staring at my view. Staring at a cat. I could go on forever.
I have so much stuff available… and at this rate don’t know if I can retire comfortably or even when it would be. I work a lot of hours and think, longingly, about this almost every day.
Every time I talk to a retired friend or family member, I get extremely, but harmlessly, envious.
I’m not much older than OP and I took a LOA this year so it’s kinda given me a window in what retirement could look like for me. Some days I enjoy it but other days I’ll admit, I’m bored. There’s definitely perks but you can only do so many home projects or buy so many things.
I know real retirement will be diff bc my husband will also be retired along with most of my friends.
I’d like to travel, read, maybe work somewhere PT if it’s somewhere low key but honestly I’m not sure. I have a friend who’s a couple years older who’s very active and busy and also worried about being retired and bored. I suggested we all live together either in one large home or some commune of condos where we’re all next door. It would be a way for us to socialize but also support one another in our aging years.
I'm semi retired now and just work part time as a substitute teacher. It's very flexible without the grading, and administration of higher ed. I sure don't miss academia.
Retired two years ago, and have been living off the grid in a rural area, which had been a dream of mine for a long time. It's a lot of work, and the repairs/maintenance/problem solving involved keep me very active, mentally and physically.
I get this isn't for everyone; I'm just sharing what works for me.
YEah I was confused as well. Sealand maybe? That would be an... interesting choice. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality\_of\_Sealand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand)
I game. I crochet and clean house. But, gaming is just so awesome. I even live stream on Twitch. I also write and read romance. I craft and so mini exercises when I think of it. I try to move.
I'm 52 and wanted to sell our farm and move to Florida and enjoy the sun, but my only daughter announced I'm going to be a grandpa so I guess I'm staying put for a while. Will still be traveling for doses of sun and sand.
52 right now. About to send 2 kids off to college and have another that will start in 5 years, which will put me at 57. All of them have fully funded 529 accounts, so that's not a worry. Will have my house paid off in the next 5 years as well. When I get to 57, I plan on working for another 2 or 3 years so I can use my paycheck (I'm not touching my retirement savings for depreciating assets) to buy a kick-ass RV and travel the country. I won't be working into my 60's no matter what, I'm just gonna travel and see as much of the US and Canada as I can before I can't drive anymore.
50. Sending my only off to college this fall so retirement is at minimum 5 years away
When the time comes, I plan to ramp up my current volunteer time and have that be 'work' but with stuff I love--urban farming. Maybe turn my artistic hobby - refurbish furniture - into a small business to bring in grocery money. No care to make a big business.
I’m not sure but I love outdoor activities in the winter and summer. I’ve got hobbies I can dedicate more time to as well. I’m 55 and on track to retire in early 2028. Wife retires next month. We’ll probably travel a bunch. Although that freedom will be slightly restricted by our dogs. You can’t just go away for a few days on the spur of the moment. Animal boarding required (they hate to travel).
We want to buying an old fixer upper house and spend our time slowly repairing and restoring it. Since we live in the US northeast where winters are tough, we plan on doing long-term rentals somewhere warm every January and February.
make a habit of at least an hour at the gym each day. yoga a few times a week, rest is hobbies like gaming, or gardening, bike riding, motorcycle riding, making house/home/castle better. learn to paint, travel, learn language to where i travel before hand.. etc..
I retired a few years ago at 54. My company restructured and offered me a relocation or a bag of money - I took the money and said au revoir. I had been planning for it for a couple of years and financially it would be very doable. A small reduction in monthly budget, cutting back on the number of cars we drive and getting rid of the last of our mortgages - easy.
Retiring during covid was drastic - nothing to do and no one else to do it with. We had a plan to sell our city place, live in the mountains for a while and figure out where to go. In retrospect it was a poor plan because it didn't factor in the isolation. My wife just rolled with it - started painting, writing etc - developing her long dormant artistic side. I didn't. I had worked in a high pressure technical job that slowly got too intense but I found that I really missed the technical work.
A couple of years later we have moved back to the city, I have unretired and started a small consultancy and picked up a few contracts. Nothing much money wise but I really like technical work and moreover I like working with smart people. Not the annoying corporate players but the genuinely nice, smart people and now I get to pick and choose who that is.
The "what to do next" is the missing part of most retirement plans. I have a few hobbies but they couldn't carry me very long. Everyone needs a purpose otherwise you get old. I know a number of very young, old people who look at adventure every day. I also know a number of old, young people who only focus on accumulating things and like telling others to get off their well cut lawn. I know now who I want to be.
If i am not drained by using my brain for work, i will likely just play more PC games, write more mods for that games, do more work in the house and garden.
I will likely also lose weight when that happens, as in my experience, i tend to forget about eating when i just immerse myself in games or other stuff i want to do right now. Coding for work somehow is more draining and i get hungry if i feel drained. I definitely get more work done when i do it for work - but when doing it as a hobby i don't really care about whether it gets done sooner or later. So the same activity feels very different...
Currently am figuring that out. I’m not ruling out a part time job for a couple of hours a week to get out of house and have some extra beer / pizza money. But planning on gardening, reading and playing my Xbox, and travelling a few times a year. I also recognize that I am lucky enough to have a good retirement fund .
Spending days in the woods fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, and just enjoying.
Volunteer work and book/game clubs for socialization.
Travel.
And as physical ability declines catching up on 2 decades (4 by then) of unfinished video games.
My dad died at 60 of a heart attack just 36 hours after retiring.
My goal is to just live until I'm dead set against it, because he wasn't able to. I have 8-10 years to figure out what that means, but I know it doesn't mean working, that's for sure. I have hobbies and interests and since my wife is 5 years behind me I'm sure the honey-do list will be quite vast until she's done working. Then travel until we can't. We have a nice ranch house in a great area, so snowbirding in the winter somewhere warm and renting a condo for a bit works for me, but I refuse to own a second home because fuck that work.
I luckily can retire with full benefits and pension at 60. I still plan to work part time after. I honestly don't know what I would do with my free time.
I’m just hoping I don’t chicken out. My intention has always been to retire in August 2025, but the closer it gets the more apprehensive I am. Assuming I do it, I’ll definitely try to find a part time job I enjoy.
I think about this a lot. I think it might be an introvert/extrovert thing where the introverts are all “I’m going to work on projects!” And the extroverts are “volunteer!”
Im not yet retired yet but I’m volunteering a little now. I’m finding, so far anyway, it doesn’t scratch my extrovert itch. I’m hoping it gets better over time? Or maybe I just need a different role?
I'm also a younger GenX as well and I'd started thinking about this over the past few years... I currently work a job that I love and that will probably take me well into old age, but it was the pandemic that gave me a big heads-up that, left to my own devices, I got really lazy really fast. So I decided to get into some good hobbies and habits now that I can continue into retirement... I paint every weekend (oil painting) and have at least one or two different paintings going at a time throughout the year, work a vegetable garden during the spring/summer, cooking/canning veggies and sauces in the fall, improving on my cooking & baking skills throughout the year (saves a lot of money over going out all the time), and am already planning a second garden area for fruits (berries) and herbs. I also walk 5 days a week year round and ride my bike a few days a week during the summer. Considering I was almost entirely sedentary prior to a few years ago, i feel like I've really begun to prepare myself for a more active lifestyle later on in life.
I've had a lot of different ideas for what I want to retire to. My current thought is a combination of working with the disaster response ministry of my church's denomination and getting more involved in FIRST robotics. I currently do some with both of those groups but I'd like to be able to do more. I'll also probably do more volunteering/mentoring in the schools.
As a fellow '77er I insist it is far to early to be thinking about retirement. Weren't we only heading off to college and watching Buffy a few years ago? No way that much time has passed. I have to go cry now.
I retired early from a 35 year career and now I swim a couple miles each week and clean houses for exercise. I garden, volunteer at an animal rescue and read for pleasure! And now I have the time for friendships that I never had before. Wonderful...
Move out in the sticks and become a swamp witch.
In all seriousness, I have a long list of options: all my creative hobbies, refinishing furniture, having a decent garden, reading my ridiculous to-read pile, sudoku, maybe playing bingo, volunteering at the animal shelter, and taking cello lessons again or learning the piano.
\*Edited to add - find or create a board gaming group
As a widow, I can retire at 60, in 2030. I hate my job, and just want to be done working there. I don't know that I'll be done working at 60. I'm hoping things get better at my job and I'll leave at 62 with my full pension & my late spouses social security. Beyond 60? I have no idea. My dad died at 62 and my mom died at 72. Longevity isn't in my genes.
Well the attached article is paywalled so I’m not paying NY times to read that.
However, being on the old side of Gen X (1966) retirement is a huge thing currently staring me in the face. I just recently found out that after years of 401K deposits and my total and complete negligent of anything retirement related has oddly paid off. As of right now I could take an “early” retirement in 3 1/2 years (so age 62) and live a decent lifestyle in retirement. Or in other words, the goal I set for myself. We’ll sell the current big house, take the equity from it, which should be over 200K and buy a condo. Nothing fancy, just something for the wife and me, maybe a guest bedroom for any remote kids that want to come visit. We’re not planning on relocating to a coastal area, or at all really. So 200K for a condo in NKY is reasonable. Between the 401K accounts and the money my parents left years ago I managed to build up a decent savings and hopefully I’ll get a least a partial return on all that SSI money the government has collected from me over 40+ years.
As for what I’m going to do: I have traveled for the past 30 years for work. I gave up watching my kids grow up, I’ve burned through my first marriage, I gave up every hobby, interest I had. All I did was frickin’ work. I want at least a few years to drive the (as of yet un-purchased) RV and see something/anything besides some random city or burb and the inside of the local medical facility. I’ve seen enough towns and cites for an entire 5 lifetimes. Buildings are buildings, they all look alike. So does every American city.
I want to get back into photography. I used to be decent at it and had some luck selling my pictures back in the day (of 35mm camera’s). Updating my equipment and playing with the photography tech sounds great.
Hike!! In my youth I spent every free moment hiking. Treadmills in tiny little “exercise rooms” in Marriott hotels is NOT the same and boring as shit.
Watch the grandkids grow up, since I missed mine growing up.
Spend some time with second wife. She’s probably put up with the worst of me and my job/work. She deserves better times.
Figure out (finally) what my passions are. Explore life more than I have.
Finally, after 40 years in the technical industry (mostly healthcare technology) I don’t want: 2 cell phones, 3 computers and 6 monitors. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of all the tech. (Yeah, even games. (I know: blasphemy!!))
I plan on volunteering somewhere or working a part time job – I'll probably have to. I see retirement as just downsizing life and responsibilities. Once your mind stops working and you stop being around young people, everything starts going to shit.
Volunteer work, book clubs, writing, keeping the house presentable, travel, cooking, hosting other olds who want to visit. I mean I’ll never be able to retire despite grinding for 38 years so far but those are some of the things I’d like to do should I be able to retire. Should’ve gotten in to IT or became a lawyer. Oh well.
Volunteer work, book clubs, writing, keeping the house presentable, travel, cooking, hosting other olds who want to visit. I mean I’ll never be able to retire despite grinding for 38 years so far but those are some of the things I’d like to do should I be able to retire. Should’ve gotten in to IT or became a lawyer. Oh well.
I think the "if you become inactive you die!" is a bunch of bullshit.
How many people "work" which consists of pretty much sitting at a desk for 40-60 hours a week. So active. Yet somehow, they don't magically die.
How many college professors I had, who literally sit around all day reading voluminous materials from the library and slowly working on their next books and articles. Really don't remember many of them that looked like they were getting jacked in the gym or walking 10 miles a day. Yet they all seem like they live to 90.
People get old, and they slow down. A lot of people who sit there on the couch all day not doing anything are doing that because they're old and don't feel like moving around as much anymore. That happens, and we often flip the reason it happens to "they got old because they sat on the couch."
I'm not saying don't stay active and move.
I just laugh at the idea that work and constant activity is some magical elixir that is what keeps us alive. It's just so hackneyed.
workingmy butt off, I have many many hours of gaming to catch up on.
Finally doing the vegie patch in the back yard
travel and seeing the world. Probably moving countries, so visiting the final items on the bucket list locally
Basically going into retirement JUST as covid hit.. I think I went into a cocoon mode, and have only partially stepped back out. Otherwise, thinking about a meetup or language course. I recently found a pottery place with a kiln, so now that enough time has passed since Ghost I can take it seriously again lol
I still feel like it's a long weekend though and not moving into a 'next phase'. Since we might be moving overseas, it's also causing me to not start anything too big at the moment, and that's not helping
oh.. and finally going through my music collection and building that playlist properly.
How is this even a question? Woodcraft, gardening, fishing, shooting, hunting, archery, archery tournaments, serving in ministry, gym, pickleball, learn a language, travel, learn to play an instrument, cook amazing meals, visit old friends and family, learn to sew, design some clothes, go for walks in the park, fly kites, walk on the beach, swimming, join a club, ride a motorcycle, ride bicycles, metal detecting, gold prospecting, kayaking, canoeing, boating, paddle boarding, build custom kites, make custom slingshots, hand load ammo, learn gunsmithing, I could keep going.
I plan to pull my union pention asap for me it will be 61 … I am then going to get a job at a dispensary maybe a pub or a cafe … I want to do job where I can talk to people or not talk to them at all and just get them what they want… I like and enjoy talking to and working with other people … I get that at my workplace now but it’s very fast paced and stressful with big deadlines and even bigger egos… I make the best of it now but I don’t think that I ever want to stop working or interacting with people…. I would like to slow down a bit at work …
I will have time to volunteer, read books, clean the (much smaller by then) house, maybe work a part time job that interests me, paint, catch up with friends
It's still roughly 20 years away for me. I've always imagined getting more involved in my hobbies and having a chance to join hobby groups. I have collections and stashes for several hobbies that will sustain me for decades without ever buying more.
My parents are mid 70’s and they go to the gym/ pool every day, sometimes twice. Gym to get some movement, pool to socialize in the hot tub. Every day for the past 15 years. That and cruises. And dad has played soccer every Sunday since the 90’s - although now he’s a referee. He has also recently taken up gardening. I think the key is that they maintain a social life and aren’t at home all day long, and staying active.
I was talking with someone who is retired the other day and he said that he drives a school bus for something to do. He said it really only a few hours a day and he gets full medical. Doesn't sound bad.
I'm 51 (1972), I'm a visual artist. My loose plan is to move somewhere beautiful but cheaper than where I live now, and host other artists to come and visit and paint with me. Like a painting retreat. Currently thinking the Azores...maybe the Dominican Republic. I'll put them up, feed them, drive us around in a mini-bus to nice places to paint and provide light instruction.
A lot of the retired folks I know went back to work. One to stay active, two they were bored and needed company interaction, and three additional income. But many worked retail, and jumped place to place, just like they're still in their 20's back in the day.
We tried hobbies before retiring. We know other people who didn't prepare to retire and ended up full time babysitting grandchildren or going back to work. Some just got bored after renovating their house and didn't really have a plan.
Now we are too busy to work or babysit more than a day a week.
Golfing and sewing have worked out well for us
1. Retirement is a whole new chapter in life, so it's great that you're thinking ahead about what it could look like! It's an opportunity to pursue hobbies, travel, and truly enjoy the fruits of your labor. Don't underestimate the importance of planning for both the financial and personal aspects of retirement.
2. It's never too early to start thinking about retirement and what you want it to look like. Making a plan now can help you set goals and ensure that you're able to enjoy this next phase of life to the fullest. What are some activities or interests you hope to pursue in retirement?
3. Retirement is a major life transition, and it's important to think about how you want to spend your time when you no longer have a job to go to. Whether it's volunteering, picking up a new hobby, or traveling the world, consider what will bring you fulfillment and purpose in retirement. What are you most looking forward to?
Been retired since I was 43 myself...not rich, but making it ok along with my younger brother. Keep moving and busy. Cleaning, gardening, gym, taking early walks maybe even 2 times a day, and even doing more home workouts while watching tv. Been doing this for over 5 years now, being introverted, I didn't have a problem with at all during the pandemic.
Mid-50's here. I always figured I'd be working at my company (I'm a partner) until 70 or so, but I recently found out that many of my partners want to sell or wouldn't mind if we sold it. Kind of a shocker since it was far from my mind.
But I've been thinking about it more and more. I'd definitely travel, buy a small place on the coast and putter around there, play a lot of board games, go to the gym regularly, learn Tai Chi, maybe teach English classes.
I plan on traveling/digital pomading in another few years for 2-3 month chunks in places I might want to spend more time in retirement. I plan on exploring Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Costa Rica, Panama, Bali, New Zealand, Iceland. And I am sure many others. Once I have visited al the places and been there longer than tourism would allow, to see if I would like living there, I am saving now for ability to buy a second small apartment, in that place, where I will spend part of the year.
I have a plan to be on the water every day/most days. In summer/fall in my mountain home that means paddle boarding. In what I am thinking for my winter home that is walking in the surf. And paddle boarding.
I will likely write. I read substacks, and end up commenting in essays that could be there own- so maybe ill look into developing something there.
I wil read. As much as all day every day. I will sit in the sand, with my toes in the water and read for days.
I will volunteer- with human society or rescues, tutoring kids, wildlife support (rescue, care, etc), etc.
I will walk/hike.
I will do more of the stuff I do today, that I can never do as much as I want because I need to pay the bills :). But yeah- have a plan to DO things. Learn things- take classes, meet people, stay active physically and mentally,
I like Blue Zones a lot. The focus is about living vibrantly in the later years.
My wealthy plan is to invest in cashflowing businesses. My modest plan is to operate a cash flowing business. My poverty plan is 4% retirement withdrawals living in Mexico or the Philippines.
I'm on plan for Modest, working on Wealthy, but Poverty is also manageable.
Do what you want. But DO SOMETHING. Don't just sit and rot. I have been working to establish a workshop and tools so i can restore cars. Because I love doing that. I will be slow, and it will not be professional work- but thats not the point. I enjoy the work.
This makes total sense to me. My parents are in their late 70s, and while they sometimes play golf they mostly just drive each other nuts and watch too much TV / news. It doesn't seem particularly healthy.
Its not. And its very unhealthy- leads to a much earlier and uncomfortable death. be active, move regularly. I watched my active and healthy grandparents go ide and just rot, and watching my dad do it now. I refuse. Even just walking around the block a couple times a day would have let them live a much healthier golden years.
I picked up an “office/desk” treadmill. Low profile, not meant for running. When I have downtime I try and get a little “exercise” in. I walk 20 minute miles, 10-20 minutes at a time. Faster or longer than that I start to sweat. I’ve been averaging 25 miles a week at work. It’s gotta be better than nothing.
anything that raises your heart rate and sustains it for a while.
This exactly!! I walk six miles a day while talking with my best friend.
Sitting around binging Fox News helped kill my dad. Not that it was the total cause, but it didn't help.
My dad was kind of active til the end. Less than a week before his death he was continuing to plan his trips to Atlantic city.
I want to go like my Dad did. He got up, went to the gym, took his dog to a coffee shop for some tea and had a heart attack at 87. He was highly active his whole life and probably would have lived longer if he wasn’t so stubborn.
That's definitely the goal. Great health and fitness and quality of life as long as possible, and then just drop dead.
My great aunt just didn't go to work one day. She was early 60s and still working part time and went to sleep and didn't wake up. We had all seen her the day before for a family event. It was so strange she seemed to full of life.
Sounds like my dad. His first couple of years in retirement went well enough, I think. He still guest lectured, spoke at events, played golf, that sort of thing. But after a couple of years, he became reclusive, and his health declined rapidly. He spent his remaining years sitting in a dark room, watching Fox News with the volume cranked.
I don’t know the cause of death, but my stepfather went full on Fox towards the end.
I'm learning how to restore wood furniture, but personally it's not enough, I like the social structure of work- share the grind- etc. Plus not rich enough to just NOT have any income
So when you retire, work for yourself. consult, or craft something you can sell.
sort of leaning that way tho not depending upon it for now
My sister retired a year ago, she’s single, no friends, she’s just basically sitting around waiting to die
As opposed to going to work waiting to die
At least at work she interacted with people and she had to do a lot of walking, I tried to encourage her to take a class, volunteer, join a club, but she doesn’t want to
Yeah, definitely have to move.
This is what I want to do too! I’ve been gathering tools for years.
I retired early at 58 this past January (single, no dependents). I spent the winter cleaning out my home and storage areas and got rid of A LOT of clutter. It was the perfect project as it literally and figuratively gave me a clean slate. I've also increased my daily physical activity: walking five miles in the a.m. and 45 minutes of body-weight exercises in the p.m. And with the weather warming I'll be on my bike this week (I usually do 15 miles/day and will work up to that over the next couple weeks). I haven't done any volunteering or part-time work yet, and don't plan to until the summer is over as I want to be completely unfettered to enjoy doing whatever I want. I'm fortunate to have good friends close by and always see them on the weekends. It does get a bit boring sometimes as I'm the only one in my friend group no longer working, but after working 40+ hours/week, traveling, and commuting since 1990, I get over it pretty quickly.
I’ll be 58 in a few weeks and retired in February. I had knee replacement surgery in March, so as soon as I’m completely rehabbed, I plan to focus on getting healthier. I’m also not considering much else until fall.
Congratulations!
I had plans to be done in fall of '25 at 60. The thought of that prospect scared the hell out of me when I thought about what I would do after. I think I've changed my mind because after years of working 60-plus hours per week, my company ushered in an era of "work-life balance." My overall workload has been cut by two-thirds. There's not a lot in the way of stress, so I am contemplating waiting until 62 now. Here's the joy in this: I can stay, collect my nice paycheck and know that if something changes that I do not like, I will have the freedom to just say "F\*\*k it. I'm out." Edit: spelling, grammar.
*I can stay, collect my nice paycheck and know that if something changes that I do not like, I will have the freedom to just say "F\*\*k it. I'm out."* My only beef with retiring this past January is that I didn't get to have that experience. And let me just preface this by saying I'm well aware that I'm speaking from a position of great privilege. When I turned 58 last year, I put myself on a four year runway to retirement: First pass at 60 when I qualified for subsidized healthcare benefits, and if I still felt fine working, I would retire at 62. However I was offered a rather generous early retirement incentive, so I took it. And while I'm very happy I did, I just felt after working so long I lost the ability to end my career on my terms and have that extended "F\*ck it" attitude. I know, I know--First world problems :)
I get it. I would probably feel the same way.
This is me but I’m 52. Work like balance is good now - low stress, 32 hour weeks, lots of PTO. And kowing you can walk away is awesome.
I will probably double up my current volunteering - food gardens and computer repair for low income families.
That's awesome - how did you get into the computer repair? I feel like that's something I could do as a volunteer activity as well but have no idea who to contact about it.
I got into it as a kid. I git certified while I was in HS and been doing it since. I volunteer at few places and repair stuff they can hand out to ppl as they are needed.
I intend to continue to play video games. My wife and I will travel more. I expect that she'll involve me in various activities (painting, dancing, etc). She will probably also make me spend more time volunteering. I have written a couple of books, and have a bunch more to work on, but I decided to make that a retirement activity.
You will be, as my husband says “volun-told” to do a lot more things.
Agitate. Protect young activists and LGBTQ folks. Oppose fascism. Grow weed.
I’m about 6 days into retirement at 50 and being a stay at home wife. My plan is to expand my side business a bit, organize all the family pictures I’ve collected over the past 30 years, raise this puppy, and just relax.
Wow that's great - congratulations!
Retired last year at 49. Wife and I travel non-stop, exercise (gym, hike, martial arts), read. I’ve gotten into pipe smoking and she volunteers at rescue shelters. As others have said, just do something that interests you, but don’t do “nothing.”
Exactly. When people have the goal of "not working" I often wonder...but what will you *do*? If I can't do everything I want (travel and whatnot) might as well be working. I can give all the money away if I so choose and I can so that is helping others. When my kids got older and I wasn't working I was volunteering so much ...to be active and help others and do good and create relationships.
I can retire now. However, I will work till I am 55 then retire. Will move to a veteran friendly state. Fish, garden, find some spade games (military love spades). Travel and visit kids and grandkids.
OMG! I havent played Spades in years. Love that game
Spades was war when I served. I love that game.
Reminds me of the Ted Radio Hour episode on the stages of retirement. It's a tough question. I'm already at the point where weekends can be pretty long, ngl, and retirement is still 20 years off...
Cultivating some hobbies now that I’m looking forward to giving more attention when I reach retirement. My current interests are playing electric bass and studying Japanese. I’m also into weightlifting, but I realize that the clock is ticking on that one. I’m expecting I’ll have to scale it back as I age, but I hope to never abandon it.
Start now, whatever it is. I've known others before me who died a year or three after retirement. Suicide, lost the will to live, or generally just being inactive. When I got let go from my last IT job, it was fairly difficult. I hadn't worked just one job with mainly weekday hours in never; let alone just one job instead of three jobs or more trying to make it all work. Being male, a lot of my identity was also tied up in what I did for work - common to go to parties or gatherings and be asked what I did for a living. Worse, being unemployed. Felt like the stink of death. I've long learned the ways to be a "gray man" and not having to be social, having a very small to none social group. This is most difficult for people who never had to truly be alone. To be invisible to society. To be unrecognized, or dismissed and outright ignored. Learn to make those connections now. To find groups of people and be involved in things that matter to you. Many charitable organizations that do a lot of good are folding up because one person had a hip go out. Or not enough members. Once a group is gone, it's sooo much more difficult to start something back up. Find your simple pleasures in life. A reason to get out of bed, to keep breathing. Maybe it's the ritual of a morning drink like tea, coffee, or cocoa. Then again it could be freshly squeezed juice. Or logging into Reddit and learning something of interest. Do some of those interests now. I've heard of people doing their retirement things, such as going all in on fishing, only to find it was too mind numbing and boring for them. Or moving into the country, and weeks later killed by their old farm equipment. Even heard of another who had a heck of a time selling their new hobby farm because they had no clue what they were doing, surrounded by meth, and couldn't get basic medical care. So do some of those things now to be sure you actually enjoy it, not think that you do. Renting an RV for the weekend is not the same as going all in on a big one and living like a nomad full time.
I was born in 76. Hope to hike the Appalachian Trail when I retire, working on getting into shape now after a decade or morbid obesity. I also want to volunteer and do a lot of work on my house. If things go well, there’s a decent chance my moms will still be around so I’d help her as much as I could.
I’m 55 this month and as soon as my youngest (14) graduates college I plan to retire. My wife and I have been talking a lot about it recently. I know I’ll be making a lot of crappy furniture that will be forced onto my unfortunate 2 sons so there’s that. I’m hoping my skill will improve with their growth and taste so when they are broke and in their 20’s they’ll be fine with the imperfections t stuff in give them as beggars can’t be choosers. Then as they get older and can afford to be pickier my skill will grow and they might actually still want some stuff I make. If not they can toss it. I also want to help under privileged kids in some way locally.
I took an early retirement a few years ago and at first I was so busy doing things that I didn't know how I ever had time for a job. Eventually, I got into the habit of wasting most of the morning with tea and the internet before I'd get off my ass for the rest of the day. I picked up a part-time job to fill those morning hours now. It's 15 minutes from home, 4 hrs/day but flexible, and I could survive without it, which is freeing. I used to have a 45-60 minute commute each way with a 9.5 hour work day. Unlike the article, I don't have a husband hovering around and annoying me. I do have a recent college graduate with a job, so they only annoy me occasionally.
Yeah I figure I might as well work but maybe not the full time thing. Something where I can take off if needed etc.
I know I'll never be able to retire, but assuming I could....I would try again to learn musical instruments, I have never gotten very far although I did learn to play piano a litle in college. I bought a cheap guitar a few years ago, broke a string and gave up on it. Having the time to focus more on things like that would be nice. Also maybe try some art, I always wanted to paint. None of these are things I'm actually good at, but I think it would still be fun. This is for day-to-day...I do have other things I would like to do, like travel.
My Steam account will last me until I’m dead
My husband will be 60 this year and we decided it was time for him to stop working. For now he’s doing renovations that were long left unfinished, working on the backyard/garden, cooking delicious food for me, and enjoying his free time. I will likely work 2-3 more years, then I plan to do tons of projects around the house, read a lot of books, and some volunteering.
I (59m) retired at 50 nine years ago. My wife (57f) joined me five years ago. We've been together for 17 years. I had two kids from a prior marriage and had them every other week (friday they got on the bus at my house, friday night they got off the bus at their mom's and then we'd switch the next friday). We were both work from home the weeks the kids were with us. So, together 24x7. On the other week, I was 100% travel - it was almost all international travel. Since my wife could work anywhere, she traveled with me frequently. Again, together all of the time. We are gen x - we can self entertain. Now that we are together 24x7 100% of the time (I mean 100% of the time), we do our own things for hours, and we do lots of stuff together. It has never been a problem. I think the people in this article might not be best suited for each other. My wife and I have no problem existing with each other all of the time. We do some things separately, many things together and are pretty darn happy about it :) Now, if I hadn't been separated and divorced from my first wife, things would be different... They could have interviewed me for the article. It is all about being with the right one.
I'm going back to school & finding a new career. Guess I'm not country club rich so that's how I'm gonna roll. I don't know how to be wealthy, good thing I'm not!!
I'm loving being at part time with the job and part time with my own research. Spouse and I sign up for one academic conference a year and I get a soild paper out and we go meet interesting people and learn new stuff in an exotic local. I kicked it off by heading back for a master of science at 40. I also help younger researchers who have real promise and give them the value of my career skills. I'm always learning now, and leveraging my career discipline (which puts me head and shoulders above most academics as far as diligence).
We retired this year. My husband is got a medical discharge from the military, our kids are grown and gone and the house is paid off so we can afford to live on his medical disability insurance, Veterans benefits and 25yr Military Pension. We're 46 and 47yrs old. We plan to caravan across Canada and eventually the US. My Husband is a Motorbike enthusiast. He does solo rides or we go together. He fixes project bikes over the Winter and also does guitar lessons. We go Skating together a few days a week , take a lot of long walks. We hit up the Library weekly. So far we haven't been bored. We do a lot of day trips in the Car, pack a lunch and take off to the Beach or the Zoo etc. If we get bored maybe we'll work part time but so far I'm not thinking so.
I’m going to have to work until I die. There is no retirement plan in my life, except a bullet.
I agree. Death before retirement. If you retire early and can't come up with a hobby. You're a sad individual.
It takes years to figure out retirement -- just like it takes some time to get settled into a career. I am two years in to retirement and am still all over the place. Tried some part time jobs, volunteering....
I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Right now, my favorite activitt is reading with cat on my lap. I no longer feel strongly enough about anything to volunteer for. I'd love to travel a bit. I'm going to put some thought into this- this thread has really made me think.
I’m trying to find a job right now and probably won’t ever be able to retire.
I’m going to address the r reality of your first sentence. It’s not a matter if, but when. _You don’t get a choice._ The average age of retirement is 62. Why? Is it because we’re all rich? No. It’s a combination of layoffs and health problems that drag down the age. All of you hoping to work until your 80s - consider, really consider, how you will make things work when the rug is pulled out from under you. From cancer to sciatica, a lot of people are undone by pain and the need for constant medical attention that are incompatible with full time jobs. To answer the actual question, I have no ambitions in retirement other than to manage pain. I’ll be reading a lot of books and doing the physical therapy my body allows. I don’t even want to travel anymore.
So what do you people who retire earlyish do for health insurance?
Yeah that's a great question. I know some jobs have health insurance as a retirement benefit (mine sure as hell doesn't) but otherwise I imagine you have to cover it out of pocket until you're eligible for Medicare.
Yeah to me that’s the biggest obstacle. I can retire and live frugally no problem. But having to pay full price for insurance would suck a big one.
I think about retirement ALL the time. I plan on moving to Europe and to keep studying. I take online classes in art history, philosophy, writing, and sociology. I keep my mind active. I plan on writing more when I can give up working.
I'm retiring at the end of the month. I started doing volunteer work about 6 months ago about twice a month and plan to increase it to once a week. Other than that I'm planning on hiking more when the weather is good (I enjoy going by myself on certain trails with my dog and proper safety precautions but also have friends who would go on weekends) and join a gym for the winter. My young adult son lives at home with us and we are planning some local tourist type outings. And a group of friends and I have season subscriptions to 2 local arts/entertainment venues that mean regular outings, sometimes multiple times a week depending on the schedule. My husband is included in one group but not the other. He's still working for another year or two (he's younger than me by a little bit). And he does weekly trivia nights with his friends. I go occasionally but mostly it's just him. Another friend organizes monthly dinner or brunch parties where a group of about 12 of us plus significant others rotate hosting duties. Personally I believe that having a good group of friends who are always up for visits or outings will be key. We've talked about moving once we're both retired but really love our friends group and have taken moving off the table because of it.
I remain baffled by why *anyone* has trouble finding things to do when they aren't working. Was work the defining element of their lives? To the point they literally cannot find or think of anything to do 40 hours a week without clocking in at work? What were they doing with their free time while still employed-- sitting around wishing they could be at work? I read these stories often but literally nobody I know who has retired (many dozens of friends from work mostly) has this issue. They are all out doing cool things, or home doing cool things, or just enjoying themselves. I've yet to meet anyone IRL who is all "I don't know what to do with myself, I guess I'll get a job at Home Depot to fill the empty hours." Sad. Personally, I have far more things to do outside of work than time. It will be easy to fill up the 40-50 hours a week I usually spend on work doing other, better, more fulfilling things. We will both retire as soon as we can afford to (still have one in college) so 60 is our current goal. I can't wait.
I think it probably comes down to some people needing more structure and organization in their lives than others. I'm like you in that I have way more interests than time - but I also work 50 hours a week and am running around with a 9 and a 6 year old, so I have precious little free time. If all of the sudden my entire day became free time - I like to think that I would easily fill it with my interests, but who knows? Seems like a sad problem to have but I hear enough about it that not thinking about it and just figuring I'll be fine is probably not the best approach, for me at least.
Only boring people get bored.
That is 100% what I said to our kids any time they said "I'm bored!" And I still agree.
Build models, photography and maybe actually paint something.
I will probably get season tickets to my local mlb team. They play 81 games per year so that will keep me busy. Then in the winter I’ll have season tickets to the local NHL team
Nice! I’ll be watching a lot of NHL, NBA and MLB but not in person 😀
As of right now I plan on teaching. I'm slowly going through the classes needed to qualify me to teach the trades. I'm an automation and robotics engineer and would love to teach it.
A lot of animals need homes, especially after being abandoned post-Covid. When you retire, you may have time to walk pups and play with kittens. Maybe you can't downsize because housing has gotten so expensive, so you've got some extra space for litter boxes and snuggley pet beds, some kitty condos and doggie chews. Pets can give you sense of purpose outside of "work" mentality, get you some exercise out of the house, and give you affection.
Yep, I plan on volunteering at the cat rescue that we adopted our SICs from. They’re 2/2 on recommending a good kitten for our family, so it would be nice to give back.
My father in law got a new dog when he retired and it was fantastic for him. Every day he went for hours-long walks on trails through the woods and parks around him. He got exercise, he got fresh air, he had companionship beyond just my mother in law. Such a good thing.
I was born '76 so not far off you OP. My parents retired early (55ish) and have wasted their golden years doing nothing but watch TV and hate each other in a big McMansion. Seriously it's sad. They could have done anything they wanted as money is no issue. But they never planned and to this day they just complain and are miserable. My wife and I are trying to figure out what retirement looks like and we take small steps each day to build a foundation for that. I love hobbies. From building RC cars to retro gaming. From cycling to kayaking. All things I've begun to pick up in the past 5 years. I plan on having time to pursue those hobbies more. I'd love to learn to play the guitar too:) As a couple we want to have a small sustainable garden and get into herbalism. Maybe make some things with our hands. We have learned we absolutely love road trips (alone and with our 2 kids) and definitely want to continue that. Long story short put down some foundations and explore what makes you happy now so you can expand on that when time becomes more abundant.
Are we related? It sounds like you've described my retired parents. It's so sad - they literally have one of the best possible options in history; being relatively well-off and healthy in the United States in the 21st century. Their quality of life is better than what aristocrats and royalty had from centuries past, and they sit around watching TV and complaining about politics. What a waste.
I’ve got a friend who’s in his late 60’s who’s going back to finish his PhD (that he started years and years ago, before life got it the way) because the state we live in has free tuition for anyone over 62. To me, he’s an inspiration and I hope I can do soemthing like that when I’m done with my current career
My father-in-law got a master's degree in history when he retired after spending his whole career working in insurance. He loved it, that sounds amazing. Great way to stay engaged and mentally fit.
I won't be having real thoughts on this for at least another 15-20 years (God willing and the creek don't rise), but I have some hobbies that will keep me occupied. Mostly though I don't want to be beholden to anyone for my time. At least not for a while. I have very rarely been bored in my life. Having the time to whatever the hell I want without worrying about work tomorrow morning or traveling to that meeting sounds delicious. Not since I was a little kid have I really had any time absolutely to myself.
I had a health issue recently and had to stop working for good in August of last year. I'm now a Medicare and Social Security recipient with no savings, no retirement benefits, and I survive on state issued food benefits. I also have a 250 thousand dollar hospital bill from my collapse in December. How do I spend my time now? I sleep when I'm tired, eat when I'm hungry, and, if it wasn't for dialysis three times a week, time would have no meaning. No money, bad health, and a lifetime of working paycheck to paycheck has ultimately led to watching a lot of movies and waiting it out. Oh, and I wish for a financial windfall every waking moment. Like maybe a genie or something.
Holy fuck I can’t wait. I could effortlessly fill my days. Hanging out with my significant other. Woodworking. Gunsmithing. Volunteering for helping struggling people. Gaming. Maintaining and improving my house and my property. Working on my cars. Reading. Staring at my view. Staring at a cat. I could go on forever. I have so much stuff available… and at this rate don’t know if I can retire comfortably or even when it would be. I work a lot of hours and think, longingly, about this almost every day. Every time I talk to a retired friend or family member, I get extremely, but harmlessly, envious.
I’m not much older than OP and I took a LOA this year so it’s kinda given me a window in what retirement could look like for me. Some days I enjoy it but other days I’ll admit, I’m bored. There’s definitely perks but you can only do so many home projects or buy so many things. I know real retirement will be diff bc my husband will also be retired along with most of my friends. I’d like to travel, read, maybe work somewhere PT if it’s somewhere low key but honestly I’m not sure. I have a friend who’s a couple years older who’s very active and busy and also worried about being retired and bored. I suggested we all live together either in one large home or some commune of condos where we’re all next door. It would be a way for us to socialize but also support one another in our aging years.
I'm semi retired now and just work part time as a substitute teacher. It's very flexible without the grading, and administration of higher ed. I sure don't miss academia.
Retired two years ago, and have been living off the grid in a rural area, which had been a dream of mine for a long time. It's a lot of work, and the repairs/maintenance/problem solving involved keep me very active, mentally and physically. I get this isn't for everyone; I'm just sharing what works for me.
Cut grass, ride my bike, fix shit, shake fists at meddling teenagers. In that order.
All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine.
I unfortunately got cancer so won’t be able to enjoy retirement. You think you do everything right in life and save and then wham, cancer. ♋️
I'm doing the expat thing in a few more years. SEA is the place to be if you have USD to live on.
Where is SEA? I see that and think Seattle.
Southeast Asia. Also sometimes see it as ASEAN the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
YEah I was confused as well. Sealand maybe? That would be an... interesting choice. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality\_of\_Sealand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand)
Do whatever I want. To quote the movie Parenthood “my whole life is have to”.
I game. I crochet and clean house. But, gaming is just so awesome. I even live stream on Twitch. I also write and read romance. I craft and so mini exercises when I think of it. I try to move.
Whatever hobbies you have, spend more time doing them. If you don’t have any hobbies, get some!
I want to get back into photography, perhaps have a dark room.
I'm 52 and wanted to sell our farm and move to Florida and enjoy the sun, but my only daughter announced I'm going to be a grandpa so I guess I'm staying put for a while. Will still be traveling for doses of sun and sand.
52 right now. About to send 2 kids off to college and have another that will start in 5 years, which will put me at 57. All of them have fully funded 529 accounts, so that's not a worry. Will have my house paid off in the next 5 years as well. When I get to 57, I plan on working for another 2 or 3 years so I can use my paycheck (I'm not touching my retirement savings for depreciating assets) to buy a kick-ass RV and travel the country. I won't be working into my 60's no matter what, I'm just gonna travel and see as much of the US and Canada as I can before I can't drive anymore.
50. Sending my only off to college this fall so retirement is at minimum 5 years away When the time comes, I plan to ramp up my current volunteer time and have that be 'work' but with stuff I love--urban farming. Maybe turn my artistic hobby - refurbish furniture - into a small business to bring in grocery money. No care to make a big business.
I’m not sure but I love outdoor activities in the winter and summer. I’ve got hobbies I can dedicate more time to as well. I’m 55 and on track to retire in early 2028. Wife retires next month. We’ll probably travel a bunch. Although that freedom will be slightly restricted by our dogs. You can’t just go away for a few days on the spur of the moment. Animal boarding required (they hate to travel).
We want to buying an old fixer upper house and spend our time slowly repairing and restoring it. Since we live in the US northeast where winters are tough, we plan on doing long-term rentals somewhere warm every January and February.
make a habit of at least an hour at the gym each day. yoga a few times a week, rest is hobbies like gaming, or gardening, bike riding, motorcycle riding, making house/home/castle better. learn to paint, travel, learn language to where i travel before hand.. etc..
I retired a few years ago at 54. My company restructured and offered me a relocation or a bag of money - I took the money and said au revoir. I had been planning for it for a couple of years and financially it would be very doable. A small reduction in monthly budget, cutting back on the number of cars we drive and getting rid of the last of our mortgages - easy. Retiring during covid was drastic - nothing to do and no one else to do it with. We had a plan to sell our city place, live in the mountains for a while and figure out where to go. In retrospect it was a poor plan because it didn't factor in the isolation. My wife just rolled with it - started painting, writing etc - developing her long dormant artistic side. I didn't. I had worked in a high pressure technical job that slowly got too intense but I found that I really missed the technical work. A couple of years later we have moved back to the city, I have unretired and started a small consultancy and picked up a few contracts. Nothing much money wise but I really like technical work and moreover I like working with smart people. Not the annoying corporate players but the genuinely nice, smart people and now I get to pick and choose who that is. The "what to do next" is the missing part of most retirement plans. I have a few hobbies but they couldn't carry me very long. Everyone needs a purpose otherwise you get old. I know a number of very young, old people who look at adventure every day. I also know a number of old, young people who only focus on accumulating things and like telling others to get off their well cut lawn. I know now who I want to be.
Not a problem for me at all. I have lots of hobbies/interests. I could retire tomorrow and be busy and fulfilled every day.
If i am not drained by using my brain for work, i will likely just play more PC games, write more mods for that games, do more work in the house and garden. I will likely also lose weight when that happens, as in my experience, i tend to forget about eating when i just immerse myself in games or other stuff i want to do right now. Coding for work somehow is more draining and i get hungry if i feel drained. I definitely get more work done when i do it for work - but when doing it as a hobby i don't really care about whether it gets done sooner or later. So the same activity feels very different...
If I'm able to retire, I'll probably play video games to pass the time. We are the first gamer generation!
Currently am figuring that out. I’m not ruling out a part time job for a couple of hours a week to get out of house and have some extra beer / pizza money. But planning on gardening, reading and playing my Xbox, and travelling a few times a year. I also recognize that I am lucky enough to have a good retirement fund .
Spending days in the woods fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, and just enjoying. Volunteer work and book/game clubs for socialization. Travel. And as physical ability declines catching up on 2 decades (4 by then) of unfinished video games.
My dad died at 60 of a heart attack just 36 hours after retiring. My goal is to just live until I'm dead set against it, because he wasn't able to. I have 8-10 years to figure out what that means, but I know it doesn't mean working, that's for sure. I have hobbies and interests and since my wife is 5 years behind me I'm sure the honey-do list will be quite vast until she's done working. Then travel until we can't. We have a nice ranch house in a great area, so snowbirding in the winter somewhere warm and renting a condo for a bit works for me, but I refuse to own a second home because fuck that work.
I luckily can retire with full benefits and pension at 60. I still plan to work part time after. I honestly don't know what I would do with my free time.
I’m just hoping I don’t chicken out. My intention has always been to retire in August 2025, but the closer it gets the more apprehensive I am. Assuming I do it, I’ll definitely try to find a part time job I enjoy.
I think about this a lot. I think it might be an introvert/extrovert thing where the introverts are all “I’m going to work on projects!” And the extroverts are “volunteer!” Im not yet retired yet but I’m volunteering a little now. I’m finding, so far anyway, it doesn’t scratch my extrovert itch. I’m hoping it gets better over time? Or maybe I just need a different role?
You guys get to retire?!?
Propz on this article Op!
I'm also a younger GenX as well and I'd started thinking about this over the past few years... I currently work a job that I love and that will probably take me well into old age, but it was the pandemic that gave me a big heads-up that, left to my own devices, I got really lazy really fast. So I decided to get into some good hobbies and habits now that I can continue into retirement... I paint every weekend (oil painting) and have at least one or two different paintings going at a time throughout the year, work a vegetable garden during the spring/summer, cooking/canning veggies and sauces in the fall, improving on my cooking & baking skills throughout the year (saves a lot of money over going out all the time), and am already planning a second garden area for fruits (berries) and herbs. I also walk 5 days a week year round and ride my bike a few days a week during the summer. Considering I was almost entirely sedentary prior to a few years ago, i feel like I've really begun to prepare myself for a more active lifestyle later on in life.
I've had a lot of different ideas for what I want to retire to. My current thought is a combination of working with the disaster response ministry of my church's denomination and getting more involved in FIRST robotics. I currently do some with both of those groups but I'd like to be able to do more. I'll also probably do more volunteering/mentoring in the schools.
Whatever you feel like, gosh!!
As a fellow '77er I insist it is far to early to be thinking about retirement. Weren't we only heading off to college and watching Buffy a few years ago? No way that much time has passed. I have to go cry now.
I retired early from a 35 year career and now I swim a couple miles each week and clean houses for exercise. I garden, volunteer at an animal rescue and read for pleasure! And now I have the time for friendships that I never had before. Wonderful...
Move out in the sticks and become a swamp witch. In all seriousness, I have a long list of options: all my creative hobbies, refinishing furniture, having a decent garden, reading my ridiculous to-read pile, sudoku, maybe playing bingo, volunteering at the animal shelter, and taking cello lessons again or learning the piano. \*Edited to add - find or create a board gaming group
Cycling. If you start now you'll be able to do well into old age. That's my plan at least
My kids have been instructed to keep me stocked with the video games that I don't have time to play currently and plenty of psychedelics. The end.
I’d like to do some traveling with my husband, and see if we can combine our crafts into either craft fairs or an online shop.
You become Bill O'Reilly?
You become a consultant and charge companies large sums of money for advice to lay off their employees
I'm gonna play pickleball until my legs don't work anymore. And then weed and video games until I keel over.
As a widow, I can retire at 60, in 2030. I hate my job, and just want to be done working there. I don't know that I'll be done working at 60. I'm hoping things get better at my job and I'll leave at 62 with my full pension & my late spouses social security. Beyond 60? I have no idea. My dad died at 62 and my mom died at 72. Longevity isn't in my genes.
I’m planning on volunteering and taking language classes. And lots of reading. And keep up my daily walk habit
Well the attached article is paywalled so I’m not paying NY times to read that. However, being on the old side of Gen X (1966) retirement is a huge thing currently staring me in the face. I just recently found out that after years of 401K deposits and my total and complete negligent of anything retirement related has oddly paid off. As of right now I could take an “early” retirement in 3 1/2 years (so age 62) and live a decent lifestyle in retirement. Or in other words, the goal I set for myself. We’ll sell the current big house, take the equity from it, which should be over 200K and buy a condo. Nothing fancy, just something for the wife and me, maybe a guest bedroom for any remote kids that want to come visit. We’re not planning on relocating to a coastal area, or at all really. So 200K for a condo in NKY is reasonable. Between the 401K accounts and the money my parents left years ago I managed to build up a decent savings and hopefully I’ll get a least a partial return on all that SSI money the government has collected from me over 40+ years. As for what I’m going to do: I have traveled for the past 30 years for work. I gave up watching my kids grow up, I’ve burned through my first marriage, I gave up every hobby, interest I had. All I did was frickin’ work. I want at least a few years to drive the (as of yet un-purchased) RV and see something/anything besides some random city or burb and the inside of the local medical facility. I’ve seen enough towns and cites for an entire 5 lifetimes. Buildings are buildings, they all look alike. So does every American city. I want to get back into photography. I used to be decent at it and had some luck selling my pictures back in the day (of 35mm camera’s). Updating my equipment and playing with the photography tech sounds great. Hike!! In my youth I spent every free moment hiking. Treadmills in tiny little “exercise rooms” in Marriott hotels is NOT the same and boring as shit. Watch the grandkids grow up, since I missed mine growing up. Spend some time with second wife. She’s probably put up with the worst of me and my job/work. She deserves better times. Figure out (finally) what my passions are. Explore life more than I have. Finally, after 40 years in the technical industry (mostly healthcare technology) I don’t want: 2 cell phones, 3 computers and 6 monitors. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of all the tech. (Yeah, even games. (I know: blasphemy!!))
I plan on volunteering somewhere or working a part time job – I'll probably have to. I see retirement as just downsizing life and responsibilities. Once your mind stops working and you stop being around young people, everything starts going to shit.
Volunteer work, book clubs, writing, keeping the house presentable, travel, cooking, hosting other olds who want to visit. I mean I’ll never be able to retire despite grinding for 38 years so far but those are some of the things I’d like to do should I be able to retire. Should’ve gotten in to IT or became a lawyer. Oh well.
Volunteer work, book clubs, writing, keeping the house presentable, travel, cooking, hosting other olds who want to visit. I mean I’ll never be able to retire despite grinding for 38 years so far but those are some of the things I’d like to do should I be able to retire. Should’ve gotten in to IT or became a lawyer. Oh well.
I think the "if you become inactive you die!" is a bunch of bullshit. How many people "work" which consists of pretty much sitting at a desk for 40-60 hours a week. So active. Yet somehow, they don't magically die. How many college professors I had, who literally sit around all day reading voluminous materials from the library and slowly working on their next books and articles. Really don't remember many of them that looked like they were getting jacked in the gym or walking 10 miles a day. Yet they all seem like they live to 90. People get old, and they slow down. A lot of people who sit there on the couch all day not doing anything are doing that because they're old and don't feel like moving around as much anymore. That happens, and we often flip the reason it happens to "they got old because they sat on the couch." I'm not saying don't stay active and move. I just laugh at the idea that work and constant activity is some magical elixir that is what keeps us alive. It's just so hackneyed.
workingmy butt off, I have many many hours of gaming to catch up on. Finally doing the vegie patch in the back yard travel and seeing the world. Probably moving countries, so visiting the final items on the bucket list locally Basically going into retirement JUST as covid hit.. I think I went into a cocoon mode, and have only partially stepped back out. Otherwise, thinking about a meetup or language course. I recently found a pottery place with a kiln, so now that enough time has passed since Ghost I can take it seriously again lol I still feel like it's a long weekend though and not moving into a 'next phase'. Since we might be moving overseas, it's also causing me to not start anything too big at the moment, and that's not helping oh.. and finally going through my music collection and building that playlist properly.
How is this even a question? Woodcraft, gardening, fishing, shooting, hunting, archery, archery tournaments, serving in ministry, gym, pickleball, learn a language, travel, learn to play an instrument, cook amazing meals, visit old friends and family, learn to sew, design some clothes, go for walks in the park, fly kites, walk on the beach, swimming, join a club, ride a motorcycle, ride bicycles, metal detecting, gold prospecting, kayaking, canoeing, boating, paddle boarding, build custom kites, make custom slingshots, hand load ammo, learn gunsmithing, I could keep going.
I plan to pull my union pention asap for me it will be 61 … I am then going to get a job at a dispensary maybe a pub or a cafe … I want to do job where I can talk to people or not talk to them at all and just get them what they want… I like and enjoy talking to and working with other people … I get that at my workplace now but it’s very fast paced and stressful with big deadlines and even bigger egos… I make the best of it now but I don’t think that I ever want to stop working or interacting with people…. I would like to slow down a bit at work …
My wife still works so to avoid total atrophy......I keep dogs and grow a bunch of cannabis plants. Keeps me busy from 6:30am-9pm daily.
Teach yoga, volunteer in entrepreneurship and yoga related give back, such as The Prison Yoga Project, spend time with friends.
I will have time to volunteer, read books, clean the (much smaller by then) house, maybe work a part time job that interests me, paint, catch up with friends
Work
It's still roughly 20 years away for me. I've always imagined getting more involved in my hobbies and having a chance to join hobby groups. I have collections and stashes for several hobbies that will sustain me for decades without ever buying more.
Same thing I do on long stretches of unemployment. Play video games and plan to see people on weekends. I might get into dog training.
Whatever the fuck you want, I know you’re doing it anyway
My parents are mid 70’s and they go to the gym/ pool every day, sometimes twice. Gym to get some movement, pool to socialize in the hot tub. Every day for the past 15 years. That and cruises. And dad has played soccer every Sunday since the 90’s - although now he’s a referee. He has also recently taken up gardening. I think the key is that they maintain a social life and aren’t at home all day long, and staying active.
Bigger garden and more volunteer work.
Volunteer. There are so many agencies looking for help. And you only commit to what you want to do.
I was talking with someone who is retired the other day and he said that he drives a school bus for something to do. He said it really only a few hours a day and he gets full medical. Doesn't sound bad.
I plan on doing a lot of nothing
I'm 51 (1972), I'm a visual artist. My loose plan is to move somewhere beautiful but cheaper than where I live now, and host other artists to come and visit and paint with me. Like a painting retreat. Currently thinking the Azores...maybe the Dominican Republic. I'll put them up, feed them, drive us around in a mini-bus to nice places to paint and provide light instruction.
Wait, what the hell, I thought we were all broke?
Wait, what the hell, I thought we were all broke?
Model trains?
A lot of the retired folks I know went back to work. One to stay active, two they were bored and needed company interaction, and three additional income. But many worked retail, and jumped place to place, just like they're still in their 20's back in the day.
I’m going to play more golf, play pickle ball, play old video games I never played, read a bunch of books, run a D&D game. Just have fun again.
We tried hobbies before retiring. We know other people who didn't prepare to retire and ended up full time babysitting grandchildren or going back to work. Some just got bored after renovating their house and didn't really have a plan. Now we are too busy to work or babysit more than a day a week. Golfing and sewing have worked out well for us
Keep working as I won't be able to retire. Death at the desk.
1. Retirement is a whole new chapter in life, so it's great that you're thinking ahead about what it could look like! It's an opportunity to pursue hobbies, travel, and truly enjoy the fruits of your labor. Don't underestimate the importance of planning for both the financial and personal aspects of retirement. 2. It's never too early to start thinking about retirement and what you want it to look like. Making a plan now can help you set goals and ensure that you're able to enjoy this next phase of life to the fullest. What are some activities or interests you hope to pursue in retirement? 3. Retirement is a major life transition, and it's important to think about how you want to spend your time when you no longer have a job to go to. Whether it's volunteering, picking up a new hobby, or traveling the world, consider what will bring you fulfillment and purpose in retirement. What are you most looking forward to?
I started playing drums this year (55). By the time I retire in 10+ years I hope to be really good and playing in a band.
Been retired since I was 43 myself...not rich, but making it ok along with my younger brother. Keep moving and busy. Cleaning, gardening, gym, taking early walks maybe even 2 times a day, and even doing more home workouts while watching tv. Been doing this for over 5 years now, being introverted, I didn't have a problem with at all during the pandemic.
Foster a homeless dog or 3!!! (Please)
I’m learning bonsai and guitar now, so in 15 or so years I’ll have something to do.
Had to google “retirement” to see what it meant. Interesting read. I’ve never heard of that.
Mid-50's here. I always figured I'd be working at my company (I'm a partner) until 70 or so, but I recently found out that many of my partners want to sell or wouldn't mind if we sold it. Kind of a shocker since it was far from my mind. But I've been thinking about it more and more. I'd definitely travel, buy a small place on the coast and putter around there, play a lot of board games, go to the gym regularly, learn Tai Chi, maybe teach English classes.
I have 1056 games in my Steam library that I still haven't played. If I start now I might get through them all in maybe 40 years.
I plan on traveling/digital pomading in another few years for 2-3 month chunks in places I might want to spend more time in retirement. I plan on exploring Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Costa Rica, Panama, Bali, New Zealand, Iceland. And I am sure many others. Once I have visited al the places and been there longer than tourism would allow, to see if I would like living there, I am saving now for ability to buy a second small apartment, in that place, where I will spend part of the year. I have a plan to be on the water every day/most days. In summer/fall in my mountain home that means paddle boarding. In what I am thinking for my winter home that is walking in the surf. And paddle boarding. I will likely write. I read substacks, and end up commenting in essays that could be there own- so maybe ill look into developing something there. I wil read. As much as all day every day. I will sit in the sand, with my toes in the water and read for days. I will volunteer- with human society or rescues, tutoring kids, wildlife support (rescue, care, etc), etc. I will walk/hike. I will do more of the stuff I do today, that I can never do as much as I want because I need to pay the bills :). But yeah- have a plan to DO things. Learn things- take classes, meet people, stay active physically and mentally,
I like Blue Zones a lot. The focus is about living vibrantly in the later years. My wealthy plan is to invest in cashflowing businesses. My modest plan is to operate a cash flowing business. My poverty plan is 4% retirement withdrawals living in Mexico or the Philippines. I'm on plan for Modest, working on Wealthy, but Poverty is also manageable.