How are your retirement plans turning out?

retired in 2015 march 30th , (federal Goverment job after 25 years) strong pension ,lasted a year ,got bored , went to work part time for something to do, re retired Dec 31,2020 , have been in the land of sleeping in ever since , I started doing electronic repairs for a large music chain at my own pace at home ,I love it ( pays for my gas consumption ) biggest issues are getting parts and components ,
today feels like the first really warm day of spring , will start getting up early for the dog walk at the dog park if this keeps up

 

One year in...we're doing OK.

Our financial planner told us we'd overspend the first year...and we tried damn hard to do it, even in lockdown. Now that the big ticket items (like my Garage-Mahal) are done, spending has tapered off and 2021 ought to be trending closer to "retirement average" for us...whatever that is.

I'm staying busy in the workshop. Miz Diane has read about 500 books. Rocket gets walked several times a day. We figure travel in 2021 ain't gonna happen.

In 12 days, I'll be eligible for the $9.00 South Carolina lifetime fishing license. Woohoo!

 

Retirement is the only real work-related ambition I ever had, and I achieved it in 2013. It's been way better than work, all day every day. I get up when I want, drink coffee, and think about what I might like to do that day. Sometimes I don't do anything. Sometimes I do things. I've been playing a lot more, and jamming with friends. Spending lots of time with my granddaughter. And I can jump in the car and make the 6 hour drive to visit my 94-year-old dad any time. I never had a plan, and it's working out great.

 

The tail rudder has been broke for a long time now, but we just may set this baby down about where I had hoped we would.

 

Turn 47 this year, my IRA doesn't seem to grow any. Not surprised, I've been told all my life that we're the first generation that won't be able to retire. I work a lot, I've got one class left in school after this semester (it's spring only, of course). I was excited about starting the new career but now I'm terrified that I'll be awful at it- one of those 'old guys who doesn't get it' that I used to see in IT when I was young and uh, knew everything. I've thought about starting a thread about this but it would probably just be whining.

Either way, I'll give it a go and probably drop dead in the next 10-15 years anyways.

 

Holy cow. That's a generous retirement package.

 

I retired July 2019 with plans to travel. About the time we were getting ready to travel COVID hit the world. Purchased a new house and I’ve spent the last 6 months getting it fixed up and trying to buy new appliances and furniture. They are both hard to come by these days. I’m also setting up my studio in the new house. Still haven’t moved in yet.

 

My plans went out the window when I was made redundant two years before I was planning to retire. To cut a long story short, after the initial panic, I decided I no longer had any interest in ‘key performance indicators’, sales forecasts, i.e. second guessing the decisions of customers who were second guessing the decisions of their customers, trying to explain to customers that the product they had decided they wanted wasn’t what they actually needed and explaining to the directors why a National company had had a change of direction and no longer wanted our equipment or that of the competition.

So, long story short, tried one full time job that lasted a day, just, and then took six months sabbatical to see what came up. What came up was a sum of money taken out of my pension pot to pay off the mortgage and a four-afternoons a week local driving job delivering prescription medicines to those who can’t get to the pharmacy.

Yep, re-plan going really well, thanks for asking!

 

Are those your retirement “plants”?

 

When did you rediscover your great wife!?

 

Forgot to mention in those 12 years we did a great amount of world traveling. Three trips to the Mediterranean (Spain, Italy,Greece), one trip down under, British Isles, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, and a trip to S.E. Asia right before lockdown. Around 15 different countries I think.

 

Really nice guitars. Excellent work!

 

that.... is darkly hilarious.

 

Going well for me. I retired in Nov 2019. My wife still works part-time at a local medical centre - so has been very busy of late.

I've done lots of walking and cycling. I don't weigh myself - but my belt is now 2 notches smaller than it was when I retired.

I started to build up a solo act performing in Care Homes - and then Covid happened. I've learnt how to do home recordings and now make my own backing tracks. I got myself a Helix Floor and enjoyed my foray into this new world. I have managed to use it for a few gigs and have been very pleased with it.

All in all, I'm very happy with life.

 

Is that gas consumption or GAS consumption?

 

I have been retired for over 13 years. Retired just a week before my 60th birthday. Youngest son still had one year left in an expensive private college (Butler University).

The hospital I had worked at was going through some tough times financially as were many back them. They offered early retirement buy-out packages to those over 50. They based them on your pay level, age and years of service. I was director of engineering and had been there for nearly 25 years. They also would pay us our normal pay for 6 months after we left. They mailed out the offers to us. When I opened mine I was stunned. I couldn’t even talk. Finally my wife asked how much it was. All I could say was, “I’m retired!”.

So even though I had done fairly well to prepare for retirement this made it far better. I consider myself very lucky in that I have been far better off financially than I ever was while working. The only three new cars I ever was able to pay cash for have been since I retired and my music gear and instruments have grown by leaps and bounds (and now I have the time to play them.

My wife is quite a bit younger than me and still works at that same hospital and has been there for over 40 years. She is a nurse and has worked the COVID unit since this all began last spring (she volunteered to work that unit). Just waiting for her to reach Medicare age for her to retire. She is great and has never complained about me being retired while she is still working.

I always say retirement is the best job I have ever had...just took a long time land it.

 

2:25, right?



Pointy man smack dab in the middle of July
Swingin' from the rafters in his brand new tie
He said, "I can't go back to that hotel room, all they do is shout
But listen baby, I'll stay wichew 'til the money runs out"
So bye bye, baby, baby, bye bye...

 

There ya go.
"Always look on the bright side of life..."

https://www.google.com/search?q=always+look+on+the+bright+side+of+life+lyrics

 

Don Martin reference?

Edit: found it!
https://themaninthegreenshirt.tumblr.com/post/141802107805