Posted on 10/14/2020 8:11:14 PM PDT by hiho hiho
I'm 72. I retired when I was 55. After 31 years with the same company, they bribed me with over a years pay to do what I always planned to do.
I have never regretted retiring for a single moment. I don't see how I lasted as long as I did. I had significant health issues at age 66. I am so glad I didn't wait until I was 65 to retire. The health issues would have been so much harder to face if I had just retired.
I do sit too much, have put on significant weight, and can't exercise like I need to in order to lose weight. I'm still working on it though.
Best retirement plan is keep working.
I hope you and your wife will be able to hop in your car and do some traveling. I drove from New York State to my youngest son's in Indiana in early August. Stayed overnight in a hotel in Ohio on the way out and back, and ate out at restaurants there. Had no problems. Of course I hated having to wear a mask, but the restaurants I ate at didn't even say anything if people walked in without them.
I'm the last one in my family. My parents and siblings are all gone. I was the baby of the family. Everyone in my family smoked but me. Both of my parents and one of my sisters died of lung cancer. My father was 73, my age now, and my mother and sister were both 69. My only brother died of a heart attack at the age of 51, and my oldest sister died of a stroke at the age of 74. I know I'm living on borrowed time.
Like you I feel fortunate that I was able to retire at 56, and been retired for 16 years. Many of the people I worked with...most all of them younger than me, died while working for NY State, and never got the chance to retire. Seven years after I retired I ended up having to have emergency surgery for a perforated bowel. I had to have a temporary colostomy, and they did the reversal 3 months later. About a year and a half later, I had to have surgery to repair an incisional hernia. Then in 2015, I had to have my gall bladder out, and of course they couldn't do it laparoscopically. Two years ago, the surgeon told me I have another good-sized hernia, but because it wasn't bothering me, I decided not to do anything about it. Now though, I'm having some new discomfort in another part of my abdomen, and have an appointment to see the surgeon in two weeks. I'm hoping that it won't be anything that will make me have to go under the knife again.
Teach as Adjunct at local community college.
Our local community college allows seniors to audit courses for
$10 a semester. The senior citizen can take as many courses they want each semester for that $10. Amazing!
My husband and I study art and photography. We use our acquired talents as volunteers for an organization that serves wounded veterans and the handicapped. Some of my husband’s photographs have been published by national and local magazines and newspapers.
The community college also needs math and science tutors. We could do that, too, but prefer to occupy our time as students and volunteers.
My husband is retired. He prunes fruit trees and blueberries in late winter early spring. He has quite a clientele. Takes care of our lawn, gardens, fruit trees, blueberries and grapes all summer, Picks apples at a local farm in the fall and watches YouTube all winter. At 77 he’s the picture of health and has as much energy as DJT
Take up cycling and say fit. Get your wife into it and ride together all over the place.
I wouldn't if I were you. Lots of retirees I knew eventually died..........
I don’t do anything, and I don’t start that until 2:00pm.
where do you live? Come over a paint my house. I’ll pay.
I have the RV. Holding off until the money is locked in.
Retire,,,
Soon.
ASAP, if you can afford it.
I find this an odd question. And please, I mean no offense....but why would you ask strangers what you should do with your free time? Don’t you have any hobbies?
If I could I’d sit on my front porch or around my fire pit in the backyard and drink coffee and read books. I could read with pleasure for 8 hours a day. I know not everyone wants to do that though. I also build and paint small-scale military models.
I do simple wood-working projects with my kids. We raise chickens and rabbits and have a huge garden. There’s plenty to do.
I’m 50, so not too close to retirement but I do think about it. We had 3 kids later in life so I have big college payments to look forward to (boys are 15, 14, and 9). My 2 older sons have expressed interest in the service academies and/or ROTC so that bodes well for me.
I did 24 years in the army now have a civilian job. But I definitely “work to live”. I’m not passionate about my job, but it pays the bills and is steady.
When the time comes I will gleefully retire. My wife and I have already traveled all over the world so we probably won’t do too much of that. We’re content to be home bodies. So...reading, hiking, gardening, cooking...that’s about it. Bliss.
To sum up - get a hobby and count your blessings.
I have taken additional college classes in subjects I have an interest in. I’ve traveled more. I volunteer at a hospice. I am able to help out more at my house of worship. I poll watch. I help out the local reub party. I volunteer to teach reading to adults who can’t read
I enjoy my life. I take day trips or some times two or three day trips to see more little towns and lots of history
I used to work double shifts too. I quit defining myself by my work and decided to enjoy the life I planned for
I retired as an Industrial Engineer in aircraft manufacturing last December and now I am self-employed as a Landscape Designer. Although the income for my new gig isn’t much yet, I totally love the new freedom. Plus, I get to spend more time on Free Republic!
Whatever you desire - every day is a Saturday unless you have an appointment.
Walk, travel, movies, books, new friendships, local republican’s headquarters visits, long-put-off hobbies or new hobbies.
You can be as busy or idle as you desire at any moment...it takes a bit to re-orient but I often wonder where I found the time to work for all them years...
Find “rabbit holes”. Here is one:
https://www.familysearch.org/
Another
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/
Another
https://nerdswithknives.com/
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