Posted on 06/16/2009 11:07:51 AM PDT by FromLori
Read the rest of the replies and the number of ‘die in the saddle’ types is heartening. We didn’t get to this place by going out to pasture (ie giving up). I still have lots of good yrs left in me...why waste them moldering around waiting to die. My hats off to you guys!!!
My dad’s been doing it for 29 years. Best thing he ever did. Mellowed him out and smoothed off the rough edges.
I retired at 61, got layed off, as a manager the best way to go. Told my sister and my old Ma to get out of the market in 2005, they didn’t listen, I can’t stand the weeping and knashing of teeth.
You make an intersting point about the sitution of death before having an opportunity to retire. That circumstance illustrates very well the preoccupation that Americans have about rainbows or at least the end of them. We forget to live each day as it may be our last and somehow transfer the notion of mortality to an envisioned time of rest, choice and pleasure (ie. retirement). Unfortunately, as you observed, it does not always work like that.
What's worse IMO is parents retire and expect the kids to come checking on them all the time while they sit and complain. lol
I think they're too young to retire anyway. Same with the majority of Baby Boomers, if they're still productive, why retire?
I think the state needs to stop being so generous with retirement packages.
I retired at 62, five yrs. ago, work part time 12-20 hrs./wk. My call.
It’s my ‘mad’ money. But I went a few yrs. doing nothing, for money anyway.
As long as there is Free Republic I’ll never be bored.
I’m 54 and I never plan on retiring. I fight fire and do sports photography. It’s more fun than a vacation.
“What’s worse IMO is parents retire and expect the kids to come checking on them all the time while they sit and complain”
I can’t keep up with my parents, who octogenarians. They go all time, volunteering here, serving there. About 20+ years ago newly retired couple bought the farm next door to my folks and the man and my father are like peas and carrots. Always something going on from cutting down trees to building stuff, digging holes, cruising town,— a real difference from my dad’s earlier life as a business man. Of course, he’s slow down now, has to take naps every day but that’s par for the course at that age.
What changed? Taxes. Now I have other people's mortgages to pay for. My new neighbors have kids who want their schools to offer everything their old ones in California did. On my dime. My country's debt has quadrupled...this year. As it happens I love my job, which is a good thing, isn't it?
Fortunatly for me, I’m still in my twenties. And I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever be able to retire, since we’re going full speed towards a communist dictatorship.
so it would be really nice to be one of those 55 yros that "have to" go back into the work force.....I'm still there...
"[...]But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows."
And heck, that number of hairs decreases all the time, so I'm figuring that I might as well go for the ol' Acute Myocardial Infarction retirement plan...it's not easy for aging white males to count on employment for too long, so managing health and ensuring it fails soon enough is crucial, and will become moreso in the future of America.
Personally, I plan on being an inconvenience to Obama long after he's a speck in the national rear-view mirror.
People with a purpose in life live longer, so I'm set for at least another fifty years.
Same for me.
Planned on 62, got golden parachuted out at 60.
No regrets. The tech bust scared me enough that I bailed on the market in 07 so I missed the crash.
Somewhat worried about inflation though - I pulled 200 grand out of the house for 30 yrs @ 5% fixed.
I’ll pay it back with Baraqqi minibucks.
Retirement is even better than advertised.
Plenty of time for exercise, cooking, working on my cars, and dispensing wisdom to my grandchildren.
ah, govt retirees then....it makes a difference when you rake in guarenteed money and benefits.....
The only government checks I ever received was from my four years in the military and very little at that.
All of the properties that I have are paid for, two, I have no debt. I have problems spending my socialist security check. I don't know what I did wrong.
I retired from Texas Instruments after 20 years and after 30 years in the business. The only government check I ever got was a tax refund and a paycheck when I was in the US Navy (diesel subs, early 60's).
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