we are nearing retirement. we are in fine shape. however we decided to travel and enjoy ourselves before they take everything we have.
I nearly worked myself to death running a business. Now I do what I want to do everyday which is hang out with Mr. GG2 and enjoy our rural property. We have plenty of friends.
I was a contractor at Hanscom AFB, MA and I retired about 8-years ago. As a retired Army officer, I realized that the USAF was going woke and it was becoming a toxic work environment for me.
Now, that seems to have spread across the economy and there really isn’t a place for a straight white male, especially a Christian.
Smart employers would retain workers in their 60’s and even 70’s and create a hybrid part time model. The reason is that these workers are experienced, competent, show up, and are generally efficient. Keep them around for 2-3 days a week and they will probably get the work done for a full week of the lazy incompetent folks on the payroll.
Along the way, we have developed a few hobbies and interests, and hope to continue to pursue those, as well as do more volunteer work. The most important thing for us is that we are healthy, and have a full life with family, beyond what we do as our careers.
As long as I am healthy, and financially stable, retirement looks like a very exciting chapter of my life. And as I see it, I've earned it by making sacrifices and planning correctly over the last 40 years.
I retired at 62 and for me it was about spending time with my children and grandchildren who were scattered all over the world. I no longer had to miss my grandkids recitals or baseball games. I got to travel to Hawaii, Canberra, and Germany, I skipped South Korea, and could go whenever I wanted and stay as long as I wanted. I was lucky because I caught the housing market at the right times. I sold my house for a fortune a lot more than I paid for it 30 years earlier and bought a house in Texas when prices were at their lowest. Retirement worked out well for me.
I like my job. I am self employed. I will die behind my engineering computer or in my fab shop. That is unless the commie bastard democrats force us to work the fields like POl Pot.