I’m going to start with retirement first, because I see that in my distant future.
Do you agree that we’ve all been conned since we were little? What did we want to be when we were little? Teenagers. They stayed up later, they did cool things, they liked cool music.
Then what happened when we became teenagers? We thought our parents were out-of-date, we didn’t get to do what we wanted. Our parents were on our backs about one thing or another. They were flushing the country down the toilet and it was up to us to fix the world. What did we want to be? Over 18 or 21. We could do what we wanted, no one could tell us what to do or think, we’d finally be adults.
Then what happened? We had to work to pay our rent, our electricity, for the cars we needed to get to work. We couldn’t stay out late because we had work the next day, we had to get up early. We had to do what our bosses said plus still deal with our parents who were telling us how to do what we were doing better.
Then kids came. Too much to go into, but even though you love them to the moon and back, they are up all night, you worry constantly and going out to dinner once a year is a dream. Their teenage years are your nightmare. And then you continue to worry about them when they are adults.
Now I’m at the end of that cycle and as retirement nears, I will finally be able to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. My husband and I can move wherever we want to. I can get a part-time job if I want to, doing anything that my heart desires and is legal.
I can sleep late….oh I can’t do that anymore. Physically I need less sleep and always wake up early. I can sleep all night…oh no I can’t, I have to get up and go to the bathroom. I can vacation whenever and empty out my bucket list. Oh no I can’t. I’ll be on a fixed income.
Why I really want to retire? Top 5…
- Write
- Read
- Do stuff with my church
- Frequently see my grandchildren but on my schedule, not be their babysitter
- Watch Netflix
- Knit
- Attack my Goodreads list
Ok, it was 7.
My best reason to continue working?
- Money
saneteachers 
Yep, I might attack my Goodreads list some day. The list for continuing working may be small, but it is usually the only reason.
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Retirement is my next career goal. Then I’ll just do stuff.
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Doesn’t it sound delightful?
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I enjoyed this Barb – the fixed income thing worries me I’m worried that I won’t do things that I want out of fixed income fear so….Om doing them now 😊
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That’s a good idea. My fixed income will still be pretty good. We are just getting cheaper housing (a lot cheaper) and I will be working part-time and writing a lot and keeping myy fingers crossed re:publishing. And praying!
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I officially retired (as in stopped working) ten years ago come June.
I am officially a state pensioner from May 2022 (pending yet another goalpost shift).
If I hadn’t taken my private bank’s pension at 50, I would’ve lost it when the bank was sold. Existing pensioners were included in the package deal on transfer, so I still get paid which is my only income plus two pathetic annual annuities from other private pensions I cashed in (together both total £120 pa. wow)
Work? Tried, but considered too old, unqualified (no curly piece of paper), unfit, unsuitable now for office work anyway as I cannot sit for long periods and my hands cramp with arthritis, or overqualified because I can think, add up without a calculator and spell. I am also good at making tea.
At the moment, we manage pretty well on our fixed income. Until TPTB decide to move things along again and put even more hurdles in our way.
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I will be retiring within the time frame of our current contract which ensures free health care benefits for retirees. I’m lucky that as a public school teacher in a suburban area I get a fairly good pension. But way less than current salary. And I can teach a course or two semester at a local college if need be. I keep thinking though, that when I’m done teaching, there are just other things I would like to do.
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I’ve always been a number cruncher, so book keeping, analysis, accounts, banking, credit control, sales and purchase ledgers, have always been part of my working life. I’m enjoying expressing myself through my blog and have surprised myself over the past couple of years with some of the things I’ve written as I find it difficult to believe that I did!
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Was writing a dream of yours? Your blog is very popular, so it seems that you have found something wonderful to do in retirement! Yours is one of my favorites.
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Oh Barb, what a lovely thing to say! Thank you! I’ve always been a bit of a windbag on paper in the letter writing department, but did a lot of ‘twee’ poetry at school and the occasional short story. Hubby and I collected teddy bears and wrote stories about their lives before us (for instance, a body guard who detests violence, so we armed him with a water pistol). These days, my poetry has really started to come together and I get some odd ideas for flashfiction prompts so put those out. Then of course we have the boat, the dog, family, Humphrey’s demise, weight problems, all pretty basic stuff but if anything I write pleases or helps anyone with a similar issue, then I think that’s great. I tead a variety of blogs too and it enhances my way of thinking, or sends me off in a direction I’d never considered. I feel I’ve found a niche anyway. Some of the stuff you write knocks me sideways and I think WOW. What a lady!
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We can have a mutual admiration society!
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And why not? We are all unique in our way and sometimes it’s just nice for someone to pay you a compliment for no other reason than wanting to!
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I retired in June 2015. Trust me…there’s never going to be the right amount of money to have in order to retire. You can adapt and do most of the things on your list of 7 things without a boatload of money. Retire sooner rather than later. That’s the best advice I can give you.
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Great advice.
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That money thing sure is a big incentive…
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Unfortunately, you’re right.
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I too, am facing retirement in the near future and I think about it every day. Every. Single. Day. I really like dawnkinster’s advice about retiring sooner rather than later. I needed that today, thanks Dawn!
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I think about it almost every day. Like 6/7. To get my pension, I need to work at least 2 more years.
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Most people find that they don’t need nearly as much income after they retire. Working is expensive. 🙂
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We might be able to go down to one car which really helps with expenses.
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Oh that is so true! We spend our entire lives waiting for the next stage to get here, and when it does, it’s never quite what we imagined. I really can envision finally checking into that nursing home and thinking, “Crap, this is where I was headed, all those years of my life? This is the end goal? And exactly why was I in such a hurry to grow up, to hit the next stage?”
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That is so depressing!
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Little Mary Sunshine, that’s me!
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You usually are, Ann.
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If I were to be one of those glass-half-full guys, I would say that its great to have the potential to enjoy some of the items on your retirement list while you’re still working.
You said it far more descriptively than I will, but I’ve always thought that many of our daily activities are determined by trying to find balance between time, energy and resources (money). The magic solution might be to fill our cup more, but then, we’d have to worry about trying to balance all the extra weight…
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You’re right about the ability to do some of the things on my list (they were in no particular order) now. I do them now. Just not nearly as often as I wish to. That’s my frustration. And when I retire my frustration will be that I don’t have the same amount of $$ coming in. It’s the balance that you are talking about.
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You know that I am with you 100% on this one!!!!
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