What does that first day waking up to retirement feel like?

To have freedom to do whatever on your own time every day without obligation?

Do you wake up bored? Or is it better than sex?

Relevant to my interests in 4 months.

7 Saturdays in a week.

1. Get up (time variable 6 am to 11 am
2. Make (delicious) coffee, with apologies to Ryan. And eat oatmeal for breakfast.
3. Avoid honey-dos from the wife so I can loaf and lurk on Texags.
4. Experiment with recipes.
5. Check my investments.
6. Read books of choice/doze.

I woke up. Looked at the time. And went into haul ass mode to get to work. Was halfway out the door before I realized that that phase of my life was over and my days of less stress had begun.

Not so much the first day, for me it took a little while to settle into the actuality of seldom knowing what day of the week it is and that it really doesn't matter what day it is anyway. When working, you have so many things that need to be done, things you have to fit into a busy schedule. Like mowing and having to watch the weather forecast so that you can get it done before the rain, or needing to fix this or fix that, etc. With work out of the way, those things are available to be done any time you feel like it. While they still need to be done, you don't really have to do it any set time.

Also, you can do things during the day while everyone else is at work which means less crowded, shorter lines, etc. If you go fishing, hardly anyone is at the boat ramp, unlike on Saturday and Sunday.

My theory so far has been if I don't get to it today, I will tomorrow, or the day after, or next week. At least two days a week when I wake up, I make the executive decision that I am not doing anything that day. And I am damn good at it.

one safe place said:

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Not so much the first day, for me it took a little while to settle into the actuality of seldom knowing what day of the week it is and that it really doesn't matter what day it is anyway. When working, you have so many things that need to be done, things you have to fit into a busy schedule. Like mowing and having to watch the weather forecast so that you can get it done before the rain, or needing to fix this or fix that, etc. With work out of the way, those things are available to be done any time you feel like it. While they still need to be done, you don't really have to do it any set time.

Also, you can do things during the day while everyone else is at work which means less crowded, shorter lines, etc. If you go fishing, hardly anyone is at the boat ramp, unlike on Saturday and Sunday.

My theory so far has been if I don't get to it today, I will tomorrow, or the day after, or next week. At least two days a week when I wake up, I make the executive decision that I am not doing anything that day. And I am damn good at it.

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Exactly.

I have been retired about a full year. I was a 6A high school principal, so life has slowed down. When I was working, I had a rough time sleeping on Sunday nights in anticipation of what was waiting for me on Monday. That actually carried over into retirement for several weeks.
In a good routine now and doing what I love and that is playing golf. Have several golf and Aggie football road trips planned for this fall.
Will probably go back and sub when the weather is not good, but I have given myself a full, one year cleanse from the school house.

I'm jealous of you retirees. Congrats on earning your current life.

JamesPShelley said:

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one safe place said:

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Not so much the first day, for me it took a little while to settle into the actuality of seldom knowing what day of the week it is and that it really doesn't matter what day it is anyway. When working, you have so many things that need to be done, things you have to fit into a busy schedule. Like mowing and having to watch the weather forecast so that you can get it done before the rain, or needing to fix this or fix that, etc. With work out of the way, those things are available to be done any time you feel like it. While they still need to be done, you don't really have to do it any set time.

Also, you can do things during the day while everyone else is at work which means less crowded, shorter lines, etc. If you go fishing, hardly anyone is at the boat ramp, unlike on Saturday and Sunday.

My theory so far has been if I don't get to it today, I will tomorrow, or the day after, or next week. At least two days a week when I wake up, I make the executive decision that I am not doing anything that day. And I am damn good at it.

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Exactly.

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I'll third this. My main reminders of what day it is are texts from my golf group and Mass.

When I first retired , it felt strange not having to make important decisions during the day. I laugh at myself sometimes now because anything I do today isn't really that important that it can't wait until tomorrow. You have to have some humility as you are now a nobody.

Austin is a place young people go to retire.

UTExan said:

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1. Get up (time variable 6 am to 11 am
2. Make (delicious) coffee, with apologies to Ryan. And eat oatmeal for breakfast.
3. Avoid honey-dos from the wife so I can loaf and lurk on Texags.
4. Experiment with recipes.
5. Check my investments.
6. Read books of choice/doze.

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This guy right here is living in the year 3023.

I'm 3 years away till I'm eligible. Will probably go in 5-7. Do any of you have those nightmares like you do for college where you're late for a final and you think you're late for work?

When I worked at my last job, Sundays always had me in the office prepping for the week and sleeping poorly that night until finally getting up early to go in ahead of everyone else.

Glad this one isn't like that.

Ragnar Danneskjoldd said:

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Austin is a place young people go to retire.

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Wife and I took it a step further and moved to lago vista when we got married. Only 30 more years of work left, but I get to see what retirement looks like everyday. Can't wait.

You have a stage where you just enjoy not having to do anything. Then you settle into a little more of a routine of volunteering for things you like to do and hobbies and sports whenever you choose. Flexibility is key for shopping or vacationing during off-peak times. You find a purpose, but it's still whenever you want to do it.

I'll be eligible at 50, but not financially ready to do so. I can decide if I want to change careers at any time after that without any real penalty other than what I decide my labor and time is worth, so that's nice. I can also then keep working and hope to get caught in a downsizing and bag a 6 months severance.

I'm way too active to be just bumming around doing nothing though. I'll be up doing farm chores then doing something productive every day. It'll be nice I suppose to have more freedom to determine what that will be. I will definitely build another boat, as well. Maybe rebuild the engine in my Nissan. So many options.

No longer under the boot heel of servitude.

If you've managed your money properly and don't define your self worth by your job. Have your health and energy, Retirement is awesome.

saw em off said:

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I'm 3 years away till I'm eligible. Will probably go in 5-7. Do any of you have those nightmares like you do for college where you're late for a final and you think you're late for work?

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haha, those final exam dreams. For probably ten years after graduation, I would have recurring dreams, probably 10 to 12 times a year that I had started some class and then never went back and it was now time for the final. Then I could not find the classroom or couldn't remember what building. Back when I graduated, they posted a list of those cleared to graduate, on green bar paper if memory serves me. On the inside windows of some building, forget which one. I'd dream my name wasn't on the list.

But in retirement I do not have the late for work dreams because for the last 32 years or so I had my own businesses and sort of drifted in when I felt like it. As I got older, not sure how it would have worked out though, that getting up early business. Alarm clocks should be illegal.

retired at 62 four years ago I highly recommend it I have my routine while at home but travel about 4 months of the year. I hope I can make it as long as my Dad he retired at 62 and lived to 96 and had a wonderful 34 years of retirement.

Your dad won at life.

thank you sir, he did

saw em off said:

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I'm 3 years away till I'm eligible. Will probably go in 5-7. Do any of you have those nightmares like you do for college where you're late for a final and you think you're late for work?

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I didn't have the dream but actually lived it. Still trying to understand how NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON in the class of 100+ (and I studied regularly with 6+ of them) had a freaking quarter and could not call and wake me up in my dorm room! Esp. my girlfriend at the time (now wife - her excuse was " I was focused on the exam, I figured you'd show up sooner or later!"...

Fortunately, the prof. knew me b/c he'd run into our group all the time in the evenings in the Physics building studying together and he let me finish the test in his office. We all hated that class...the average on the first test that semester was a 30.

Retirement: I'm thinking of going to 32hr work week this summer and then coaching soccer and doing more refereeing next year. Wife has a new job she really likes and has no plans to stop working for a while (she was stay at home mom for 17 years).

After I retired, I kept getting calls from a couple of former employers to come back and work on various short term projects, and because I was a little bored, I would accept those projects. After awhile, I decided that I could probably go on like this for years if I let myself, so I finally just quit accepting those consulting gigs and called it quits. That whole process took about five years. Even then, there was a transition to feeling fully retired.

This thread reminded me to bump my retirement contribution from 15% to 23% today.

Retired 16 months now. I was happy with my job but leaving was great. Not one day of regret. You can be as busy or as lazy as you want to be. Wish I had retired sooner.

Today was my first day. It was due to a tech layoff. I'm 63 so I'm not sure I'm ready to pack it in for good.

So today I filed for unemployment, watched squawk box, and went to the library to read this weeks WSJs

so that I can stay sharp. I had a month notice as it was a large resource reduction.

Three people told me i should try and retire vs getting back into the rat race.

I'm going to look for a job and work for another few years.

I did take a four and a half mile walk this morning and that was great.

I also was able to pace everything I did vs rushing to meet deadlines.

I still have those dreams and I haven't stepped foot in a classroom since '98.

My wife retired in 2003 and me in 2009. For us, every day's a holiday and every meals a picnic!

Ghost of Bisbee said:

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What does that first day waking up to retirement feel like?

To have freedom to do whatever on your own time every day without obligation?

Do you wake up bored? Or is it better than sex?

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Doesn't really work that way. You'll still have obligations to somebody.

And not boring, but not better than sex. Nothing is better than sex.

ETA the full story:

I returned at 62, in the fall of 2019. I hadn't planned to go that early but things just worked out that way. 6 months later, COVID lockdown hit. I worked in e-learning, which blew up at that time, and I was not involved in any of that, thank goodness. Lockdown was actually not terrible for us because we had plenty of time to hang out together and cook and stuff...kinda what retirement will be in a couple of years when my wife retires.

The best thing part of the whole thing is that this was about the time that my parents started needing a lot more attention. In and out of hospitals, losing my mom, moving my dad to a different place, then losing him (hence my obligations comment).

Without having to worry about them, we are now able to do more traveling, and when my wife retires we have plans to get a class B RV and do lots of traveling...maybe buy a beach house or lake house or something maybe.

So not a major amount of retirement freedom yet, but soon......

I don't understand people who say they're bored when they retire. I can't wait. I have too many hobbies and things I want to do to get bored.

Not going to lie, the idea of cashing out, giving the bird to all work related responsibilities, and getting the kids off the payroll is what keeps me going. Will be one of the greatest days of my life!!!

Ask me this coming Tuesday.

Congrats!