Well, it’s been six months since I left work for the last time.
I wish I could say that I was one of those people who carefully planned their life so that when retirement came it would have been with a complete plan in place and total financial security. But I wasn’t. It worked out OK, in the end. But, I could have saved myself a lot of anxiety and maybe quit work a few years sooner if had been more careful about taking the steps everyone talks about taking during our working years - making a budget, living within our means and avoiding the credit trap. I guess it’s easier said than done when you have kids and live in a high cost of living area in a high cost of living state.
Over the next few months I’ll be looking for articles to help retirees and future retirees avoid some of my mistakes and also to help folks learn from what I did well. With rare exceptions I think we are all pretty much a mixed bag when it comes to planning our financial futures.
The other parts of retirement we are going to want to talk about, though, are some of the non financial aspects. What do we do for fun? How do we deal with aging and loss? Where do we find community and companionship? What about turning hobbies into supplemental income? There are a ton of questions and topics to keep us busy for a while.
So many things changed for me when I retired that I didn’t expect. Don’t get me wrong - leisure and the availability of time is a gift - and one that I am not willingly going to give up. But how do we use that time? Do we struggle with guilt for not being more “productive,” whatever that means? Do we really take up the hobbies, activities and volunteer work that we told ourselves we couldn’t wait to do while we were working? Do we reassess how we find meaning in our daily lives without our work to sustain that? There are many people for whom work was a means to an end, not something intrinsically rewarding. But, even for those folks, how many will miss the daily interactions, the people, some of the customers and clients, the satisfaction of a defined task successfully completed?
I certainly underestimated the void that leaving work would leave in my life. I used to laugh at my friends, who retired before I did, when they said it would take two years to adjust to being retired. How could anyone not adjust to not having to set the alarm anymore? Well, I’m finding out.
This is a journey we are on, and moving on from daily employment is as much of a life change as getting married, moving to a different part of the country or graduating from school.
I’m not an expert on any of this. But I’m willing to write about my experience, share ideas, pass on information, and facilitate us working together to improve our retirement experience, financially, and otherwise.
Your comments are always appreciated.
I also experienced some time off before starting to volunteer. Having been deeply involved with my AFSCME Union I found I still wanted to work together with people to continue to try to make things better for folks still working and retirees. So, the first thing I did was help get the AFSCME Retirees Union going. The second thing I did about a year later was get involved with Health Care for All Oregon. Why? Because health care should not be treated as a commodity, like a new car. It should not be for sale in the market place. It should be something that everybody regardless of income, race, sex, etc. should have period. See www.hcao.org
ReplyDeleteAnd between all that and gardening like canning 50 pints of green beans last year, and my granddaughters and golf I have very little time left. I appreciate what the AFSCME Retirees are doing to help protect the benefits for themselves and future AFSCME Retirees who are still working.
Well, I've got bread baking and fly fishing instead of canning and golf so I feel like we are on a similar path.
ReplyDeleteI find myself after 12 years retired filling up my calendar with trying to make a difference because I have time. At 71 I have realized I may need to focus on 1-3 things and my family. Rick says I never made it to the R's in the dictionary (retirement) let alone N (no). How funny. I want to stay active but I still can lot of food (kids shop in my pantry) and love being on our boat in Florence catching salmon...smoked and frozen for family use. Don't get me started on our garden. Retirement to me means I have a right to choose what I do...even during an election year.
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