When I first told people I was going to write a blog they asked me, “What are you going to write about?” “Anything I want.” I replied. I love to research and learn new things and my hope is we can learn together.
For this first article the topic I chose was early retirement. Now there are a lot of articles, blogs, videos, podcasts, etc. out there already about retirement and all its aspects. Some interesting ones that helped me include:
I learned that in addition to having the money to retire you need to be mentally ready. You also need to have a plan. What are you going to do all day? Do you have any hobbies or things you want to do like travel? Do you have something that will give you purpose? Do you want to continue working part time, maybe do consulting work or start your own business? What are you going to do for healthcare (COBRA, Private Insurance, ACA Marketplace, Medicare)?
For many, deciding to retire, early or otherwise, is a process. It might take years to grapple with important issues like how much money is enough and what will my retirement look like? If you are let go from your job or have health issues you might not have the luxury of time to adjust to this major life change. And it is a major life change, as well as being very personal.
Being a woman alone, I just assumed I would have to work until some arbitrary age like 70 to make sure I didn't run out of money in my final years. Imagine my surprise when my financial planner let me know the year I turned 55 that my lifelong saving habits had paid off and I could retire whenever I wanted. I had done it. I had saved “enough”. I could quit worrying about being homeless. I could quit, period. Did I want to though?
Then COVID hit. Like a lot of people I started re-evaluating my life and realized what was important and what wasn’t. I liked my job well enough, especially when I started working from home full time, but there had to be something more fulfilling and enjoyable I could be doing.
The more I thought about having complete control over my life, the more I realized, that’s what I want! Nobody telling me what to do. Less stress and more time to do the things I like to do, instead of the things I have to do for a paycheck, all while I'm still young enough to enjoy it.
It was exciting to even contemplate, but intimidating too. To give up that steady paycheck and healthcare coverage was a risk. Anything could happen. But then there are no guarantees in life, even for the gainfully employed. People get sick, accidents happen, people lose their jobs.
To help get mentally ready I talked to a lot of retired people. Some retired early, some at 65 and some in their 70s but they all loved being retired. Every last one. I knew I would too, but first I had to find some activity that would give me purpose. Some retirees like doing nothing all day and good for them, but I knew I wanted something more. I also knew I didn’t want to start my own business or work for someone else, even part time. I admire people who volunteer but I just couldn’t get enthused about that either.
After a lot of thought and surfing the Internet, it finally came together. What do I love doing? What am I good at? I love learning new things. I love to research (I’m a librarian after all). I love to write. I love to organize and share what I learn with others. I would be a Blogger! You probably saw that one coming.
So that’s my early retirement journey and I'm still finding my way. I just turned 59 and I’ve been retired about 6 months now and I have no regrets.
Did any of this resonate with you? Did you find any of the resources helpful? Feel free to leave a comment and I’ll talk to you next week on another topic.
Check out my follow up article, What I Learned In My First Year of Retirement.
This is inspiring! I can think of a million ways to spend my time in retirement. Filling my days would not be a problem. I am so glad you are making this happen for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! It certainly resonates with me. Because of personal decisions and because of things that happened to me (out of my control), the earliest I can retire is 62, when I'm eligible for Social Security. Let's hope they don't raise the retirement age in the next 9 years. As much as I like what I do work, to me, is something I HAVE to do. It's forced, not a choice. So, I am eagerly awaiting my 62nd birthday, when my time is finally my own. There are many arguments for waiting until your 65, 67, or 70 to draw social security. My answer to that is that my time is invaluable. And, we never know what might happen if we wait. I know too many people who have put off retirement, only to get sick, or worse die, right after they finally do. You're an inspiration! Thanks for posting this!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed what you had to say about your retirement. You have so many good ideas of what you want to do and are already doing to keep busy at this time in your life. It is very encouraging! I have been doing a lot of volunteer work for many years. Since I retired from my job it is so much easier to take part in that work I’m doing. After reading your blog I want to do more creative projects to as well. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI've thought about this information every single day since you posted. I appreciate the shift of perspective, the assurance it is attainable and the resources provided (especially the video). I've found myself rereading books and Reddit threads and talking to more people about retirement too. It really planted a seed and I see myself looking at opportunity and goals slightly differently. I realize that as much as I can comfortably define my life by my career there really is so much more I would want to invest my time in - sooner than later. Great content!
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