A day in the life of my (eventual) retirement

Parent Cafe
21

<p>This might morph into sub thread (b), but I like reading the ideas and seeing how I have already incorporated some things into my life despite full time work and very long commute. Why wait until retirement? I always go outside at lunch, no matter the weather, and we have a routine of going to a beach Sunday nights when it’s empty (in the summer) or to the local dock (winter) and we can stay in the car if the weather is bad and just watch the waves. I’m practicing being older, just Iike we played school when we were little.</p>

<p>The thing I can’t seem to figure out is how I can convince the commuter railroad to set up a dining car with white tablecloths and a healthy but delicious dinner menu. It would make that otherwise wasted time something to look forward to, and I’d arrive home not having to think about/make dinner. Any suggestions? It would be subsidized by the Gates Foundation, I suppose, so the only cost would be what you’re already paying for your ticket. Limited menu, I’m a realist. And BYOB. Another car would have stationary bikes that would be hooked up to the trains engine, providing a small amount of power while we exercised.</p>

22

<p>I have been “retired” for 20 years. Every day is different. Besides the usual things like taking a few hours in the morning to wake up/have my coffee and walking both dogs at least once a day (separate walks) - I get to do my marketing during the week when store aren’t mobbed and I have the time to go to several different markets. I play tennis once a week during the least expensive hours (after work/evenings/weekends are the most expensive.) I go out to lunch once a week with my girlfriends. I play mah jongg once a week. I can spend a few hours preparing dinner because I am not rushed at the end of the day. I usually take one class a week during the day through my town’s adult education program - taught by local professors. This fall I am adding the Yoga for 55 and over class - which meets once a week during the day. </p>

<p>Summer is my vacation time and the only scheduled activity I do is tennis outdoors at my town park one morning a week. It doesn’t cost anything. I also spend a lot of time puttering in my garden. </p>

23

<p>As long as I don’t end up like my parents did in retirement, I will be happy. For them a trip to the bank was an all day affair.</p>

24

<p>^ EPTR – I am crying with laughter. Thanks for the good start to my day! :slight_smile: </p>

25

<p>I notice that no one is doing any laundry our house cleaning :slight_smile: but I realise with only 2 people in the house, it’s not going to take up much time…plus not having a wardrobe for work and business entertainment or busy social life cuts down a lot of the laundry.</p>

26

<p>^ I’m pretty sure that no matter how much free time I have, I am paying someone else to clean my house :)</p>

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<p>^ I’m pretty sure that no matter how much free time I have, I am paying someone else to clean my house :)</p>

28

<p>lol notrichenough; I agree…that would be the last thing to go for me.</p>

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<p>Laundry/housecleaing = chores. It will all still be on MY to-do list retired or not! :)</p>

30

<p>Yes, I did leave that out. I will hopefully keep up the same level of housekeeping as I do now. ;)</p>

31

<p>In the morning, check e-mail and news updates on computer;
have breakfast/read papers.</p>

<p>Go over day’s “to do” list - a mix of chores and pleasure items, long and short-term projects. Star the essentials.</p>

<p>Start off with gardening or cleaning, etc. – use my higher energy time for these tasks.</p>

<p>Then take shower and head off for errands on foot along good sidewalks – grocery shopping, library, etc. (Want a “walk to all” and “turnkey” retirement living situation.)</p>

<p>After lunch (either at home or while out), handle paperwork.
(I actually enjoy sitting at the kitchen table by the window listening to NPR while I handle the mail – weirdly, for me, that is as much a pleasure as a chore.)</p>

<p>I will also spend a good deal of time (perhaps too much) on web reading and correspondence.</p>

<p>I hope to be mixing in time spent with eventual grandchildren, and some adult ed courses, as well as travel several times a year.</p>

<p>At least once a week I would like to entertain – or be entertained!
I hope to hike or walk daily, preferably with a friend.</p>

<p>Dinner at home, hopefully earlier than we manage now.</p>

<p>Reading breaks throughout day (I always have a book with me, even in my shopping cart while doing errands, and will plop down on a bench for an impromptu reading session.)</p>

<p>Once H is retired we would of course spend more time together, but I hope we will each continue to have separate involvements as well. I look forward to spending evenings watching borrowed movies together, something we rarely manage these days.</p>

32

<p>I’m a SAHD rather than retired, but with the child without a license away at camp and the one with a license out a lot, it almost feels as though I’m retired, so I’ll submit a typical day. </p>

<p>5:00 or 6:00, 10 minutes before my wife has to get up that morning to go to work - get up to bring coffee to my wife in bed. It sounds goofy, but I’ve been doing it for 20 years, and every time she thanks me as if it was unexpected and appreciated. </p>

<p>Until wife leaves for work - talk about the upcoming day for both of us, any plans, errands, etc. </p>

<p>then - 9:00 - feed pets, weather permitting sit outside with dogs, play fetch</p>

<p>9:00 - 10:00 - go to the gym or do elliptical at home</p>

<p>10:00 - 7:00 PM run errands, browse the web, cook (sometimes), update and check Quicken, balance asset allocation if extra cash in checking accounts (but do not trade), look for possible retirement homes on web, play outside with the dogs, read on patio while dogs frolic</p>

<p>7:00 wife comes home, discuss the day, eat</p>

<p>8:00 - whenever wife has to go to bed, watch TV</p>

<p>After my wife is asleep, I prepare the coffee machine (Remington iCoffee, yum!) for the next morning, read a bit, take the big dog out for one last pee (the dog’s last one, I mean), and climb into bed</p>

33

<p>I love our electronic iRobots which do the regular vacuuming for us, which really helps us keep down our allergies and the floor so squeaky clean! Even tho we have a small 1200 square foot home, we have two so one does the bedrooms while the other does the great room. </p>

<p>It was an adjustment having H around the house so much, like a prolonged weekend instead of dashing off to work in the dark and returning after dark. We do tend to run more errands together and have more dining out or take out impromptu meals.</p>

<p>H has been retired now for 1 year, after 45 years of work and is really enjoying it. Both of us have always loved puttering around the house and enjoy reading, doing things on the computer, and just being happy in our own skin. H does his PT exercises much more regularly, as it helps prevent and reduce back pain. </p>

<p>I enjoy my nonprofit and choose how much or little to do in it. We feel we have a nice balance. </p>

34

<p>Golf. Everything else is irrelevant (ok, an exaggeration, but only a slight one).</p>

35

<p>I doubt I’ll ever have a daily routine and will likely not stop working. Retirement for me will involve:</p>

<p>Doing less for profit and more pro bono work of what I already do. I may contribute my time in countries that could benefit from what I do. (E.g., recently saw Vietnam setting up a new university and maybe I could help them).</p>

<p>Probably more days with bike rides. </p>

<p>Basing myself someplace warm in the winter.</p>

<p>Taking exotic trips each year with the kids and then later with the grandkids should any arrive.</p>

36

<p>Here is mine: being bored for the most of the time while keeping myself busy with the stupid things, since the job is the most entertaining activity in my life. I am planning to continue exercising for about 3 hours, being active in all 3 of my hobbies and visiting museum (any museum will do, even if it is the same one), but this is about it, there is nothing else that looks attractive. And in addition, I require only about 3 - 5 hours of sleep, so I have much more time every day than most people. As a third point, I do not like doing anything that most people are looking forward to do in retirement, including but not limited to, travel, movies, reading, TV, shopping, any housechores (we hire help), cooking, baking, going out, computers (except for my job as a computer programmer, everything else is very boring), chatting (except for my kids, but they are busy). My kids and grandkids will live in different places than us also.<br>
I am not looking forward to a boring and very poor life of the former proffessional. I will continue working until I am either kicked out or my H. will not tolerate me working any more. And either of these is coming very very soon since I am beyond FRA (if you do not know what this means, I envy you)</p>

37

<p>DH and I retired in May. So we’re still in the early stages of “what to do when you’re retired”.
We moved across our state to a new home two days after DH retired. We had been planning the move for 15 years.</p>

<p>Now we’re in a new place and no jobs. So what do we do???
So far…

  1. Sleep as late or as we want to.
  2. Go for an early morning run while DH is still asleep (gotta beat the heat)
    3.Walk down to end the of our pier and check the crab pots
  3. Eat breakfast/talk about what we want/need to do. Spend time on the computer.
  4. Exercise w/ DH…walking, biking or kayaking.
  5. If it’s Monday, it’s “go to town” day. It’s an excursion of 16 miles (one way). We buy groceries, go to the"home improvement" store and whatever other errands we need to do in town.</p>

<ol>
<li>Rest of the day… boating, housework, reading, yardwork. DH: napping, Me: doing words w/ friends and FB, dinner planning and cooking…whatever we feel like doing!</li>
<li>In the evenings we try to find a movie to watch together.</li>
</ol>

<p>When we retired and moved here (on the water but out in the sticks), DH declared that we would do some sort of cheap trip/activity once a week to get out of the house.
So far we’ve been to the beach ( 3 times…different beaches) , spent a weekend w/ S1, visited extended family, attended a historical reenactment, went to a museum, been to 3 concerts, went on a ghost tour of our town! </p>

38

<p>Sleep till noon
Read, go for a walk, check out CC
Make dinner (least I can do if hubby’s still working, hee hee)
Go for a walk, watch a movie, read</p>

<p>Traveling or skiing when I’m not doing the above. </p>

39

<p>I am not close to retirement yet, but my parents have retired since they were 62. I used to worry about what they would do everyday. I was very wrong about them being bored. Almost every weekend they had one or two parties to go to. They played Majong, karoake or ballroom dance. During the week they took dance lessons and other exercise classes. When my dad was alive, he would work in the yard from 9-12, take a shower, eat, take an hour nap. Now he is gone, my mother continues with all the activities on her own, plus now she goes to a senior citizen center and taking additional ballroom dance classes. </p>

40

<p>I’m totally no good without structure so I will have to come up with days planned around something I’m committed to else I’ll just flounder around and spend way too much time online and watching TV.</p>