More than a few of us would like to discuss life in retirement - let’s discuss anything BUT investments or investment strategies. If it relates to life as a retiree, share with the rest of us! Credit to @Bromfield2 for the idea.
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H has taken up hand woodworking and enjoys it. H makes tables and benches for his own use. I am on several nonprofit boards, which I enjoy.
Several of my sibs are tracking a ton (multiple foreign trips/year) and some are helping with their grandkids.
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I LOVE being retired. I’ve found some volunteer things I really enjoy. I can fly places midweek and save money. Heck…I can travel anytime I want to and not just during school vacations.
I have lots of time to relax, enjoy myself, and see family and friends.
Honestly…it’s great!
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Parts of retirement are great! I love being able to pursue hobbies, have time and enjoy life with my husband. Whom I like quite a bit.
The other is dealing with aging parents, which we have a thread for. And dealing with children who have their own lives that don’t involve me. Don’t align with what we are doing and don’t align with aging grandparents. It might be the most challenging part of getting older.
It seems like sometimes I look so forward to what life has in store with equal amounts of trepidation.
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The “now what” is such a real question for many. Last week I “semi” retired (will be working part time for a new org) and at my work send off right off the bat someone asked “what’s the first thing you’re going to do in retirement?” - well my answer was honest - to just get thought the 10 days of holiday guests! 
But I guess that’s what people dream of - the first things they will do in retirement. For me it’s not jumping on a plane or sitting in a rocking chair on the porch - it’s getting a grip on more time being mine - which I have no doubt I can fill up!
While I’m not fully retired hopefully I’ve earned the right to post here. I turned 65 and I navigated the Medicare system to have all my health cards secured which feels like an amazing feat. The “semi” retired for me is a perfect option right now. Until I’m ready to go full throttle 
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I’m still adjusting to not working. I have a hard time saying that I’m retired! I left my job in April of 2024 as I was simply overwhelmed with handling my mother’s estate. The stress of some difficult family relationships and a demanding boss made me question why I was doing work that made me feel so unappreciated - so, I quit. I haven’t really allowed myself to think of what I’m going to fill my days with. When the dust finally settled in October, the reality of H’s cancer diagnosis and treatment needs really set in. Neither one of us wants that to be the focus of our daily lives.
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I posted my retirement position on the Thoughts on When to Retire thread, but will repeat here because it answers my “now what.”
Because I started planning/dreaming about retirement from the first day of my first job, I was never concerned about how I would fill my time when I jettisoned the very thing that was keeping me from the life I desired. I never wanted to work and hated every minute of it. For me, leaving the workforce was like stepping out of jail after decades of confinement and forced labor.
The first thing I did was SLEEP. I think I slept most of the first three months. Just turning off the alarm (and never turning it on again) was liberating. I vowed to do absolutely nothing for the first six months, just luxuriate in the absence of a schedule. It delighted me to get up when I wanted, shower when I wanted (or not), shop in the middle of the day, stay up late with no concern for the morrow, read to my heart’s content, take naps, lunch with my mom/friends whenever I felt like it and, best, lose the sense of days (every day is Friday). I was giddy with freedom.
It’s almost eights years later, and my life is exactly what I was longing for in my twenties – permanently unscheduled time to do whatever I please, and whatever I please happily fills my days.
On a previous thread, we talked about concerns for establishing routines and feeling productive in retirement. I think “productive” and “routine” are work/job words. I left these behind, too. For me, retirement was not about replacing one routine with another or feeling any pressure to be “productive,” whatever that means. I think these concepts put unnecessary stress on what should be your glorious freedom. And that means freedom to do whatever you want whenever you want, even if that is absolutely nothing–or what looks like nothing to someone else. I think retirement is a time to ask yourself that classic question: What would you do if you knew you could not fail? Rephrased: What would you do if a paycheck no longer mattered? The people I know who are truly embracing retirement for all its worth can’t tell you what they do with their days but are astonished by how time flies. They joke, “I’m not sure how I ever found time for my job.” They are fully engaged with family, friends, and community, and they do some wonderful things, but retirement looks very different for each of them.
There is no “right” way to enjoy this new phase of your life, so don’t burden yourself trying to justify what you do with your time. It’s yours at last. In the early months especially, I would advise that you simply enjoy that extra sleep, linger over those cups of coffee, turn off the clocks, reconnect with old friends, pick up a book…feel that freedom. And don’t worry, retired life has a gentle way of drawing you toward where you need to be and what you should be doing, but you have to slow down and let it.
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I retired sooner than expected, thanks to H’s company closing his division and “retiring” him, so hadn’t really planned out what it would look like. There are some things about working that I miss and others that I definitely do not.
The one thing I insisted on was that we were not just going to sit around the house all day … even though we discovered during covid that we actually don’t mind doing that! But we decided that getting up at a reasonable hour (NOT the 5 AM I used to do) allows for a fuller day, and we sleep later on the weekends.
Travel is definitely something we’re adding, and we’re enjoying the flexibility now that I’m not bound by my academic year work schedule. I’ve been able to spend more time on hobbies that I was trying to fit into odd moments, and I’m hoping to actually start writing that novel I’ve been threatening for years. I’m reading and cooking and exercising and generally taking care of my health.
My goal for the new year is to get us both out of the house doing something new at least once a week, whether its a restaurant, or a new park, or a museum. I’ve got my eye out for volunteer opportunities and new community connections, and am just letting this new adventure unfold.
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Happily retired. It took a bit to figure it out but for me I found it was very important to create a schedule for at least for a few days a week. The things on “my schedule” are fun – ex. golf, bridge, personal trainer, etc. – think adult day camp! Enjoying travel abroad as well. Also spending time enjoying my infant grandson and dealing with aging parents.
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I worry about my H. He really was totally invested in the company he started and it has been difficult for him to step away. Most of his friends were people with whom he worked. His closest friend (his lawyer) has Alzheimer’s and H has no idea how to continue to keep in touch. I suggested reaching out to his friend’s daughter who has kept in touch with me.
Maybe i’m worrying needlessly because he does keep himself busy most of the day. He’s a great cook and the more complicated a recipe, the more he likes it!!
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This is my H as well. He spent his entire life devoted to work and was retired- not of his own volition. Now that the house renovations are complete, he’s at loose ends.
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Sleep and sleeping in.
I love mornings. And by mornings I mean when I feel I’ve loved some life by 10am.
H has been retired from his full time career for 7-8 years and has his self made part time job. I’ve noted he sleeps in till anywhere from 8-9. Goes to bed about 10. That’s to me is more time than I want to spend in bed!
While I’m happy to say goodbye to that 5 day a week 5:30am alarm, I will still set an alarm. For need on part time work days and for desire on days off. I don’t think I ever have a need to sleep past 7-7:30 - definitely not in spring/summer! I treasure morning hours and think I’ll love getting up but NOT having to speed exercise/shower/etc - I will savor it!
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I love mornings. Everyday starts with an unhurried walk with the dogs, one of my favorite parts of the day. I still wake up around 5 but am trying to train myself to sleep until 6:30 or so.
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I enjoy not having to do anything I don’t want to do. When I offer to do something, it’s because I want to do it and it fits into my schedule. I am so much less stressed. I don’t have a set schedule other than when I watch my GD (at least one day a week - almost every day until a couple years ago). I can help with her if D & SIL need me to. I have done small things to help out at church and in my community, but I am adamant about not being in charge of anything. I enjoy having time to just be.
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I retired in summer 2020, so things were not as I had pictured. But over time we’ve settled into our new (non-Covid) normal. I have especially liked NOT dealing with quarter-end and year-end craziness, where supporting our software order app was extra critical… sometime until midnight.
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My job was supposed to end in the beginning of 2020. I worked as a pharmacist for the state of California for 30+ years so I have a good pension and full health. My plan was to take a few months off and then find a part-time job. Because of COVID my job didn’t end when it was supposed to I worked another six months full time and another year part time. During that time my dad passed away (after being in Memory Care for 4 years) and between my inheritance and my pension my financial planner said I didn’t need to work.
I played tennis most days, I have 5 grandchildren (5 mos to 5 years) who we help out a lot with, and I have gone in a few fun trips. Having the luxury of time is so great!!
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I had a struggle trying to find purpose after I retired. Even though we were traveling a lot and I was helping with my dad (severe dementia), it felt wrong, because I’ve always earned an income. Even when we were little kids, we didn’t get an allowance, we worked for pay. I started working full time as a teenager with only a few short stints of unemployment over 43 years, and retirement just didn’t feel right.
We finally purchased 33 acres of forestry property, and spent a great deal of time thinning our Douglas-firs and learning about forestry. When I tell people about this, their first question is, “Now, why did you do this?” I know what they’re thinking, being a tractor mama and getting handy with loppers is the last thing they’d see me doing. But they get that buying 33 acres within commuting distance of Seattle could be a wise decision no matter what we do with it. Thinking about purchasing a waterfront fixer of some sort for another project. I never really understood what the “finding purpose” issue was about retirement, but I get it now. It’s in our DNA.
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And just a reminder – retirement is an option, not a requirement. If you love what you do, no reason to quit. I know people who have no plans to retire and are happy as can be. I think they are the lucky ones.
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I wound down- first going part time (while building Iona fun, small part time gig) but when the grands were born it was a little harder to manage the side one comfortably and travel to see/help with the grands. I fully retired 4 years ago and have had no trouble filling time with exercise and lots of bridge games. My DH, though, still struggles with what he will do if he retires. He is involved in several volunteer groups, with positions of responsibility, but some of those are more aggravation than they are worth. So for now he still works, though he is talking about retiring later this year after his right hand man retires. Work will be way more stressful when that happens.
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I thought my husband would have trouble. He retired, but then worked full time for 18 months as a consultant with his company. Then he went to very part time…then stopped. He says he doesn’t miss it at all. He joined the Y, and does spinning and swimming there. We both take ballroom dance lessons which are a lot of fun.
I sort of eased into retirement in June 2011. I didn’t work again until fall 2012, and that was the first of 10 or so longterm leave positions in five different school districts. They ranged from 6 weeks to 4 months…2 days a week to five days a week. I loved going in, working with the kids and that was IT.
I have two volunteer things which are very flexible. If I can’t go, I just let them know and I don’t go. The things I want to and need to do come first.
I love having a leisurely cup of coffee in the morning with no rushing around to get ready to leave. And I no longer dread Sunday nights!
Very liberating!
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