Anyone close to retirement? / when do you start counting the days?

[MrSchwump]

My Dentist gave me 2 questions to determine if you should retire. 
Do you have enough?

Have you had enough?
It has been great. I’ve not been bored once. 

[Mr. Boston]

Retiring on Friday 8/4/23.  Surreal, yet well planned. 

[PhotoDennis]

I told my manager last week, "I'm on a countdown."

I said I didn't know if it ended in three months or three years, but I'm done somewhere between those two dates.

And three months is more likely than three years.

He said that he would hate to lose me because I'm the best person he has on our team, but... he understood.

So... I'm primed and ready. I want to be "done."

 

[Mr. Boston]

No more days to count, today is my last one!

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, Mr. Boston said:

No more days to count, today is my last one!

WOW! BIG CONGRATS TO YOU🙂

[mtnhiker]

We started Social Security recently, now it is down to optimization and timing.  So sometime between the end of December 23 - and July, 26

[CDNPolar]

I just cannot make the decision as to when because I am fearful that I will be bored out of my mind.

 

I really want to find a part time job when I retire from my corporate position, but don't know what that will be.

[KforKitty]

I stopped counting down on Friday, which was my final day in paid employment.  My original plan was to retire April 2024 but got a severance package due to an internal restructure.  I have been paying into my pension for nearly 37 years and have worked full-time throughout.  I’m not quite 60.

 

Catherine 

[telebax51]

On 10/11/2009 at 12:02 AM, Look2Sea said:

Anyone close to retirement? 🙂

 

When do you start counting the days?

The moment I announced I’m retiring, I quit

[telebax51]

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

I just cannot make the decision as to when because I am fearful that I will be bored out of my mind.

 

I really want to find a part time job when I retire from my corporate position, but don't know what that will be.

I retired to cruise best decision I’ve made , so why retire if you are going back to work????

[CDNPolar]

43 minutes ago, telebax51 said:

I retired to cruise best decision I’ve made , so why retire if you are going back to work????

 

Well, I suppose that the word retire means something different to each person.

 

Retire to me means getting out of the corporate world of deadlines and expecations.

 

A part time job to me could also just be volunteering at something that I enjoy and that does not carry deadlines and expectations.

 

 

[Mum2Mercury]

On 1/5/2023 at 7:52 PM, BamaVol said:

I had planned to work until 70.

That sounds horrible. 

On 1/5/2023 at 7:52 PM, BamaVol said:

We moved to a secure 55+ community where my father in law has lived for the last 22 years.  He enjoys our company.  I walk 5 miles a day.  I play (a form of) golf twice a week, volunteer with meals on wheels, watch my wife play softball, paddle a kayak and dragon boat, garden and was elected Director/Treasurer for my 1200 home cooperative community.  I’m as busy as I was when working.  We spend a month in the NC mountains every summer.  We spend a week with our grandkids at the beach every summer.  We travel to see our kids and the things in Florida we never got around to seeing when work took up all my time.  First post-retirement cruise coming up in March.

Your life sounds quite ideal!  

On 1/12/2023 at 7:04 PM, BamaVol said:

I don’t think it’s sunk in yet for him.

I retired from teaching, so I have long been a 10-month/year employee.  As such, I felt kinda strange in that first summer -- as if I would be returning to school in August, like so many other years.  Yet, I knew that wasn't true.  Yes, it took a bit to "sink in".  

On 1/30/2023 at 6:21 AM, simplelife said:

I guess I should start counting the days npw. I retire at the end of this academic year. Though I am "on the books" until July 31, the contact year runs August -May, so I am effectively done once students walk across the graduation stage in May.

Again, I retired from teaching as well.  I'm substituting 3 days/week now in a very cushy situation:  I'm a sub, and I make sub pay -- but I have my own classroom (someone else manages it 2 days/week), I work with the same students every day.  The students are in online classes and have an online teacher, so I don't plan lessons, grade assignments, attend meetings or do any of those other things that used to take up so much effort.  I JUST show up, work with students, and go home. 

 

I'm going to keep doing this until my Social Security kicks in.  I don't need-need the money, but this allows us to cruise a couple times each fall and keeps us from dipping into our savings too soon.  

10 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

I just cannot make the decision as to when because I am fearful that I will be bored out of my mind.

I've been retired 1 1/2 years now, and I haven't been bored for 5 minutes total.  

[telebax51]

8 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Well, I suppose that the word retire means something different to each person.

 

Retire to me means getting out of the corporate world of deadlines and expecations.

 

A part time job to me could also just be volunteering at something that I enjoy and that does not carry deadlines and expectations.

 

 

Volunteering could be a form of retirement 

[CDNPolar]

12 hours ago, telebax51 said:

Volunteering could be a form of retirement 

 

Yes, it is something that I think a lot about because I know I need something to get out of bed for in the morning, and doing something that is meaningful and helps others in some way appeals to me.

 

I think about offering rides to treatments to cancer patients - we have local charities that do this.  There are also ride services to seniors that just need help going to the grocery store, etc.

 

These kinds of things where people in need are helped appeal to me.

[CptBoatface]

109 workdays, or 872 work hours to go...

[MatrixOperator]

While I'm going on 61, I quit my  job to travel with my husband who travels for work often. Also, I spent more time going to visit our family as we don't have any close by us now. It was a year that I had to do what I wanted to do. I painted, cleaned, traveled - but after 6 months I was bored out of my mind. I begged to go back to my job and they took me back!  I suppose it would be different if my husband was retired, but we still have some years yet before we do that. I'm happy for all that are counting down! For me, it's just not time yet 😁

[Just Another Cruise Lover]

147 days till next Cruise🚢

4/3/24 will be 18 months until Retirement!!

I have a countdown app on my phone.
So Great! It counts down to the second. 

[tha sista]

I retired July 1st from a private medical practice. I now work 7 days a month (I choose my days) so I don’t lose my mind. After 28 years of 80-100 hour work weeks it took a while to figure out my new life. I now have a bunch of cruises booked so I’m getting there!  Yay me!

[crystalspin]

On 3/30/2024 at 4:52 PM, Just Another Cruise Lover said:

I have a countdown app on my phone.

I need to look into one of these: Holland America no longer provides a countdown on the itinerary page, and I miss it!

[Just Another Cruise Lover]

I have the countdown app on my phone for my retirement date. But Carnival has a count down for my Cruise 🚢, coming up in August, on the Carnival site. Yes, you could use it on your phone for your next Cruise. Always exciting to see it Tic Tic  down ⬇️. Here’s a screen shot from the app if I was inviting friends to join and use it. It’s free and has a few other things that are handy on it for a “Count Down” but it is mostly geared towards retirement.
Hope you enjoy it. 

[KarlK]

In my young 60s, retirement not in view. I wish it was, very tired and sore, still doing physical work. I am able to swing enough time and money for a cruise every 2-3 years. Would love to be done by 70. Good news, cruise coming up March of 2025, less than a year!

[PhotoDennis]

Well, my company decided it needed to let a few people go and I was apparently at the top of the list.

I'm fine. I was leaving in 16 months anyway.

I'm not looking for another job.I'm done. It's time to travel!

Gonna buy a trailer and my travel partner, dog, and I will explore as much of the US as we can. And I'll be doing an embarassing number of cruises.

And I've been able to sleep late for a few weeks now. I could get used to this. 😄

[Seamus6]

 

I was planning to pull the trigger around the end of 2020.  

Around November, I decided I better see what the economy would do.  Thank God, I held on.

I did go part time last year but wanted to keep my foot in the door.

I am 57 and now I will wait again until November 2024 to see what happens.

Hopefully January will be the end of the line and DH and I will be able to travel as much as we had planned.

 

[sevenhearths]

Retiring on 4/19, less than 2 weeks!

[Mr. Boston]

On 4/9/2024 at 1:54 PM, sevenhearths said:

Retiring on 4/19, less than 2 weeks!

Take it from a recent retiree, you will not regret your decision.  At a certain point you’ll wonder how you ever fit in going to work each day!