Mid 40s and thinking about retirement more - social networking

[BeamerBikes]

FIRE Financial Independent Retire Early folks are a bit crazy.  However, I do wonder more and more at what point should I start to pull back from working full-time.  

I've been single AF for most of my adulthood. I'll likely be the last of my immediate family.  I don't intend to pass along an inheritance to anyone.

My early retirement concerns are: 

Affording Quality Healthcare to enable Quality of Life - I'd rather die while I'm living then live when I'm dead.  

Finding purpose in retirement 

Knowing when I can push back and be "okay" (figure that will likely need a financial advisor) 

Affording my indulgences from time to time 

 

For those approaching or in-retirement, how did you answer some of these questions? 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

2 hours ago, BeamerBikes said:

FIRE Financial Independent Retire Early folks are a bit crazy.  However, I do wonder more and more at what point should I start to pull back from working full-time.  

I've been single AF for most of my adulthood. I'll likely be the last of my immediate family.  I don't intend to pass along an inheritance to anyone.

My early retirement concerns are: 

Affording Quality Healthcare to enable Quality of Life - I'd rather die while I'm living then live when I'm dead.  

Finding purpose in retirement 

Knowing when I can push back and be "okay" (figure that will likely need a financial advisor) 

Affording my indulgences from time to time 

 

For those approaching or in-retirement, how did you answer some of these questions? 

I'm approaching a mid-40s retirement.

I plan to circle the globe on a cruise in my 1st year of retirement, then live a few months in a big city apartment near a subway station (I've only experienced suburbs my entire life).  Having that very specific goal has kept me focused (I've had that goal since 2015).

I'm leaning towards moving to Florida for winters when I retire, because I look forward to my annual Ft Lauderdale trips more than any other.

I plan to work seasonal summer jobs with youth, because that brings me joy (camp counselor, etc.).

I plan to work with theater somehow, perhaps on the board of a non-profit local theater, etc., because theater also brings me joy

What helped me the most was to picture people I know who are already in retirement (my parents, and friends I worked with), and decide what I want to do differently or the same as they did.

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by Vegas_Millennial

[BeamerBikes]

28 minutes ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

I'm approaching a mid-40s retirement.

I plan to circle the globe in 1st year of retirement, then live a few months in a big city apartment near a subway station (I've only experienced suburbs my entire life).

I'm leaning towards moving to Florida, because I look forward to my annual Ft Lauderdale trips more than any other.

I plan to work seasonal summer jobs with youth, because that brings me joy (camp counselor, etc.).

I plan to work with theater somehow, perhaps on the board of a non-profit local theater, etc.

Yeah, I'd want to work in some capacity. Ideally, keep the hours flexible, stress to a minimum and decent Healthcare benefits. 

Edited December 20, 2023 by BeamerBikes
Grammar

[coriolis888]

On 12/19/2023 at 6:12 PM, BeamerBikes said:

FIRE Financial Independent Retire Early folks are a bit crazy.  However, I do wonder more and more at what point should I start to pull back from working full-time.  

I've been single AF for most of my adulthood. I'll likely be the last of my immediate family.  I don't intend to pass along an inheritance to anyone.

My early retirement concerns are: 

Affording Quality Healthcare to enable Quality of Life - I'd rather die while I'm living then live when I'm dead.  

Finding purpose in retirement 

Knowing when I can push back and be "okay" (figure that will likely need a financial advisor) 

Affording my indulgences from time to time 

 

For those approaching or in-retirement, how did you answer some of these questions? 

Hi, you used abreviations in your post.  That makes it difficult to understand your post or what you are asking. 

When you wrote "I've been single AF for most of my adulthood." Does that mean you have been serving in the United Stated Air Force?  If so, your retirement will be made a lot easier than if you have worked for a private company.  

Again, if your mean Air Force when you wrote AF, you will not need to worry about medical expense if you retire from the Air Force.  There are many other benefits for prior military veterans honorably discharged.  

Abreviations are sometimes nice but many times abreviation cause the meaning of a message to be lost.  

If AF mean Air Force, please confirm and I can let you know of a lot of benefits that are not advertised for former military who have been discharged honorably.  

[+ purplekow]

AF he has been as single As Fuck. Amusingly, in this sentence, as fuck means without fuck. 

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by purplekow

[coriolis888]

8 minutes ago, purplekow said:

AF he has been as single As Fuck. Amusingly, in this sentence, as fuck means without fuck. 

 

Hi, thanks for translating that post.  

  

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

On 12/19/2023 at 7:55 PM, BeamerBikes said:

Yeah, I'd want to work in some capacity. Ideally, keep the hours flexible, stress to a minimum and decent Healthcare benefits. 

I'd even work as a volunteer as a docent at a museum, or coat check at a male strip club... Just something related to the arts.  I don't need employer provided health insurance... My pension will be enough to cover that.

[+ Charlie]

When I retired at 61, my partner (already retired then for 6 years)and I felt that the first thing we had to decide was where we wanted to live. My partner had spent his first years of retirement constantly traveling. Living where you already are is fine if you can foresee a happy future there, but we wanted to experience a complete change of scene (and climate) in a new home, so when I retired we immediately moved across the country to Palm Springs while we were still young and healthy enough to easily make new friends and establish a new network of support services --doctors, travel agents, social organizations, banks, tax accountants, auto services, gyms, etc. Since I was going to continue working online part-time to one of my employers, I had to make sure I had the right set-up to do that

Once settled in, we then had to figure out how we wanted to spend our new leisure time. My partner tried volunteering at a local museum, but it turned out not to be a good fit, so he found the Stroke Recovery Center only a block from our home, and settled in as a volunteer working with people who had suffered strokes and were participating in reading groups, something unlike anything he had ever thought of doing before, and he did that a couple of days per week for eleven years.  I volunteered at the local "Adult School," working with people who had never graduated from high school and were studying to finally get their diplomas. That led me unexpectedly to a new hobby: the teacher mentioned one day that the tennis club down the street was offering reduced rate new memberships because it was the end of the tourist season, and he suggested that I join him there. I had never played tennis, but I went with him, found an instructor there, and ended up as a fanatic, playing several days a week. So the best thing about retirement was finding a new activity that was totally unforeseen.

The secret to retiring happily is careful planning how you want to live as a retiree, but also remaining open to the possibility of becoming involved in activities that you had never contemplated.

[+ purplekow]

Having finally retired, with some remorse, long after most people have retired, I too thought  "California is the place I ought to be" so I loaded up my van and moved across the country with the three dogs, and the help of Azdr with the driving, and the caring for the dogs.  It has been two month.  I made no contingency to return so this was it.  I had bought a house without ever having been it or really near it.  I sold my house and stuffed my stuff into five pods and landed here 5 days later  to three days of rain.  I was assured that it only rains 5 days a year in Palm Springs, but , I have already gotten more than a year's worth.  

I am now going to the gym each day.  I am eating breakfast outside and reading while I do.  I cook instead of ordering out.  I get professionally laid every now and again.  All and all, it has been a good transition and though most of my friends, relatives and acquaintances thought I was quite mad to do this, so far, minimal regrets and believe it or not California is cheaper to live in than New Jersey.  

So live like you are dying.      BTW does anyone else think this is sexy as hell or am I just horny or perhaps both.  

 

Edited April 9 by purplekow
Needed the Harvard comma