Pulling the plug!
 

December 11 I am pulling the plug 32 years of working and I've had enough, time for retirement . This gives me more time to work on the Porsches and spend time with the wife ,can't believe it's finally here 😀

Stay busy.

Enjoy life.

I'm 6 years behind you and looking forward to it.

Well .. congratulations. I hope to get there one day myself. Another 10 or so to go. enjoy.

Congrats on retirement. :cool:
After 30 years retired 8 years ago, had been planning for it from my early 20s. :)
I just wish all my friends could do the same...:(

Congratulations! I can't wait. I'm winding down now, but probably 3 years before I pull the plug completely.

Smart advice from previous reply…Stay busy!

Congrats! While I'm at least 20 years away, I'm already planning and saving for it.

I'm a long ways off too, but we are planning some too. Looking at once the boys are out of the house selling off the big house and getting to where we can live on <1k per month total so we can work less, play more. Who needs a big house when you can go play outside?

Good for you, travel and do all the stuff you have looked forward to now, while you are still young enough to enjoy it

A friend of mine did that. He and his wife moved to a cabin in the woods. They loved it for about a year. Then they missed going out to eat without a two hour drive,and grocery stores and friends.

Everyone is different. I just can't imagine a life without my three car garage and the ability to flog my 911 around our fantastic autocross site once per month.

To the OP, congrats on retirement. My wife retired this summer. She is loving it. I just want to beat my last boss's retirement. In his words, he took "early retirement" at age 92. He was active physically and mentally tack sharp until he dropped dead from a heart attack at age 98 at home.

Glen there will be a shop at the cabin in the woods no worries. Also planning to RV a bit. We both like to travel and see the sights. Can have a tiny house and decent RV for less than HALF of what our house is worth....

I beat ya to it, been mostly retired (part time on my terms), for almost 2 years now. I'm having a great time with lots to do. I do hope all get the chance. Many people are too busy making a living, they forget to make a life. Don't wait too long.

Not living a full life of retirement is a rip off.
To finally reach retirement and then pass away within a few years is sad.
If you can retire sooner do it, while you are still healthy and active.

Congratulations to you & your wife. Retired a little more than 10 years now. Things worked out really well, except I can't turn back the clock physically, which I think is one thing lots of people don't seriously consider. A couple of points I'd like to express. Take seriously what style of life and activities you want to continue and enjoy. Realize these may change with time and try to make concessions for that. Do the best job you can calculating your income and outflow. Make the best provisions you can for health care and possibility of catastrophic illness. Address all the long term considerations as best you can, because you may not be able to as well at a much later date. Line up all the things you & your wife (together and separately) enjoy and want to do and prioritize into what you want to involve yourselves in early on and later on. Be on the lookout for new and different interests and activities and be eager to explore them. As Glen said, be careful of making decisions that might seem attractive but call for changes that might not work out in the long run. Of course there are an infinite number of other things, but I'm sure you've thought out all of these and more. Retirement is a change in life direction rather than "retiring" from life. Hit it hard and keep hitting it as hard as you can for as long as you can.

Cold turkey?

The closer I get to it, the less I think cold turkey is a good idea. I plan on starting to wean myself slowly once I reach 50 - but it depends on whats in the hopper in terms of opportunities, family plans such as college, health etc.

G

Congratulations! Have fun!!

Congrats! I'm a few months behind you and can't wait!

Well stated, Marv. I couldn't agree more.

To the OP, congrats. As for spending more time with the wife - does she know? :)

Don't move to Florida. SmileWavy

I'm winding down now
Only 25 more years

At 50.5, i'm 9.5 years from my early retirement (god willing) and hope my investments keep growing, and my health gets better. Good luck with your "Golden Yeras" and enjoy every minute of it with no regrets.

He kept working only because he loved it. He loved flying his airplanes and had over 18,000 hours. He had retired from the FAA and started there when it was the CAA. He retired from the Air Force reserve and started in the Army Air Corps. He ONLY worked as a hobby, and loved going to work. He did not need to work, he wanted a fun hobby that happens to be a business.

I did it almost 3 years ago...now I do only what I love and not what I have to. Congrats!

Congratulations

I retired in March of this year at 56. I don't need to work (good company pension) plus I socked alot of dough in retirement funds that I only use if I need to.
So far I'm not bored. I poke around the house looking for something to fix.
If it ever snows I'll probably do some snowboarding.
I'd like to go to France/Britain next summer. My g/f can't retire for another 8 years so I may do some road trips on my own.

Is fast approaching for me.

Good for you ! I love a happy ending, with a long epilogue.

Keep us posted on your adventures.

Congratulations!!!
Me too!
36+ years at the same rather large company, started at the ripe old age of 18... turned 55 this fall.

It's a roller coaster of emotions, mostly very VERY happy to not need to get up at 4 am anymore and deal with the stresses of my position.

We have been pretty frugal, my wife and I will both get pensions, we owe nothing and have invested continuously (Love compound interest and diversified investments!).

I plan to do lots of projects inside and outside the home, spend time clearing out the 30 years of stuff I've hung onto thinking I might need it some day (turns out I only needed a small percentage).
We will also do lots of day trips, overnighters and some international travel.
I'm easily entertained and we really don't need much to be happy.
Here in the Pacific Northwest we can be on the ocean, desert, rain forest or in the mountains within 5 hours... so many amazing places to explore and re-visit. (I am seriously addicted to the North Cascades).

I also plan to do some volunteering, habitat for the humanities and a North Cascade based institute that focuses on environmental learning for all ages appeals to me deeply.

I agree completely that it's not at all retiring from life, rather using what time I have left to do what I love, spoil my wife as much as possible and give some time and effort to organizations that do good work for others.

Oh yes, I'm also going to drive the bejesus out of my 72 911 Targa while I can still get in and out of it cuz it's so damn fun!

Holy smokes, Skip - congratulations! I didn't realize you had retired. I'm kind of in the same boat - started in 1980 at the same rather large company, began investing immediately, and just turned 55 this fall. Kids are long since up and gone, their college paid for, and no other debts. My wife and I are thinking maybe another year or two at the most.

Everybody's different, and some good advice offered in this thread. I was in corporate IT,planning on exiting at 50 and planned for it. When my dept was outsourced in the fall of '08, I opted for early retirement at 48 rather than continuing on with one of the largest (HPQ)....seven years later no regrets whatsoever and never looked back. Good luck!

Thanks for all the advice😀 First day is done and over, great feeling, At the lake with my wife having a great time 😀

Whoo hoo! congrats on your retirement! http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/clap.gif

I'm not as smart as Skip or Jeff, but I am addicted to the North Cascades, wilderness and park. I'm looking forward to retirement in about six years. At a recent 40-year HS class reunion, folks expressed concern about....."You're an active guy. Won't you be bored?"

Pretty funny. I predict I will NEVER run out of things to do. In retirement, I will have time for more stuff!