[Paul T]

Putting finances and health insurance aside, I think the biggest thing to ponder when considering retirement is how you plan to spend your time. It’s easy to think about all these jobs around the house that you’ve been putting off etc., but I’m telling you, you will knock those out in the first month. If you don’t have hobbies, or volunteer work, or lots of travel plans, I think it can get boring really quick - that is where it can get dangerous for some people. You get bored, you start going out and eating/drinking a little too frequently and, while fun at first, it’s just not sustainable long term for most people. We need intellectual stimulation in some form, even if we aren’t “working”. And that can be anything that floats your boat - gardening, restoring a car, boating, whatever….you get the idea. What you want to avoid is watching 12 hrs of TV a day and doing nothing - you will decline big time and faster than you think. I retired 5 yrs ago at 50 and I stay pretty busy between travel and friends, hobbies and cars, but sometimes I catch myself slipping into “lazy mode” a little too much. Just something to be cognizant of IMO.