[Dennis Kalma]

I am having the same problem...one difference is that I do not have any pensions coming, so I need to live on what I have banked, which begs all the questions about stability and returns on financial markets.

Anyway, on to the important things....take at least 3 months off...1 month won't do it. Make sure your wife takes the same time off, so you can figure out if you can put up with each other on a close to continuous basis. Break the cycle by going off on vacation for as long a period as you can manage...we did a month and still wish we would have taken longer.

Also, do a post retirement budget. Make it real, include your vacation and travel desires, include buying parts from Wayne for your Porsche, build in realistic numbers for anything you are practically going to want to do. We did that and found our income needs are not as high as we thought, which eases the concerns a bit. We also did not build in the sale value of our house, idea is that we need a place to live and don't want to leave until we have no choice.

Ahhh...I could go on forever....another thing is can you in fact stand making your hobbies into your job? What are you going to fill your day with for the rest of your life. I don't think you need to map it out, but you should at least have some variety and mix of individual stuff and people oriented things.....

And last thing. Just do it.

Dennis