Excellent post. I have seen this play out many times. I retired in 2009 from the Navy as an O-6. I was ready to retire from the Nav but I know myself well enough to know that I like to work, to create things. So I have.

Congratulations: keep an open mind, adjust as necessary and find the comfort and peace of mind you have earned and richly deserve.

You are going to love this part of your life. Retirement is so UNDERRATED!! You will have plenty to do and will wonder how you had the time to do anything when you had a job.

You planned well, in good health, have the love of your life with you to do all the things that you want to do on your schedule. Your time. Enjoy every single second of it. I think you will by the sound of it.

Congrats!

Congratulations! As others have said...It takes a little adjustment, but you'll find your groove quickly. Stay within your budget and enjoy!

I'm just ten months into retirement and you and I are close to the same age. It took me a couple months just to stop feeling guilty or weird about doing nothing. You have projects waiting and that's a good start, that will help with the adjustment.

You and your wife are retiring at the same time is helpful. I retired two years before my wife and that has presented some complications. I quickly learned that when she comes home from her VERY stressful corporate job and asks, "What did you do today?", the best answer is..."Fixed sprinklers, trimmed the avocado trees, got rid of some gophers, etc". "Golfed, went surfing, watched The Bourne Identity for the 75th time, etc" didn't have a good outcome :confused:

Way cool on your retirement, may each day be better than the previous one. Hopefully I can go early as well, I still have a few years to plan.

Congratulations to you & your wife. "wdfifteen" & "KC911" posts 17 & 18 are great reads. I think I've been retired for thirteen years now and still miss the schedule, problem solving, urgency, productivity, personalities, etc., etc. associated with work. However being free to choose your activities & inclinations has its attractions. You will find times when you have to "work" at retirement to make it & keep it a rewarding experience. The great thing about it is you have the freedom to do what had always been just below the surface & was kept there by everyday demands of a scheduled & working life. Now you will have the time to try things you always wanted and find out what you want to commit/spend time at and what you don't Have fun.

Congrats, rfuerst! I hope you enjoy retirement as much as I do. To me, it's the best job, ever!

One thing you'll figure out...the art of crowd avoidance. Do your shopping and playing during times when most are at work.

CONGRATS!!

i'm almost there!! only 2677 workings days left for me!!

You may find this true a few months into your retirement, you'll be much busier than you were when you had a regular job. You'll be having your coffee (in fact your coffee breaks will probably tend to be much longer) & you may start to wonder just where-in-hell did I find the time to do all this stuff.

Congratulations. I am sure you'll find retirement to be a most gratifying & satisfying time of your life. I know I have.

Good Luck & Cheers
JB

Congrats! Keep us posted. I am still trying to determine exit point (soon/later). Your posts may help.

WOW thanks guys some great replies here . Without sounding like I'm bragging I have been a " go to " guy at work for a long time . My work ethic was planted at a VERY early age by my parents . Being lazy was never an option and I am so grateful to both of them may they rest in peace . My wife has been retired for coming up on 3 years now so she had the jump on me . She was burnt out from corporate defense industry which is very stressful with no shortage of BS ! I have reached a point where I am tired of the BS also.

I am aware that I will go through various emotions over the next few months but I am a stubborn German so failure is not an option :D Our new to us retirement home has enough small projects to keep me busy . Add to that the camper restoration and my plate is full . Then add to that the new man cave to complete and plate is over flowing ;)

Then there is car/truck maintenance plus all the yard equipment including two John Deere tractors and I'm already out of time !!! But seriously I don't think I will have a problem adjusting . There may come a time where I try to get a part time job , or find something I can volunteer/mentor at . The possibilities are endless .

Oh the three grandchildren are living 15 minutes away so spending more time with them is on the to do list . Sue and I want to travel in the truck camper there is so much in this great country to see . I want to finally be able to go to a sports car race like Sebring and be able to stay all week !

OK that's enough about me . Today the retirement package was mailed so we are over the falls now :D Looking forward to many years of fun and will share as much as I can with my Pelican brothers . SmileWavy

Congratulations sir! You've earned it now go out and enjoy it!

I'm about just over 2 years away myself at 57 as is my wife at 56.....so if I can ask you, the new retiree....what do I need to start doing? Did you plan this day well in advance?

To be honest we started planning this day about 15 years ago ! Sue and I talked quite a bit about retiring early but how do you do that ? You do that by finding a good financial advisor who will help you get there . They will " interview " you and your wife to find out what do you want to do/have in your retirement ? Travel ? New cars ? Education for grandchildren ? These are just examples . You lay out EVERYTHING you can think of and then come up with a plan on how to get there .

My dad passed away before my mom so when that happened I hooked my mom up with a Morgan Stanley advisor in Orlando where we lived at the time . He did a very good job with my moms portfolio and she lived a very comfortable life . When she passed I decided to continue to use him as our advisor as we had a comfort level with him.

He has done equally well with our portfolio so the best advice I can give is find a good advisor that you trust and you will listen to . Like a good mechanic when you find one hang onto him/her for dear life because they are priceless :D Good luck in your journey .

Congrats. What's a "pension"? :) Seriously, NOBODY I know has one, only 401k's.

If you don't have a pension but do have a 401K then max out your contributions if you can . I was lucky the last two years I have put 25 % of my pay into 401K every week PLUS the company match ! It adds up quick but starting early is the best .

I would suggest that you consult a fee only financial planner to establish how you stand re retirement readiness. I do not recommend one of those financial planners where they take all your money and invest it for you or one of those that want to put all your money in mutual funds.

Your question implies that you have not established what goals need to be met to retire. Tread carefully and do lots of research.

^^^Sorry rfuerst911sc..didn't mean to hijack your thread here!

I've had the same financial guy for the last 20 years or so and feel pretty good that he's doing a good job for me so I'm not too worried there. Neither my wife nor I have a pension lined up but we do have a pretty sizeable nest egg...just wondering if it'll be enough like many at our age ponder....

Your financial guy should be able to tell you if you have enough for retirement. Having said that this is another way to go if you don't get a good answer. Each Saturday the Globe and Mail does a financial profile of a couple or individual. In the city where they live they state the fee for assessment only financial planner by name. Would suggest you contact that business and get a reference for a good one in Calgary.

Rufer sorry to hijack your thread. I am happy that you are squared away in your retirement. :) It sounds like you have done your homework and preparation.

Guy, are you referring to Andrew Allentuck's column regarding retirement readiness? Yes, I do read that every Saturday...quite informative! I actually contacted Andrew directly last year.

Alex I am referring to Dianne Maley's "Financial Facelift" on page B14 Biz section of last Saturday's Globe and Mail. Likely there will be another fin facelift next Saturday.
The certified financial planner was T.E. Wealth in Toronto. The credentials of the analyst were a certified financial planner and a chartered financial analyst.

I switched to a large bank financial rep about four months ago. I was with a small financial planner for six years but let him go coz he was on too many holidays. Occasionally my phone calls were not returned . My imagination started to run away so I am pleased I am with a large Can. bank now.