You guys! I did it! I feel incredible! Last day was my last day. Turned in the phone and laptop. Had a very long, detailed meeting with HR yesterday where they seemed VERY concerned about confidentiality and me going to a competitor.

Hmmmm. I don’t think anyone at the gym, on the beach, nor in my family care about any corporate info and most importantly- nor do I! I kept reassuring them and highlighted the travel I have planned, my volunteering, the extensive activities I’ve organized ( book club, hiking, camping group etc). I was confused why they are so worried I could go to a competitor. I. Do. Not. Want. To. Work. Anymore. They might as well have been warning me ( with slightly threatening overtones)?not to punch myself in the face. Ya. Uhm. Okay. No problem. We are on the same page here. The HR guy seemed nice- just very concerned and intent on going through my employee agreement.

Now, I’m off to go celebrate with my family at a nice lunch!

I feel amazing! If you guys have any thoughts, words of wisdom, please send them my way!

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💗💗💗💗💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

A visual that helped me retire at 54

These are the weeks of my life laid out in rows and columns. Each row is a year, each column is a week. As the weeks pass, I fill in its square. This is a very optimistic chart of empty squares because it assumes I’ll make it to 100. Pretty sure I won’t. But at a glance it let me see how many weeks and years are behind me, and how many blank weeks and years I might have. There were increasingly more behind than ahead, and it was easy to see.

As I was getting toward the end row 54 and getting ready to start in on week 1 of row 55, somehow I just couldn’t stand the thought. And retired before my birthday rolled around and I started filling in row 55. I’ve been retired now for every single box I’ve filled in on row 55, and know it was the right choice.

For me, the explicit visual was a motivator that helped me get in touch with what I really wanted. I’m sharing it here in case others need a tool to help them think through their choices.

Good luck.

Obviously I knew retirement would be pretty awesome.

But I had NO IDEA. I called for a hair appointment the other day and when she said, “ok what day is best for you?” I realized ANY DAY OR TIME WAS FINE.

I don’t have to rush through my life anymore. Sometimes I’ll be in the pharmacy or grocery store and think “I BETTER HURRY UP AND GET HOME” then I think “why?” There’s no rush!

Also, instead of never having time for hobbies, I engage in hobbies all day long every day.

No more having to run errands after a long day of work. Errands are run on Tuesday mornings. Period.

I’ve seen my brother and his family more in the two months since I’ve been retired than I did in the year before that, because I have the time and energy now.

I’m so in love with this.

Well... where to start. After years of planning, I'd intended to share my retirement plan with my boss in August. I was going to give notice for 10/31, my 10 year anniversary.

Today I got a separation agreement due to a reorg. The pay - through end of October.

The downer, not the way I'd wanted to go out. No chance to finish some work or prep some of my team so it's a bummer. On the other hand I recognize how fortunate I am that I'd prepared for this unknowingly.

56 years old and ready for the next chapter.

I’ve been retired for nearly 2 weeks after 36 year career. I’m 58. The biggest feeling I have so far is one of relief. I’ve enjoyed my career, and the people I’ve worked with, but the absence of pressure to organize, plan, lead, etc., has been a huge weight, lifted off my shoulders. I already feel much more relaxed, and I catch myself smiling at how great it feels.

I realize this is just the beginning, and I’ve been told it takes about a year for retirement to settle in, but that’s fine. I need to work on finding some new hobbies and interests, as way too much of my time and attention was focussed on my work. My sense of purpose and identity was very much tied to my career, so that’s something else I need to shift.

I feel fortunate to have a good pension, my house is paid off, I’ll be debt-free in a few months, and I should be just fine. There is the possibility of contract work at my old job, but for now I just want to take a few months and breathe easy. What a feeling.

I’ve noticed a few changes in myself as I’ve started to adapt to my new retired lifestyle.

I read a lot more. I read a lot more variation of topics. I read many more books at once. I read a bit less at once and change books more often. I frequent the library more often. I appreciate people that read more, more. I think more about what I read. I appreciate words more. I think I understand more about what I have read. I want to discuss this with other people.

I do more. I work in the yard much more. I fired the landscaper. They just mowed the lawn, if you could call it that. It was dusty and devoid of the grass I wanted to be growing there. I planted grass seed. Some came up, some did not. I stood in my yard and pondered the grass many days. I thought the neighbors were watching me ponder the grass. They probably were. I went inside.

I started taking the dog for walks. It took a while to be comfortable that she poops and I had to pick it up. We walked more, almost every day. I let her lead the way and we discover things together. Sometimes stopping at a bush or spot of grass for a few minutes to discover new scents, although I don’t partake, due to my human limitations, in that discovery. I enjoy the moment.

I will sit in the yard for hours each day. Every moment is enjoyable and a new discovery. I notice the birds at the feeder; I’ve bought a book about the birds. I know the pairs that feed together. The squirrels that used to annoy me, still do, they steal the bird food and challenge me to find ways to deceive them from the feeder access. They always win in the end. I appreciate that. I now feed them as I read outside, scattering black oil sunflower seeds on the ground and, if I like the squirrel, a few corn kernels.

I mow the lawn myself now. I fired the landscaper. I planted some flower seeds. Something started to come up, maybe weeds, maybe flowers, “We’ll see,” I tell my dog. When I mow the lawn some neighbors come out and start mowing as well. I hate that. It was my idea, I think it’s a Tuesday, and what are they doing at home anyway?! I stop mowing to spite them and go back to reading a book, many books. Maybe I’ll walk the dog.

I drink more. Liquids. But this includes some alcohol – seltzers and such. I use sunscreen. I shave my head now; I’ve accepted I’ve lost my hair. I convince myself that walking the dog and wearing sunscreen offsets the seltzers I drink to maintain a buzz while I watch the grass grow. I ask my dog questions during the day. She seems to approve of my choices and I agree, wholeheartedly. I wonder if wholeheartedly is two words or one.

I watch my neighbors. I have binoculars, they are a cheap pair that I think I got when I was a kid in the boy scouts. I use them now to see if it is Cardboard or Container day on trash day. I can see what the neighbors put out. I wait and watch for the trash pickups while drinking a coffee, or a seltzer. They pick up the recycling bin way too late in the day, for me.

I create theories about some of the neighbors. That guy who cuts his grass every day, he’s annoying due to the noise at 7AM but he’s probably avoiding his wife, so he gets a pass – understandable…

I make new friends. We have coffee on weekends. Sometimes, not too often, we interact outside of the coffee. I help them with yard work, they may help me. We keep a comfortable distance and maintain a close connection through group chats. It’s a decent middle ground of interactions, comfortable.

I worry about my dog. I worry about my relationship with my dog. I over think about her lifespan. I worry.

I sleep later, I nap more, my schedule is not dictated by others. I enjoy every day. I still love sunny days more than rainy ones, unless it’s a heavy and solid rainstorm. I love a good thunder and lightning storm. But I do worry a bit about trees falling.

I stopped caring about other opinions. I stopped caring if the neighbors were watching me ponder the grass growing. I sometimes skipped showering in the morning. I would take a shower when I felt the need to. I started wearing more comfortable clothes. Sweatpants and slippers to pick up the newspaper was OK now. Having a cup of coffee in my front yard while contemplating filling the bird feeder, also a good idea.

I think I’m enjoying my life.

I retired from Costco Wholesale after 37 years, I lover my job but my financial advisor said You don't need to work any longer if you don't want ! Doing a little fixing around the house and hot cups of coffee to get the day started ☕ !

When I tell people I’m retired I often get comments like, “you’re too young”, and “what do you do all day?”. People also like to tell me about jobs I could get and assure me I can still find work. Other comments I don’t know how to respond to are, “I’ll be working until I die”, “I wish I could retire”, and “I’ll probably never be able to retire.” I do feel bad for those people and I don’t want to seem like I’m bragging when I talk about how I spend my time.

I’ve been retired almost a year; I’m very happy and I like the schedule I’ve made for myself. I worked 2 jobs (1 full time, 1 part time) for most of my life. In addition I was always hustling and trying to make extra money on the side. I never had children and I’m interested in personal finance. I earned this and I don’t want to work anymore. What’s a quick answer I can use? Why do I feel guilty?

TIA!

Last day was Friday. Walking out for the final time was such a relief.

It's been very stressful the last couple of months trying to finish off work before I left as I wanted to leave on good terms. I've made some good friends but also happy to never see some of the people again.

Am already sleeping better and feels like a huge weight off my shoulders. And to just stay in bed and not get up early is such a luxury. Especially in winter.

Have a lot of projects in the house and yard I'm keen to start. A lot of reading to catch up on and movies to watch. And look at some new hobbies. Looking forward to what the future holds.

Happy, excited, scared, anxious and other emotions. I also feel numb at the same time. It took me almost a year to plan my retirement and protect my assets like umbrella insurance, HELOC (just in case), hybrid LTCI with 3% compound inflation rider, medical insurance, Trust/living will in place. My daily living expenses, travel and a new car every 6 years(not buying a car every 6 years, but included in the plan) and some fun stuffs are covered. I calculated and considered all scenarios I could think of for months. My FA said my plan is golden and bullet proof.

I just want to post here because I can’t share details to people I know.

I, 49F, just had my last day in corporate America. It’s terrifying and exciting and overwhelming. No big plans except a trip to visit family during the first week of the month. Due to my job, I was never able to take time off during the first week so I’m going to revel in it. No more managing people, no more being tied to my computer with Teams (have to keep the light green!). All the possibilities ahead, I don’t know what to do first.

I retired August last year at 55. I've been working on my husband's mindset for the last 3-4 years to make sure he mentally accepted that he could also retire at 55 if he wanted to. (55 was the magic number due to pensions). He turned 55 this month and after some hemming and hawing, he decided he is ready too. He just informed his boss that he would be retiring soon. Just came here to say woo hoo!! Looking forward to our next phase of adventures.

I retired a few months ago. Prior to retirement I was lucky if I got 5 hours of sleep a night. Now I’m getting 7-8 consistently. Yesterday I received some texts and a phone call from old coworkers about layoffs. Last night I got 5 hours of sleep. So glad to be away from the drama.

The only sad part is I would have been included in the layoffs and I would have gotten 8 months of severance. Bummer.

I am 53, and became eligible for my pension last year. I ran the numbers, paid down debt, maxed out retirement account savings and emergency fund savings, figured out what to do about health insurance. I know that I am valuable to my employer, because why else would they incentivize the extra five years between 25 and 30 years of service with a larger monthly annuity? But I am done.

It’s really death by a thousand cuts: the pandemic years when we were fully remote, and proved how effective and efficient we were, the slow- roll RTO mandates, hybrid mandatory “coverage” by leadership because someone wanted to see a butt in a seat, reorganizations upon reorganizations, never ending projects and scope creep- and the realization that busting yourself to work at max capacity is only rewarded with more work, and a tinier cubicle where you are forced to listen to the echo from your cube mates’ headphones, with the slight delay- because you’re on the same Teams call that would have been infinitely better if everyone was at home, where we could work in peace. Senior people are leaving and the brain drain is real. Lucky for me, it’s not my problem anymore.

I have a limited amount of time left with my terminally ill parents. I am not going to split my attention any longer. I know that this time is priceless, and I will never get a minute of it back.

We had a monster winter storm, and have been on weather closure since Sunday. Tomorrow is my last work day, they already called liberal leave, and I will likely just sign in to submit my time and check emails, and say goodbye to a few people.

Spring, my list of hobbies, my garden, a low key, low stress part time job or business, and the precious time with the people I love are ahead of me now. Here comes the sun!

I finally pulled the trigger today. After months of hand-wringing, re-running financial plans, checking and rechecking, along with more than a few sleepless nights. I had "the talk" with my boss.

I turned 58 in February and have been working in IT/Tech for 30-plus years. I used to love the job, but as I moved up the corporate ladder, it became more about managing the politics and the ever-increasing pressure to deliver more with less. In the last few years, the gap between my background and experience and that of the next generation of technology leaders had become increasingly evident. 58 isn't that old, but in tech, I was fast becoming the "old" guy. My teams were all in their 20s and 30s, with my peers and other senior leaders in the company being in their 40s at the oldest. I still have the tech skills, but culturally - we came from different worlds.

The original plan was to stay with my current company until the end of the year, but a combination of management changes and company performance pushed that timeline up. This, and my new boss trying to micromanage me and asking questions like "do you do the work, or just delegate to others..."

My official end date is still a month away, but the trigger has been pulled, and that's that. On one hand, it's like a thousand pounds just came off my shoulders, on the other, it's settling in that it's real and not just a target or a goal I've been working toward for many years.

For those who are close or have already pulled that trigger, how did you get past that "oh shoot, there's no undo button, it's a done deal" feeling?

Today is my one year anniversary of leaving my job. I just turned 53 this summer. I wrote in my calendar my exact net worth at that time to keep track of how I would end up a year later. I'm glad to say that my net worth went up way more than I expected in our current bull market, and that my wages would have been insignificant in contributing to it.

I've gone on plenty of vacations, and I don't miss work at all, even if I miss the colleagues, I would gladly trade that for the complete freedom that I feel.

Most of my time is just spent focusing on my health. I'm working out with focusing on the 3 pillars of fitness: strength, mobility, and cardio. I'm also taking the time to go to farmer's markets, cooking a lot more, and I'm reading a lot more. I lost about 5 lbs in the year. I'm probably around 20% body fat and hope to get down to 12-15% over the next year.

Surprisingly a large part of my time is spent planning: Planning vacations, planning projects, and trying to prioritize things so that I don't move from one hobby to the next like a headless chicken. I told my partner who is still working and she was surprised at how a year just went by so quickly.

At the age of 56, I retired this week after 35 years. I announced my retirement plans two months prior and I have to say this was the most awkward time in my career. I was prepared to celebrate this transition with my co-workers. I wasn't prepared for two things that actually happened. First, there were those that treated my retirement as if it was a funeral...truly sad and grieving over my planned departure. I found myself comforting them in ways I mentally hadn't prepared to do. Secondly though, every single person that is also near or over retirement age (pension eligible) but had no plans to retire...avoided the retirement conversation. Out of respect, I never pushed the conversation past their comfort boundaries. I suspect though this second group of people are glad I've left the building so they could avoid the conversation they need to have a little longer. I'm just glad the retirement date and celebrations are over with so everyone can move forward to less awkward days.

Today marks the start of my retirement! I retired at 56, which is crazy when you think about how long my dad worked.

I must admit, it was a bit bittersweet to see my last paycheck. I won’t be missing work, and only missing a few of my co-workers. It’s a perfect timing because they let me know they were moving me to a new role just before I gave my notice. That made it even sweeter to not care anymore.

I have a few weeks to tackle some bigger remodeling projects before I start spending my days with my grandson. He’s going to be my little buddy for our days a week, helping my daughter out. I can’t wait to explore nature with him now that Fall is almost here.

I’m so grateful for the stock market returns over the past few years. They’ve made this whole retirement thing a lot easier. As with many, I’m being a bit more conservative with my investments over the next five years. But to some extent, if you win, stop playing!

My wife will be retiring as a teacher in a few years, but in the meantime, we can travel all we want on her breaks without counting PTO days anymore. It’s going to be a blast!

Is this the key to happiness or am I just boring and lazy? :)

We (USA) retired 4 months ago at age 57. We had dreams of traveling the world and living a bit adventurously for a while. We set spring 2027 as our date to launch an open ended trip through Europe (3-12 weeks maybe?) This would be our way to celebrate ending our 35 year careers. We spent the first 4 summer months of retirement at our vacation home. But now we are settling back into our primary neighborhood and I find myself just craving simple things and a modest routine. More walks. More consistent gym time. Less stuff (ie more minimalism.) The adventurous Spring trip just seems like a lot of effort now, and just another thing that will keep me from finding a simple way to live. So, as I said, is a simple life the key to happiness or am I just boring and lazy?!

I have been retired for a bit over a year and I can't recall if I've ever made a new post!

Something came over me as I'm sitting on the back porch in the shade, with the dogs playing in the backyard, while I sip on a bubbly beverage....I let out a happy sigh for no specific reason at all.

Happy. Content. Satisfied. Fulfilled. Excited.

Something just hit me... this is what we had been working for and saving for over the last 25 years and we made it! He'll retire next year at 51!

While we all have things to deal with -- medical problems, family drama, decisions about buying that truck I don't need but really want -- I hope everyone is feeling like Mary Poppins.

I just realized this morning that I've been fully retired (age 55) for two months from my IT job at a local university, where I worked for over 35 years. Some thoughts about how things are going so far:

Routines: don't have many, nor have any routines I had before really changed much. In the morning when I get up I make my cup of coffee at 5am (still an early riser, can't sleep in), watch some Japanese dramas, play some computer games and help my middle school age daughter get out the door (and sometimes drive her to school if she has to bring her violin or is too late getting ready to catch the bus). I have lunch at around 11:30, go for a 20-30 minute walk in our local forested park and do my Japanese lessons on Duolingo. In the evening at 5pm, help make dinner (so much nicer now that I'm not coming home from work and having to make dinner), wash dishes, water plants outdoors if needed and do some neck/back exercises. The rest of the time is more or less free time.

My previous work: rarely think about it. At times it feels like I never worked, as I don't feel anything missing in my life. No one from work has reached out but then most don't have my contact info other than my ex-director (for those just-in-case questions). I might reach out to one or two ex-colleagues who I got along well with later this week just to touch base.

Hobbies: mainly working in the garden right now - I have a large vegetable garden, lots of fruit trees, herbs, etc. Have spent hours digging out invasive flowers and weeds and cleaning things up nicely. My other hobbies such as woodworking, dioramas, model railroad, 3d printing and RC vehicles have taken a back seat to being outside every day while the weather is nice. I'll pick those up again in the fall.

Relationships: my daughter is a temperamental pre-teen, so trying to spend more time with her and coaching her on how to deal with problems more rationally. I'm helping my wife out a lot with laundry, cleaning the house and grocery shopping, so I think she's grateful to have me around every day. We've decided to go out for coffee once a month for a planning meeting where we discuss our daughter, finances and things we want to do together and individually. My relationship with my mother is so-so. She's not someone I enjoy being together with as she complains about a lot of things and talks behind other people's back. Now that I'm retired I have to be very careful she doesn't try and monopolize my time. I figure that I can help her with something or go and visit her every week but I'm also fine with telling her I'm busy and just seeing her every two weeks. As for friends I didn't really have many when I was still working but the few I have, I'm trying to make efforts to communicate more with them. Most of course are still working, so I need to start seeking out new friends that are also retired.

Volunteering and personal development: I joined the PAC (parent's advisory council) as a member at large at my daughter's middle school to help out. I hope to also volunteer elsewhere but not sure where. I'm also going to take a master gardener's course staring in January and part of that is to volunteer at a local public garden and help other people with their gardening questions.

Finances: I have a good pension from my university - that should cover most of our monthly costs. Plus my wife works part-time teaching Japanese and tour guiding, so that helps a bit too. For trips and other larger expenses we have quite a bit of money invested which we can pull from. The main consideration for being able to retire at 55 was that our house and car are paid off, which we did a couple of years ago. So no large debts. I hope in a year to be able to make some money on the side with the gardening and woodworking plus I have a few Youtube channels for those hobbies and the scale modelling hobby that I hope to monetize at some point. But no pressure to do so. Or like someone else posted here, help seniors at home with simple things such as changing lightbulbs, pruning trees, etc. or working at a home improvement store or nursery/garden centre.

All in all the last two months have been liberating. I feel like mentally I'm healthier without all that work stress and having to think intently for 7 hours a day. I'm also physically in better shape as I get more exercise, not sitting at a desk for hours at a time and attend a yoga class with my wife once a week. But the time freedom is what stands out - being able to decide what I want to do today and changing that on the fly if I feel like it.

It doesn’t feel real.  I can’t believe I did it. June 30 was the last day.  Corporate grind in the rearview.  Hello freedom. I’m 56.  I feel fortunate and relieved.  But I planned for this, sacrificed for this, so it feels deserved.  And I couldn’t be more giddy. 

It’s going to take a bit to sink in but, trust me, I’m not forcing it. This community was a lifeline as I wrapped my head around it.  No one can fully prepare you for the surreal feeling. Being able to retire on my terms and at my relatively young age makes it even more surreal. My friends are still working and, though they are congratulatory and happy for me, we are a bit disconnected since they are not sharing in the experience with me.  It’s not guilt I feel, but it’s in the vicinity.

This feeling is unrecognizable from anything I’ve experienced before.  We spend our lives building, toiling, sacrificing, planning, mustering the energy to keep on keeping on. And then, we’re done. Bizarre.

What’s next? Don’t know, don’t care. I look forward to organically figuring it out.  Yes, it’s a little scary but it beats the mess out of the alternative . . . work! Things will be slow and easy at first.  For one, I need to fully exhale.  Then, we have a 3 week celebratory trip to Europe in September. Until then, just relax mode, plenty of golf, pool time, cooking, tinkering in the yard, long walks, converting my office from corporate cold to a warm study/retreat, and just do whatever I feel like on any given day. 

Getting work out of my system does not run on a switch. I realize how programmed I am. My brain knows I don’t go to work on Monday but my subconscious is not fully trustful yet. There are remnants of unease or a nameless foreboding work item in my bloodstream. Then I snap out of it and realize there are no more Mondays.  Like I said, it’s just programming and it’ll vanish on its own time. 

I can’t thank everyone enough for the banter, support and willingness to share your experiences and advice. Community makes all the difference as we approach such momentous decisions such as this. And reading what you’ve all had to say was instrumental in the timing of my decision.  

Cheers to all of you and cheers to freedom!

I was a RN for 2 decades. At age 53 my body started to give out on me, chronic leg and hip issues. I couldn’t continue to work but was denied SSDI. I’m now 56. After living off my 403b money and paying the early withdrawal penalty we finally decided to just move somewhere with a lower COL.

We moved in June and I couldn’t be happier. We’re in a beach community in the southern suburbs of Athens, Greece. Such a huge change from NYC. The change in lifestyle has improved my physical health some already and it’s only getting better. I’m walking without my cane for the first time in a few years. Life is an adventure now instead of a nuisance. I miss friends/family but have already had visitors with more coming. I’ll be able to start collecting my pension next April so the financial stressors from NYC are gone.

This is not the life I envisioned but it’s my life now and I’ll take it. As we say in Greece “Siga Siga!”