Now That You Happily Retired Do You Have Any Regrets Looking Back?

Regret not planning for retirement a little earlier and more aggressively. That being said necessity in the mother of all invention. Maybe my investing might not have had the same outcomes if I had a different set/plan in the back of mind all those years.
 

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I'm wishing that I wasn't so quick to retire at age 62, not because of the income, because I lost my SS when my husband died.... But the routine of a schedule that I really enjoyed at the time. Can't go back now.
 
I wish I'd spent more time on myself instead of grandkids and animals.
Thank goodness I was blessed with lots of energy and worked hard in garden and woods. Plus always danced around.
But all 13 of those grandkids are now busy and most don't even call us. They are nice when we are around them.
Every summer I had at least 4 of them 24/7 till school started. Their parents would bring them here early June and drop them off till late August.
I'm proud of most of them and love them all and my great grand kids.
We pent lots of time and money on them and saved them from child care and latch keys. Taught hem all lots of things.
 
Absolutely, any lawman that says they don’t have any regrets throughout their career is probably being untruthful.

One immediate regret that comes to mind and I have never been able to get rid of the guilt is when I responded to a house fire and the lady was standing next to her husband crying and trying to talk. After I was able to calm her down, she told me that they put their two dogs into a wired cage before they go to bed and the dogs are still in there.

I quickly told the fireman that two dogs were trapped in a wire cage in the kitchen. He said that he wasn’t sending anyone in. I asked if he had an extra oxygen tank and he said he did. I was going to grab it and try to go in, but I let the Chief talk me out of it. I was sure that I could have saved them, but I allowed myself to be talked out of something that I knew better. Both dogs perished in the fire, which was caused by a faulty wiring connection in the attic. The wiring became frayed probably caused by rodents that came inside under the eave or gable. (Older home) I can still hear those dogs barking.
 
MeAgain said:
I wish I'd spent more time on myself instead of grandkids and animals.
Thank goodness I was blessed with lots of energy and worked hard in garden and woods. Plus always danced around.
But all 13 of those grandkids are now busy and most don't even call us. They are nice when we are around them.
Every summer I had at least 4 of them 24/7 till school started. Their parents would bring them here early June and drop them off till late August.
I'm proud of most of them and love them all and my great grand kids.
We pent lots of time and money on them and saved them from child care and latch keys. Taught hem all lots of things.
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Sounds like you are proud of the time you spent with them, and hopefully it will be a legacy for their future life's character development, so doesn't sound like you might have changed anything if you did it all over again. Time well spent?!
 
I learned a lot about myself since I retired. When I worked I was very intense and motivated. Since I retired I learned that my motivation was all from the expectations of the team I worked with. Now, I have to push myself to be motivated to stay busy. I guess I never have been a self motivated guy, and I had to retire to learn that abut myself.

I have two regrets. First, I regret not having been a better father when my kids were little - although they are all doing very well now as adults, so I must not have messed up too badly. Second, I regret that I can't seem to find an activity in retirement that I am passionate about - all the things that I do now don't seem to be important to me. I think that's because nobody is counting on me to finish a task like when I was working. The one exception is I am passionate about visiting my kids and grandkids.
 
I retired at 66 and was more than happy about it. Increasing govt regulations and legal issues had become onerous and I was ready to get out. I worked on a consulting basis for several years and enjoyed that but finally said "that's enough" and pulled the pin. I honestly don't think I could even do my former job today. I do miss the people though. I had a great staff working with me and I always made sure we had a lot of fun while doing good work. I still get birthday cards from former work friends.

I certainly didn't expect taxes and other expenses to increase as they have but not needing to buy suits or gas for commuting offsets that. I tried a part time job but all that did was kick me into a higher tax bracket so I dropped I it.
 
Llynn said:
I retired at 66 and was more than happy about it. Increasing govt regulations and legal issues had become onerous and I was ready to get out. I worked on a consulting basis for several years and enjoyed that but finally said "that's enough" and pulled the pin. I honestly don't think I could even do my former job today. I do miss the people though. I had a great staff working with me and I always made sure we had a lot of fun while doing good work. I still get birthday cards from former work friends.

I certainly didn't expect taxes and other expenses to increase as they have but not needing to buy suits or gas for commuting offsets that. I tried a part time job but all that did was kick me into a higher tax bracket so I dropped I it.
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Know what you mean Lynn...we were in business and just decided to sell it. Had sold the building we'd built for it 6 years before and "downsized" into a rent building...it was time. Do miss the employees - they were wonderful and we (like you I suspect) always tried to "do right by them". We still hear from them off and on.

With that said, when it s time its time, and we've really enjoyed retirement. Lets face it, none of us are getting any younger!
 
Camper6 said:
I find retirement extremely boring.

My regrets? I underestimated the amount of money needed.

But then you can accumulate money but you can't accumulate time.
That is a gift.
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The first 6 months I found retirement boring. Mostly because I sat in the dang chair playing on the computer all day. So I set a goal for a year away. Walk the Camino de Santiago. I had to train and train, need to be able to walk 10 miles in a day for 3 days in a row with a full pack. I had to pay all my bills ahead so that would not be on my mind. Had to get a backpack and stuff to put in it that was very light weight. I had to save for airfare, train fare, bus fare. My monthly income would pay my way once there, as long as I didn't go crazy.

I had a plan. I had to spend time to reach the goal. I got out of the dang chair.
 
I am still adjusting to retirement some days I love it and other days I am flailing around wondering what to do. I’m sure I’ll get adjusted after a period of time I’ve also relocated to an entirely new area so I’m adjusting to that as well. I don’t do well with change my husband can tell you that so it will take me time. Sometimes I get a little down but then I think back to my last job and how stressful it was and that tends to make me feel a little bit better. I’m still trying to find friends which has always been very difficult for me as I’m not a small talker and I tend to do very poorly in any kind of crowd so that leaves out any kind of community gatherings. I am thankful that I’m now retired though and have a chance to spend time with my husband and son who lives with us.
 
Lc jones said:
I am still adjusting to retirement some days I love it and other days I am flailing around wondering what to do. I’m sure I’ll get adjusted after a period of time I’ve also relocated to an entirely new area so I’m adjusting to that as well. I don’t do well with change my husband can tell you that so it will take me time. Sometimes I get a little down but then I think back to my last job and how stressful it was and that tends to make me feel a little bit better. I’m still trying to find friends which has always been very difficult for me as I’m not a small talker and I tend to do very poorly in any kind of crowd so that leaves out any kind of community gatherings. I am thankful that I’m now retired though and have a chance to spend time with my husband and son who lives with us.
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Do you have any "interests" or hobbies that could possibly help you make friends with others of similar interests, like garden or cooking clubs or book, pottery, etc.?

Being a "nester" by nature, do know what you mean by change...lol. Hang in there, and
the good stuff will sprout up in your new area. The strange will begin to feel familiar.
 
Liberty said:
Do you have any "interests" or hobbies that could possibly help you make friends with others of similar interests, like garden or cooking clubs or book, pottery, etc.?

Being a "nester" by nature, do know what you mean by change...lol. Hang in there, and
the good stuff will sprout up in your new area. The strange will begin to feel familiar.
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I do have quite a few hobbies But they’re mostly solitary and nature. I’m not a real card player and I’m not too sporty LOL I like to swim though and I have a pool in my backyard so joining the YMCA for the pool would be a waste of money. I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually or maybe I won’t LOL I’m pretty happy but just trying to get adjusted to my new surroundings my husband says it takes me a very long time to get used to new things he’s absolutely right
 
Lc jones said:
I am still adjusting to retirement some days I love it and other days I am flailing around wondering what to do. I’m sure I’ll get adjusted after a period of time I’ve also relocated to an entirely new area so I’m adjusting to that as well. I don’t do well with change my husband can tell you that so it will take me time. Sometimes I get a little down but then I think back to my last job and how stressful it was and that tends to make me feel a little bit better. I’m still trying to find friends which has always been very difficult for me as I’m not a small talker and I tend to do very poorly in any kind of crowd so that leaves out any kind of community gatherings. I am thankful that I’m now retired though and have a chance to spend time with my husband and son who lives with us.
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Lc, for what it is worth, you are doing pretty well with this crowd.
 


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