Did You Mistake Any Of These 5 Retirement Myths For Realties?

My transition from working to retirement was pretty smooth.

I had planned and saved for decades so the money end was ok.

It was a bit of an adjustment to fill the extra free time, mainly by slowing down and taking time to enjoy the minutiae of day to day life.

One last thing, if you were not happy and didn't enjoy life when you were working you may not be any happier when you retire unless you take the time to sort through the accumulated baggage and start letting it go.
 
now we have so much to do we find it hard to get away . my drumming consumes me 2 days a week . i work one day . we usually have one of the 5 grandkids to baby sit for . then we always seem to have a doctor or dentist appointment in the mix .
 
Aunt Bea said:
...if you were not happy and didn't enjoy life when you were working you may not be any happier when you retire unless you take the time to sort through the accumulated baggage and start letting it go.
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Good advice Aunt Bea but, on the other hand, some who enjoyed their work are feeling lost and missing it now.

I was not happy with the last 8 years of employment so the day I left, I was overjoyed to let go. Completely. I walked out that door with a song in my heart, leaping and praising God...and never looked back :eek:nthego:. It's been a fairly blissful 3 years so far and i couldn't be more grateful.
 
#1. Was easy.
#2. We began the financial & life planning part in early our 30's. Only regret was not planning for weight gain.
#3. As our kids got older we included them in what our plans were. They chose their own life path once they graduated. Self reliant and successful, they are well on their way to enjoying what we are enjoying.
#4.True retirement is about redirecting the time available. What that is, is different for everyone. Ours began with weight loss and targeting good health. Consequently 24 years into early retirement at age 54 still in good health that paid off.
#5. Money pays the bills, or maybe better said pays for needs. Planning to pay for wants whatever those might be beats simply surviving. Quality of life in retirement means different things to different people. Good health equals happiness, all else is icing on the cake.
 
I loved my career and the people I met, some of whom have become lifelong friends. The stress I don't miss at all, LOL.

DH and I have always had hobbies and spending time on them is a joy. Add in travel and new hobbies, and there isn't enough time in the day.

Totally agree with mathjak re money = options. Health is a great thing to have but plan as you will, you cannot guarantee it will last. Too many of our friends/family mistake "saving $$$" for "planning for old age". Now in early 70's and mid-60's, they're shocked at how large healthcare costs could wipe out their entire net worth.

They didn't plan for something going wrong, and now they're terrified that something might. What we've seen is that people get knocked down not by just one or two bad things happening, but by multiple bad luck within a short period of time, wiping out their social/financial resources. They hadn't planned on 3 or 4 bad luck incidents.....but it happens.
 
Lethe200 said:
I loved my career and the people I met, some of whom have become lifelong friends. The stress I don't miss at all, LOL.

DH and I have always had hobbies and spending time on them is a joy. Add in travel and new hobbies, and there isn't enough time in the day.

Totally agree with mathjak re money = options. Health is a great thing to have but plan as you will, you cannot guarantee it will last. Too many of our friends/family mistake "saving $$$" for "planning for old age". Now in early 70's and mid-60's, they're shocked at how large healthcare costs could wipe out their entire net worth.

They didn't plan for something going wrong, and now they're terrified that something might. What we've seen is that people get knocked down not by just one or two bad things happening, but by multiple bad luck within a short period of time, wiping out their social/financial resources. They hadn't planned on 3 or 4 bad luck incidents.....but it happens.
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Would you be willing to elaborate on 3-4 bad luck incidents that wiped out their social/financial resources? I'm truly curious.
 
As I think most of you know,,I worked as a pharm tech 3 days/wk at local hospital for 27yrs. The senior tech I worked side by side with for 23 yrs retired in 2007. Evelyn was my mentor/'surrogate mom',friend rolled into one.I was totally lost after she left.As I look back,don't know how I survived those last 4 yrs because it was never the same. The last yr or so,I had to force myself to come to a job I really enjoyed in the beginning,but truly hated at the end.I was emotionally/physically burnt out,so I knew it was time to leave
After a couple of months of deciding whether I could really take early retirement,talking with my financial guy who kept telling me'you can afford this', my siblings,who at first weren't exactly sure I could do this.I finally told them'Its my life,for yrs I've kept track of all of my expenses ,I know what I'm doing,if I made a mistake,I'll deal with it'. I took the 'leap of faith' in March 2011, It feels like a life time ago I worked
It did take me awhile to get into a daily routine,but truly love my 'new life' with no regrets Sue
 
OneEyedDiva said:
This American Century Blog was written by Jay Hummel after a conversation with Keith Lawrence, co-author of Your Retirement Quest.
http://americancenturyblog.com/2018/...rement-myths-1
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I don't know much about Jay Hummel, but I am quite familiar with American Century....It was one of my primary accounts in Kansas City for several years, and I met the founder, Jim Stowers, on several occasions. Jim was one of the nicest and most honest executives I ever met, and he demanded the utmost integrity from his staff of investment advisors. We had a modest "windfall" about 25 years ago, and we put it in one of American Centuries funds, and it has grown nicely at a rate of almost 11% over the years....a nice cushion should we ever need it, or a bonus for the kids when we pass.
 
I don't have any friends work or otherwise, so I wouldn't miss them. Most of the people at work just cause me stress. No money does not buy happiness but if you have enough to not worry about every penny and are happy living within those means, than it's really helpful. Sometimes some people never have enough.
 
Don M. said:
I don't know much about Jay Hummel, but I am quite familiar with American Century....It was one of my primary accounts in Kansas City for several years, and I met the founder, Jim Stowers, on several occasions. Jim was one of the nicest and most honest executives I ever met, and he demanded the utmost integrity from his staff of investment advisors. We had a modest "windfall" about 25 years ago, and we put it in one of American Centuries funds, and it has grown nicely at a rate of almost 11% over the years....a nice cushion should we ever need it, or a bonus for the kids when we pass.
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Good to know Don. AmCent was one of the first companies I dealt with when I started investing a few decades ago. I invested in a couple of different funds until I found the right fit for me. I also opened up Giftrust accounts for three of my grandchildren.
 
Who says that retirement is easy? Not a myth at all.
No one I know says that money equals happiness. Not a myth.Studies show that if we are low in money
then money DOES buy happiness up to a point, in the short run
The others are not really myths either, perhaps misunderstandings.

The word myth is so overused, it should be banished.
Authors who use the word catch our attention, as this did.
 
I've read several articles and listened to a few webinars dealing with the same theme as the O.P. I have not retired yet, I have three more years, I'm already planning my retirement activities. I've planted raspberry bushes and aronia berry bushes on my acreage and plan to plant other berries. Then I will sell them through our local food coop.

I cannot wait to retire. I've come to hate working. The company I work for was a great place when I started, but the last three years have been horrendous. New president of the company turned it upside down with changes so that nobody really know what they're doing anymore, how long their jobs will last or how much reduction in pay they will have to accept. Also hard to work for a boss I can't respect. I'm counting the days.
 
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