How did you plan emotionally and psychologically for retirement?

I knew I couldn’t work for much longer due to the stressors of the job as I worked in a very intense bureaucratic environment and I am the last person you would see in a bureaucracy as I am a service driven person and also a high producer. Thankfully the stars aligned and I was able to retire at 59. If I had stayed at my job any longer I would’ve been quite ill. It was the best decision I ever made other than marrying my dear husband.
 

We were 65. We were both relieved. Relieved not to have to get up early, not to have to answer to anyone else, just relieved. Dave was able to get off his high blood pressure meds. Our only plans were to relax and maybe do a little traveling, which we have. We'd saved for our retirement since our twenties, so it was about time.
 
CatGuy said:
I'm going to be retiring in about 7 months, and I'm curious as to how others have planned - or not planned - for the first days/weeks/months of being retired. Did you have a plan? Were you excited? Anxious? How did those first days/etc. affect you mentally and emotionally?
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We planned, financially, for decades. I'll spare you the story, but I had some events in my 20's that caused me to make the decision to do whatever it takes to retire as early as possible. Wife and I were in agreement: we were scrimping/saving/investing (living below our means) even before we got married.
Emotionally, no planning. I couldn't wait for retirement and retired at 57 years old. Wife retired at 54, but after a couple of years of travel, went back to work for a few more years. I was having none of that. I always tell people I'm a bum.
 

My husband retired at 69....He had enough of the traveling and the bulll S.....I was still working in a School system and had a year and a half.
for my retirement....Hubby was great....Cleaned the house, worked outside in the yard, did some wood work in the garage....I would come home for lunch and he had my lunch ready for me....By the way, hubby had to drive 2 hours to work....and back home 2 hours.....
2 years later he had a heart attack....(I wonder why)...He is doing well....Thank God....
We love our retirement....Now we also own another home in another State...Who would've thunk even to ever have another home!!!!!!!
 
Other than financially planning, I did not have any concrete plans for the day that I finally stopped working at age 63. I was able to "drift" into retirement by phasing down into part time status. First it was 30 hours per week, then 24 hours, then 18, and finally one 6 hour day per week for which they paid handsomely.

When I finally wrapped up all the technical projects that I had been working on, it started to get boring and I began to notice how much infighting and turmoil was going on among the Federal Civil servants, the military personnel, and some of the various contractors. I had always been busy enough on interesting projects that I had apparently been able to tune all that out. The contractors were the best of the bunch followed by the military, but the federals were getting out of control and not focused on their jobs. I gave my 2 week notice, started the retirement money flowing, and never looked back.

Going from part time status to full retirement was a piece of cake. I was already used to watching everyone else drive off to work in the morning while I sipped coffee at the kitchen sink, …. I didn't even feel any guilt at all after working for 45 years.

Retiring from my second career as a civilian was certainly different than retiring from the Navy after 31 years. I still miss the Navy every now and then. I do miss the technical challenges that my civilian career presented, but not the work environment. Of course I was working in a big complex where the suicide rate was so high that they brought in a full time shrink to help people.
 
From my perspective, having been retired going on 7 years so far...

1. Be entirely debt free (that includes mortgage, car payments, credit cards, and any other means folks have for getting into debt)
2. By the time I was retired, I had already developed my hobbies pretty well, so I went into it with interests to pursue
3. Seriously consider doing some sort of volunteer work. Getting outside yourself is (in my experience) a very good way to avoid self-pity, boredom, depression, etc. There are many ways to donate your time and skills to help others.

Tony
 
Congratulations on your upcoming retirement! Prior to retiring, I did quite a bit of planning, mostly financial, before I retired 3 years ago at age 57. Between reading retirement books and talking to some retired friends and co-workers, I pretty well knew what to expect. What I didn't expect is how much I love retirement!! It has exceeded all expectations, the freedom is so liberating.

I worked for the same company for 34 years. Interestingly, I do not miss any aspect of the job, or even the people, who I almost grew up with. The day after I retired we went to Hawaii for 3 weeks, home for about a month and then to the southern US for a month. It was a wonderful way to start this next phase. Having some structure to my days is important as are a few hobbies and interests.
 
jujube said:
At 62, I took a long running start, hit the diving board and plunged head-first into the cool waters of retirement. I never looked back.

Two days later, I was on a plane to Hawaii. My house sold while I was gone and I got off the plane just in time to go sign the closing documents. Two days after that, we hitched up the RV and headed out to see America for a few months. I didn't catch my breath til the next year. I wasn't sure that I had done the *wise* thing, but after working my butt off for years, I was determined to do the *fun* thing while there was still some life in me.
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Wow, that is what I call, "Landed running, not walking''. Glad you had fun!
 
CatGuy said:
I'm going to be retiring in about 7 months, and I'm curious as to how others have planned - or not planned - for the first days/weeks/months of being retired. Did you have a plan? Were you excited? Anxious? How did those first days/etc. affect you mentally and emotionally?Thanks to all who reply!
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I originally planned on working to age 62, then the company offered an early retirement buy-out when I was 60 that would have essentially had me working nearly for free for a couple of years, so I opted for the buy out. I really liked my job, and was used to gobs of activity, etc., so when I suddenly found myself at home all day, it was almost stressful....and I could see that I was getting on the wife's nerves. So, for lack of any real plans, we closed up the house, put some clothes and travel stuff in the truck, got some money from the bank, and headed for Canada, with no real itinerary. We spend about a month just driving North to Canada, visited all sorts of nice places up there, then had a nice drive back through the NW US, and back home. That gave us plenty of time to talk and think about the future, and allowed me to wind down from working so much. After that, we started looking for a quiet place in a more rural area, found 40 acres of nice forest, and started a new life here. It has worked out quite well.
 
Marie5656 said:
OK. Stop the presses. @CatGuy @Catlady ?????? I am sensing a pattern here. Do you two know each other? 😂
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Well, we have already established that I am the ''Crazy Cat Lady'' with fourteen furry babies. I'd like to know if Cat Guy is also a ''Crazy Cat Guy" (anything over four cats). Huh, huh?? 😹

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All of our friends have been retired for a few years now. My husband worked seasonal contract work for 10 years. He was on the road two seasons and home the rest of the time, so he has been semi retired for a while. I closed my business 3 years ago, but still do most of the cooking, shopping, laundry, & cleaning, so I may never be fully retired.

Officially we "retired" meaning collecting SS checks, at the first of the year. {Mid 60's}
It's been challenging to have him underfoot all day. We're still working on that. He needs some new hobbies. Watching tv news all day, scrolling on facebook, and watching stupid videos online isn't a wise use of time, in my opinion. He works out at the gym, goes hunting, trap shooting, bicycling, and eats breakfast out, with retired friends.

I can always find something that needs doing. I don't get bored.

We're downsizing the amount of "stuff"we have, like excess furniture, collectibles, etc. We've been trying to find a perfect retirement house for the last year, without success. We still have the option of building one or renovating the home we're in. We need to do these things while we're in good health and still able to handle the work involved.
 
I didn't plan to retire and didn't know if I could survive without a job but always, when I jump off a building into the unknown, I always seem to land on a soft cloud! For the first time , I actually have the time to create! I sculpt for bronze, paint fine art, write and publish books; whatever I desire! I didn't know I'd be alone at this time in my life but, for the most part, this life is preplanned so I guess i'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.
 
Luckily for me, my husband really enjoys working and plans everything down to the very minute🥺

Me? Not so much. I was never the career oriented type of women. I preferred wingin’ it and never once in my life worried about not being able to find a job. Most of my employment was self directed.

With that being said, we have a fairly attractive retirement plan. I’ve been the spoiled housewife who morphed into retirement while my husband worried about all the rest cause I wasn’t going to.

It’s recently come to my attention that I’m on the selfish side😬 but after caring for my parents, my attitude has changed quite a bit.
 
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Unlike many on this post, I retired later at the age of 72. ( worked 2/3 time the last year and half) This was due to two primary reasons. The first reason was that I enjoyed my job and second was I wanted to make sure we were financially able to live a life style in retirement similar to the one when I was working. Working a few extra years made a difference. Adjusting to retirement was harder for me than my wife but after a while I have got the hang of it. Life is good.
 
I had always wanted to retire at 56 NOT 65. I hadn't made any plans, but when there was a big re-organisation at work, I took the opportunity (and the money) and left. It seemed strange at first being able to do as I pleased, but I didn't miss the frequent flying, airport lounges, another hotel in a foreign city etc..

Like others, projects came along to fill all my spare time and sometimes I wonder how I
found time for work. The drop in income was tough for a while, but when pensions started coming in, things got a whole lot better.
 
Capt Lightning said:
I had always wanted to retire at 56 NOT 65. I hadn't made any plans, but when there was a big re-organisation at work, I took the opportunity (and the money) and left. It seemed strange at first being able to do as I pleased, but I didn't miss the frequent flying, airport lounges, another hotel in a foreign city etc..
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Back in the 80s my brother traveled a lot for work, including overseas. I expressed some envy over his opportunity to "see the world on his company's dime."

He told me that there was a terrible sameness to hotels, convention centers, airports, restaurants, and meetings with vendors, no matter where in the world he was. He smiled sadly with, "You don't think they give me an extra three days to explore these cities, do you? I get off the plane, take a cab to the hotel or a meeting, have a dinner meeting or dine alone at the hotel, repeat the process the next day or two, then go back to the airport and fly home or to my next stop."

He opened my eyes to the grind that business travel often is.
 
Catlady said:
Well, we have already established that I am the ''Crazy Cat Lady'' with fourteen furry babies. I'd like to know if Cat Guy is also a ''Crazy Cat Guy" (anything over four cats). Huh, huh?? 😹

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LOL! No, just two fur babies for us: but one of them is a Tortie, so I figure that's worth at least two cats right there!
 
Don M. said:
I originally planned on working to age 62, then the company offered an early retirement buy-out when I was 60 that would have essentially had me working nearly for free for a couple of years, so I opted for the buy out. I really liked my job, and was used to gobs of activity, etc., so when I suddenly found myself at home all day, it was almost stressful....and I could see that I was getting on the wife's nerves. So, for lack of any real plans, we closed up the house, put some clothes and travel stuff in the truck, got some money from the bank, and headed for Canada, with no real itinerary. We spend about a month just driving North to Canada, visited all sorts of nice places up there, then had a nice drive back through the NW US, and back home. That gave us plenty of time to talk and think about the future, and allowed me to wind down from working so much. After that, we started looking for a quiet place in a more rural area, found 40 acres of nice forest, and started a new life here. It has worked out quite well.
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I like that. My wife and I have talked about doing something similar - right now we're trying to get the cats acclimated to traveling so we don't have to pay a sitter or (ugh) board them...
 
CatGuy said:
I like that. My wife and I have talked about doing something similar - right now we're trying to get the cats acclimated to traveling so we don't have to pay a sitter or (ugh) board them...
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Good luck on getting cats acclimated to traveling! For years, we paid a housekeeper to come "sit" in our place and take care of the 2 indoor/outdoor cats for the month of January when we went to the beach. We have lots of land and the cats would wake up, want out, stay out all day (usually) and then bang the back screen door to come back in a night (one was an alpha male.)
 
Liberty said:
Good luck on getting cats acclimated to traveling! For years, we paid a housekeeper to come "sit" in our place and take care of the 2 indoor/outdoor cats for the month of January when we went to the beach. We have lots of land and the cats would wake up, want out, stay out all day (usually) and then bang the back screen door to come back in a night (one was an alpha male.)
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Actually, they've done really well. We started off with short trips, just a few minutes, to get past the whole "V.E.T." thing, and we've been gradually increasing the time every week. Our tortie, Squeak, gets carsick after about an hour, so we're going to try some holistic remedies first, then we've got some anti-nausea pills from the vet as a fallback. I think they're gonna be fine.
(And truth be told avoiding the cat sitter is only a small part of the reason: I adore these two and suffer some serious separation anxiety any time we travel ;))
 
CatGuy said:
Actually, they've done really well. We started off with short trips, just a few minutes, to get past the whole "V.E.T." thing, and we've been gradually increasing the time every week. Our tortie, Squeak, gets carsick after about an hour, so we're going to try some holistic remedies first, then we've got some anti-nausea pills from the vet as a fallback. I think they're gonna be fine.
(And truth be told avoiding the cat sitter is only a small part of the reason: I adore these two and suffer some serious separation anxiety any time we travel ;))
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Years ago, I had a cat that got carsick. I found that if I covered his carrier with a piece of cloth, he'd do well. He just needed the isolation from the surroundings.
 
CatGuy said:
LOL! No, just two fur babies for us: but one of them is a Tortie, so I figure that's worth at least two cats right there!
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I have a Tortie, too, she's a stray that was pregnant when I took her in. I got to see her giving birth a week later. I kept all, that was in Aug 2016. Wendy is mean to her kids and the other cats, but is extremely loving to me. And very beautiful, too, with long hair!
 


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