My 2 Week Vacation Real Eye Opener. Not Ready For Retirement ???

[anonymous6]

my 2 weeks off opened my eyes. just a couple yrs from retiring I am sure that I am not ready for it.

I had a plan for the two weeks. work around yard, house and cars in the morning after a good breakfast and brisk walk. Then take the afternoons off to do whatever I wanted. hikes, lakes, watch movie with wife....whatever.

worked fine for first week. second week was boring. said to wife that I can't do this in retirement.

so , what do you retirees do to adjust to retirement? have a small business on the side? work part time? volunteer?

my Dad was the same way. Retired at 55 which only lasted a couple years and then worked another 25 years at a part time job that he enjoyed.

I've spoken to retirees around here and most of them seem happy at first then after a couple years they tell me how bored and they seem to age faster. One guy told me there is only so much hunting and fishing and travelling you can do.

any suggestions?

 

[DS]

Good question Orangputeh (you gotta tell me what that means).Good thread!!!
I'm about 6 years off from being there,and I know I'd need things to keep busy.
I like to play music,so for me maybe play in a band a couple of days a week,practice,rehearse etc.
I also plan to sell my comic collection online (3000 comics and a LOT of scanning)
Unlike you,I will need to find a way to subsidize my pension.
I may even do what Wyly old vet did and drive people to the airport.
The hot dog cart is a good idea too.

 

[Anonymous 10]

Watch grand kids
go fishing
collect scrapp
drink beer real early in the day and take an early nap
vacations
look at a little porn in the middle of the day
shoot your gun
have breakfast with your buds
volenteer at a hospital
nail the old lady

 

[toonertoo]

Donate them to me, they dont work well for you, LOL. I was off three and I was crying when I went back.
I will decorae my home, and for once it will be spotless, have never got to do that.
spend time with the grandkids, visit friends, go out to dinner in the middle of the week, be organized.
Go for walks, hikes, restore a car. I will never ever be bored. I cannot remember the last time I was.

 

[moreluck]

my 2 weeks off opened my eyes. just a couple yrs from retiring I am sure that I am not ready for it.

I had a plan for the two weeks. work around yard, house and cars in the morning after a good breakfast and brisk walk. Then take the afternoons off to do whatever I wanted. hikes, lakes, watch movie with wife....whatever.

worked fine for first week. second week was boring. said to wife that I can't do this in retirement.

so , what do you retirees do to adjust to retirement? have a small business on the side? work part time? volunteer?

my Dad was the same way. Retired at 55 which only lasted a couple years and then worked another 25 years at a part time job that he enjoyed.

I've spoken to retirees around here and most of them seem happy at first then after a couple years they tell me how bored and they seem to age faster. One guy told me there is only so much hunting and fishing and travelling you can do.

any suggestions?

After 12 years of retirement....hubby golfs 4 days a week. He's got the early tee times
and is home by lunch time and we eat lunch.

I am on the computer and go to the store everyday....Coffee Bean is located inside my Ralph's store, so I get anything I need then.

We like to go to breakfast on the days he doesn't golf. We are both early risers....5:30 to 6. If we don't do b-fast, then supper sometimes. Mostly,I cook supper every night.. I cook and he cleans up after dinner.

Golfing is his main thing........yardwork is next. It's amazing how much clippings this postage-stamp size yard puts out.
We both do the housework as of late '08.

The hours in the mornings when he's golfing are all mine !!! We usually have coffee most every day at 2PM....like clockwork! We never get tired of talking to each other......as of the 9th, for 45 years. He's my best friend and vice-versa.

We travel just to Vegas and Hawaii to see the grandkids. We are not interested in other travels.

Travelling is something a lot of couples do. The couple across the stree are hardly ever home....cruise, Europe for 3 weeks, home to Wis. to see relatives and friends (Madison).

Have a plan of sorts. Golf, travel, going to all the movies...something. Everybody around here hired gardeners for their back yards .......yet pay a gym for exercise. That never made sense to me.

Unless you need the $$$, working is too much of a committment.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I normally take my vacations one week at a time---if I do take two it is with the intention of completing a particular project around the house. I was off this past week and spent one day visiting my daughter and son-in-law and another was filled with medical and other appointments. The rest of the week was spent relaxing and watching a couple of forgetful movies.

I have 7 years before I retire and have the same concerns that you do. I will be moving to be closer to my daughter and son-in-law. Driving 2 1/2 hours to spend time with them is getting old. I like numbers and plan to volunteer to do tax returns. I also want to work on my golf game and plan on being available to help with the grandkids as needed.

I would like to add that I do not plan on posting on this website when I retire ...

 

[moreluck]

Some people are awakened naturally and have no say so in how late they sleep.
Wait 10 years and see how late you are able to sleep.

2 days this week...1:30 and 1:47........If I don't come on BC til 7 am., then I've had my coffee and gotten ready for the day.

You're going to find out that mother nature has a real sense of humor when it comes to you....... Plays tricks on you.

My goal was to get all the kids out of the house...grandkids too, hubby retiring and my goal was to sleep in 'til 9 or 10 each morning. Like I've told you before, you plan and God laughs.

 

[Catatonic]

my 2 weeks off opened my eyes. just a couple yrs from retiring I am sure that I am not ready for it.

I had a plan for the two weeks. work around yard, house and cars in the morning after a good breakfast and brisk walk. Then take the afternoons off to do whatever I wanted. hikes, lakes, watch movie with wife....whatever.

worked fine for first week. second week was boring. said to wife that I can't do this in retirement.

so , what do you retirees do to adjust to retirement? have a small business on the side? work part time? volunteer?

my Dad was the same way. Retired at 55 which only lasted a couple years and then worked another 25 years at a part time job that he enjoyed.

I've spoken to retirees around here and most of them seem happy at first then after a couple years they tell me how bored and they seem to age faster. One guy told me there is only so much hunting and fishing and travelling you can do.

any suggestions?

I almost retired in 2007 and then again in 2010 and my current plan is 2013.
When considering retirement in 2007 (buy-out), I was awakened to the same concerns that you expressed. The buy-out offer was poor so I stayed on but I read a book by Ernie J Zelinski - The book is How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Adviser. It is on Amazon for $9 (link below).
http://www.amazon.com/How-Retire-Happy-Wild-Free/dp/096941949X/ref=la_B001H6SY7M_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347457461&sr=1-1
Read it and carefully consider and go through the thought process he talks about in the book.

The main thing is that when a person retires, they must replace three things that they got from their job:
1) A sense of community
2) A structure in daily routine
3) A sense of purpose

Using the advice in Zelinski's book, I listed all the things I enjoyed doing in the past, what I enjoyed doing now and what I wanted to do in the future.
I decided I would get into motorcycles and I wound up with 3 and enjoyed myself but "motorcycling" just did not do it for me.
Community - yes, Structure - not really, Purpose - no

I turned 55 October 2009 with 37 years and in 2010, UPS offered a buy-out again but my group was excluded and so I ran the calculations and decided that I would work an additional 18 months to recover the money I was denied in the buyout.

In early 2010 I realized I had not found that "something" that would create a sense of purpose in my life.
Again, I revisited the list of all the things I enjoyed doing in the past, what I enjoyed doing now and what I wanted to do in the future.
This time, I gave considerable thought to the Community, Structure and Purpose in making my selection.
I came up with Photography.

I investigated the business of photography and developed a 3 year development and business plan.
Set up a business and a website - Commitment
Joined 4 Photography clubs - Community
Developed a commitment to post one photograph per day - Structure
Set up a Photography processing station in my house - Structure
Enter contests - Structure
Photography jobs - Weddings, Senior pictures, Pet pictures, Portraits, etc. - Structure and purpose
Posted my images on facebook to bring a little pleasure to my fb friends each day - Structure and Purpose
Conduct photography walks and workshops - Structure and Purpose
I teach Photography at a local college in the Continuing Education program - Structure and purpose.

I am busier now than I have ever been in my life since college and I feel very comfortable with the transition into the next stage of my life.

I know this was a bit long-winded but there is no magic solution, you have to make it happen and it is a process.

Get busy planning, thinking it out, put your plan into action, measure the results and get ready for retirement.

 

[cachsux]

I will retire but not stop working. My nature will not let me. I will do as Hoax said and find something that I feel has value and purpose. I've always been good at fabricating things so I may run a for hire business making one off things as solutions to folks problems that would be too expensive to buy elsewhere.

 

[raceanoncr]

Been gone two yrs now. Bored? Hardly. But, I knew it would be this way with me. It takes alot for me to be bored.

Have worked in some kinda job for as long as I can remember. Even my mom, when taking her to docs the last few yrs of her life, told one of em that she doesn't remember a time when I didn't have some kind of job. I'm tired of having some kind of job! As they say, "Been there, done that, got the t-shirt to prove it"!

Never did have some kind of bucket list, just seemed to do everything I ever wanted to do. MADE it happen. Had various jobs I didn't like. Decided I wanted to drive a truck. Never did but lied about it just to do it. Got the job and loved it. Never ran heavy equipment but lied about it just to do it. Got the job and loved it, FOR A WHILE! Went to UPS. Wanted to go into feeders, did it and was success.

Did most everything I dreamed about with cars. Have had everything that a young one wants in that department. '55 Chevs, '56s (still got this one), '62 Vette, '64s, Monte's, got a '70 Vette now. Driven race cars I never thot I'd be in...dragsters, funny cars, altereds, door cars. Just did it with no aspirations or hopes.

Went to heights I never thot I go with the NHRA announcing thing. Traveled all over and announced at the more well-known NHRA events. Been on ESPN. Just did it.

After many yrs, got wonderful wife that REALLY helps me do what I feel like now. Take her to lunch at least once a week. Whenever she calls and says she had a bad day, "Wanna go for a beer?" I'm there! Don't hafta look at the clock or reschedule anything. She helped me get outta debt the first one put me in and we owe nuthin!

Put an above ground in this year and with, almost, a month of 100-plus temps, my sorry arse was there everyday. Sense of purpose? Yes, GET IN THE POOL!

KIds wanna bring grandkids over? Knock yerself out. I'm here.

My, nearby, son gets off work early? Sit out and have some adult beverages? Hmmmm.....in a heartbeat!

Went to Vegas last month. Plan? Uh, yeah. Two days before, I asked the wife to take a day off work. We're gone!

In short, I don't disparage anyone for thinking they need another job or will get bored or go nuts or need money, I just don't understand it. In my case, I'm done with that part of my life! Don't plan to go back.

 

[oldupsman]

my 2 weeks off opened my eyes. just a couple yrs from retiring I am sure that I am not ready for it.

I had a plan for the two weeks. work around yard, house and cars in the morning after a good breakfast and brisk walk. Then take the afternoons off to do whatever I wanted. hikes, lakes, watch movie with wife....whatever.

worked fine for first week. second week was boring. said to wife that I can't do this in retirement.

so , what do you retirees do to adjust to retirement? have a small business on the side? work part time? volunteer?

my Dad was the same way. Retired at 55 which only lasted a couple years and then worked another 25 years at a part time job that he enjoyed.

I've spoken to retirees around here and most of them seem happy at first then after a couple years they tell me how bored and they seem to age faster. One guy told me there is only so much hunting and fishing and travelling you can do.

any suggestions?

Been out 5 years this past June. All I can say I honestly never get bored. There's alot of times I can't believe I
ever had time to work. I got too much to do.

My wife always wanted a wood stove. We have a beautiful fireplace in our living room. I've got 5 acres of wood.
Who the hell had time to cut wood when you were away at work 14 hours a day. I retired in June. Wife says "How about my woodstove."
Went out and bought a fireplace insert, new chain saw, log splitter. Cut all my own wood from scratch. Love it. Great exercise, plus I have cut my oil use
by 200 gallons a year saving money.

One winter she says "Why don't you paint the inside of the house." I hate to paint. Then she reminds me it doesn't need to be done at
UPS light speed. Took my time, Did a room a week.

Always wanted a nice garden. Who the hell has time for a large garden when you're away from home 14 hours a day?
Not only do I have time for the garden now we do all our own canning. Pickles, beets, tomatoes, salsa. Plus we freeze beans, corn, peppers.
Save more money plus we know what we're eating.

Used to buy my hay for our horse from a local farmer. Guy always complained about never having help. Said I'll help ya. Nothing like being out on
tractor working a 20 acre hay field at 10:00 in the morning in late June with the barn swallows flying around ya. Work for free hay
for my horse all winter and he gives me a butchered pig for my freezer. I love the barter system.

Despite all that I started to gain a little weight 2 years ago. I saw that happen to too many guys. Joined the local YMCA Oct 2010.
First day I weighed in at 182. First day on the treadmill I did 2 miles in 35 minutes. Been almost 2 years now. Just got back from the gym about an hour
ago. I weighed in at 158 and today I ran a personal best of 6 miles in 51 minutes. I'm in the gym at least 3 days a week, sometimes 4. Age faster? I'm 60 years old and in the best shape
of my life.

Spent 4 summers working at the local minor league ballpark. It was fun at first. Didn't go back this year. You know why? It turned into a job.
I had a job once. It sucked. Who the hell wants a job?

Honestly I'll never figure out these guys who have in 40 years. I promise you there is life after UPS.
I left with 32 years at 55 and have not regretted that decision one iota. Get out healthy and enjoy you're life.
I'm having a blast.

 

[tarbar66]

This is my 5th summer being retired too.
Life has been good to me too.
I joined the Kiwanis Club and the local Historical Society. Both organizations keep me busy.
Our kids and grandchildren live 2 hours away but their activities are something that we try to make now that my wife has retired.
I have had job offers but I've been too busy to even think about working a part time job.
This past weekend we were in Richmond, Va. For the NASCAR races. I asked my wife if she wanted to go to the beach after the races and she said, "why not".
OBX is a great place to be after Labor Day.

My advise is do not work one day longer than you want or have to.

 

[brownmonster]

My wife has no sit in her pants. When we retire, she will run me ragged. That's good. Her father and my father spend most of their days watching TV. I will do a lot of traveling. Still not sure where the kids will wind up.

 

[moreluck]

My wife has no sit in her pants. When we retire, she will run me ragged. That's good. Her father and my father spend most of their days watching TV. I will do a lot of traveling. Still not sure where the kids will wind up.

Whatever you do, don't move just to be near the kids....it always seems that they'll get transferred to Timbucktu as soon as you do and you'll miss your home.
Just travel to see them.
They'll have a place to vacation without a hotel bill and maybe you will to.

 

[brownmonster]

I'm not leaving the homestead. My daughters will probably stay in WI but my son wil end up in some big city or another country.

 

[old brown shoe]

Be gone before peak this year after about 35 full time. I have so much planned that I have not been able to do. I have cars to rebuild, house and landscaping to do, places to see and people to spend time with. If I run out of things to do I have had several offers of jobs or part time work. I stay busy every waking minute and will find plenty to do. Can't hardly wait to start my new life.

 

[Catatonic]

Be gone before peak this year after about 35 full time. I have so much planned that I have not been able to do. I have cars to rebuild, house and landscaping to do, places to see and people to spend time with. If I run out of things to do I have had several offers of jobs or part time work. I stay busy every waking minute and will find plenty to do. Can't hardly wait to start my new life.

That's how I feel now.
When I leave next year, it will be with no reservations.
I will be busy and happy doing something about which I feel passionately.
I was not ready 3 years ago but I am now.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Whatever you do, don't move just to be near the kids....it always seems that they'll get transferred to Timbucktu as soon as you do and you'll miss your home.
Just travel to see them.
They'll have a place to vacation without a hotel bill and maybe you will to.

I disagree. I live about 2 1/2 hours from my daughter and son-in-law and the drive is already starting to wear on me. I don't want to live next door to them but I want to be closer, especially when they start their family. I want to be there when the kids start school and when they start playing sports. My son has no idea where he may end up after graduation.

 

[moreluck]

I disagree. I live about 2 1/2 hours from my daughter and son-in-law and the drive is already starting to wear on me. I don't want to live next door to them but I want to be closer, especially when they start their family. I want to be there when the kids start school and when they start playing sports. My son has no idea where he may end up after graduation.

You ever been retired ?....you think you know best.

The scenario I mentioned happens all the time....So, ignore it. Those drives should be both ways.

 

[over9five]

....... but I want to be closer, especially when they start their family. I want to be there when the kids start school and when they start playing sports.

Are you sure they want you closer???