Successful transition to retirement

So many wonderful ideas! I waa pushed into retirement a couple of years ago due to unforseen circumstances at the age of 66. I had spent my life self employed in business and absolutely loved my work. I had separated after 35 years of marriage about 5 years before that. I decided to get a dog which would force me to walk., as I really was afraid of becoming a couch potato after spending all my working life on my feet. This worked so well. I walk at least 3 miles every day snd I do wright training twice a week. I joined a walking group and I am always busy....I absolutely love it! I have more time to visit friends and I make a serious effort to practice gratitude and to live in the moment as much as possible.....no point in regrets about the past or worrying about the future....concentrate on enjoying every day. I look at this as Life Part 2!!

I remember creating a "bucket" list of things I put off while working, home chores, trips to take, volunteering.....when I first stopped, I still got up early and started watching tv......I sometimes wasted a whole day on television. Then I stopped television, and started to do things I never had time for before. It took a year to get used to not going to work every day for 40 years, and now I don't know how I ever did it......it is a MEGA life transition, in my opinion

We too keep the TV off until evening unless watching baseball or football or entertaining sick grandkids! It can become a real time-sucker otherwise. It helped that we had no TV in our camper the first few months after retirement.

Become quiet and listen for what calls you. Your expertise is needed in your community. Allow yourself time. It takes about a year to transition.

It's reasonable to have some anxiety about what your retirement will look and feel like. After a period of adjustment, I've found that life "on the other side" can be as rewarding, if not more rewarding, than your work life. For one, I do think that using the knowledge you've accumulated can be good for you and others. In my case, that involved coaching/mentoring some people in my profession and, in particular, in non-profit work, which I began a few years before I retired. Retirement has been a great opportunity to put more time and energy in to my personal relationships (family and friends) which my work often limited, or interfered with. Retirement gave me time and space to work much more deeply on my spiritual path, something central to my life, but again limited by my work. I've also found time to exercise daily, travel, read and pursue other interests. My life today feels so rewarding and full that I wonder how I ever found time to work! Clearly, I've mentioned a lot of things that matter to me personally. If you take the time, I bet you can come up with many things you're interested in and are personally important to you, but that you haven't had time to pursue. There may be other things (like volunteer work) that you may want to investigate, if your not involved in some things already. All I can say is that, if you approach this next phase of your life as an adventure, and plot your course (to the extent anyone can), you can find it incredibly rewarding, joyful and fun!

Good luck on your Adventure!

When we are "employed" (in the style of Western business culture) our "employment purpose" is a shield against existential anxiety, questions like "What is my purpose? What is my life for? Do I deserve to be here?"
When you retire, you may find yourself facing those questions without your customary defense: "I have this important work to do."
"Retirement life" may take on a kind of open-ended quality. There is no fixed answer five days a week.
I think we each need to find our ways to respond to these concerns.
Hopefully it will be enjoyable!
I don't offer a suggested way forward, except to remind you that you are not alone in this.

The panacea for anxiety is some measure of control. Control comes from analysis and assessment: from learning. Better control comes from a realistic appraisal of oneself and of one's environment and circumstances.

Having a workable plan, especially with component parts or steps to its ultimate aim, is a great way to commence any journey. Thinking about at least one set of contingencies is also great for a backup.

Also, communicating what your intentions and aspirations are with at least one other person, out loud, is a superior way to verify what you intend, that it makes sense, that it sounds like 'you', and that you would likely carry it out. A good friend is invaluable in such cases.

I've been helping people plan and transportation into retirement for 30 years. I am their financial advisor (FA). I have seen people flourish during retirement. They expanded on hobbies that they never told me about. Their health improves and when we meet a year later they look rested and usually happy.

So you would think with all that experience I would be ready for retirement, I'm not.

Financially I would be okay. I haven't squirreled away as much money as I wanted. There were difficult times in the past 15 years. Like 2008/09 market crash and great recession. I had just left being an FA as employee for a huge company and started my own business as an independent financial advisor. That was in January 2008 and in the hight of the crash. I also devorsed from my husband and became and single parent. I had a great business plan, but it didn't include a great recession. It took about 8 years to accomplish what I thought would happen in 4. During those 8 years I was acquiring clients and just surviving financially. I was were I needed to be when my daughter started college and every extra dollar went to the educate her.

I worried about money a lot. I worried about being that person who could advise others but not take care of my own situation. But I'm self employed so I can work for as long as I like, right? Mom worked as a hairdresser until she was 77. So I'm all psyched to keep on keeping on.

Then this summer I was diagnosed with cancer. I'm still receiving chemotherapy as I'm writing this. I've tried to work through this, but one of the issues of being self employed is you have no boss. I haven't disclosed to my clients my health status and I'm barely working. I just reacting.

I will be 65 in January. A huge financial experience will go away once I'm on Medicare. Today I'm paying $1500 a month for my health insurance. In January that goes down to $350 a month!

So it makes me think I can keep going a few more years on a part time basis. But my health will be the deciding factor.

I used to be worried about out living my money now I just want to be living in 20 years.

I have worked since I was 15 and full time since I was 22. I have loved work. It does define my purpose. I'm helping people every signal day I'm working. I've known some of my clients for more than 30 years. We are friends too. I know their history. I will miss them when I quit working.

I've been trying to expand my friend groups for 10 years. The first things I tried was learning to play ukulele and I was part of a ukulele group we met every other week. We went on ukulele festivals. I was making a cool group of friends. The COVID. The group disbanded and never returned. I stopped playing. I wasn't that good and playing by myself wasn't fun. I did make one lasting friendship through the ukulele group.

This past year I joined a meetup group for women who are empty nesters and near my age. I started meeting with them about 3 months before cancer. I kept going, but I haven't told any of them about my cancer diagnosis. I'm hoping I'll make at least one new lasting friendship through that.

I had some big ideas about volunteering. I was a social worker with the state before I became a financial advisor. I promise myself once I was financially independent I would return to doing something in that field, but right now I can't even think what I would want to do

I thought I would be in control of when I quit working, but life my not give me a choice in the matter.

I have a buy sell agreement with a business partner, a man I've worked with for 30 years who is 12 years my junior. He said he is prepared to buy my book of business anytime I am ready. I told him I really want to work until full retirement age, 67, but if my cancer returns it will be sooner. Emotionally I can't work through another illness.

So Yes this is a great question.

Denise

You sound like super woman . Cancer had to be one of the worst experiances a person could go through. I think you are amazing! Good luck in what ever you decide. Kudos to you as well.