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View Full Version : Kind of scary but I am now retired....



Bill Huber
06-03-2013, 9:11 AM
Friday was my last day at work, it is kind of scary not having a job but people tell me that will go away.

I have had 2 jobs in my adult life, Xerox for 18 years and the last was with Fedex for 30 and now I have NO job.

I know it sound like its a great thing but I am just not sure at this point, what do I do all day.

The money is not a problem at all and I am sure glade of that, I would hate to have that to worry about also.

I know that there are a lot of things I can do, in the shop, photography, fishing, flying my kites and a few others. The problem is doing it and not just setting on my butt doing nothing, I guess that is the scariest part of it.

David Weaver
06-03-2013, 9:29 AM
I can loan you my wife for a year. She lines me out as soon as I sit down anywhere, any time.

Or rather, I'll loan you my MIL. It's the same except she's even faster. No moss will ever grow on my FIL's butt.

(or you can do like my dad did, find a part time job that is basically intended for retirees and that is in something you love. My dad loves to play golf. He doesn't have to do it well, he just loves to play. My mother was in his rear about it because she's a tightwad and she hates sports, so he got a job at a golf course. It only pays minimum wage, but he can golf for free and the same course is where all of his buddies hang out, anyway. And now that my mother doesn't know if he's working or golfing, he never gets grief about going to play "dumb golf" - as she calls it).

Maybe I'm making pennsylvania women sound like they're rough. Well ,they are!

One last side point, I'd make a daily exercise routine if I didn't have a job. My parents did the same thing after loafing around for a year after retirement and gaining weight. It gives you something you have to do that feels productive, sort of feels like you did work when you exercise and clears your head.

Larry Browning
06-03-2013, 10:09 AM
Bill,
I am looking at retirement in about 2-3 years, and I have thought about what it is I am going to do with my time. My plan is to start working on all those things around the house that I have always wanted to do but never had the time to do. Like landscaping, or building a gazebo. Plus I have my woodworking. I also have been thinking about maybe doing some contract programming jobs, but only something that is low stress. I really think you may run into the opposite problem and wonder how you ever had time to have a job!

Bruce Page
06-03-2013, 11:15 AM
Bill, congratulations on your retirement. Sit back and enjoy, you’ve earned it! The “lost” feeling is normal. It took me about 6 weeks to get into the retirement groove. Now I don’t know how I had the time to go to work everyday.

My wife is retiring at the end of this month - that is going to be another learning curve..

Ken Fitzgerald
06-03-2013, 11:21 AM
Bill,

First.....Congratulations! You have earned it!

Now.....I have watched our neighbors who have been retired for about 6 years. Now we have been retired for about 2 1/2 years. You will find things to do. As suggested, do find something to regularly exercise. You will find plenty to do. I always seem to have a project going......something to fix on the house, some lawn problem that needs addressing.....I just extended a sprinkler system to include the one flower bed that wasn't being watered.....I have my version of Norm Abram's router station on the assembly bench....yesterday afternoon I put the last coat of finish on it. Now to mount drawer slides and rollers......travel? Shortly we will be in Norfolk to visit the Navy portion of our family....our youngest son, our oldest grandson and their families...I will finally get to meet Keith Outten.....

The main thing is don't sit down and vegetate!

Stephen Tashiro
06-03-2013, 11:27 AM
The problem is doing it and not just setting on my butt doing nothing.

Does that actually mean sitting on your butt and watching TV? If so, it may be a persistent problem.

When I retired, I quit watching TV altogether. I figure that if I end up in an old folks home or a hospital, I'll get to watch all the TV I want

David G Baker
06-03-2013, 12:54 PM
Bill, congratulations on your retiring. I retired when I was 55, I am now 69. The first 10-11 years I worked my fanny off doing things that had been put off over the years. I moved from California to Michigan where I have around 5 acres that I cleared of junk trees and did a lot of moving dirt around. I had not worked that hard since I left the farm when I was 14 years old. I have slowed down quite a bit and due to snow in the Winter I don't do a lot of outdoor projects. I spend a lot of time on the computer now but I am still in good enough shape to do some pretty exhausting work around the place. I have a lot of hobbies but don't spend a lot of time doing them any more. The television rarely gets turned on until 5:00 PM unless there is some big news story going on. From what little I know about you from reading your posts on SMC you will not have any trouble keeping busy. When you can't do the heavy work any longer you can put your mind to work and share your vast experience with us Creekers that are thirsty for knowledge in the area of your hobbies.

Keith Outten
06-03-2013, 1:09 PM
Bill,

I replaced one day job with another. The difference is the new job is at home and although there are a dozen things I won't get done in any given day I don't sweat the work schedule. I try my best every day but that's where it stops, tomorrow is another day :)

Congratulations,
Keith

Gordon Eyre
06-03-2013, 1:55 PM
Bill, I have been retired for 15 years and love it. This morning I got up early and walked 6 miles, came home and fixed my breakfast. Since then I have been in the shop building a box for my wife to put her wrapping paper in. I still have to fix a sprinkler head, take my watch down to the jewelers to get a new battery, go to the shoe repair shop to have my belt resized because I have lost so much weight and will probably take my wife out to dinner tonight. I do all my own yard work, cut down a thirty foot tree with a bow saw, volunteer my time for church work, help my neighbors when they need it, bake all our bread and rolls and still find time to watch a show or two on TV.

I guess what I am saying is that my chores and projects have filled my days and I rarely want for for things to do. I think you will also find this to be true also. I do not miss work even a little bit.

Congratulations and best wishes for the coming years of retirement.

Rick Potter
06-03-2013, 2:26 PM
Congrats on a well earned retirement, Bill.

Don't worry, you will find that you wonder how you ever had time to go to work, what with all that you need to do. The honey do lists keeps growing, the kids figure you have time to do some things for them now, that home remodel will take you years (oops, never mind, a little personal note), and you will find new friends that want you to "spend a few moments and fix this chair".

You will also start to slow down a bit, and find it takes a little longer to do things than it used to. Projects get interrupted by the wife mentioning it's a nice day for a ride, and you find that she's right, we should do this more often.

Stay healthy,
Rick Potter

Jeff Monson
06-03-2013, 2:57 PM
Sounds like you will have to write more useful tips for the WW magazines Bill. congrats on retirement!!

Gary Hodgin
06-03-2013, 7:31 PM
Congratulations! Retirees have different experiences. Some have hobbies and other stuff they get into. Others don't. I retired a little over a year ago and enjoy it. I'd enjoy it more if my health was better, although I'd probably have worked a couple more years if it weren't for health problems.

My health still allows me to do some light wwing and I like outdoor cooking. Being retired allows me go the low and slow route. About a month ago I took up handgun shooting. I hadn't fired a box of shells in nearly 40 years. Unfortunately, it's a rough time to take up shooting due to the shortage of ammo. Hard to find and when I do the price is through the roof.

Jim O'Dell
06-03-2013, 8:19 PM
Congrats! I'm sure you will fill your days soon enough. My Dad said he was never as busy working as he was when he retired. They moved to Lake Texhoma to their weekend retreat full time, and one of the neighbors always had something for him to fix or build. He wouldn't take payment for it, so they usually bought him a tool of some sort. Enjoy your time, and use it wisely!!! Jim.

Pat Barry
06-03-2013, 8:40 PM
Good luck with that Bill. Like another poster mentioned though, you still work for some one else (your bride, for example). Its just now the cash payments aren't as good. Hopefully the other benefits offset that. Congrats!

Dave Ray
06-03-2013, 9:25 PM
Congrats Bill, I know you will be busy. Retirement in itself is a full time job. Please keep posting on SMC, we look fwd to what you have to say

Chris Damm
06-04-2013, 7:33 AM
I got retired (not my choice) at 53, and have been thanking them every day since! At 1st I was lost and now I wonder when I ever had time to go to work. I'm so busy with grandkids, great grandkids, their parents, and fishing that I ignore half of my wife's Honey Do lists!

Bill Huber
06-04-2013, 8:24 AM
Thanks all for all the supporting replies, I am sure my attitude will get better as time goes on.

I think I really need to set up a daily exercise routine like David does, for the last 14 years I have been doing a lot of walking at the old job so I really need to keep that up.

My house is only 5 years old and I have taken care of anything that was needed when it needed it so there is not a lot to do on the house. The yard work takes an hour, very small yard so that will not help keep me busy to much.

I have been thinking about helping at some retirement places teaching computers, I have talked to a guy and he said it is really needed so that will take some time.

I am sure it will all work out over time, it is just the shock of it at first.

Again thanks guys, it helps to hear good stuff.

Jim Tobias
06-04-2013, 11:51 AM
Bill,
You will probably find (like a lot of others have said) that after a short while, you will be very busy....just with different things than before. In retirement, the best part of it is, you answer only to yourself(and significant other). You get to set your own schedule and priorities. If $ are not a problem, then the pay is sufficient also.
I'll bet that within a couple of months, you will be busier than ever and enjoying it more!!

Jim

Lee Schierer
06-06-2013, 5:32 PM
Congratulations. It will take a few days to get over the anxiety of not having a job, but then it starts to be fun. You can do what you want when you want to do it. If you are doing a DIY project you no longer have to rush to finish it in a weekend. You can clean up those jobs around the house that you never had time for. I get to take my dog for long walks in the woods and fields nearly every day. I get to work in my shop when I want for as long as I want. We take trips on the spur of a moment and stay as long as we want. I've read more books in the past 2 years than I did in the previous 10. I've also donated time to my church and Habitat.

Whatever you do don't sit around all day every day. That is a sure formula for a very short retirement.

glenn bradley
06-06-2013, 5:50 PM
Take a deep breath and enjoy yourself. Every time I take a long weekend or a rare week off I confirm that I could ease into retirement in about 30 seconds flat. I have loved my job for over 30 years but, I love my shop too.

Von Bickley
06-06-2013, 6:09 PM
Retirement = The best job I ever had.......

Michael Campasano
06-06-2013, 6:53 PM
Bill, enjoy your retirement as the years fly by too quickly. I retired twenty five years ago and like you was somewhat sorry that I retired as I really missed my job as a manager in the manufacturing industry. After 6 months of not knowing what I was going to do for the rest of my life I became very active in my community. I volunteered in a few organizations, joined a few social clubs and renewed my love for woodworking. I make all kinds of whirligigs, yard art, small furniture and other household items. Sometime there isn't enough time in the day to complete all of my items planned for the day. I try to walk a few miles every day in the early morning while it is still cool. I refuse to sit idle and vegetate as your body is like a machine, if you do not use it,then all of the moving parts they begin to deteriorate.

Mike

Don Morris
06-08-2013, 1:41 PM
There are many things to do including catching up on some good books. And now I know you're time is more free, I may PM you with some questions because over the last couple years it's become obvious your level of knowledge and ability far exceeds mine.

David C. Roseman
06-09-2013, 10:22 AM
Bill, volunteering to teach computer skills at a retirement community is a great idea. Not having to keep to an externally-imposed schedule and responsibilities of a day job is great. But we all need to feel useful, needed -- "necessary." Hobbies and home projects don't necessarily always provide that. I think most of us, even proverbial self-starters, need some external structure to our days, and having part-time responsibilities where others in the community depend on us can give us that. Lots of other volunteer opportunities as well.

David

Rich Engelhardt
06-13-2013, 8:30 AM
Retirement sucks. But,,,working in the computer field sucked more so I guess that retirement is a step in the right direction ;).

kevin nee
06-13-2013, 8:39 AM
After the first month you will be saying " ISHOULD HAVE DONE THIS FORTY YEARS AGO"
I struggle with what to do every day264298

Paul McGaha
06-13-2013, 4:56 PM
Congratulations on your retirement Bill.

With the hobbies that you have and your willingness to help others I think you're probably going to really like retirement.

10 to 12 more years for me.

PHM