10 years ago today - I retired!

[Dave Anderson NH]

I finally retired at the end of January 2020 at the age of 71. I worked longer because I enjoyed my job and my company had also given me golden handcuffs. I have plenty to keep me busy between my woodworking, gardening, running an American Legion shooting sports program for kids, and volunteering at my local VA medical center. Except for the gardening and woodworking my other activities give me plenty of the human interaction I need. To my mind the worst thing anyone can do upon retirement is isolate themselves. Even my wooworking sometimes has social interaction due to our NH guild programs and my occasional teaching. My motto is keep busy or die.

[Erik Loza]

Erik, i understand the desire for social interaction, but most of the baristas i meet are too busy to have anything other than a short exchange, and i live in a town smaller than Austin. In a big city i think it could be brutal, as less sociable people in the line behind have a way of grunting and groaning that translates into "hey old man, get the heck out of my way" . . . and those are the polite ones without anger management issues . . .

Patrick, why you gotta’ ruin my dream, bro?

[Patrick McCarthy]

Erik,

Well, um, ya see . . . i got this email from a "Mrs. Loza" threatening to expose me as a fraud (ie, a wannabe woodworker rather than the real deal) if i did not post exactly what was dictated . . .

. . and i trust you know why none of us would want to cross Mrs. Soza . . . .

Yeah, that's my story and i'm sticking to it. . .. . for now, at least . . . .

[Derek Meyer]

We have a lot of new motels that have sprung up around us. I toyed with the idea of getting a part time job working there.
My thought was they might offer some rate deal for employees on rooms & we could take advantage of that if we traveled.
I never followed through though.

My wife used to work the desk at a La Quinta, and she could accumulate reward points by getting customer referrals and repeat stays. She would get an employee rate at any La Quinta motel, so we stayed at them for when we traveled. The employee rate was usually $30 to $50 per night, and she used her reward points to make that cost $0. We stayed for 5 nights for free in Las Vegas during one trip a few years ago. It can make it worth your while.

[Ron Citerone]

I also liked my work, particularly the mentoring I did the last couple of years to a young, 25 yo new account manager that I supported. She was great. LOL

So Doctor SWMBO found out and made you retire?

[Jim Becker]

So Doctor SWMBO found out and made you retire?

LOL. Trust me....that young lady I was mentoring was in good hands with her hunky college lacrosse coach boyfriend, now husband and father to her two young kids. Professor Dr. SWMBO is starting to contemplate how and when to execute her own retirement process. She's two years younger than I am but now that she's eligible for SS she can actually consider whether or not to use one of the multi-year buy-down slow retirement options that the university offers tenured employees as income lost from the job as it steps down can be replaced by the SS income. As it turns out, the health insurance continues for both of us, so it actually can be considered. That's the most difficult thing for anyone wanting to retire "early"...making sure health insurance is in place. I'll leave it at that.

[Ron Citerone]

LOL. Trust me....that young lady I was mentoring was in good hands with her hunky college lacrosse coach boyfriend, now husband and father to her two young kids. Professor Dr. SWMBO is starting to contemplate how and when to execute her own retirement process. She's two years younger than I am but now that she's eligible for SS she can actually consider whether or not to use one of the multi-year buy-down slow retirement options that the university offers tenured employees as income lost from the job as it steps down can be replaced by the SS income. As it turns out, the health insurance continues for both of us, so it actually can be considered. That's the most difficult thing for anyone wanting to retire "early"...making sure health insurance is in place. I'll leave it at that.

Yeah, my wife worked 2 years after I retired and she had benefits. We had to bite the bullet and buy bennies for 3 years when she went. Sometimes ya gotta do what you gotta do.

[Jim Becker]

Yeah, my wife worked 2 years after I retired and she had benefits. We had to bite the bullet and buy bennies for 3 years when she went. Sometimes ya gotta do what you gotta do.

Fortunately, her medical benefits continue essentially unchanged into retirement. That's not the case with many folks, however. Sadly.

[Derek Meyer]

I found out today that there are baristas at the coffee shack my wife goes to that make more in a year than I do. During the holidays they make upwards of $350 a day in tips. I now feel undervalued.

[Patrick McCarthy]

I found out today that there are baristas at the coffee shack my wife goes to that make more in a year than I do. During the holidays they make upwards of $350 a day in tips. I now feel undervalued.

Alright, alright, i will withdraw the concerns i expressed re Erik's dream job . . . but i hope he does not get into too much trouble with all that money (root of all evil, etc, etc). Still, not the job for me . . .