Any Retirement Aha Moments? 👴👵

💥May 18, 2021💥

I had one yesterday. Instead of throwing my cell phone on the floor in total FRUSTRATION, I went ONLINE to read up on how to TROUBLESHOOT it. So PROUD of myself!!! Lol, use to hate YouTube, now I go to it to learn stuff. 🤣😂

My first aha moment came after I was laid off in 2012. I worried about finding another comparable job possibly working for a company I wouldn't like as much as the one I had just left. It was a great company to work for with great managers and coworkers. I had several more years mapped out in a spread sheet with personal days I would take off for birthdays, filling out the days off for major holidays or to coincide with my wife's Spring breaks from teaching school. I also had vacation weeks planned to keep from losing any accruals, while I kept a mind to retire after that time with several weeks on the books to give me a boost into my retirement.

I worried and lost sleep for 2 days after being reduced in force. On the second day, I realized that I was in a position to retire.

Aha!

I was laid off in May, but I claim the middle of June that year for my official retirement since that's about when my accrued vacation time, which they cashed out upon my leaving, would have run out if I had taken the time off work as regular vacation.

My second aha moment was more of a gradual realization over time. Like so many others I have heard of, I finally started to wonder how I ever found time to work for anybody else at 40-plus hours per week. My to-do list (procrastination list?) has only grown since I retired.

Even so, I consider this to be the best job I've ever had.

Aha!

Stay well and enjoy!

Lynn

@Anonymous I'm busier now than when I was working ( but with fun stuff )   ---  Christine

💥Saturday - June 12, 2021💥

Had one this week. It finally occured to me that I can keep sitting around while the dump I live in gets condemned or I can move before it does. So I am moving to Melbourne, Florida to join my darling daughter!! Going to rent a Tiny House finally.

Lots of Aha Moments out there! 😁

---

Stop by to read the comments and/or add a comment.

I'm 63, retired Jan 2020 and my wife was already retired.  We are currently using our bank savings to live on and we are doing just fine.  We have no debt except credit card which we pay off every month.  We started using our 1 credit card more often last month instead of our debit card with the idea we would be getting cash back, and we do.  Today I asked the credit company to increase our credit limit, but they only take into consideration our annual income which is very low.  My plan is to live off our savings, 401k, etc and not take social security till 70.  I have a small Air Force pension, but that certainly isn't enough to live on, and as I discovered today is the only asset they care about, so I was denied my request to raise our credit limit.  I currently have excellent credit, so the denial came as a complete surprise.   I want to get a new car next year and I'm concerned I won't qualify for a loan with such a low annual income.  I would rather not pay cash for the car.  Will I face the same problem going for a car loan or lease?  

Had one yesterday here in the not so great retirement state of Floriduh, I went to the local Dollar Tree real close to me and had a problem getting into the parking lot due to police, fire trucks, and 2 ambulances clogging up the lot, seems someone OD'ed in the stores bathroom, this has become a mundane everyday happening still via the constant ambulance sirens screaming up and down the main state road 1 block from where I live. Nothing new as with being a grey haired senior in this lovely state that we are the 'Free Cash ATM' to all young and old.

The main new aha is Dollar Tree has become the new playground for unsupervised children.

.

1 comment 💡(1/9/23) Today it suddenly hit me how far I have come since retiring in July 2020. TODAY, 9 days into 2023, I have arrived in my quest for "inner peace". Lol, this Community Board which I joined 11/14/22 ADDED a few more "lessons" to my schooling. Ignore, ignore. 😂🤣 And APPRECIATE the awesome folks who have shown me nothing but KINDNESS. You KIND 😉 guys have "reminded" me to NEVER give up on life. When you are living with PASSION, life brings humans, furbabies 🐕🐈 and opportunities to your door. All you need to do is OPEN it and welcome them in.... 😉

Yes, it can be down right boring sometimes and require too much energy and enthusiasm for life that we no longer have.