Semi retirement guilt You opinion

[winnietrey]

For those of you who are older and wiser, and have been there done that. What say you, have we made the right choice?

Here is the deal, I am 58 dw 60, like you we have worked hard our whole life. We have been in business 35 years. And though we both like the people, we are starting to burn out on the business part

So what we are doing, is cutting down to 3 and a half days a week, and taking about 7 weeks off plus all the holidays.

Becuase I,(we), want to go see and do now. Vacation , ride bikes, do hobbies, while we still can.

Retirement money, will be fine I believe. If we never save another dime at 66, we will be in the 60k plus range, with paid for house, cars, etc and no debt. (plenty for our life style)

Although if we worked harder, from now till we retire, we would of course have more money.

So The guilty part, is it just feels weird, to have so much time off.

For you older and wiser folks, if you could roll back the clock, would you do what we are doing? or push it hard right till retirement?

[free_radical]

if you have enough money to live on why would you not retire and go traveling if thats what you like..
Everyone has different spending habits and only you know whats best for you!

Only problem with retirement is it may be too boring if you have nothing to do

Everyone needs some hobby to keep the mind busy and also physical exercise to be healthy,,and of course good healthy foods..

Optimistic mind helps also imo,Im planning to live to 120,.probably wont make it that far,..but I will certainly try...LLL

Guilt what guilt?
I worked hard and long enough to be financialy comfortable and have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about..

[Redsky]

My wife and I did something similar as we worked in high tech with each of us having income in the 6 figures and we started a business 10 years ago at age 52 that required no employees only contracted for manufacturing and warehouse and distribution services which we fully automated. We now work about 10-15 hours a week and can take many weeks away or even out of the country as we only need internet access to monitor the business.

Our next door neighbor who had waited until he was 65 to retire found out at age 67 that he had Parkinsons from his Vietnam agent orange exposure and so for the past 5 years he has been confined to his bedroom. With another couple I have known for more than 30 years the wife was diagnosed at age 65 with cancer last May and she died last week.

We are unique in having to work until we are 65 years of age. In Europe and Scandinavia retirement age is in the low 50's. There are no guarantees you and your wife will be in good health for the next 20 years or even for the next 2 years.

There are also tradeoffs between time and money. If you can travel during the low or mid season you avoid crowds and save money. Same applies to spending more time at a destination as the travel costs are the same whether you are there for 2 days or 2 months.

[Padlin]

It's another urban myth that's been around for decades, other studies show the opposite so take your pick.

[John_Joey]

IAMICHABOD wrote:
Go and enjoy the retirement the longer you wait the less you will have.......

Where did these stat's come from? It appears that if you work till you're 70 you be dead at 61 if you follow the line?

[IAMICHABOD]

Go and enjoy the retirement the longer you wait the less you will have.......

[NYCFive1]

You have been found GUILTY and have been sentenced to enjoying your life.
You have been found NOT GUILTY and are free to enjoy your life.
HERMANS HERMITS said it in a song "make the most of living if you're not prepared to die."
I have only been retired a few months at 63 so I can't advise you.
The MISTAKE I made when I retired. I THOUGHT I would miss the job. I DON'T.

[sowego]

If you are already shortening work hours and taking more time off...why feel guilty? Go whole hog retired and don't worry about it. You'll soon be so busy you will wonder how you found time to work!

[bull1]

We retired very early and do not regret it a bit. Go for it!

[Monaco_Montclai]

wow, better get it while u can,guilt, wow none here, a lot of 2weeks and more without any days off, plus a big bag of 16hrs,and some 24hrs too.a nother bag of third shifts,and falling a sleep every time on the way home --wow and making it home, wow seen to many folks,retire and park it in a chair, then a box. nah, sliding side ways to my box, and saying wow what a ride. now its all happy-camping, ya hooooo

[John_Joey]

I retired at 52, only you will know what is right for you. Here are a couple of things to think about.

Lay a tape measure on the ground. Look at the number on the tape that corresponds to your age. Then look at the number that you think is normal to die at in your family. Are you OK with that distance.

Work defines you. Giving up a job will leave you without that definition. You'll need something to replace it with. Don't expect to quit and live happily ever after. You'll need something to keep your mind and body active over the years.

Good luck on your decision.

[camperkilgore]

No matter what advice is given, you have to decide for yourself if that feeling of guilt causes any kind of problem. If you find that the activities that you participate in while off work are not as fun as you think they should be, due to that guilt, then it might require some sort of adjustment. What that adjustment is will be up to you.

Long ago my Uncle retired from the Air Force but was uneasy because of the situation in Southeast Asia. He then volunteered with the Red Cross which sent him almost immediately to Viet Nam where he fulfilled the need to serve.

Seemed crazy to me, but not to him.

[Padlin]

I like the idea of cutting back and taking longer vacations, we're doing exactly that starting 6 months ago. I'd suggest you have someone you trust look at your finances, I question $600k providing $60k a year. A fee only financial planner, not someone who want's to sell you something or take control of your $ may help. It's a tough decision to make, if you can, take your time.

[noe-place]

Don't wait and I'll tell you why. I had a heart attack the very day I was scheduled to retire after 23 years in law enforcement. Luckily I was able to recover completely and have had a wonderful retirement so far. DW worked two years after I retired but she should have retired when I did as our government took more from her SS than they should have but that's another story. I was 57 when I had my HA so we're the same age. I haven't looked back or remotely missed going to work at all. In fact I spend as much time as I can with our grandson since his parents divorced a couple of years ago. So you might say I've got a whole new career helping to raise this young man. You'll also discover you have many things to do around home that you really never noticed before and at least you'll have time and a clear head to start thinking about all the things you wanted to do before but never had the time until now. Tomorrow is not promised to us so I try to do something positive with every day.

[loggenrock]

As someone's tag line reads - "Life is short, death is long". Sums it up pretty well in my book! Retired at 49 from full-time career - now work variety of part-time positions, which allows me the ability to take the time off I want (need) to in order to travel with my wife. Guilt quickly goes away! Sleep in if you want, stay up late, get up with the birds, doesn't matter! Make it work for YOU!!! ST