Marriage comics:

 

^ That’s me right there. My wife has to approve what I wear when we go out together.

 

Good for her. I know some people work towards freedom 55 , the way things are going I'm on the freedom 80 program

To be honest nothing scares me more than being on a fixed income in today's world, plus I'm a workaholic and I don't mind the idea of working later in life, and I also want to have toys right to the end too

 

Neither of us felt it was a hard decision, but we understand some do. When you have had enough you have had enough. Thankfully, we had no debt, we don't really live large and felt the nest egg was enough to supplement our SS and still allow some fun and indulgences. The car habit does cost $, but we both enjoy it. The photography hobby can cost a few $, and I know if I break something I won't think twice about replacing the gear, however cars and photography and road trips are what we enjoy. The nest egg is still looking good in spite of the up and down stock market and some withdrawals. Neither of us have regretted our decision one bit.

In some states if you die on the job, there could be $ in the form of workers compensation. I never understood it, but I know of a man with many health conditions who died at a young age, at work and yes there was financial compensation for his wife/family. You might want to re-consider having someone drag you out, if you appear to be dying.

Even though we felt we had achieved a goal of what we wanted in our nest egg, and it was not a king's ransom, it is a bit scary at times, to accept that your days of earning a paycheck are done. More so if you do not have a pension. We got beyond that quickly. The lack of obligation to others in retirement is a huge benefit.

 

About 15 years ago I had a boss who told me to be in his office Monday morning and he was very unhappy with what he was hearing about my performance.
I was pretty sure I was going to be fired.
We had a mortgage, one kid in college and another about to start. I was stressing big time.
I also knew I had a family history of heart attacks at a young age and I wound up over at the ER trying to cope with the stress.
In the course of going through all of that I had an epiphany.
Ok maybe the kids can't go to school his year. maybe we could lose the house, but my wife had a good job and we could get an apartment.
in the end I decided that my wife would always love me and regardless the sun would still come up tomorrow.
You could say I broke my Give_a_F***. It was tremendously liberating.
I enjoy work. I do my best and I am still an incredible A-hole when push comes to shove but I don't get stressed.
I'm not gong to die for a job. Lately has been some very high visibility crap going on and a lot of pressure to resolve it.
My watch has a pulsometer built in. occasionally I look at it when I am in a meeting out of curiosity. normally it's 68-70 and doesn't move.

 

Retirement is a very individual decision. As are most things in life. I made mine when I was ready. Donna was not, so she worked another 7 or 8 years. Jerry, I hope your wife enjoys it as much as we both do. I could have worked many more years and in all honesty I had a perfect job - good job, good money, could come and go anytime I wanted, no stress, etc. but I always worked for a paycheck and not for the love of it, so it wasn't hard to say good-bye. Hey, I'm 60, I'm out of here.

 

I had an uncle who retired well, but he chose to do nothing in retirement. He sat in a chair an watched TV all day and night. His brain deteriorated quickly and he passed away. If you have nothing to keep yourself focused and occupied you might have a shorter life, just my thinking. i see a lot of people who retire and pass away shortly after, but certainly others live much longer.

 

You are right!
I remember asking my cousin's husband what he was doing in retirement. His answer was "watching TV." That really surprised me. I know he does golf, and I hope he enjoys his retirement however he spends his time. Watching TV during the day, is not my idea of enjoying retirement.

 

We all know people who retired but had no hobbies or interests and generally most are no longer with us.

 

My retiring bride has more hobbies than you can shake a stick at.
Art, oils, water color sculpting, she made noise about wood carving.
Sewing, quilts and fabric based art expression.
Gardening, hiking with the dog. chasing that little white ball. snow shoeing.
Slowly we are building a Japanese garden on the lower part of our estate down by the stream below the dam..

My hobby is trying or doing new things and buying new things.
so I must keep working to feed that habit.
And I want to design and build my garage. not sure if that will ever happen.