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« Death by a Thousand Fees | Main | 25 Things to Never Pay Full Price For »

April 19, 2012

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I retired at 58 back in 1992 and both my wife and I are somewhat older. I'm 77 and my wife is now 79.
Some points I would make after 20 years of retirement are as follows.

Money sounds like it's the least of your concerns, as it is with us. In our case we ramped up our foreign travel considerably and the company we have gone with the most of all is Grand Circle Travel and in particular we have thoroughly enjoyed a great many of their river cruises in Europe and one in Russia.

The other concerns are always health and safety. You need to be a member of a great clinic with all of your providers under one roof, access to a great hospital, and in an organization where all of your medical records are on one computer system. That makes it so easy for any specialist to be able to pull up your complete history, including MRIs, CAT scans, X-Rays, blood tests, prescriptions etc.

Next, as you get older it's nice to live in a very safe and low crime rate area where all of the major services that you will need are in close proximity eg, supermarkets, drugstore, post office, restaurants, and emergency services. The other vital attribute of where your retire is, I believe, CLIMATE. Maybe that's why you moved 7 1/2 years ago to a retirement community in another state.

Along with old age come inevitable health issues. I have been very fortunate, all I have needed have been two cataract surgeries and one arthroscopic cleanout of my knee joint, all three were outpatient procedures. My wife hasn't been so fortunate, she now has two artificial hips and had a small piece of her colon removed but other than that her life is completely normal, thank goodness.

Your Money or Your Life is the most important personal finance book I've ever read. It may be the best ever written.

I have to concur with his statement: " It changed my thinking and in the long run, my life. The key for me was understanding their concept of “enough.” "

Interesting to read this posting, and the older one "Five Retirement Surprises".

I am 50, eligible for a good pension (which will increase significantly if I continue working) and have a healthy investment portfolio. I can also get health insurance through my current employer. Hence, I don't think I would have any financial issues if I stopped bringing in a salary.

I have had the good fortune to vacation all over the world while still employed, and have also traveled extensively with my job. As a result, my perfect vacation is a week at the beach or in the mountains - which is not extravagant, difficult to organize or very time-consuming.

I am not religious nor do I have any hobbies I am anxious to expand into all-day activities. I don't hate my job, but I also don't have the driving passion for it that I had in the past.

The other people who pursue the activities I AM interested in are all my age or younger and working. So I would only do them when those people were available - weekends and evenings.

Hence, one of the main things that is holding me back is that I can't see how I would fill my day if I stopped work. I have read several books on retirement - they were more about life structure than money.

I would be interested to hear from other people who have retired under similar circumstances

Great update as I plan my pre-retirement / retirement and it is very agonizing. The golden shackles are holding firm, and I can't find the key. Maybe the key is in that book that you are referring and I will get it and read it.

Also, health care from age 50 to 65 is the BIGGEST challenge why there aren't 1000's of BBoomers not retiring today. Otherwise, there are plenty of folks who have a good life, good amount of savings / investments, and do NOT need all of the BS associated with todays' corporate world to say 'bye-bye'.

Kenny

Your Money or Your Life, is the best book ever. I have read it and lent it out many times. Should be required reading prior to taking out any college loans or long term financing. Definately puts money and working in perspective.

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