Is it time to retire?

[Fish]

It also depends on the rest of your family, especially your partner!

I sold up everything and I effectively retired myself early but my wife, who is 10yrs younger than me, still wanted to work. I wanted her to only do part-time at most but she ended up doing Mon-Fri, so, for the first 18mths it was great driving up and down the country playing every golf course in my sights and stopping over at some of them, but it became lonely

Once I caught up on all the jobs in the house and gardens, walked the dog that many times he hid when I said walkies, I needed something else, just getting the dinner ready every night after playing golf every day wasn't enough top keep the old grey matter engaged.

If you can retire as a family, then great, you can share the retirement and do things together, mine hasn't or didn't work, in principle it was great to say I could afford to retire, in practice it was too early without my wife wanting to do the same and left me isolated.

Now with my work for SkyCaddie and helping my mates business, I can do some work giving me something else to focus on and still travel and play golf when I want and share time with the wife, its a balance which now works, kind of..

 

[SocketRocket]

I retired six years ago from a fairly demanding job. I have worked part time a few days a week since and love it, First year was time out, three years with the National Trust and two years now at a Golf Club. I like to be where I can interact with people and also get a bit of golf in..

 

[CMAC]

We're not educated to use our leisure time fully, so you need to be active and have a focus and ideally routine.

There's a very frightening statistic around (maybe someone can source it) where people in very demanding stressfull positions go downhill at an accelerated rate after retirement if they actually 'retire' in the true sense of the word.

How often do you find when work is very busy and stressful you never catch a cold or illness, but go on a 2 week holiday and Bam! headcold day 3. Theres a medical reason, but it doesnt happen to everyone of course.

Hobbit, are you asking the question or just talking out loud to the world? I think you already have the answer.

 

[JCW]

Well I am semi retired at the moment and in a couple of years i will be fully retired as there are still a few things i need to do , I should have done this at 50 and I would have been fully retired now . Anyway You are a long time dead so if you can do it now do it , don`t worry you find plenty to do and no matter what , no amount of money can ever buy time , how much you have left no one knows so I say don`t do what you can today tomorrow as tomorrow may never come . Goodluck on whatever you decide

 

[Blue in Munich]

This is a major dilemna, or should it be dilemma, in the Hobbit household. Work couldn't be better, well maybe it could but it's a fantastic job which I really enjoy... but... should I really be cramming in these hours AND working away to the extent I am - 50-60hr weeks and a week away a month? Work is a really exciting place to be at present, and probably will be for a few years to come.

However, unrelated to work, I now have the opportunity to retire. Do I want to play golf 4-5 days a week? No. Do I want to take up gardening and walk the dog for a few hours a day? No. I can find plenty to keep me occupied but I enjoy the job.

Retiring, and doing all the things I like to do away from work is a huge attraction but, equally, dropping something which I really enjoy is a tough one to reconcile...

If you really enjoy it and you're getting paid for it, it's not a job so technically you can't retire……

Try looking at what it is you really enjoy about it and what you would replace that with, and also look at what the loss of that job could cost you financially and what you then couldn't do would be my advice as a starting point. Good luck with it.

 

[AmandaJR]

Ever thought of starting a flapjack delivery service to the aged of Kent??

Well our company has been sold so my Mondays might become available

 

[richart]

Blimey I thought you must have retired years ago Brian. Could you not reduce your hours, go part time, and see how you get on with that ?

 

[Tashyboy]

First and foremost hobbit it's what I call "a happy problem". You are happy at work and could equally be as happy retired. I would not be getting stressed about which decision you make.

Tashyboy and another couple of hundred others are made redundant later this year.

in essence I am asking myself two questions.

1, Can I afford to retire, a, yes = no problems. b, No = I have to find other work.

2, If the answer to 1 is yes I can afford to finish, the second question is can I fill my seven days a week without turning into a cabbage. If it is yes woohoo. If not then I need to find a few days a week.
At the momenti am hoping to finish work full stop and fill my days with golf, Hols, City, and Grandkids. ( Found out at weekend another little Tash is on the way).

can you not semi retire and get the best of both worlds. Me I cannot wait to finish, having worked 36 years in the mining industry, I am getting bitter and twisted being bossed by muppets, and that's not me as a person so I need to get away. However Missis Tash loves her job and when she finishes in two and half years I am convinced she will semi retire.

Bottom line for Tashyboy is, "I will measure my success by the years I have retired and not the years I have worked".

good luck with it.

 

[JustOne]

Many interesting points... my sentiment is that you should enjoy your life and if work is something that you genuinely enjoy then why stop? that said if your family want you to stop then you should perhaps look at your life 'outside the box' and figure out your priorities. Totally agree that after turning into a babysitter/taxi/cook/gardener and general handyperson for everyone who now knows that you don't work and are available is not only mind-numbing but a total pain in the ass. People will literally start calling you out of nowhere and expect you to practically drop whatever you're doing simply on the basis that you're not at work so it MUST be OK for you to give them a lift to the hospital/doctors/train station or come and help with some issue. You gotta keep your brain happy and enjoy whatever you choose in the company of those that you choose to share it with.... I spend a lot of time alone (you can probably tell) and TBH I'd probably rather have a job than be a houseparent - it's mind numbing. I could play golf every day of the week if I wanted to but having been there and done that it doesn't have the same draw any more.... right now I'm into darts!! LOLOLOL

 

[2blue]

Hahaha..... Bri, some great advice here... hope your heads not reeling too much. What an opportunity... more than that once you pack in work you can say 'Yes' to so many other things... can't see you being short of things to do on Redcar beach eg Life-guard, deck-chair man, donkey handler........ hehe
Cum'on then... whats decided.... cos, when I was a kid, I just loved those donkeys:thup:

 

[Liverbirdie]

Hahaha..... Bri, some great advice here... hope your heads not reeling too much. What an opportunity... more than that once you pack in work you can say 'Yes' to so many other things... can't see you being short of things to do on Redcar beach eg Life-guard, deck-chair man, donkey handler........ hehe
Cum'on then... whats decided.... cos, when I was a kid, I just loved those donkeys:thup:

Did they love you back, Dave?

 

[Tashyboy]

Did they love you back, Dave?

Heard he got quite closely attached to Sally😳

 

[2blue]

Oigh... you heard nothing. Nothing gets out of Redcar.... bad luck Bri

 

[Hobbit]

Oigh... you heard nothing. Nothing gets out of Redcar.... bad luck Bri

You been two timing our Sally?!?

 

[Liverbirdie]

You been two timing our Sally?!?

I thought he was more of an ass than a donkey man..........unless he's just showing off?

 

[Hobbit]

Discussed with the boss last week, met with HR earlier this week and have a meeting next Friday with him to finalise the exit plan. Well, not quite an exit plan, but way less than 40hrs and a vastly reduced staff. Got a few other things to sort out but 2016 could be a very different year... and it involves somewhere a lot warmer.

 

[bobmac]

Warm weather, nice courses and cold beer............who needs work.

There's many who would swap with you.

 

[Tashyboy]

Well it's official. Tashyboy retired yesterday. It was a bit emotional saying cheerio to some of the lads, which was a bit strange coz Al still see a fair few of them.
had a twenty minute lie in this morning then was woke up by grandson and Pooh bear. He's currently playing golf.
re work, no plans but who knows. Re golf, deffo part of me plans along with City season Tickets (when they come), grandkids hols and hours in the man cave.

 

[Captainron]

Discussed with the boss last week, met with HR earlier this week and have a meeting next Friday with him to finalise the exit plan. Well, not quite an exit plan, but way less than 40hrs and a vastly reduced staff. Got a few other things to sort out but 2016 could be a very different year... and it involves somewhere a lot warmer.

Warmer, warmer .....

That could be anywhere in the Arctic circle compared with Redcar.

Hope whatever it is keeps you interested at work and gives you the time to enjoy the family more

 

[Val]

Discussed with the boss last week, met with HR earlier this week and have a meeting next Friday with him to finalise the exit plan. Well, not quite an exit plan, but way less than 40hrs and a vastly reduced staff. Got a few other things to sort out but 2016 could be a very different year... and it involves somewhere a lot warmer.

Good news Bri