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Cant wait!

by Rperez7

4 years to go and I'm having trouble sleeping, and I can't stop talking about retirement. Its driving me crazy.

For years I thought counting days was fun -- now is stressful. I love my teaching job for the last 30 yrs. Now I cant wait to walk away from it.

Is it normal to feel like this?

Thanks.

Comments for Cant wait!

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Love retirement
by: Anonymous

Yes, I think that is normal. However, your life style might change a wee bit after you retire.

First thing you do is to take off your watch and put your alarm clock in the closet. You won't be needing those for a while. Your life is NOT ruled by the clock any more. It is nice to keep the alarm clock because from time to time you might want to get up before noon if you have an appointment or something.

The key to retirement is enjoying your life. Stop and smell the roses. Breathe deeply -- out with the bad air, in with the good.

Just relax and be YOU -- the way you were before you worked for a gazillion years.

I tend to lose myself in reflection (or reminiscing) and could spend hours lost in my day dreams. Am I wasting time? NO...I am remembering the wonderful things and people which have come into my life and made me who I am.

My biggest problem is that at the age of 77 and after 56 years of marriage, we have more stuff (junk) than all of the Goodwill stores in America have. And now, I (because hubby does not help) get the joy of going through it all and passing it on to others to enjoy and use as we did.

Best of luck. God bless.
Reply to Can't Wait
by: Gail/Fresno

I couldn't agree with Sue more. When you get to the place of "Can't take it anymore, I'm outta here!" you will know it. And sometimes that is before your original target date.

Start thinking about what you want to do in retirement and how you will accomplish it. If financially you can do it sooner than later, do it. Go with what your heart tells you.
Retried - Doing A-OK
by: Judy F-R

I retired at 61 because of some of the same reasons that were listed above, knowing that I didn't want to get my social security until at least 65 - Also, I didn't want to use my IRA and Pension Monies either.

So, I found a part-time job which started at 5 days a week from 9 to 3 - then down to 4 days 9 to 3 - This lasted for about 3 years then down to 1 day 9 to 5 for several years (and also subbing while others took vacation) - And now at 73, I am completely retired - So, I did this for several years (11), which not only helped with some finances but also helped with social stimulation/interacting, and so today, I can fully enjoy my retirement, having slowly learned what I like to do to keep myself busy and happy.

Some of the things I now enjoy are: Acting in a senior theater group - Volunteering in a senior adult facility - Taking walks - Tuesday car day trips - Crocheting - Eating out with my husband or with a friend, and yes, even playing computer games, watching tv and reading enjoyable novels.

Everyone needs to find their own place in retirement to make themselves healthy and happy for a longer life in the "Golden Years," while coping with the arthritis pain! :-)
hurry up retirement
by: Cindi H, Ohio

I'm with most of the responses. At one time I couldn't imagine retiring. Then suddenly I was seriously counting down.

I was going to retire right at 66 with full retirement but life had other plans. Even though I had no complaints about my work and did well, it was time and I was "done" with the work emergencies and traffic jams and new computer systems to learn. I ended up retiring about 9 months prior to my planned date and felt like I was hanging on by my fingernails to get that far.

I think that retirement is a natural occurrence and our bodies/minds start their own preparation and make the determination for us about when we really ought to retire. I might recommend waiting until official 62 just to get SS, but if you're not in the SS system but in a state sponsored pension system you might not even have to wait for that.

The way I looked at it was although I was very valued in my work, there were other people - much younger - who needed to spread their wings and get the same responsibilities and accolades.

Best of luck. Whatever you choose will be right.
When to retire
by: Laura in Vermont

I just retired after a good career in human services, at 65. It became clear to me after three medical leaves that I was burned out, but I had three years before I could get Medicare, so I waited. Many people tried to get me to stay longer, but once I knew that manageable health care expenses were available, I would not consider staying.

Over the three years waiting, I put more money into savings, both retirement and general. I also joined a club of women who have quite a bit in common with me and are fun to be with. Finally, I strengthened connections with people who have my hobbies for both social and technical support.

Meanwhile, back at work, I got a new supervisor and told him about 6 months ahead of time when I was going to retire. He hired a replacement for me to train for my last 6 weeks.

That made a big difference. I had known most of my clients over 20 years, so the new woman needed to have the information I had. And those were MY people, so they needed a quality replacement. The new woman turned out to be excellent and had the fresh imagination needed to move my clients along into the future--which had bled out of me.

So on that last day, I floated out of the office and I haven't been back to visit yet (I did promise though). The euphoria is less marked but I still feel really good. I'm busy enough and I think things are going well overall so far.

So run a budget and count how you are going to manage health insurance if you leave before 65. Get some stuff to do lined up that you like to do, some people to hang out with, and then jump in!
Can't wait
by: Wee-zer

You are lucky you can plan for retirement. I did not get that opportunity to plan for my last year at work. I was marched into HR and handed a severance package. It was a huge disappointment to not be able to walk away when I so desired it.

Four years is an awful long time to think about retirement. If you have been teaching for 30 years maybe you have the means to retire before 4 years.

Have you examined your financial situation. Sit down and make a list of what your owe. Car payments, mortgage payments, other things you owe money on. If you have an expensive car, perhaps you could get rid of it and buy a car for cash. If your mortgage is going to be long term, sell your house for something smaller to have no payment. Smaller house will also have benefits of lower taxes, less energy expenses, lower insurance. Evaluate your monthly bills to see what you can pare down such as cable, streaming services. What can you cut down on or do away with. Once you have done all that determine your monthly bills. Will your pension and savings cover those bills. Will you get to stay on your health insurance once retired? Maybe you can pull the plug much sooner than four years. You sound ready to take the plunge!

I think what I would do is make a one year plan. Get all my ducks in a row during that one year. Put my nose to the grindstone and up my pension/401k savings till it hurt really bad and start the one year count.

Good luck to you.
Live for today
by: Anonymous

Don’t wish your life away but I hope your future retirement brings you lots of pleasure x
Can't Wait
by: Jeff/ Toledo

It's funny to look back now and think about things. I started two years before retirement thinking about what I wanted to do and how I was going to get it done. Now when I look back it was the best thing I had done. Walk away with a plan and enjoy everything you can.
Euphoria Ahead
by: Joe W.

Is a Euphoria kind of reaction to starting your retirement normal? I personally don't think so especially if you have been very successful as a teacher in your traditional job.

I'm assuming that you have a retirement plan besides your financial plan ready to go. If not I will venture to predict that you will need to be more level headed where your not too high or too low. It will be interesting to see how your extremely positive attitude will play out.

Good Luck!

Joe W.
4 years will seem like forever
by: Anonymous

Hi there.

Yes, the countdown to retirement can and should be fun, but if yours is 4 years away and you're already counting, you may want to re-think your plan and see if there's a way you can do it sooner?

When I was 60 I had "65" as the number in my head for retiring. When I turned 61, work was really starting to wear me down and I started hating it. I found myself fantasizing about changing my date to 62, and went to see a financial counselor to see if it were possible. As each day passed, I knew I wanted it to happen sooner very badly, and there was no way I could wait 4 more years.

I was becoming depressed and anxious and the job was the source - after months of struggling with the decision (lots of tears, sleepless nights, discussions with my husband) I decided I needed to leave the job at 62.

I had "the talk" with my bosses and gave them 2 months notice, and even though those 2 months dragged by (my heart and head had already left the job) each day that it got closer I felt so much better, mentally and physically. I haven't regretted it for one moment, and even though I've had to make major changes in my budget, it was worth it.

So I guess my point is, do you really have to wait 4 more years? If you're already counting down, sounds like you're going to be ready sooner.

Sue

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