The other side of FIRE - what to do with your life!

[moorfield]

to be continued...

Everyone's missed the obvious one - start an HYP and join a discussion forum about it

But seriously, its a thought provoking question for me. Financially I feel well prepared for retirement already and can start thinking seriously about not working full time in a few years or so. No idea (yet) what I might "do" after that though ... Research work of some sort, PhD perhaps, but that may be difficult to entry in later life.

Particularly interested in how retired couples have fared with different work situations, interests etc. Lady M might well continue working for a long time after I stop, because she enjoys the job and works to the academic calendar (40 weeks/year) so has plenty of free time to use "built in". We do have a lot of different interests and travel aspirations (I would like to spend a few months in Australia, she has no interest at all), so I imagine we might go our separate ways from time to time. Plenty of common ones too - we plan to complete an A-Z of European long weekend breaks over a few years, and to make it interesting places we haven't both been to previously (check out Xanten in Germany)

[TUK020]

Having recently taken some extended time off from working I'm quickly realising how dull it can be if you don't have a plan for what you want to achieve during your early retirement (particularly in the scenario where everyone you know is still at work so you don't have a ready pool of people that want to do fun activities with you during the week!).

Even more worrying studies show that people who retire early are more likely to suffer cognitive decline.

I found this article an interesting read about how so many people are focussed on the financial side they forget to think about what their other goals are and the benefits of discovering your purpose...

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/15/67-year ... about.html

You could

1. Keep fish. Tropical, marine or Koi
2. Keep budgies. My Dad had a beautiful shed and aviary that we built together
3. Go fishing. Try sea fishing.
4. Go shooting. My Dad did clay pigeon shooting
5. Volunteer to work in a charity shop
6. Build a model railway
7. Learn to dance
8. Collect and build Lego
9. Decorate your home
10. Go walking ... get a dog
11. Learn woodwork
12. Build a remote controlled aircraft - this will consume huge amounts of time
13. Play computer games
14. Join a chess club
15. Join a badminton club
16. Go swimming
17. Go camping
18. Learn to ride a horse
19. Learn archery
20. Go canoeing
21. Keep bees
22. Go birdwatching
23. Learn photography
24. Get a telescope and take up astronomy
25. Go kite flying
26. Collect stamps
27. Collect leaves and press them
28. Learn lapidary
29. Cook, bake
30. Sew, paint, draw, make wine, make beer, make cheese
31. Bowling, darts
32. Genealogy
33. Read, join a book club
34. Learn a musical instrument

AiY(D)

The initial sequence struck me as a bit self correcting:
Keep fish
Fish them
Keep birds
Shoot them....

[DrFfybes]

And then...
Macrame
Drones
Learn poker or bridge
Play squash
Become a chiropractor
Choral singing
Ventriloquist
Trapeze
Cat breeder
Hedge laying
Gardening.. the real thing, not just tidying up
Topiary
Hairdressing
Tree surgery
Home brewing
Lime plastering, pargetting
Charity eBay seller
Quality tester in a brothel

to be continued...

And when you've done all that....

Hold a chicken in the air
Stick a deckchair up your nose
Buy a jumbo jet
And then bury all your clothes
Paint your left knee green
Then extract your wisdom teeth
Form a string quartet
And pretend your name is Keith
Skin yourself alive
Learn to speak Arapahoe
Climb inside a dog
And behead an eskimo
Eat a Renault Four with salami in your ears
Casserole your gran
Disembowel yourself with spears

[Snakey]

This is one problem I haven't had, although I'd struggle to tell you exactly what it is that I do all day. So I've either had no cognitive decline or else it's been really rapid!

I don't see it as ten hours a day of meaningful activity that I've lost and now need to replace somehow. I see it as ten hours a day of unpleasantness that I no longer need to endure - with the knock-on positive effect on mornings and evenings too. Eighteen months in and every day I wake up feeling happy that I don't have to go to work (or "go back to work tomorrow" or whatever is appropriate for the calendar).

I find myself picking up random things because they take my fancy. I've been learning a language on Duolingo. Sporcle is a great starting point for all the random things you didn't study at school but other people did and so you feel like you have gaps in your basic knowledge - I now know the periodic table and am reading up on what all the things are and what they do, and the other week I did capitals, countries (by shape) and flags. Next up is re-learning the algorithms for the Rubik's cube, since I got one for Christmas and would like to be able to complete it in a minute or two like I could when I was ten. I'm also eyeing up my old chess problem books which I recently got back from a nephew who's had them for 20 years.

Any benefit to my mental health is purely incidental which is how things ought to be, not forcing yourself to do stuff you don't like because it's good for you. Early retirement is solitary so it helps if you are happy to learn or practice something for its own sake - if you're mainly motivated by having somebody to impress or to beat, or just to do the same stuff alongside you and talk about it, you'll need to join a club or whatever and you might find that's evenings/weekends only (or full of people 20 years older than you are, which may or may not bother you). But at least you won't be knackered from work!

I keep in touch with people more than I used to - I used to consider it a bit of a time-sink and would do it grudgingly out of a feeling that I'd better make the effort (and come off the phone/arrive back home thinking: damn, that's the best part of my afternoon/my entire weekend gone), whereas now I enjoy it. I suspect this may be as close as somebody with my personality - open-plan offices were hell for me - can get to "missing being around people".

[uryjm]

I find the amount of time to fill I have in retirement incredible. I don't think I'm short of hobbies and interests and yet sometimes the hours stretch ahead....
For me, golf has been a lifesaver and I play 3 times a week, dropping my handicap considerably. The social benefits have been great too without being caught up in the "golf club set". Same for the gym, where joining classes have been a revelation. It's so much more motivational to be part of a group, and again, both myself and my wife have really widened our networks, only some of which overlap.
I think this is the big take for me out of retirement. Previously in work I really enjoyed the social side of it, counting many of my colleagues as friends. I've worked hard, and am still working hard, at trying to replace this. You have to make an effort to make new contacts but I've found it so much easier than I thought it would be - previously I thought the gym was pretty much full of narcissistic loners. How wrong I was.
I'm probably fitter than I've ever been and cook much more than I used to, so I probably eat better too. Planning a menu out for the week, and actually writing it down, has been another revelation that's enabled this hobby and I actively look for at least one "new" recipe to try a week. The internet (particularly BBC Good Food) is a great resource for this, as is the local library. I've always been a good reader but now I average about 60 books a year, plus audio ones if I can squeeze them in between podcasts. I tend to listen now walking to the gym as I don't have the work commute.
For me, retirement is more about meeting new people than trying new things, although meeting new people means you might try new things. In the local pub, a bunch of older bikers are trying to encourage me to get a Triumph. Who knows, I might. And join the darts club.
I'd admit I still sometimes miss work and I still find some days quite hard to fill, but I remind myself of some of the awful days I had at work too and how lucky I am to be in the position I'm in. It's a very valid point though - you almost need to put as much planing and work into retirement as you have at your career if you're really going to get the most out of it.

[Bigspenda]

If you like cycling, Zwift is like crack It's a very engaging way to get fit and a lot of fun

[OhNoNotimAgain]

Having recently taken some extended time off from working I'm quickly realising how dull it can be if you don't have a plan for what you want to achieve during your early retirement (particularly in the scenario where everyone you know is still at work so you don't have a ready pool of people that want to do fun activities with you during the week!).

Even more worrying studies show that people who retire early are more likely to suffer cognitive decline.

I found this article an interesting read about how so many people are focussed on the financial side they forget to think about what their other goals are and the benefits of discovering your purpose...

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/15/67-year ... about.html

I am a Trustee of a charity that needs help to maintain an old steam ship. Charities are a massive sector that has a huge demand for volunteers and Trustees.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transpar ... dcharities

[DrFfybes]

This week I have been lifting carpets for the builders, removing light fittings for the builders, warning them about the buried microbore in the plaster they are removing, and draining the heating system to remove the pressure from the microbore they just put a bolster through.

And it is only Weds.

Last week I sorted the delivery of 2500 village magazines, the week before painted a mural for the village panto.

Paul

[ignatius]

Having recently taken some extended time off from working I'm quickly realising how dull it can be if you don't have a plan for what you want to achieve during your early retirement (particularly in the scenario where everyone you know is still at work so you don't have a ready pool of people that want to do fun activities with you during the week!).

Even more worrying studies show that people who retire early are more likely to suffer cognitive decline.

I found this article an interesting read about how so many people are focussed on the financial side they forget to think about what their other goals are and the benefits of discovering your purpose...

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/15/67-year ... about.html

I know a lot of people joke about it, but, seriously, golf! It's a fantastic hobby. Time consuming, competitive, collegieate, healthy, difficult. I've not retired but I play most days. Even if you don't like it, or don't like the idea of it, I urge you to give it a try. I guess bowls will be my fall back, then bridge...

[Gerry557]

Tried Golf but my hockey skills got in the way. I was running rings around them but apparently dribbling counts against you.

I've been on the golf course since but that is because the cycle route cuts through.

[dingdong]

Having tried retirement for two months I'm now so bored and missing spending my days with smart people that challenge me intellectually. It seems doing jobs around the house and lots of fitness activities isn't enough to have a fulfilling life.

I'm now looking for jobs again - was not expecting that!
I always wondered why senior people didn't just quit the moment they could retire to go off and enjoy life... but now fully understand why.

I think I'll go back to the drawing board on what to do with my life post-retirement before actually packing in the day job.

[mc2fool]

Having tried retirement for two months I'm now so bored and missing spending my days with smart people that challenge me intellectually. It seems doing jobs around the house and lots of fitness activities isn't enough to have a fulfilling life.

I'm now looking for jobs again - was not expecting that!
I always wondered why senior people didn't just quit the moment they could retire to go off and enjoy life... but now fully understand why.

I think I'll go back to the drawing board on what to do with my life post-retirement before actually packing in the day job.

Try https://www.meetup.com/. It's a site for people getting together for real (not virtually) and there are a huge number of groups of all sorts. Well, at least in London. YMMV Also https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/

[Darka]

Been retired just over a year now and one thing I could never do is go back to work.

I can't see how retirement can be boring to be honest, there is so much to do and explore - granted, you might need to go out of your comfort zone, but retirement is the perfect time to do that.

This year I shall finally finish off my Justin Guitar beginners' course, run some more marathons, teach myself A level maths, go on several holidays, do some DIY, practice my drawing, and of course relax too.

There are also likely to be many more things to do that I can't even imagine yet, it's very exciting!

[88V8]

Having tried retirement for two months I'm now so bored ...

Hard for me to imagine but hey... I think before one retires one should be involved in at least one expandable hobby.

V8

[moorfield]

Having tried retirement for two months I'm now so bored and missing spending my days with smart people that challenge me intellectually. It seems doing jobs around the house and lots of fitness activities isn't enough to have a fulfilling life.

I get this. I feel I will need something "structured" to do that will continue to engage brain certainly during the earlier phase of retirement. What I have worked out so far is that I would want to work for myself and decide when I can take time out. What I haven't yet is what that will be...

[CryptoPlankton]

I guess adjustment to retirement depends to some extent on how successfully you have been institutionalised by "The Man". I have only ever felt truly happy when my time was my own to spend as I please. Having been fortunate enough (in my eyes!) to have had regular stretches of 'down' time in my life, I found that I eased into 'retirement' (not even a term I'd really use, such has been my path through life) without even really noticing. It is only now that it is dawning on me how lucky I am not to have this difficulty expressed by so many retirees.

For me, every day is a day to be cherished, but that doesn't mean I always have to be doing 'something' - that was only an obligation when someone was buying my time. It is all mine now and there's really no rush. Each to their own, of course, but I feel sorry that some people seem to struggle to fully embrace their independence - especially as it appears to be those who have been the most dedicated workers who tend to find it the hardest, they should be enjoying it the most.

It almost makes me feel guilty...

[kempiejon]

Perhaps if you are gregarious and thrive on interaction with colleagues and the cut and thrust of negotiations or planning projects then stopping that for a spot of DIY, long walks in the country and working on improving your banana bread recipe might seem a little.
I have always delighted in my own company and enjoy solitary activities. Being free to do what I want when I feel like it rather than being at the behest of a commercial organisation to whom I rent my skills doesn't feel like I'm missing out. Holidays and weekends are too short more pleasurable than the 9-5 grind. Different strokes I guess.
Several years ago I worked with a guy in his 70s who'd turndown incentivised retirement because he felt his purpose was his job and had an unsatisfactory home life. I thought that quite sad but he was happy in his lot.

[Wuffle]

Time spent out of the workplace when I had to care for dying / mentally deteriorating parents brought me to the same conclusion.

If the argument is made that those are not ideal circumstances, that would be correct, but equally, if you have already gone you cannot understand the change in dynamic at work when you don't have to be there.
So often here reference is made to 'stressful jobs'. Of course it is stressful, you have to earn enough to RE!
I turn up and don't take any s**t off anybody and it's great.

I won't try and persuade anybody on the FIRE board that they are wrong because what is the point but I am with dingdong.

W.

[Snakey]

dingdong, your experience is a common one and I hope you don't feel too much like you're being piled on or that anyone thinks the way you feel is "wrong". The reason I'm adding my voice is only because this viewpoint made me so nervous before I jumped, I feel the need to have my perspective standing next to yours for the benefit/reassurance of any Young Snakeys who might be browsing this thread as part of their decision-making process. Nothing personal, I swear!

It's said you must always be running "to" something rather than running "from", and yet I have always been squarely in the latter camp. I could see only positives in not being at work/not having to go to work, and I worried that I was missing some point or purpose or fulfillment that was so massive and fundamental that I couldn't see it for looking and would recognise it, too late, only by its absence. (See also: the decision not to have children.)

What would I do if my Great Escape turned into having to take a lesser role at a lower salary where I'd be just as miserable but with less money and status (in the context of "within the office", rather than the wider world) and no longer with any end in sight? If there'd been anything to commend the One More Year approach, this would have been it!

As I approach the two-year anniversary of handing in my notice, it's been just as great as I could ever have hoped. In fact, perhaps even better in that I haven't needed to spend anything like the amount of money I'd expected - I thought I'd have to be booking constant holidays and so on but I just haven't "got bored" enough to need to. Phew.

One thing I should mention in the name of full disclosure is that I am still taking on the odd consultancy project - maybe half a day a week on average, although it comes in fits and starts. Perhaps that fills, for me, the thing you're missing of wanting the technical challenge and debates with smart people. If complete retirement doesn't suit you, there's a whole range of in-between options which might give you the best of both worlds. Consider those before leaping back to the very thing you wanted to get away from! Going back to employment, with billable hour targets and management responsibilities and half-yearly appraisals in which people for whom I have zero respect tell me that I need to be more like them? Not a chance.

[Shelford]

This is an interesting and entertaining thread. The thrust of the conversations on these boards is (understandably) financial. In my experience, the adjustment is much more profound than many writers give credit for.

As others have pointed out, the psychological impact of giving up full-time employment hits different individuals in different ways, good and bad.

I'd spent 20 years working in a single company, long hours, big stress due to need to hit onerous PLC demands, worse commute. I did so because I enjoyed the worthwhile work, was very well paid, and had stimulating colleagues. In short, I accepted the Faustian pact. Eliminating then the negative elements meant giving up all the positives of work. And it is this gap - for some which can be close to bereavement - which is under-reported.

The way I've adapted as an early retiree is to view 'retirement' as simply another stage in my 'working' life. The only thing I've given up is full-time work, and I've replaced it with several paid/unpaid gigs. I'm less stressed now, I take the dog for a regular walk, I go to the gym, I spend more time thinking and considering other people, I see my aged parents, mentor other younger people, I write messages on bulletin boards for others... This is a good thing.

There is plenty of 'work' out there for those who miss the meaning it provides in their lives. It's just you may not be paid for it. Work provides structure and meaning to many lives. But stopping 'paid' work doesn't mean you can't get the benefits of self actualisation from other types of labour that fit around a new lifestyle.

Good luck