Question of the Day, October 1

Winchester

Winchester

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Good morning! :wave3: Welcome to October! Wow, September seemed to fly by.

People were discussing this on FB and so I thought I'd ask you: If you had the money to retire tomorrow, would you retire?

Years ago, I would have said, "Nope, not ready!" Now? I'm thrilled to be not working! I love getting up when I feel like getting up....or when the girls decide it's time for breakfast. I'd prefer to sleep in til around 7:00 or so, but the girls insist on a 5:30 breakfast. And since they rule the house, they win.

I retired just as all the pandemic craziness started. People have said to me that I was lucky to have gotten out when I did.

I love being able to do what I want when I want. Of course, the whole pandemic thing has really put a cramp to that, but we are slowly over-coming. We are both vaccinated, waiting for Moderna to come out with the booster, and we still do the mask thing. I've always been pretty much a home-body, so my idea of heaven is sitting on the deck of the WeShed, Smirnoff in hand, watching whatever is going on in the yard. I can clean as I want, without having to wait for a weekend to rip through the house. Rick and I have our moments; it took us a while to get our act together because we never spent this much time together at all. We were both always working and he did a lot of union-stuff trips and such, while I stayed at home with the cats. Like I said, I'm pretty much a home-body. If his meetings took place in an area that we could drive to, I would go with him. Anything that involved an airplane? Nope, not gonna happen. But those times gave me the chance to hang out by myself and that was good, too.

I've always said that, once quarantine ended, I'd try to find some kind of a part time job, just to get out of the house for a while. But well, I don't want to go back into the work force. I don't want to deal with people and the craziness that's going on. I don't even hang out on the phone. I can honestly say that I'm content with my retired life. I guess it sounds selfish on my part, but we're doing well.

Would you retire, if you could? What would you do?
 
di and bob

di and bob

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I would, and I did. even early! My husband was on the railroad for 32 years so I got to retire with full benefits (more then just social security) at 60. Him even earlier, full benefits because of disability from West Nile. It took him 10 years, but he is now pretty much recovered.
I was an RN, and with all the craziness in this world now, it felt good to put it all behind me. It seemed 'tehy' wanted more and more, paying less and less, even though the pay and the job satisfaction were good. Though for the most part people are good and kind, there are those out there that are not.
I have absolutely NO desire to go back to work. I like not having a schedule, and frankly don't know how I got everything done when we both worked full time and built houses on the side! The downside of retirement is it takes you longer to do what you used to do much quicker. Old age has NOT brought a lot of happy things, but retirement is great, the stiffness, tiredness, and loss of muscle strength is not. I still carry 40 lb boxes of cat litter and 50 lb sacks of bird seed, but not as easily! I think retirement is wasted on the old, I wish I could have done it when I was 40! ;)
 
Jem

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I would retire in a heartbeat! I love what I do, but my job is very physical and my body is tired and sort of broken. Most people in my field last on average 10/15 years or so and I'm 17 years in now. I actually have to think about what will be my next career as I can't afford to simply retire, but I also know I won't last until I'm "retirement age".
If I were able to retire, I wouldn't just do nothing though...I have many passions and hobbies that I would love to get back into again.
 
N

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I was almost 69 when I retired. After more than 40 years as a heavy equipment mechanic, my body said no mas. No more lying in mud or snow under a broken-down crane, or getting cooked by a hot engine, or any of the other myriad trials or tribulations of the job. Fortunately, I saved and invested, so I replaced almost all of my working income. Now, I'm busier than ever around home; I just don't get paid for it.
 
Elphaba09

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If I could, I would actually like to go back to work. I have been unable to work since 2009 and on disability since 2013. Since I cannot do that, I would love it if my husband could retire. We could occasionally go somewhere less than four hours away and hand out at home the rest of the time!
 
Lari

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I'm currently a stay at home mom and feel guilty at times about not contributing money to the household. I was pretty burned out on teaching when I left and knew I wasn't at my best. So part of me wants to say yes, but hopefully I have a long life ahead of me, and it would be a very long retirement.

So my plan is to go back to work once J and any siblings are in school, and I'm hoping that'll be enough of a break I can go back into a school fully recharged. And I'd say no to completely retiring tomorrow.
 
W

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Lari said:
I'm currently a stay at home mom and feel guilty at times about not contributing money to the household.
Click to expand...
You are. Daycare would cost $___, housework/laundry would cost $___, etc. Honestly, working people with stay-at-home spouses ought to be paying them to do all that stuff. It seems a bit transactional but it would show more appreciation for the savings. (And if a couple comingles their funds, it should all be family money; the SAH spouse shouldn't feel like they aren't contributing).


I'd retire in a second if I could. If I got bored I could volunteer somewhere, do some good. Preferably without waking up at 6:30 every morning, lol.
 
klunick

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Willowy said:
You are. Daycare would cost $___, housework/laundry would cost $___, etc. Honestly, working people with stay-at-home spouses ought to be paying them to do all that stuff. It seems a bit transactional but it would show more appreciation for the savings. (And if a couple comingles their funds, it should all be family money; the SAH spouse shouldn't feel like they aren't contributing).


I'd retire in a second if I could. If I got bored I could volunteer somewhere, do some good. Preferably without waking up at 6:30 every morning, lol.
Click to expand...
That is the one good thing about my job. I have always worked 0500-1330 so I'd be home when the boy were little and got off the school bus. My husband was in charge of getting them up, dressed, fed, and off to school in the mornings. I could still have a job and contribute money to the family so we never had to want for anything and my kids got to live because they weren't driving me nuts 24/7 with no escape. :lol:
 
Lari

Lari

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Willowy said:
You are. Daycare would cost $___, housework/laundry would cost $___, etc. Honestly, working people with stay-at-home spouses ought to be paying them to do all that stuff. It seems a bit transactional but it would show more appreciation for the savings. (And if a couple comingles their funds, it should all be family money; the SAH spouse shouldn't feel like they aren't contributing).


I'd retire in a second if I could. If I got bored I could volunteer somewhere, do some good. Preferably without waking up at 6:30 every morning, lol.
Click to expand...
I don't get a lit of housework aside from laundry done since she's been pretty clingy these days, but I do try to tell myself I'm saving on the cost of daycare.

My husband really doesn't seem to mind. I applied to teach Stroller Strides (I think they picked someone else which was probably a good choice on their part!), and he kept pointing out we didn't need the little bit of money I'd bring in. I think with my employment troubles in my early/mid 20s, I tie a lot of self worth to working, which I know isn't healthy.
 
MoochNNoodles

MoochNNoodles

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YES!!

I am 1000% happier as a stay at home mom. Is it still hard? Yup! But it suits me so much better. Is my house spotless? No. I’m not June Cleaver. I don’t have an Alice. But I’ve learned to relax and not live by arbitrary standards. Daycare would have taken all my pay for just 1 kid. Private school would probably do the same. The money DH brings in is ours. Not to go IMO here; but a number of my more feminist friends really struggled with the concept of family money vs contributing income (and were critical of my choices). I think we’ve found the balance that works for our family at this time.

I do NOT look forward to going back to a 9-5. I would be much more fulfilled volunteering somewhere for something I am passionate about. Society needs volunteers too.

Now if DH could also retire that would be amazing! Except that DS really doesn’t get much school done when dad is home. :lol: But we could be more flexible and do some things while we are younger. Spend more time as a family. These years are going fast!
 
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