how does one plan for retirement?

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itsanewme

MHH Member
Nov 18, 2007
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watching Off Kilter
not sure where to ask this but here goes. Thought Id put out the question here.
How does one prepare for retirement? Im looking at beginning of July/end of June 2008
Im feeling overwhelmed. May need to break down my thoughts and put them in separate files. This group seems good for breaking down ideas like that.

Im looking at Home duties/cleaning, volunteeering out of the house
Hobbies at home (like reading) and hobbies I can do outside the home (night classes, etc)
 
Congratulations!!!! Whooooooo Hooooooooo My husband just retired a year ago but we bought a different home and have been busy with it so we have not really felt retired yet. January 31 he is going for knee surgery so hopefully after he heals we can get the party started. We are planning on going to Tunica, Mississippi to gamble for awhile and then heading over to Biloxi and Gulf Port....who knows where we will go from there.

I don't know if you play cards or not but we have a lot of local places where you can play Texas Holem and win seats to tournaments in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. I won a seat in Vegas last year but did not do very well in the tournament.

For anyone interested here is the site for free Texas Holdem and you can check to see if your area has it...It is really a lot of fun and you get to meet a lot of nice people.....
http://www.worldtavernpoker.com/
 

momof4

MHH Member
Nov 3, 2007
651
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0
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Southwest Ohio
Congratulations!!!

I'm nowhere near retiring - in fact I'm looking at going back into the work force in a couple years when my youngest is in school.

When my parents retired - both at the same time because they ran a bakery together and decided to sell it when Dad turned 62 (ie I, as the baby, graduated from college ;-) ) - my mom found it best to continue with the cleaning/housekeeping routine she had followed all along. She did not expect the house to be any cleaner since she was home more now, nor did she feel she should change her usual schedule.

Shortly before they sold the business, she did think long and hard about how she would spend her extra time. My brother lives across the country, so visiting them more frequently was a no brainer; my parents are German immigrants and still had a lot of family there, so traveling to Germany/Europe was a no brainer. But it was the in between time that she had trouble with. She finally decided to get involved in their church more and did a lot of volunteering there as well as get involved in various prayer groups. She also decided to learn the piano -always wanted to, but never had.

Anyway, my point is, she did exactly what you are doing - thinking ahead so she wouldn't be sitting there one day with nothing to do. Something will come to you, just keep your eyes and ears open. And maybe the first couple of things you try won't be right, but if you are open to lots of ideas, something will be right.

Good luck! :leprechaun:
 

Cindylouwho

Well-Known Member
Premiere Member
Nov 4, 2007
1,307
452
83
I think you are spot-on in that you need to break it down. Perhaps doing a "Christmas Notebook" except for Retirement? If you don't already have a Christmas Notebook there should be tons on this site about how to build one (Okay, this site just started, so if not's up, it will be soon). Otherwise, google "Christmas Notebook" or Household Notebook and it should give you ideas as to how to create the tabs and break your project down into something more manageable.

Congratulations!
 

foxpaw

Retire Member
Oct 13, 2007
280
1
0
Congratulations! :applause:

I am sure you will find plenty to keep you busy...the house alone can be a time consumer. You will have time to do the things you want...and more time to do the things you don't want..LOL!!!

I think the notebook for retirement sounds good...that is of course you are not a notebook person.

My DH will be retiring in about 3 years, I have been a SAHM most of my life, working part time only. I never seem to be at a loss for things to do....I always say when asked "what do you do with all of your time?" ..."oh I don't know, but I am so busy doing it that I don't have time to do anything else!" :rotflol:

I think the main thing is to appreciate the time that you have and do what is important to you. Catch up on all the meaningful things that you haven't had much time or energy for.

Enjoy,
Linda
 

CEO

Retire Member
Oct 9, 2007
94
0
6
Well, I'm enjoying my first week as a "retired" person, so might have a few things to share.

In a way, being told "cut your hours or we'll have to cut your bones" was a good wake-up call. It meant I had a reason to scale back--and it's also given me a goal for this new phase of life.

One thing I'm remembering every day is that "retirement" isn't a light switch, i.e., on or off. There are many old habits that have to be discarded, and other new goals that have to be assumed.

So I sat down and listed goals for my first year, then broke them down into smaller steps. To give me motivation to work hard on PT and rehab, I decided that one goal would be "get healthy enough to dance with my tap group in April".

Other projects are similar "transition zone" things: simplify and streamline our household computer system and home office.

Then there are the "I want to" goals. I want to learn to use my new embroidery sewing machine, first in a technical way and then by learning to digitize embroidery designs.

Finally, there are daily choices, most of which can be summed up as "Slow down and GET OFF THAT COMPUTER".

Don't know if this helps or not, but I'm finding it useful to think of this time as one of transition, not "okay, now I'm retired so what do I do?"

CEO
 

COTINTOP

MHH Member
Oct 13, 2007
8
0
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I haven't been working since my job ended in July after years of working full time. I love it!
We are empty nesters, so my time is my own. I didn't do a formal write it down list, but I had many household projects to do that were backed up and still have a few. But each day I get the most important household tasks done first and then decide what special projects I might want to do. These special jobs range from cleaning to crafts to reading. I'm always busy and not bored. It's wonderful to have time to finally do what I want to do instead of always what has to get done to survive the work schedule. Enjoy!
 

Gadler

Retire Member
Jan 7, 2008
89
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0
My husband has retired 4 times (!!!!!) He is 20 years older than I am, so it is interesting to see what has happened to him in each time he retired:

1. Off the farm. (age 66) Into town - or really on the outskirts of town on a 10 acre block of land. The transition from 7000 acres to 10 was quite confining for him, but he had plenty to do to start off with. Six months later he was bored silly, so went to work for the council laying a footpath. Loved this job, but it ran out as soon as the footpaths were finished! Retired.

2. Our neighbours on the farm next door to ours moved to Pakistan as missionaries. Asked DH if he would manage their farm in their absence. Back to farming 7000 acres, loved it. 7 years later, retired again.

3. Decided to do the grey nomad thing, travelling around Australia. Did not enjoy this very much, sort of aimless for DH. Ended up settling for 5 years in Townsville, North Queensland. During this period DH built us a home. Next paid job: caretaking a youth hostel. Getting a bit long in the tooth by now for the energy of the young ones, so this this time around, decided to really think about what to do during retirement. Retired. Again.

4. DH thought long and hard about his hobbies: birds, small animals, chickens, building. Made a plan of action for building averies, rabbit hutches etc. Quite contented and felt productive, which is really the main thing for DH. Has just started up a little side-line business selling month old chickens, but this is not really out of retirement, just something he enjoys doing. It also allows him to interact with lots of different people in the community.

Meanwhile ... I still work!! Having observed the above over a long period of time, the main lesson is to have a goal for yourself that you feel comfortable with, something to get out of bed for, and something that will add quality to your life. I work in the aged care industry and one of the greatest problems we see in our elders is depression. Much of this is due to lack of purpose in day to day life. Once a program is put into place and a person feels that he/she is contributing something worthwhile to family/friends/community, the depression often just disappears. Hope some of this is helpful. Enjoy your retirement, and have FUN!! "heartstrings: