Amazing Retirement

Retirement can be Amazing

Whatever age you are, when you are retiring, you really need to plan for it. What are you going to do? You can optimise it in advance. I certainly never get bored, a post I wrote over 2 years ago, and it is still applicable today. Here’s a couple of others (With 97 tagged as retirement on the list, they’re hard to find…). Here are my preferred posts on this theme –  Retirement Tips, , Positive Retirement.  What are you going to Retire to, and  Retire, Ready or Not.

As you can see from the pictures below, retirement can be hard work!

   

Sitting in the sun is allowed, whether abroad or at home

If I look at the things I do now, compared to when I retired, life is very different, although some things remain the same

• A fair proportion of my first 3 years retirement were spent supporting my Mum. I don’t regret any of this time, it made such a huge difference to her quality of life and I enjoyed it. One of the major reasons I retired, was to be able to spend more time with her. It really worked, she had such a better quality in those three years than she would have had I still been at work.
• Travel – we had some lovely trips when we retired first, but none more than 3 weeks. After my Mum died, we were able to take longer trips. I call it Slow Travel. This year, our trip of 7 weeks in Athens has already been booked. Our Slow Travel trips so far.

Barcelona, Spain 2016

Rome 2018

• Metal Work – when I retired, I had just started trying my hand at making silver jewellery. This led from one thing to another. I now make Copper Wall Art, I continue to make Silver jewellery, I teach Silver Casting and also Lapidary (the art of cutting and polishing stones.)

 

• Blogging – I started this in 2016, when I had already been retired 5 years, but of recent months, I have slowed down posting. It is only one part of my life, and it was threatening to take over. I started waking up and thinking – I must write a post, I haven’t done one this week. I now wait and post something when I am inspired to do so, rather than just writing something for the sake of it.
• Voluntary non-exec director for an educational charity. Not paid, but valuable and interesting work nonetheless.
• Continuing to learn. Keeping learning is important to me. Apart from improving my metal skills out of all recognition over the last eight years, in 2016, I took up Spanish. For a year, I tried teaching myself on Duolingo, but I missed the personal touch, so I joined a class locally. It is really great. Not only does it encourage me out and about regularly on a Thursday, I have met new friends, and my conversation has improved vastly. I have also spent a little time trying to improve my French, but I’ll stick with Spanish in the short term.
• Family History Research – I am fascinated by what you can find out online. Last year, my son turned up that my grandmother and great-aunt were in court in February 1914, having had what can only be described as a ‘battle of prams’, with their in-laws! They were bound over to keep to peace. Little wonder, the two sides of the family didn’t talk to each other. We have my husband’s family back to 1700. As my family is Irish, records are a lot more difficult to find, but very satisfying.
• Keeping Healthy – while we continue to walk regularly, I am taking more time investigating healthier ways of eating. I am minimising all sugar, and cutting out really starchy carbs. I have read so much of recent, that sugars contribute to Alzheimers and many auto-immune diseases like MS and Parkinsons, that I have decided I don’t need sugar in my life. It’s not always easy, but hey, if you don’t try, you don’t achieve anything. I have also allowed ‘fat’ back into my life. That is real fat, the stuff we had when I was a youngster, that went hard when cold – lard!! Sunflower oil, margarine and spreads are no longer in my cupboards, replaced by olive oil, butter and lard. Margarine & spreads are created in a factory, so I am returning to nature!

If you’re at all interested, here is an infographic produced by Dr David Unwin, a GP in Southport near Liverpool, UK. Even a banana gives you nearly 6 teaspoons of sugar! That was one of my first weaning foods for my sons many years ago…

You’ll find him on @lowcarbGP on Twitter. In his practice he has encouraged more than 50 of his patients to put their Type 2 Diabetes into remission using Low Carb dietary advice, and saved the NHS more than £50k in medication costs. Even more importantly he has stimulated the discussion on the benefits of Low Carb, not only in the UK but world wide. Recently he was briefing the Health Secretary Matt Hancock, on the benefits of Low Carb.

Some time ago, in 2017, I took time to look back, 6 years into retirement, I called it the best 6 years of my life.  That was not an exaggeration. I would write all the same things today, and some more.

As I watch my fellow ‘retired’ bloggers, a few stand out for me

The Retirement Manifesto – Fritz who is in his first year of retirement, has just embarked on a summer trip across America. On his Instagram post the other day, he posted a picture worthy of a Ford advert. His huge Ford wagon, towing a ‘5th wheel’ (which I think is the correct term), set in the magnificent background of the Rockies. It really could be an advert for Ford!!

Justin at RootOfGood who managed to earn enough in a few years, until aged 33 he was able to retire and spend time with and travel with his family. He supplements his income with some consultancy work, advertising on his blog etc. Who am I to criticise? (See previous post – Retired or Not Retired?. If someone had offered me that option, aged 33, instead of going back to full-time work, I would have grabbed it with both hands! I am not sure I agree with everything he says or does, but that doesn’t matter, I respect his capability to take that decision and 6 years later to still be prospering! What is there not to like?

J Money has not only retired early, but here is one of his spreadsheets, just to help you consider it!

Summary

I have spoken to many friends and family, some who continue to work until they are 70 and beyond (and I include my husband in this, because he still works part-time, although very much on his terms)…, others who like me, were ready to go at 55, some even earlier… It really is a lifestyle balance, and an incredibly personal decision. It definitely falls under the category of Do Your Own Research and don’t listen to any modern day salesmen (Snake-oil salesmen they used to be called…) They’ll certainly get something out of it, but it is unlikely you will… If you are not sure take professional advice. In the UK,  check out the Registerd FCA advisors. At least they have to pass an exam to get there….For the US, I’ll leave you to ask local advice..

So think very carefully about what you want, don’t listen too much to your friends and family, influential bloggers etc. This is YOUR decision and yours only. Do many sums. (spreadsheets do help, but only if you are good at working them, otherwise use pen and paper – less potential for mistakes!!)

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