Retirement! Am I Ready For It?

I can't remember what age I was when I first started saying it, but for a very long time my goal has been to "retire" at the age of 55. I don't know why I came up with that age. Maybe it just seemed achievable. Maybe at the time 55 sounded REALLY old. Maybe I was listening to this Sammy Hagar song and the number stuck in my head.

In any case, that was the age I came up with. With every passing birthday, I'd get a little bit closer, keeping my eye on the prize. Earlier this week I celebrated my 54th birthday, so it's almost go time! One year to go. Less than 365 days. Am I ready? I hope so!

This isn't an article about being financially able to retire. I am not a financial expert. Personally, we've had a plan with our financial advisor for the past 15 years or so and we feel pretty comfortable with it. But everyone's financial situation is unique and your personal circumstances dictate what's best for you.

Instead, this article is going to focus on the mental aspects of transitioning into retirement. If you are like me and have worked in "corporate America" your entire working career, the idea of no longer doing that is both exciting and scary. While I don't have all the answers - even for myself - I thought I'd share some of my thoughts with all of you. If you are thinking about your own retirement, I hope you find them helpful. And if you've already been through the transition and have some advice, I'd love to hear it.

Why Retire?

Why retire? I've worked really hard in my career, but to be honest, the last 4 or 5 years haven't been super stressful. I started working from home full-time during Covid like so many other people, and thankfully the company I work for is one who hasn't felt the need to force people to come back to the office. Because of that, my husband and I were able to accelerate our dream of moving to a warmer climate when we retire, and we moved to South Carolina four years ago.

So some people may ask, why retire? Why not just keep working a few more years when you have the luxury of working from home in a place you planned to retire in anyway?

Annie Lennox isn't the only one asking the question "why?????"!

The bottom line is that financially I'm able to retire, so why shouldn't I? I want to have plenty of time left in my life to do all the things I've wanted to do, but didn't have the time to do when I was working. I want to be able to take an entire day and just sit and read a book if I want to. I want to wake up in the morning and decide to get in the car and explore a new beach or a new trail. I want to learn new things.

Freedom! What Do I Do With It Though???

On the first morning after I retire, I can picture myself sitting up in bed and having this song pop into my head (it's one of my favorite songs)!

I guarantee this will be the song that pops into my head as soon as I wake up on the first morning after I retire!

I've always had some sort of job since before the age of 16. When I was around 14 or 15, I started teaching classes at a dance studio. Later in high school and in college, I worked part-time in retail. When I graduated from college, my graduation ceremony was on a Saturday and I started my first full-time job that Monday. I went to law school a year later, but only part-time so I could continue working full-time. I've only switched companies once, and I had my last day at my old company on a Friday and my first day at the new company that next Monday.

I have no idea what life is like without having to set an alarm clock every day. I don't know what life is like to just impulsively go on a trip and not have to worry about taking vacation days.

Having the freedom to set my own schedule is so exciting! The ability to go on a trip and not worry about what work e-mails aren't being answered is something I have never had and I can't wait! But, it's also a little frightening. I'm a Type A personality through and through. I find it very hard to just "do nothing". So will I get bored? Will I get lazy?

Finding The Retirement/Life Balance

When you're working, you always hear people say that you need to find "work/life balance". But when you're retired, I believe there is a different kind of balance you need to find - the "do something/do nothing balance".

As Blue October says in this song, life needs to be a balance beam.

You may have noticed in the very first sentence of this post, I put the word retire in quotation marks. That's because for me personally, retiring doesn't mean spending all day in my pajamas watching mindless television. It simply means leaving the corporate world where I work for someone else, and doing what I want to do instead.

I have a lot of passions in life that I have never had the time to fully pursue. I love to read and write, so I expect to dedicate a lot more time to both - including doing more with this blog. I love doing more for others, so I expect to spend a lot of time volunteering in the community. I love wine and I would love to get a part-time job working at the local wine shop/tasting room.

I have so much on my list and I have such a hard time saying no to things, that I think my biggest challenge in retirement will be getting the right balance between staying busy and not being busy. I need to make sure I leave room for days where I have absolutely nothing on the calendar. Whether or not I spend those days sitting around in my pajamas, or going out and doing something doesn't really matter. What matters is that I have the ability to make that decision.

Am I Making The Right Decision?

There are definitely risks with retiring so early. There are financial risks. We feel pretty confident that we are covered, but nobody knows what lies ahead in the world financially. There is a risk that I discover that I miss working, although I think that's doubtful. There is a risk that my husband and I could drive each other crazy after I retire, although since I already work from home, we are used to being "in each other's space" all day every day now.

I guess I won't know for sure if I'm making the right decision until I do it and see how it feels. It's going to be a huge change for me, but I'm up for the challenge! Be sure to check back in one year from now and see how my first few days of retirement are going!

Have you retired or are you thinking of retiring soon? If so, I'd love to hear from you! Share your tips, things you wish you knew before you retired, and how you conquered the transition! Comment below or e-mail me at tips2livebywriter@gmail.com!

Did you like what you read? Want to keep up on live music, drink, travel and books? Make sure you follow us on social media. Click on the links at the bottom of the homepage on the website to follow where we are, what we are eating and drinking, and what live music we are listening to.