Retired People: What Surprised You?

[DomB]

There is going to be lots of good drift here - talking about choices and time and money, check out this one hour podcast discussing the Die with Zero book (provocative title yea, but the thesis is different ages have different windows where activities are more valuable:

Bill Perkins - Memory Dividends, Time Buckets, and Maximizing Net Fulfillment

Podcast Episode · Financial Independence Podcast · 05/02/2024 · 1h 38m

podcasts.apple.com

I think I still consider myself on sabbatical but not 100 percent sure what comes next.

I have been Mr Momming it a bit and my kids value that a lot (again lucky to be able to have choices to consider). It is also an interesting time because they are basically middle school age so our relationships are changing. I was happy when my son said he was excited to ski with me at Gore over the break.


Good stuff.

 

[Ripitz]

I don’t have a nest egg so I’ll probably never retire. I’ve always worked seasonally which has afforded me a lot of time to travel or just chill.

Seeing the national parks out west is a must for everyone.

When I was ski bumming people would say things like “It must be nice” as if I didn’t deserve it or something. But I worked hard to make it happen and I don’t have the security of retirement so there’s a trade off.

Right now I work for myself and am mostly off for the winter so I can make my own schedule. Still have plenty to do. Mr. Momming, hanging with Peanut and caring for my mom who just took a bad fall. Money isn’t everything.

Congratulations Harvey on this next chapter! Hopefully we can get some midweek skiing together.

Merry Christmas NYSB!

 

[Benny Profane]

Can't say anything has "surprised" me after ten years. Maybe the worrying drop in savings, but, that's on me, and it afforded me a lot of travel, including multi month trips out west skiing and month long trips to Italy. I did it all as cheap as I could, but, well, you know. Just remember, your IRA and 401k holdings are not cash. They are a taxable stream of income. The hit is significant. Do a Roth if you can.
Most of what is left of my social circle has moved far away or, well, died. Lost three cycling friends I thought I'd be doing miles with due to cancer. Ski buddy having health issues. This is the scourge of your 70s. Losing valuable friends. And they are valuable. More valuable than stuff. There should be a N+1 for friends.
Right now I am really appreciating the rule that you should be close to good health care late in life. I moved to Maryland, and lucked out getting into the Johns Hopkins network, which I did in case it hit the fan, I'd be using their geniuses. Well, seems like there was already stuff on the fan, and here I am, with the geniuses fixing me. Best in the world, I'm told. You don't get that in the country. And Medicare and UHC is paying for it. I hope.

Be good, value your relationships, they are gold, and greet every day with a big smile. Get a hobby or two, learn to landscape or find a guy like Domingo, who I like a lot.

I do not miss rush hour driving.

Edit: Maybe I should emphasize that, at a certain point, you only have so much time left. It's a pretty finite sum. Don't fall for the, work til you're 72 and don't draw SS until 70 stuff. That's just financial dirt bags trying to convince you to give them money and not spend it. Watching my friends die in their 60s reenforced that big time.
And, yeah,get a job dealing with the public, if you can. A big regret is not owning a cheap condo at Killington. They'll take any well groomed Boomer for public interface gigs in a heartbeat. Won't make much, but, you'll meet people and I don't like weekend skiing anyway. Unfortunately, without a bed paid for, it's a negative revenue thing.

 

[capecodbeach]

Anywhere north of Saratoga.... Hudson Headwaters Health Network will be your go to general medical care choice. They pretty much have a monopoly. Not a bad thing as they can keep some Doctor's who would have completely retired working parttime. And they can recruit younger doctors. Plus HHHN has many satelite care centers. Speaking of care centers,,,, Watch out for the 'Convenient care', Urgent Care', Emergent Care' labels. Some patients have been surprised with some hefty UNCOVERED charges. Surprise... Here is a bill for $1500. Latest horror story was a friend who had a 2nd knee replacement. Same insurance, same surgeon but somehow there was a 'medical suite' involved, different than in hospital I guess? Surprise... $1000 uncovered charge? Still fighting it so the final outcome is yet to be determined.
Sad to say but for seniors health care and health care decisions are where you are mostly likely to make a wrong decision. I remember my 90 year old parents having to decide on insurance coverage every year because the damn drug coverage formulary would change every year. And that was 25 years ago. Not much has improved since then.
Now that we have educated you on the dark side of retirement, let me assure you there are many more smiling days than frowning days.

 

[Harvey]

get a job dealing with the public

Interesting. For sure not my knee jerk reaction, but it makes sense.

 

[Benny Profane]

This idea has been my philosophy for a long time.

Essentially learned life skills and practical realities from my mother who was always busy doing stuff for fun or for others since she didn't have a 20+ year career. She was a professional researcher with a Ph.D., but knew how to enjoy doing stuff outside her field. Took a 2-year job in her field in her 60s after moving to NC. Wasn't looking for it, but a new neighbor led to the opportunity. Then decided to teach an Evening College course in a topic she had personal interest in that was totally unrelated to her degree. One of her volunteer activities was being a tax preparation volunteer for seniors for years, well into her early 80s.

I wondered what my father would do after he retired from being a chemistry professor at Brooklyn College. Being a Professor was fundamental to who he was for 40+ years. He essentially never fully retired. He always had a small writing project in progress. Initially he was a consultant but he wasn't actively looking for that sort of work. He developed an interest in vegetable gardening, which was a surprise. He always liked to take long walks, and kept that up for a long time.



I retired relatively early to be a more relaxed older parent, as well as to have more time to spend with my aging parents. My mother planned for my father's retirement years before he actually retired. I ended up living very close to them during and after college and grad school. Luckily they didn't need much extra help until after age 93 or so. They both passed at age 95 (two years apart) and were mentally sharp until the day they died. I heard stories from them that I wouldn't have heard otherwise. Especially from my father.

Luckily my health and fitness is probably better now than a decade ago. Given my parents' lifespan, I'm actively working to stay healthy and fit for another few decades. Getting into better shape for skiing after age 50 was good incentive. At the same time, my husband's long term medical issues mean that he does less than before. What works for us is that we have always had separate interests and I continue to travel without him, as has been the case for all of over 30+ years of marriage.

The last point is important. In retirement, you have a lot more time to work out and get into great shape. And that sitting all day in a cube side effects are gone.
My old accountant was a triathalon guy, and, at age 58 or so, would complain about the 70ish competitors kicking his butt. They had all the time in the world to train

 

[Campgottagopee]

And, yeah,get a job dealing with the public, if you can.

After having one of these for over 25 years, it's a hard no for me.

I'll be happy to deliver firewood

 

[Benny Profane]

Interesting. For sure not my knee jerk reaction, but it makes sense.

It's almost directly related to the lack of friends thing. Tell me how else to meet people?

 

[Benny Profane]

Overhead is everything.

This is pretty important, actually. Reduce you basic expenses. Lose that desire for nice new cars or trucks. Scour the Internet for gear, it's out there. Airbnb is you friend, but only long term, month plus. Get rid of that big house with the big bills.