Retirement Envy

[Gromit]

Well the last of my working sisters and her hubby have now officially retired and left to live on the coast! That leaves just me as the only working sister in my family. To say I'm somewhat envious is a bit of an understatment!

I'll be in my Zimmer frame, WD40 in hand to stop the squeeks, still working at 90 by the way the economy is going these days

 

[DaveM]

I know how you feel I cannot wait to retire and go live by the coast ............. Oh wait I already do

 

[Rocky]

I was the first of my brothers and sisters to retire as I'm the oldest. I was fortunate enough to be able to retire at age 55, bought a motorcycle for the first time in 34 years, and rode into the sunset. The youngest sibling will soon be 65 and will retire soon.
Lots of people envy those who retire, but wishing your life away isn't wise as the years pass quickly enough and you can't get time back.
There are times when I can hardly believe that 20 years seem to have gone by in a flash, but they have been some of the happiest years of my life and I have many wonderful memories.
Being in good health as you age is worth all the gold in the world. You take it for granted when you're young, but appreciate it and give thanks when you're older.
My wife is in poor health and struggles every day so I have first hand experience with that part of aging.
Nothing is guaranteed, but take care of your health, follow a healthy lifestyle and hope for the best.

 

[Gromit]

Rocky, believe me, I'm not wishing my life away. Already I feel that my son has grown up too quickly and although I've been there everyday of his life, I still feel like I've missed out on some of his growing-up. I have been blessed with extremely good health to date and never a day goes by without me giving Thanks for that.

It's really more a case of me missing my sister - we're very close and currently both live in Johannesburg and see each other very often. Now she's moving some 1200 km's away so I won't be able to just 'pop in' anytime I want to see her.

Each day is a blessing - grab it with both hands and live it! A lesson I'm learning the hard way but I'm learning

 

[DaveM]

I always wondered when I was younger and heard the older guys talking about not being able to wait to retire. How people could actually look forward to it or just to get out of what they were currently doing. Now that I am starting to look towards it myself I can understand how they feel. I mean I still love what I do but it starts getting a bit tiring in the end and I suppose you start to look forward to those days when you can just be away from it all. However I think with the current economy I may have to still work for another 60 years or so to be able to afford it

 

[Gromit]

Dave, I'll lend you my Zimmer frame but you get your own WD40!

 

[DaveB]

I've been working at my current employer for over 23 years, so a lot of us have grown older together. We are at that stage where we often talk of retirement plans (making sure the bosses can't hear us). Most people want to retire at the coast and that is understandable. Me? So long as I move out of the city I should be OK. I've spent my entire life living in cities and I've had enough of city life.

What I'd really like is nice scenery (mountains and forests), winding roads & good trout fishing. There are many places here, spread throughout the country, that offer these attractions, so it shouldn't be difficult to find a suitable location and, of course, inland property is so much cheaper than coastal. Examples: Whiteriver/Nelspruit, KZ-N interior, Swellendam etc.

 

[CarlS]

Even though my final retirement was forced, I am enjoying retirement. Life is good and retired life is better!!

 

[Sea Dog]

An interesting debate on the radio yesterday regarding pensions. When your spouse dies, only one pension comes in, however your housing bills etc stay the same. Singles then find it very difficult to make ends meet.

Solution....I increase my number of spouses and move out to the shed.

 

[CarlS]

LOL I can tell you first hand that it does make a difference financially when one's spouse dies.

 

[otherwise]

I'm not having a go at older people who continue to work, ... but ... many of them once free of a mortgage and set up then raise the bar in what they call essentials and therefore can't afford to retire because of unnecessary debt. Being an international forum different rules control us from one country to another but the principle of "KISS" (Keep It Simple Stupid) applies to us all.

 

[DaveM]

Yes I agree Kevin and my one goal is to be able to carry on just living they way I am now simple and I am not looking at the possibilities of doing all sorts of fancy stuff that I cannot do now

 

[Gromit]

I know this sounds corny but I just want to be happy and healthy with a much smaller house and be comfortable - nothing fancy, just enough for FS and to enjoy each other, maintain our small hobbies and have a bit of fun along the way.

 

[otherwise]

I know this sounds corny but I just want to be happy and healthy with a much smaller house and be comfortable - nothing fancy, just enough for FS and to enjoy each other, maintain our small hobbies and have a bit of fun along the way.

But you told me in a PM you were about to sign the contract for a private jet.

 

[DaveM]

Well you need the jet to make sure you can get to the much smaller house in a comfortable manner

 

[Gromit]

But you told me in a PM you were about to sign the contract for a private jet.

Did I mention the 80ft cabin cruiser, the Ferrari, the custom made Morgan, one of each Triumph and that smaller means 12 bedrooms not 24??

You guys crack me up!

 

[Rocky]

Did I mention the 80ft cabin cruiser, the Ferrari, the custom made Morgan, one of each Triumph and that smaller means 12 bedrooms not 24??

You guys crack me up!

Me too

 

[CarlS]

Did I mention the 80ft cabin cruiser, the Ferrari, the custom made Morgan, one of each Triumph and that smaller means 12 bedrooms not 24??

You guys crack me up!

Gromit, have you been hanging around Mart?

 

[Gromit]

Yeah Carl - I was just thinking my name starts with "Mar" but thank goodness doesn't end with "T".

Anyway, Othewise started it!

 

[CarlS]