publisher told me last week my paper ist kaput on Nov. 10 i am therefore 're-tired' involuntarily....been editor 16 years lived by deadline now gone from 200mph to 35mph not quite sure how to act my wife retired last year after 48 years in banking she's happy as lark... i'm not sure how to act/feel some of you re-tirees chip in please with advice
ref-- I will tell you a little story. Some years ago, I was CEO of a fairly big company in England. The workforce was fairly old so people retiring at 65 was quite a common event. When someone retired it was the custom to have a collection to buy them a retirement present and also a big card which everyone signed. There was then a presentation in the works canteen. As CEO I gave the presentation. When talking to the retiree I would ask them what plans they had for the future now that they were retired. Some would say "I have this hobby which I have never had enough time for-- I want to spend more time on that-- then I want to visit the grandkids and spend more time with them etc etc". Frequently I would see these guys around town 4 or 5 years later looking very fit and happy. On the other hand some guys responded to my question by saying" I dont really know-- not really thought about it-- I guess I will sleep in late, go down to the pub at lunchtime and go to the local soccer match on Saturdays". Almost invariably the guys in this second category were dead within 18 months.
The lesson to me is that you have to plan your retirement in the same way that you plan your life pre retirement. Decide how you want to spend your retirement--- set yourself goals, strive to meet the goals. It is not such hard work because instead of working for someone else you are working for yourself! I have now been retired for 15 years and I have never been busier. When I meet someone for the first time they ask me what I do and I tell them that I am retired. Sometimes they say "Good heavens-- how do you fill your day?" to which my response is to say " No problems in filling my days-- in fact I am so busy that I can never figure out how I ever found the time to go to work!"
Just my two cents worth of course. And I hope that you enjoy a long and happy retirement!
tridentman thanks for advice i am 70 but feel lots younger (most days) i have a freelance writing job with a regional magazine for 33 years and will keep doing that am also building the 71 Honda SL175 quasi military bike and of course our 'estate' always needs landscaping work....another chap i know who left the banking world said give myself a few months to let dust settle it took my wife a year to decompress from that industry last year i did a story about a 100 year old WWII veteran he said 'the rocking chair will kill you'
I am basically retired. My firm asked me to stay on part-time to give advice on construction contracts and litigations. That's usually good for 5-10 hours a week. My wife has some health issues, so taking care of her and doing the things she used to do (getting the groceries, paying the bills, etc.) takes some time. I do spend time on my bikes of course. One thing is that appointments or things like that which used to take a couple of hours, now expand and take up a lot more time. By the way, don't disregard the value of doing nothing. A retiree once told me "I don't do anything. I have never been so busy in my life!" My personal mantra for retirement is sleep late, celebrate the cocktail hour, and enjoy the grandchildren (and throw in a nap every now and then)!
The one thing I hate about retirement is public holidays.........no bloody shops open when you need something, very frustrating. Wish the lazy buggers would all get back to work so I can get what I want no wonder the country is going to the dogs!!!! I retired to a rural holding, so now my days are taken up with fencing, weed spraying, earthworks, chainsawing fallen trees, splitting firewood, servicing around 15-20 different motors [chainsaws, water pumps, generators, quad bike, excavator, pressure washer, etc etc]. It's got that bad I have to make time for the bikes these days. So - in a way - I just changed jobs.
raf940 lad, I'm a prospective retiree 35 months to go, not that I'm counting or anything....
My Might not be all that relevant, but I plan on making my Monday to Friday *Work* days, i:e get out of me pit before 07.00 each and every morning, do stuff around the house, work on me bikes, sort the fettling shed out and maybe even do stuff on the car. Then there's the lovely Janette, who even as we speak has found me something to do so I'm not sat on this all day (today & Tomorrow are holiday days for me) so I wager you'll have plenty of stuff to do lad, worry NOT and enjoy life....
In the meantime, what with you knowing about writing and all, get out there with a camera and get writing yarns for us to look at, a ride around your local area might be boring to you dude, but to all us lot it'll be great to see the area....Just sayin'....
Alan, We're the same age. I'm an equipment mechanic - lawnmowers to tractor/backhoes. I had a great job at a rental company until it folded. Since then I've been working 4 hours a day to supplement my income. Now working at a cemetery where I maintain their equipment and mow a couple "unplanted" fields. I'm home by 11:30 - 12 oclock. I have the rest of the day to do yard work, fix things around the house, and spend an hour or three working on Project 39-1/2 motorcycle. I am not missing working 8 hours a day - not sure how I would handle not working at all. Maybe you can find a part time job that you really enjoy? Al
I retired 6 months early at 65 because the company of clowns I was going to every day were driving me mad. Best thing I ever did. I have spent 30+ years of family life getting 'projects to do' - so many so that I need to live to 150 to be able to finish them all - and that is the secret. Take a little time out to 'decompress', but then start your new 'actual job'.
Your new 'actual 'job' now is get out and enjoy doing all those things you did not have the time for while you were 'interrupted' by working and or having to punch the card for the family. Stay active, sure take a nap when you feel like it, but then get back to doing your new 'actual job' - you will soon discover that you 'never have enough time' and 'how did I ever manage to go to work'. Being retired is fun, but it sure is hard work!!
wife says i should write autobiography i asked her for title suggestion she said "That's easy, call it 'Pissed Off One Day and Sad the Next'." sheesh have had to work like dog since i was 14 years old mebbe i will take brief breather de Lawd telling me "Alan, let Me help things evolve in the upcoming chapter of your life"
I need to retire…..but I’m haunted by something Mike Carter (RIP) said to me the last time I saw him. “Don’t retire”. We didn’t go into details but I think he blamed retirement on that cancer coming back and taking him out.
I’m just waiting for the wrong person to say the right thing or the right person to say the wrong thing.
My employer has been really good to me. So I can’t leave them in a bind. We have 72 superintendents and they all have a job. You’ll receive a $2000 bonus if you find someone to hire……we’re short 17 superintendents. People don’t want to work blue collar jobs…..comes from years of people saying you have to have a four year degree to amount to anything. We made it look like blue collar was undesirable. New superintendents now come from college with a degree in Construction Management….. boot strap is pretty much a thing of the past.
I had big plans laid out for my retirement….. they are all on hold now. I left home and went to work in 1968……been making a living with my hands ever since.
Last edited by Gordon Gray; 10/31/2212:43 pm.
Gordon Gray in NC, USA........"Trees are for traction"
Timely thread here, as I am now 66. I feel great these days, but am beginning to do things I've not done (meidcally speaking)- with a nod towards "taking better care of my self"! I've always tried to stay strong but that was easy enough while busting my butt on jobs or gigs. Now I'll have to actually DO something to keep fit! But staying strong and keeping fit is, IMO one critical key to life; that old adage as mentioned above, "the rocking chair will kill you" doesnt come from nowhere! Not that I've ever been one to sit around anyway. Have cameras, have bikes, will travel.
Alan, my man, best luck with your "new" life... y'all ever make it up our way, you're welcome here brother.
Lesya Ukrainka: “He who has not lived through a storm/does not know the price of strength.”
I'm not all the way there yet, at 68 I still need an income a bit higher than social security. I did however quit the $hyteshow place I spent almost 30 years at and found something much more relaxed and enjoyable. Just as well because I like the structure that a job provides in my life right now. I work 4 days a week, have Fridays to myself and get to spend all weekend with my wife. One thing I have noticed is people in our age bracket are in demand and most employers will do what they can to accommodate you. The average 20 something year-old today seem to lack the ambition, skills, and even the understanding of what it means to hold a job, but they expect to be paid top dollar anyway.
Last edited by MikeG; 10/31/221:46 pm.
1960 BSA A10 2007 Suzuki Bandit 1957 A10 (Used to be a Triumph here) 71 Norton Commando 17 Triumph Bonneville
update a potential buyer-fish for the paper is sniffing at the bait reason publisher losing $$ is we cannot find an ad sales person or delivery driver to replace the ones that left nobody wants to work! dont laff or throw up but here i am with the fish god i look like [***]!!!
Since I still have 2 kids at home (ages 12 & 17) I still have a few years to go, even though I closed my business in 2018 and started drawing retirement a year ago.
I will be 72 when my youngest son graduates from high school.
Meanwhile, I have been working more and harder than ever, building my dream shop at the ranch which is 45 minutes away. I do that drive 3 - 4 times per week, so LOTS of miles, sometimes on a motorcycle. Those commutes by motorcycle will be increasing now that the weather is nicer!
I still have 7 or 8 motorcycles that need significant "un-storing" work. Storage for 3 years has not been kind to them...
GrandPaul (does not use emoticons) Author of the book "Old Bikes" Too many bikes to list, mostly Triumph & Norton, a BSA, & some Japanese "The Iron in your blood should be Vintage"
Well I am sort of retired but bought a mower repair run so I could finally do what I wanted to do when I was 15,,,,, become a mechanic ( well sort of ) My advicve like may others is keep active The change is working hours & lifestyle can cause medical problems that have been in the background for decades to suddenly bite you on your bum. I have just given myself a bucket list of doing all of the " 200 greatest rides " before I am too old to ride . The weird thing is loosing track of time because each day is the same as the previous so I get caught out not knowing which day of the week it is . Find a group to ride with even if it is only to a coffe shop 1 day a week , or better still make a group . Motorcycling is a very very good exercise as riding promotes a lot of involuntay muscle movement . We have just finished the BSA National Rally & I stayed on for another week to do as many rides around the locality that I could manage to fit it in and came back feeling fabulous . Add to that the park next to camp grounds I was in had exercise equipment installed so I did the exercise walk every day and proved to myself I am only about 1/3 as fit as I thought I was so will be seeking out similar facilities locally as going to a gym is definately not my bag . have a think about what you enjoy doing ( other than motorcycling ) and join social activity clubs that do just that . Got lots of editorial experience, I bet there are a dozen groups in your region in desperate need of an editor for their newsletter / magazine
My dad had an somewhat involuntary retirement a couple years back - (we're only about 17 years apart in age, he had me real young.) He kinda puttered around for a bit - but after a couple of years, he really found his groove.
He's now a certified EMT.
He's now got a CDL.
He's now fire chief of the small town he lives in.
In his previous life, he started as a machinist, and eventually worked his way up to vice president of operations of a manufacturing company.
If you asked me when I was a kid if my dad would ever be a fireman, there is no way that I woulda thought that possible.
My dad's a smart dude. One of the things that he always told me is that whenever you start anything new, you're not gonna know what the hell you're doing for about 6 months.
Give yourself, grace, and time to figure out what you want to do with yourself. And please tell us how you're doing. This is a great bunch of folks on this here website.
had 2 job offers today one freelance for local advertising agency and another write weekly blog for local tech company kinda like not going 200mph for a change if someone buys paper i migbh 'opt out' of full time editorial rat race
People don’t want to work blue collar jobs…..comes from years of people saying you have to have a four year degree to amount to anything.
I didn't want a blue-collar job. I got TWO 4-year degrees but ended up working virtually nothing but blue-collar jobs (all the jobs my parents said that I'd have to work if I didn't get an education.) In the modern world of internships unless you can live in the parents' basement until the job actually pays you will never work in your profession. Two college degrees, 2-year electronics degree, forklift experience, guess which one will get you a job interview!
In my case Mom died in January, my shift got laid off in March and I never looked for another job. Mom worked for UT, with a real pension, lifetime health insurance, and significant savings. I'm retired on HER retirement plan, because in the modern world of temp employment I never had a retirement account of my own.
Paid cash for my modest house and paid off my credit cards, life is good, now.
Know exactually how you feel David My graduate years was 14 students Six of them were on some sort of cadetship and two were upskilling for a manageral position. The rest of us went looking for metallurgical jobs post graduate and none of them ended up in metallurgy long term The previous graduation was 20 and the story was the same, only the ones on some sort of cadetship got a job and all of them had government subsidies . The year following wa 18 students and all of them were unemployed when they graduated and not a single one ended up in metallurgy, the majority becoming sales reps for chemical or equipmet companies The year after that was the same story again then the school got adsorbed by minning so only graduated geo-metallurgists A few years latter BHP closed don their BS , government subsidised research facility in Newcastle and 5 years worth of graduates were all unemployed. Australia decided to become the worlds largest hole in the ground so the degree vanished from Australian universities all together After closing down several of the metals plants that I had worked in during my undergraduate years I ended up in transport & remained there for the next 40 years So 15 years of tertiary education accounted for zero and this is in a country that had won 3 Acta-Mtallurgica's and has the highest number of Nobel prizes per graduates of any country on the planet . Right now we are teaching prisioners to weld because there is a massive shortage of welders while graduates make coffee & pull beers .
or 
no wonder the country is going to the dogs!!!!
Might not be all that relevant, but I plan on making my Monday to Friday *Work* days, i:e get out of me pit before 07.00 each and every morning, do stuff around the house, work on me bikes, sort the fettling shed out and maybe even do stuff on the car. Then there's the lovely Janette, who even as we speak has found me something to do so I'm not sat on this all day (today & Tomorrow are holiday days for me) so I wager you'll have plenty of stuff to do lad, worry NOT and enjoy life.... 
But staying strong and keeping fit is, IMO one critical key to life; that old adage as mentioned above, "the rocking chair will kill you" doesnt come from nowhere! Not that I've ever been one to sit around anyway. Have cameras, have bikes, will travel. 
