Retirement

My wife was forced out of her family business by her brothers after she has worked for 34 years to build the business. They are scared to death of me getting involved and are trying to buy her our ASAP. Somehow they think buying her stock will stave off retribution from me, legal or otherwise. They are wrong. That said, the buyout is enough for her to seriously consider retirement. But she has always been a live to work person. Money-wise it doesn't matter to me. Whatever puts her in a good place. Her uncle died last year and it will take her and her aunt as executors at least 10 years to unwind the estate and distribute the proceeds according to his wishes.

I will keep working as long as my firm will have me. I can work from anywhere. My boss encourages me to work from my lake house. I like the people I work with and my clients. And I make my own schedule and can be as free as I want to boat during the season.

Good luck Pirate, I hope you enjoy retirement.
 
Pirate Lady said:
My biggest fear is my wife who is 5 years younger will see me playing every day and want to quit her job to hang with me.
Dear god, no.
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my wife is 5 years younger than me, too. She keeps telling me we are going to retire together. I tell her she has to keep working for five more years. I don’t foresee winning this debate.
 
Just retired at 59. I was in a stressful, project related job that meant traveling every week. I'm done and don't have enough time as it is! I have boat projects, home projects, my son's boat, travel trailer projects, R/C Planes to build and a newly acquired Ham Radio General License. We spent time in AZ this winter and will go back again next year. I always wanted to retire early so I could enjoy things while I'm healthy. Hope that continues!!
 
I am youngster at 46. Been working in telecom, software development for 25 years. High stress. Constant downsizing, outsourcing, etc.

My wife is retired after being in the same industry (same company even).

I dream about retirement often...daily.

Serious question...did any of you fighting the urge to retire ever in your earlier career think...man, I can't wait to retire from this crap?

If so, I guess it is interesting to see how that changes once you get there.

For now, I will be in the mind that I don't get enough time with the boat. :)
 
Consulting is another option. There's plenty of short term contracts out there. You could pick up a 3 to 6 month job in the fall that would tide you over til boating season, and it's short enough to where you don't get bored.
 
Pirate Lady said:
I can tell you what I won’t do; be these guys that hang at the corner bar every day. That won’t happen.
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Elissa_Slater_Big_Brother_Laugh_Spit_Out-Drink_GIF.gif
 
Retired at 50 not my choice either. 29 years 9 months in the Army. One bad day in Afghanistan changed everything. Dr walked in and said your done. The loss of identity, as someone stated earlier, was tough. I’d always been a soldier. Life continues. I stay busy with projects and try to keep up with friends. Old age will creep up on you fast if you don’t find something to get you out of bed early. Good luck to you. Stay busy.
 
ErikE said:
I am youngster at 46. Been working in telecom, software development for 25 years. High stress. Constant downsizing, outsourcing, etc.

My wife is retired after being in the same industry (same company even).

I dream about retirement often...daily.

Serious question...did any of you fighting the urge to retire ever in your earlier career think...man, I can't wait to retire from this crap?

If so, I guess it is interesting to see how that changes once you get there.

For now, I will be in the mind that I don't get enough time with the boat. :)
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I don't know whether you should retire, but if that's the way you feel you really should start thinking about either another employer, or line of work, because getting up in the morning with those kind of thoughts for the next twenty years or so, is going to get really tough.
 
Retirement is a PROCESS. It is not just flipping a switch . I retired early at 62 and have done several things since then. I learned that not HAVING to do/go somewhere makes you less likely to stay in an activity if you dont enjoy it. Don't be so concerned with needing to tell people how busy you are or what you have planned. Don't Equate being busy with being important. It's not healthy. You will likely find that as you start to socialize with people who are retired you will find that the need to talk about what you were while working will fade as your life moves forward. There is so much more for you to discover! There are a myriad of things to do . Stay social! Enjoy!
 
BOB TYSON said:
Retirement is a PROCESS. It is not just flipping a switch . I retired early at 62 and have done several things since then. I learned that not HAVING to do/go somewhere makes you less likely to stay in an activity if you dont enjoy it. Don't be so concerned with needing to tell people how busy you are or what you have planned. Don't Equate being busy with being important. It's not healthy. You will likely find that as you start to socialize with people who are retired you will find that the need to talk about what you were while working will fade as your life moves forward. There is so much more for you to discover! There are a myriad of things to do . Stay social! Enjoy!
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Hey Bob! How's the golf game?
 
My Dad retired as soon as he could at 62. After many years of traveling 30 to 45 weeks a year he was done. He had built my Mom's dream house a few years before and paid it off in 3 years. His first project was finishing his basement. Then he set about cleaning up the common ground behind his back yard. Then on to golf. That was around the time we started giving him grandchildren. Unfortunately the project cleaning up the common ground was what ultimately killed him. Turns out there was a previously unknown dioxin dumping ground behind the common ground and rain runoff transported the dioxin into the common ground. He died from a disease caused by exposure to dioxin.

My Dad never talked about work. It was just a means to an end. He started working before high school to pay his way through a private high school. But ultimately he was a work to live guy. Those 16 years in retirement were the happiest in his life. He embraced it. But, unlike a lot of engineers, he did not let his work define him or be his identity. He instilled that attitude in me. And maybe to a fault in my sister. As for my brother, I don't know where he got his values, but it wasn't from my Dad. He will F over anyone, including family, in the pursuit of a dollar.

My point is embrace retirement and all the opportunities it brings. Tomorrow is never guaranteed.
 
@Pirate Lady not knowing what language you developed in, I am guessing an older tech stack since you referenced cloud, there is always contracting. Do some 3-6 month gigs here and there. I get calls/emails for Mainframe devs still.

I spent my first 8 years out of college bored doing Account Management work for an Insurance company. I then discovered software development and realized it was my passion. I self taught myself and was fortunate to find an employer who took a chance on me. Work was my life once I started software development, and I loved it. Then, I got into management...

I have days where I enjoy management, more days where I do not. I understand @ErikE comments about stress, anxiety, dreading starting your day, outsourcing, etc. "Back in the day" software development was fun, creative, innovative, we solved real problems, wore many hats, we were constantly learning. Now it's so specialized, process heavy, outsourced, audited, it's no longer enjoyable. At least not for me. Product Managers, Product Owners, Business Analysts, Architects, DBAs, Infrastructure, Security, Networking, PMs, SMs, QA, Devs, DevOps, Release Managers...I get it, and I like process, but gone are the days of having fun building and deploying software in my opinion. We, back then, wore all of these hats, and it was fun. I often ask myself if the industry is any better with all this stuff (people and process) in the middle.

I have my moments, my victories (had one today) where it feels good, where I did something that helped, made a difference. I spend most of my time as a punching bag though and in meetings where I spend half my time trying to figure what an offshore resource just said. I wish I had stayed "closer to the code" now. Then I could retire and do consulting or contract work.

So... @Pirate Lady I would absolutely love to be in your "boat" shoes, at the same time I understand the hit to your self esteem/worth.
 
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mrsrobinson said:
@Pirate Lady not knowing what language you developed in, I am guessing an older tech stack since you referenced cloud, there is always contracting. Do some 3-6 month gigs here and there. I get calls/emails for Mainframe devs still.

I spent my first 8 years out of college bored doing Account Management work for an Insurance company. I then discovered software development and realized it was my passion. I self taught myself and was fortunate to find an employer who took a chance on me. Work was my life once I started software development, and I loved it. Then, I got into management...

I have days where I enjoy management, more days where I do not. I understand @ErikE comments about stress, anxiety, dreading starting your day, outsourcing, etc. "Back in the day" software development was fun, creative, innovative, we solved real problems, wore many hats, we were constantly learning. Now it's so specialized, process heavy, outsourced, audited, it's no longer enjoyable. At least not for me. Product Managers, Product Owners, Business Analysts, Architects, DBAs, Infrastructure, Security, Networking, PMs, SMs, QA, Devs, DevOps, Release Managers...I get it, and I like process, but gone are the days of having fun building and deploying software in my opinion. We, back then, wore all of these hats, and it was fun. I often ask myself if the industry is any better with all this stuff (people and process) in the middle.

I have my moments, my victories (had one today) where it feels good, where I did something that helped, made a difference. I spend most of my time as a punching bag though and in meetings where I spend half my time trying to figure what an offshore resource just said. I wish I had stayed "closer to the code" now. Then I could retire and do consulting or contract work.
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Wow...yes...exactly. you sure you don't do my job at my company? :)
 
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