I retired two years ago. Regrets and advice.

Regarding being bored. When I get bored, I think of work meetings.. and I dont feel so bad about being bored anymore.

I was self-employed and paid my dues early which enabled me to retire at 57; I am turning 69 this year. The years flew. Having the money is one thing, having the mindset is another. You do not retire from something, you retire to something. I have seen way too many of my peers retire and not know what to do with themselves. A shallow life of leisure gets old fast. You need a basket of activities every day for your head and your hands to keep you balanced. Having community and a sense of place where you as a person matter; an environment where you can apply yourself, learn, and be a blessing to others. And realize that good health is a wild card that, if lost ,changes everything. The person you are when you retire will not be the same person 10 years into retirement. The worst thing you can do is work until you die, no matter how much you love you job. Life is as much about the journey as it is the destination.

I retired 8 years ago at 60. Zero regrets, will take Social Security at 70. Retired life is amazing!

I retired at age 61. Am now 68. I knew I was going to be a "low income senior," so I just planned carefully. I spent a few of my final working years on a waiting list to get into my rent-geared-to-income apartment. I am in Canada, so medical (and now dental!) expenses are not a concern. Eyeglasses are my most major expense. Luckily, I am healthy so far. The only mistake I made was doing retirement like you are "supposed" to. I volunteered a lot. Was busier than when I worked! Luckily (!?) Covid happened, and all that got shut down. I have never gone back. This laid-back retirement suits me perfectly. Lots of time spent hiking, camping, working out, and walking the dog. A couple of road trips a year solves the travel bug. My advice.... PLAN and do retirement your own way. Enjoy!

Been retired for almost 3 years now. Make time for my health. Work out 2 times a week, walk 3-5 miles every day, do different type of exercises on my walk n changed my eating habits to only whole food, no sugar or flour. Now feel like I am 30! I love to hunt and fish and run many trail cameras. I took over most of the house cleaning since my wife is still working. I work around the church as a handy man some. Never bored. Look forward to a couple of down hours per day. Life is grand n God is good!!😁💪🙏👆

I retired 14 months ago. We moved to the Gulf Coast so for most of this year the move has kept me busy. I also do a lot of volunteer work in the community. At 67 I drew social security and have a small pension. My wife still works so we are very comfortable. We are very involved with our church and have made a lot of new friends. We love our many gardens and stay pretty involved maintaining our grounds. We are tourists in our new location and have plenty of new adventures ahead of us. We continue to save and invest in our 401K and we aren’t actively drawing down on that yet. I feel like I am an 18 years old on summer vacation with a nice allowance. We are truly blessed.

Being debt free is a must!

Thanks for sharing. I retired a little over a year ago and can relate to everything you have shared here. Thanks for sharing and for the advice.

Thanks for sharing Howard, I do find your videos informative and entertaining. I still have probably 5 or so years before I retire, all these tips are great.

This is your best video to date and your advice is spot on. Your comment on laziness was unique and thought provoking. We have found that calendaring “to do” list items helps keep us focused. Thanks again for this video.

Great Video Howard, Thanks for your Thoughts on Retirement...at least now I know I'm not the only one with the same concerns that you mentioned....Again Thanks and have a Great Day. AL

Great channel! I just retired a couple months ago. Really feels like a conversation here. Love how you address issues retirees share. Like Rob Berger too. Keep it up!!

People who leave the workplace without having sufficient financial assets, are not retired, they are unemployed. I retired 17 years ago at age 57 right at the start of the Great recession. I had plenty of cash flow investments so I did okay. Scary though. I took Social Security at my FRA of 66. Don't make yourself crazy studying that. Figure out what is best for you and move ahead. Our net worth has about doubled, and at the same time we have spent more and more freely. We do a lot of traveling. Also, lots of volunteering. We both work to keep our health up. And don't worry too much. It's a short runway. Good luck.😊

I think I learned more about you and your situation and advice on your channel than ever before. Lol. Hope all is well.

Great video. Glad you are enjoying your retirement.

Retired now for about 18 months. I have mixed feelings about retirement. Just lost our last of 3 Chihuahua pets and I miss them. I get VERY bored. I started crafting: crocheting, beading, drawing etc. It just isn't enough for me. We are Going to see and stay with family in a few weeks in our home State of Michigan for a couple of months and should be back in Florida by early October. When we return, I will be looking for a part time job to keep me busy and hopefully entertained. Also, we have decided to rescue a puppy. Can't wait to have another dog in my life. I love watching Otter 🐕🐕🐕

Came across your channel and really enjoyed your vlog. I was fortunate to retire 18 months ago at 54. So far so good and really want to take advantage of having good health as you never know when this could change. Wish you and your viewers well for their own personal retirement journeys 👍🏻

subb'd... love Otter.... cool pup. You have the exact same mindset I have. I am still working (57) but these are the many things I consider/ponder as I plan for my retirement...

Tried to retire at 60 and they offered me to keep my job and go part time and keep the benefits . . . so it will be a slower transition to retirement. Love your co-star!

Congratulations on 2 years