The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Post-FIRE => Topic started by: spartana on February 19, 2015, 09:42:47 AM
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Deleted
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Yes, things got derailed and changed once I retired.
My plans were somewhat utopian and probably wouldn't have worked as they stood. I think that when I was working towards retirement I didn't realise
RETIREMENT = FREEDOM
- freedom to change plans, to do things more slowly (or more quickly), to develop interests that I wouldn't have thought to develop during my career.
Things happened. My parents are now (suddenly) very frail, and dad had cancer two years ago. The year of treatments meant that everything was put on hold that year. The frailty means I keep on visiting them more frequently and stay much longer than I would have believed possible.
I have discovered things about myself in retirement that mean I am on a different path. I think I am a better person for retirement - more laid back, the stress has gone (this is wonderful).
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We are going through this right now. We were ready to call it and retire and now my DW found out her father is dying. Everything is a mess so working to just get through this. There saying 4-6 months at the max.
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So far, things are going pretty much according to plan for me, but a large part of that is that my plan was pretty open in the first place.
The only thing I didn't really foresee is that my wife still wants to keep working part-time for at least the next decade, which is a lot longer than I thought she would. This in not OMY syndrome, as she knows we have more than enough money, rather that she has found a job she really enjoys and wants to keep doing it as long as she can out of sheer job satisfaction (what an enviable situation!). My only ask of her is that she keeps her employment arrangement flexible so that we can flit off for a month or so traveling and so far that has been able to be accommodated. The positive side effect is that we haven't dipped into our stash at all to fund my ER - we're actually still net savers!
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We are going through this right now. We were ready to call it and retire and now my DW found out her father is dying. Everything is a mess so working to just get through this. There saying 4-6 months at the max.
I'm really sorry for what you are going through. My best friend was given 4 - 6 months and died exactly 8 weeks later. Because of that experience, I would advise you not to delay doing anything.
I was so glad I was retired when my father was really sick. I didn't have the conflict between work and what I really wanted to do. It is the major reason I am glad I retired when I did.
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The need to care for my elderly parents for awhile - or at least be close by - before they died.
Things happened. My parents are now (suddenly) very frail, and dad had cancer two years ago. The year of treatments meant that everything was put on hold that year. The frailty means I keep on visiting them more frequently and stay much longer than I would have believed possible.
We are going through this right now. We were ready to call it and retire and now my DW found out her father is dying. Everything is a mess so working to just get through this. There saying 4-6 months at the max.
I was so glad I was retired when my father was really sick. I didn't have the conflict between work and what I really wanted to do. It is the major reason I am glad I retired when I did.
Wow, common theme here. Kind of hard to think of spending time with ailing family as a "luxury", but it really is a benefit of FIRE that rarely discussed.
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So far, things are going pretty much according to plan for me, but a large part of that is that my plan was pretty open in the first place.
The only thing I didn't really foresee is that my wife still wants to keep working part-time for at least the next decade, which is a lot longer than I thought she would. This in not OMY syndrome, as she knows we have more than enough money, rather that she has found a job she really enjoys and wants to keep doing it as long as she can out of sheer job satisfaction (what an enviable situation!). My only ask of her is that she keeps her employment arrangement flexible so that we can flit off for a month or so traveling and so far that has been able to be accommodated. The positive side effect is that we haven't dipped into our stash at all to fund my ER - we're actually still net savers!
Oz, that is pretty much EXACTLY my current situation. It's pretty freakin' awesome. Will be even "awesomer" when my wife joins me in ER full time. 5 years? 10? Hope it's not 10... ;(
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Wow, common theme here. Kind of hard to think of spending time with ailing family as a "luxury", but it really is a benefit of FIRE that rarely discussed.
I have also been able to help out my elderly MIL, who had a fall last year and nearly ended up in an aged care home as a result, by running errands, taking her to the doctors and playing home handyman for her. Big brownie points with the wife, plus it actually feels good to be able to directly help out.
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The need to care for my elderly parents for awhile - or at least be close by - before they died.
Things happened. My parents are now (suddenly) very frail, and dad had cancer two years ago. The year of treatments meant that everything was put on hold that year. The frailty means I keep on visiting them more frequently and stay much longer than I would have believed possible.
We are going through this right now. We were ready to call it and retire and now my DW found out her father is dying. Everything is a mess so working to just get through this. There saying 4-6 months at the max.
I was so glad I was retired when my father was really sick. I didn't have the conflict between work and what I really wanted to do. It is the major reason I am glad I retired when I did.
Wow, common theme here. Kind of hard to think of spending time with ailing family as a "luxury", but it really is a benefit of FIRE that rarely discussed.
although not retired (now or at the time) I did have the work flexibility to spend a lot of time with my dad in his final 6 months. I hope it was a gift to him. I know it was an incredible gift to myself.