Author Topic: What does your post FIRE day look like?  (Read 11287 times)

Megs193

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What does your post FIRE day look like?
« on: February 04, 2020, 06:35:05 AM »
Financially I am ready to RE but I am having a hard time pulling the trigger because I’m worried about how I will fill my days.  We love to travel as a family but that is limited to 4 weeks a year due to the fact that my husband loves his job and doesn’t want to retire. How did you find new things you enjoy?  How do you maintain structure to your day so you don’t get to the end of the week and realize you accomplished nothing?

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2020, 08:31:59 AM »
I think you will find (if you haven't already) that most of us say we don't know how we ever had time for a job.  It's a common refrain around here, and I can't disagree.

For me there are two parts.  First, I took on several volunteer roles that were important to me.  Those definitely require me to keep a certain amount of structure to my day, and require me to still be strategic about the use of my time, sometimes.  The second part is that I take longer to do things...in a good way!  I don't rush and I don't multi-task.  I get to do everything with all my intention and attention and it is really, really awesome.  It's such a relief not to feel rushed anymore.  I mean, sometimes I still do!  But it's not the basic state of my life anymore.

I did spend a lot of time before RE collecting ideas of what I wanted to do.  And you know what?  I've gotten to like 2% of them so far, in the 18 months since.  There are so many things I want to learn, see and try...I assume when I run out of the things on my current list, I will have already started a new list and it will be several pages long.  It's definitely more true that I don't have the capacity to get to those things on my list than that my list isn't long enough.

The one thing that I will say is that I do enjoy doing nothing more than some people.  There are definitely some people that RE and are bored, whether because they have a hard time tapping into their own ideas of what to do, or because they are just the type of person that does want to fill every moment, be completely programmed, and doesn't luxuriate in a day or two every week that's completely blank, just waiting for you to stumble into a good book or take a long walk in a new neighborhood.  You do have to get clear on what type of person you are and work with that, though being open to the idea that you might be a different kind of person than you thought you were, in the pressure of work for years/decades.  But you can make early retirement work for any type of personality, so long as you are motivated to work at it and accept that it is a work in progress.  Don't expect to be awesome at it right away.  Like anything, it takes time to learn how to do it and get good at it. 

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2020, 08:47:46 AM »
Why do you have to feel as if you accomplished anything? ;)

It did take me about a year to detox from the need to feel useful, make lists and redefine myself since I no longer had a job title/work to define me.

Puttering around the house, making meals, cleaning things that need cleaning, running errands, relaxing with a good book or listening to music or doing a bit of yoga and then taking a walk, have a nap or then read or work on a hobby. That's how many of my days go.

It helps to establish a regular bedtime/getting up time, but if your spouse is still working, you'll likely end up on roughly their schedule anyway.

The first couple of years, I worked on getting my health back: My days revolved around losing an enormous amount of weight, learning new eating habits and easing into regular exercise (fun stuff - walking/biking/swimming), and then joined a gym. I am setting weight loss and fitness goals (how much weight I can lift/pace/etc). I guess that's still technically setting goals - but they are constantly moving as I'm learning doing more.

I don't see why you can't do some solo traveling. Or get the spouse to take several long weekends and go to someplace for a 4 day weekend every few months. You could plan these around a big international trip once a year as a family, but still take some solo or you + kids (didn't say you had any?) or other family member.

I do a bit of volunteer work with causes I enjoy. I found some of them by accident - working at a wildlife rehab as they were out at a nature preserve on a day I was also exploring. I started looking for fun things to do in my area by googling mostly. Found lots of pocket parks that way and started visiting them. My local news site does stories all the time about "one tank trips" of towns nearby and I've done some of those by myself or over a long weekend with the spouse (very nice!), checked back in on hobbies I used to do but left behind as I got too busy and kept the ones that were still fun/interesting, even started taking a class or two at the local college, also remembered the local library, which led to me discovering a few other fun/interesting things (book club, conversational Spanish, yoga, etc... libraries are very active social/activities spots!).

There are also Meetups of every type of thing you can think of, you get a part time job some little store that you love (I had a friend that worked at a craft store that she only worked so she could get discounts and first dibs on the "good stuff" as she called it), joining up with a local athletics if you used to love baseball or tennis or something, visit or even volunteer with local theaters/museums (I do ushering and work on costumes for a small community theater), take up art or sewing or writing (and join a workshop to interact with peers), travel, join a church or get more involved if you already belong to one.

And of course the suggestion of if there was ever another job that sparked your interest, why not follow the path to see if it becomes fun/challenging for you? You have the time and money/pay is no longer the issue.


ShastaFire

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2020, 09:26:18 AM »

You do have to get clear on what type of person you are and work with that, though being open to the idea that you might be a different kind of person than you thought you were, in the pressure of work for years/decades.  But you can make early retirement work for any type of personality, so long as you are motivated to work at it and accept that it is a work in progress.  Don't expect to be awesome at it right away.  Like anything, it takes time to learn how to do it and get good at it.

Nicely put, sui generis.  OP, this has been exactly my case.  FIRE is a work in progress for me.  I am learning that I am still more satisfied if I am organized with my day ahead of time, rather than seeing what it brings.  I can't say that this jives with my original sexy vision of FIRE.  I try to remain open and enjoy what morphs.

Metalcat

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2020, 11:23:02 AM »
Now that I'm mostly retired, I'm up earlier and am a lot more productive with my free time.

It's honestly something I don't think anyone should worry about in advance. Decompress, reassess, and then see what you want to do with your time.

It's not like you actually have the power today to decide how you are going to behave in the future. Future you will make decisions for themself according to whatever future you decides is their priority. If you've ever looked back on your old self and chuckled about how foolish your decisions or priorities were, then you are fully aware that future you will happily laugh off whatever you think is important if it doesn't suit them at the time. You literally have zero control over your future decisions, so there's no point in stressing about them.

Trust your future self, they are fundamentally much better equipped to worry about these things than present you, because future you actually knows what the future is like.

Until then, focus on being happy today, it's the best place to put your efforts in order to set future you up better for success.

Mike in NH

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #5 on: February 11, 2020, 07:18:31 AM »
One of the hardest parts of the transition after I left my job last year was overcoming the feeling that I always had to be productive. I felt like I owed it to myself and especially towards my wife as she still wants to work. Give yourself permission and time to figure it out. I try to do a lot for her to help overcome that initial guilt. It might be a little uncomfortable at first, but you will find your new rhythm, and once it clicks (whether that is the 1st day or the 180th) it will be so worth it.

Something to look into might be if your partner can take unpaid time from work? We did it last year and are planning to do it again this year to help bridge the gap. We try to figure out what will be the most 'socially acceptable' trip to make the request on. Last year it was our honeymoon, this year we have a great opportunity to volunteer up at the weather observatory atop Mt. Washington for a week.

All that being said, solo adventures are still awesome. I am so much more open to the people and places around me when I'm flying solo, it's a great way to get out of my comfort zone. Being away also makes me appreciate what I have, and coming home to an amazing person and a warm puppy that missed me is a pretty great feeling.

ETA: forgot to actually answer some of your specific questions. Definitely shoot for having some hobbies, volunteer opportunities, or goals lined up. I try to get chores done right off the bat in the AM (helps with that productivity guilt) and always ask if there is anything my wife needs or would like me to do. Make time for health, cooking quality meals, time for the gym, reading. Get outside even if it is just to walk the dog. Friends and family will not be able to drop things on a whim usually, so I try to plan things out further in advance. Once you put yourself out into the world of people who aren't working 9-5, usually you bump into others who have similar opportunities and that can lead to new connections and friendships. I met a 70 year old retired pilot on top of a mountain a few months ago midweek, he's quickly become one of my favorite hiking pals. Good luck :)
« Last Edit: February 11, 2020, 07:28:31 AM by Mike in NH »

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2020, 10:33:15 AM »


The one thing that I will say is that I do enjoy doing nothing more than some people.

+1

  There are definitely some people that RE and are bored.

For me boredom is impossible because via my computer, I can read about /see/study anything I want to.




Trudie

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2020, 10:01:26 PM »
At first I had an overwhelming feeling that I had to accomplish things each day.  But with the passage of time and moving to a new town, I’m much more comfortable in my own skin.  After decompressing from work and going through an adjustment to a new town, I am finally settling into a routine that works for me.  I have a few regular volunteer gigs, am busy at church, and am finally starting to prioritize my health with regular daily workouts and cooking at home.  I try not to schedule things in the morning because I really enjoy puttering about home.

I know we say it a lot here, but I don’t really think it’s necessary to have a big obsession with goals and achievements.  A few months into our move I discovered that I’m happiest when I feel that I’m being true to myself and I’m living my values.  I’m happy because I no longer have to shape shift to try to satisfy others.  I just feel an incredible freedom not having to worry so much about money and materialistic things. 

Kind of let that sink in.  Really.

I’m not much for proselytizing, but I do have to say there’s a Bible verse that centers me and gives me purpose and identity.  “Do justice.  Love kindness.  Walk humbly with your God.”  That pretty much sums it up for me.

I echo those who have said not to underestimate the joy of having unscheduled time.  I love having days when I am free to roam.  Many times I will do errands by bus on such days, which encourages walking between stops and allows me to relax.

keyvaluepair

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2020, 07:42:57 AM »
I'm likely an outlier here since I FIRE'd about 2 years ago after a software startup sale and never really stopped *working*. I'm back to doing another startup with the same group and so I get to work at home and have totally flexible hours. My day starts at 4 am - which is the time I've been getting up for years and with an 1.5 hour bike ride at midday, Work from 1.30 to 3.30 I take a break when my son is back from school at 4 and another 1/2 hour in between. So I still put in a 10-11 hour day. But the FIRE period gave me time to develop deep knowledge in an area (AI) that I had not worked on for a while, in this case the difference was that I was able to work on what I wanted to do, not what was expedient. Also, I don't care if I'm being paid or not, and that gives us room to experiment without bringing in any outside capital.

I'm happy because I'm learning a bunch of new things and working on interesting things. Not doing engineering stuff would likely be hard for me and even if I moved elsewhere, I'd likely volunteer my (unpaid) services to some promising young engineering company :-) though probably not at the same level of effort.

cool7hand

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #9 on: February 27, 2020, 08:27:16 AM »
First I'll answer your explicit question. Then I'll answer what I believe is your implicit question.

Explicit Question
I retired in 1/19 from a professional job so that I could write the books I've always wanted to write without having to worrying about when they would generate a profit. My wife continues to teach because she still loves it. When she stops loving it, she'll retire and do something else.

Since I retired, we still wake at 5 am. I'm writing between 6:30/7 through 10/11. Then I go to the gym, run errands, cook, clean, etc. I write, edit, or read from about 1/2 to 4/6. My wife gets home between 4 and 7 depending on meetings, the gym, etc.

We've had more free time than we've ever had before. We visited more with family and friends. And we are enjoying our addiction to freshwater bass fishing like never before. We vacationed more than we've ever vacationed before in a single year, including fishing in multiple states and Canada. I was on the water about 70 days last year.

Implicit Question
I think what you you're really asking is how do you find purpose post-job. That's a question that only you can answer.

My purpose is obviously to spend more time with my wife and family, as well as to write books that help others feel the way I feel when I read a great book. I retired not only because we'd hit our number, but because I would have lost my mind if I did not start writing the books I've always wanted to write.

If you don't know your purpose, I'd suggest finding it before you retire. For us, our number depended on what we both wanted to do post retirement. If you don't know what you want to do, do you really know how much money you'll need?

Check out the Tony Robbins TED talk on the 6 human needs. Which ones are most important to you? Perhaps that's a good place to start.

Good luck!

Wintergreen78

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #10 on: February 27, 2020, 09:28:00 AM »
I stepped up my work with a local volunteer group a good bit. I’ve been teaching myself woodworking and just signed up for classes at the local community college. I ride bikes a lot. Yesterday I went sailing with a friend all afternoon in perfect conditions and we came back into the slip as the sun was setting and docked without firing up the motor.

If you have stuff you like to do and you like learning new things, being retired is pretty awesome.

Lucky13

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #11 on: February 27, 2020, 09:56:22 AM »
If you're worried about filling your days post-fire, you can maybe get a taste of it while you're still working, that's what I've done. I'm planning to FIRE later this year, and I've started to "practice" structuring my weekends like how I think my life would be when I'm not working. To have more of that "time on my hands" feeling I'll try to get all my chores & errands done during the week (which is easier since I'm leaving work on time now that I know I'm leaving soon, not trying to impress anyone by staying late anymore!). So weekends I either need to plans stuff or be spontaneous.

BTDretire

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #12 on: February 27, 2020, 01:07:12 PM »
I had breakfast with the boys that was 2 hours, we call it the table of useless knowledge. Then I had to deliver a package to Fedex (Ebay sale) stop at Sam's and pay the bill, and drop off my used oil from the oil change I did two days ago. I got
on the computer for a short time and then realized I was 45 later making my lunch.
 So I made lunch, Did you know sour cream and blueberry's taste a lot like whip cream?) I'm on Keto. So now it 2pm, and I need to take my walk that usually takes two hours, I better hurry, because I watch 'The Five' at 4pm. I'm a fan boi of Greg, he's fantastic. Supper after The Five and then 2 hours of CBS Thursday TV.
Gotta go, I'm late for my walk.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #13 on: February 29, 2020, 07:36:23 AM »
On a normal day: I wake up at a time that is natural for me. That can be 8:30, but can also be 7 am. If DH sleeps longer than I do, which is often the case, I have a slice of bread and a cup of tea while surfing the internet. Otherwise we have breakfast together. We also drink tea together. Then I get dressed and think of something to do. Or errands that need to be done. If at the cabin, I put on sports clothes and go CC skiing. At home, if it is walkable and not icy, I make a hike somewhere. In the afternoon, I do hobby stuff, at the moment studying books about edible plants. But I also cook new dishes very often. Sometimes I bake SD bread, which requires some work several times during the day, and the day after.

But this week we have been preparing the house for the second attempt to sell it. So we have been working on that a bit every day, visiting the flower shop, tidying and cleaning. But in total quite short working days, because we had set off a lot of time for it.

I am looking foreward to the non winter seasons where I can make foraging trips, which also require a lot of work when coming home, cleaning and conserving.

myobjectivism

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #14 on: May 11, 2020, 09:26:42 AM »
I am excited to say that I am getting FIRE'd next month (43 years old) and I am dreaming for this routine ..

1. Getting up at 3am, needs sometime to achieve this by gradually getting up early.
2. Do meditation, yoga and finish my workouts by 7am before my kids wake up. My DW loves to sleep for more time in the morning. I love to let her sleep by taking care of kids (8 YO and 5 YO) by making them to get ready for school, feed them breakfast, bath etc.
3. Once kids go to school, I volunteer in an ashram by taking meditation sessions to trainees for 3-4 hours. I am spiritual trainer.
4. Come back home for lunch. Have lunch with DW who is housewife and very good cook. I don't know cooking at all :)
5. Read books, internet for sometime.
6. Receive kids after school, spend sometime with them by playing, helping them to study.
7. Dinner and I love to make kids sleep.
8. Weekends.. Retreat in ashram and spend both Saturday and Sunday in ashram along with family. And squeezing some time for kids if they want to do other fun things outside ashram.

This is my dream daily routine which gets disturbed because of my other passions like.. watching movies in theatres, watching sports, meeting friends, relatives, travel to meet my mom, brother and his family. And ofcourse family travel with kids.

One good thing is.. everything listed here is my passion. And love to lead this life style and more importantly without rush (enjoying every moment by living in the present) as other mustachians mentioned in this topic.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #15 on: May 12, 2020, 01:48:23 PM »
Nowadays my routine is often to make sourdough bread by mixing one morning, putting it in the final form in the evening and bake it eatly the next day. After mixing the dough in the morning and sometimes after doing yoga or cleaning the house, I go out to pick weeds and come home to wash and sometimes preserve them. Or I just make a long walk without foraging. We often have to do stuff in between, like today having a car window replaced. In the afternoon I try to read stuff, like studying plants I saw, or figuring out which mushroom I found. Maybe even read a book if I have an interesting book. After dinner, we used to watch TV, but from now on there is little interesting to watch until September. So then I read more. Or I watch online meeting presentations from my mushroom and plants club, which they are giving online and for free because of corona.

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #16 on: May 29, 2020, 10:03:01 AM »
My average day starts before sunrise with a nice soak in the hot tub. This is my time thinking and planing. Next, I brew a pot of coffee and catch up on news and blogs (like this one) that interest me.  Sometimes, I skip the second part and go directly into a early morning round of golf.  After catching up on the news it is either exercise or diving into what ever project I have going on that day.  A project could be home improvement, gardening, building something in the workshop, fixing a car, etc. I usually try not to work on any project for more than 4 hours a day. After lunch is nap/relax time.  Then I try to spend some time reading for pleasure or to learn something new. Cook dinner and in the evening spend time with the wife and or friends and family or sometimes just watch a movie or youtube videos. Go to bed and repeat.  That's my normal routine, but we also spend a lot of time traveling. We have done some 4 to 6 week road trips, trips to Europe or Asia and sometimes just a short trip to visit family.
Not very exiting, not a lot of epic adventures, just a lot of doing whatever I want and minimizing doing things I don't like.

bacchi

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #17 on: May 29, 2020, 12:38:01 PM »
I generally wake up around 10-11am, read the news and the forums, maybe work on something around the house, exercise, play a computer game, take a walk, and finish by reading a book until 2am.

What really makes RE enjoyable is the spontaneity. For example, if the weather is going to be nice this week, we can leave for a camping trip immediately. Without a timetable, there's no anxiety about fitting things around a work schedule.

Jon_Snow

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #18 on: May 29, 2020, 07:39:18 PM »
Been FIRE’d for 6 years now and depending on where I’m living at the time (I rotate between 3 main locations) I have developed a rough framework of a routine in each of these places....and these mostly revolve around my interests and hobbies cultivated in each of these locations the years pre-FIRE....and then pursued without any set limits post-FIRE.

What really makes RE enjoyable is the spontaneity. For example, if the weather is going to be nice this week, we can leave for a camping trip immediately. Without a timetable, there's no anxiety about fitting things around a work schedule.

And as much as I have a routine of sorts, I do really enjoy moments of spontaneity as well. For instance, a few days ago I kayaked over 20km to get some amazing pizza just because I suddenly felt like doing that. I experienced a moment of pizza-craving clarity, if you will. It was such a great experience (both the paddle AND the eating) that I think that this spontaneous event may well be added to the FIRE-routine.

Linea_Norway

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #19 on: May 31, 2020, 02:56:09 AM »
Been FIRE’d for 6 years now and depending on where I’m living at the time (I rotate between 3 main locations) I have developed a rough framework of a routine in each of these places....and these mostly revolve around my interests and hobbies cultivated in each of these locations the years pre-FIRE....and then pursued without any set limits post-FIRE.

What really makes RE enjoyable is the spontaneity. For example, if the weather is going to be nice this week, we can leave for a camping trip immediately. Without a timetable, there's no anxiety about fitting things around a work schedule.

And as much as I have a routine of sorts, I do really enjoy moments of spontaneity as well. For instance, a few days ago I kayaked over 20km to get some amazing pizza just because I suddenly felt like doing that. I experienced a moment of pizza-craving clarity, if you will. It was such a great experience (both the paddle AND the eating) that I think that this spontaneous event may well be added to the FIRE-routine.

I love that as well. We just came home from a hiking trip and were planning to visit our cabin soon. But left the very next day, because of the good weather forecast. And decided to leave within an hour because it is a long weekend for working people, so later on the day there might be heavy traffic. So nice that we don't need to adapt to job schedules and limited time off.

Trifle

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #20 on: June 14, 2020, 05:03:42 PM »
I've been FIREd a year and a half.  Ordinary day for me is get up around 4:30 (natural waking time, I sleep great), have a relaxed breakfast,  enjoy the morning quiet, read the forum, the news, and sometimes a book.  What I do for the rest of the day is often guided by the weather.  We homestead, and weather permitting I usually do 3-6 hours of outdoor work a day -- in the garden, the orchard, the chicken field, the bee yard.  It brings me great joy, and isn't rushed.  I frequently sit and just observe things quietly.  It's glorious.  We've also homeschooled for the past six years; on M-W-F I do two classes with our kids.  I run 5 or 6 times a week, sometimes alone and sometimes with one of our kids.  Under normal circumstances (not coronavirus weirdness) I also travel a good deal.  Last year I made 6 trips to visit friends/family and we did 3 family vacations, one of them international.   Life is so much --- fuller -- than it has ever been.  I feel like I've lived more in the last year and a half than I did in the 20 years leading up to it.  I don't miss working a job at all. 

I wouldn't worry about your life being too unstructured after FIRE OP.  If you feel like you need more structure you can just create it.  I think you will over time naturally settle into your ideal life.  As @Malkynn said above, I think you can trust your future self with this.   


maisymouser

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #21 on: June 14, 2020, 07:18:14 PM »
I've been FIREd a year and a half.  Ordinary day for me is get up around 4:30 (natural waking time, I sleep great), have a relaxed breakfast,  enjoy the morning quiet, read the forum, the news, and sometimes a book.  What I do for the rest of the day is often guided by the weather.  We homestead, and weather permitting I usually do 3-6 hours of outdoor work a day -- in the garden, the orchard, the chicken field, the bee yard.  It brings me great joy, and isn't rushed.  I frequently sit and just observe things quietly.  It's glorious.  We've also homeschooled for the past six years; on M-W-F I do two classes with our kids.  I run 5 or 6 times a week, sometimes alone and sometimes with one of our kids.  Under normal circumstances (not coronavirus weirdness) I also travel a good deal.  Last year I made 6 trips to visit friends/family and we did 3 family vacations, one of them international.   Life is so much --- fuller -- than it has ever been.  I feel like I've lived more in the last year and a half than I did in the 20 years leading up to it.  I don't miss working a job at all. 

I wouldn't worry about your life being too unstructured after FIRE OP.  If you feel like you need more structure you can just create it.  I think you will over time naturally settle into your ideal life.  As @Malkynn said above, I think you can trust your future self with this.

Wow. This sounds amazing*. Thanks for sharing. How old are your kids and do you find homeschooling challenging at times? And how long have you been keeping bees? I tried a few years ago and failed pretty miserably. But! I want to get back into it eventually and before COVID, was planning on finding someone who would let me shadow or be some sort of assistant, to get better at it.

*(except waking at 4:30am, I'm glad you enjoy that!)

Trifle

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #22 on: June 15, 2020, 09:49:17 AM »
How old are your kids and do you find homeschooling challenging at times? And how long have you been keeping bees? I tried a few years ago and failed pretty miserably. But! I want to get back into it eventually and before COVID, was planning on finding someone who would let me shadow or be some sort of assistant, to get better at it.

Our kids are now 14 and 17.  It was a bit challenging when we first started (long story -- emergency situation when we pulled our son out of public school in second grade).  It's more parental work to homeschool the grade school years, as the kids (at least ours) needed more structure and guidance.  Once they are 12 or 13 they kind of take over, drive the process, and self-learn.  DH and I are more like facilitators; we 'teach' in the areas where we have knowledge, get them resources in the areas we don't, and help them get connected with outside teachers for things like music lessons.  We give them the option each year whether they want to homeschool or go to a brick and mortar school, and so far they've chosen the homeschool option. 

I just started keeping bees this spring!  So I am totally new at it.  It's a VERY steep learning curve.  I agree it's important to find a mentor.  I joined the local beekeeping club, and also have a couple friends and neighbors that are giving me advice.   I think it's going ok (?) but time will tell.  We'll see if our hives make it through the winter!

duyen

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #23 on: June 21, 2020, 11:09:59 PM »
I haven't retired. But I am one of those people who enjoy truly doing nothing. Currently my weekends go off in lazing around, unstructured. I surf internet, watch TV, play with kids, go to parks and just chill basically enjoying the fact that there is no structure to my day.

When I hit my FIRE in say 5 years, this is exactly what I plan on doing. I plan to have few templates of days and just pick one of those and go with it

Day Template 1:      Breakfast, Walk in Park, Lunch, Dave&Busters, Movie, Dine out, Browse, Sleep
Day Template 2:      Breakfast, Walk in Park, Mall, Shop and eat, Barnes & Noble, Back home, Coffee, Dinner, Browse / chat with DW, sleep
Day Template 3:      Breakfast, Coffee, Browse, Lunch, Ymca Swimming, Mall, Dine out, Browse, Sleep
Day Template 4:                Breakfast, hike, lunch, browse, dinner, browse / read, sleep

soccerluvof4

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #24 on: June 23, 2020, 04:00:08 AM »
Been fire'd for 5 years now.

I wake up on average 3:30am and have a cup or two of coffee, log into the internet and scour around several websites and leave most days for a 8-10 mile walk by 5 till 7-7:30.

Then when I get back I usually water things around the yard or check things out and then go in and prepare, decide what I am going to make for dinner and quick put together a Pasta salad for my oldest who is working out and trying to gain weight. Hes a big guy so he its a full batch every 24 hours.

Next I usually work around the yard doing landscaping things or around the house as we live on a lake so always things that need to be done.

Lunch usually 12-1 ish i dont eat breakfast and eat between the hours Noon to 7pm max.

After lunch  I usually take an hour nap and then will do something fun weather depending.

Then I make dinner and we usually eat between 5 and 6pm.

Chill, fall asleep in my chair watching TV and usually go to bed at 10pm.

To some it might sound boring but its far from that as I have 3 of my 4 kids coming and going and alot of things to do on the lake, grocery shopping and I have wonderful neighbors that are always around.

smoghat

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #25 on: June 28, 2020, 09:24:24 AM »
I have a half acre of land and am obsessively landscaping it with native plants. My carpenter has also worked on restoring the exterior of the house with me. I am saying I’m breaking even, but I think the reality is that we get back at least $1 for every 25 cents invested in this work and there is the ethical satisfaction as well.

Retire-Canada

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #26 on: September 09, 2020, 07:50:05 AM »
I have two typical types of FIRE days.

Sporty FIRE Day

- get up at 4-5am
- drink some tea/eat something
- out being active for 4-8hrs
- come home eat and drink a bunch
- late afternoon nap
- get up cook dinner
- hang out with my GF & cat
- go to bed ~9pm

Non-Sporty FIRE Day

- get up at 4-5am
- drink some tea/eat something
- do an hour or two of remote PT side gig work if there is anything to do if not just surf the web
- do chores [laundry, clean house, grocery shopping, home maintenance, bike/gear maintenance]
- have lunch
- early afternoon nap
- get up spend afternoon doing anything I want...I usually have a personal project or two on the go so I make some progress on one of those
- prepare dinner so it's ready when my GF gets home from work
- hang out with my GF & cat
- go to bed ~9pm

I've learned I can't stack endless sporty days back to back now that I am over 50. So a sporty day is either followed by a rest day or a sporty day that focuses on a different part of the body. I do try and get 2-3 rest days a week just so I can sustainably be active. I didn't appreciate how much "enforced" rest I got at my FT desk gig.

One of the big FIRE surprises is how dang easy it is to fill each day and how I still have a long to do list of stuff I want to do and just don't get around to. I thought I'd watch tons of movies and read tons of books in FIRE. Over 3 months in and I have watched one movie and read zero books!

toocold

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #27 on: September 09, 2020, 08:06:07 AM »
Having been FIRE'd for a year now, I have a routine. 

I usually wake up between 6-7am.  I leisurely cook and eat breakfast.  There is nothing like slowly sipping coffee in the morning.  After breakfast, I usually read news and read/post on various sites.  DW usually takes the kids to school (pre-covid).  We both work out everyday (3x strength, 3x cardio, 1 day rest).  I've lost about 35lbs and weigh about what I did in high school.  We eat lunch.  The mornings are my reserve time. 

The afternoon is where it gets varied.  It can be working on something like building an arcade, which has always fascinated me; it can be fixing stuff such as rebuilding a carburetor; it can be shopping for groceries; it can be playing video games all day; or it can be hanging out with friends.  I basically can do whatever interests me.  The great thing is that I have some many curiosities, it'll take me awhile to get through them all.

We have budgeted about $25k for travel.  Unfortunately our month long trip to Hawaii was cancelled this summer.  We'll may go to Caribbean this winter (fingers crossed) and will likely go to Europe for a month or two next summer.  We have high school kids so we have to work around their schedule.  If not for Covid, I'd also fly to see my mother and spend some time with her.

I can say during this entire year, I have not felt bored.  I've learned a ton of skills though.
« Last Edit: September 09, 2020, 08:08:50 AM by toocold »

CJMcF

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #28 on: September 15, 2020, 01:20:44 AM »
I'm 54 and have been retired for nearly 2 years now. I was part owner of a company with about 60 employees for 15 years, so I was busy and had all the stresses that that entailed.

Now, I do nothing - which I'm okay with about 90% of the time. Sometimes I feel that I should be doing more with my time, but not often.

Should there be more to life than running, cycling, hiking, travelling, cooking etc.? Usually I think that I paid my dues and I worked very hard for 35 years, and now I'm getting the chance to enjoy "time", which I could never do in my working life. As long as I feel that I'm doing "something" then I'm happy, but it does sometimes feel like I live a very selfish life, especially as my wife is still working.

My day is spent exercising, reading, food shopping, cooking, relaxing - and planning and going on trips or mini-adventures.

It's not much - but it's enough for me.

BTDretire

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #29 on: September 18, 2020, 06:39:10 AM »
There is always the damn, time wasting, wonderful, entertaining, educational, inspirational, internet to fill too many hours!

FR2000EE

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #30 on: September 26, 2020, 02:23:51 AM »
I left work in February 2020 at age 54. Just as I was getting my sea legs, the Covid hit. I was going to AA, playing golf with a good friend, who was back in town. All seemed well.

When the shutdown hit, I was surprised how much time I spent alone. After being mostly extroverted, as I have aged, it seems I spend more time alone, mostly contentedly. I filled my time by learning to cook some new items and watching a lot of Youtube. I still played golf, but missed my golf buddy as he moved, because he didn't feel safe because his roommate worked at the hospital.

So, my life of riley, didn't quite materialize as planned as I expected more time with friends and travel.

So, its been a bit of a struggle figuring out how to spend my days and structure my time, but I have found a new golf buddy and my sleep schedule seems to feel normal, if strange, because I like to say up till about 3AM and get up at 10ish in the morning.

The thoughts of should I go back to work seem to be fading and almost funny. It's not that I have it all figured out, but I find myself enjoying the crazy times and start laughing at myself for the silly idea I can control or manage life. The small things seem more important, the sound of a friends voice, the wind on my face, hearing and old song from the past. The only thing that seems clear to me is that life without a job is slower at this moment and I am learning to enjoy the change of pace.

DocToDisco

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #31 on: October 11, 2020, 11:57:01 PM »
Congrats Megs193

Here are a few things I read and did to prepare for immediately approaching F.I.R.E.

- curated my own list of post FIRE bloggers w/ my same situation - but here's a curated list I drew from often https://www.themoneyhabit.org/22-early-retirees-describe-life-cubicle/

- did the exercises offered at The Best Chapter (www.thebestchapter.com)

- developed my own "deuces out" Play List - you can see the songs here  https://doctodisco.com/the-end-is-nigh-my-deuces-out-play-list/
- scheduled a vacation two days after retiring/ spent those gut-wrenching last weeks of work meticulously packing, setting up excursions, activities, recipes to cook the local cuisine, etc.

- read Living a F.I. hmm, at least like 3 times! (www.livingafi.com) - Urgh- can't believe there are no posts in over 4 years!

- scheduled all overdue doctors appointments for me and for DH - GP, dermatology, dental hygienist, etc.  Might as well use my health insurance while I finally have the time to go to an appointment!

maisymouser

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #32 on: October 12, 2020, 12:39:16 PM »
Been FIRE’d for 6 years now and depending on where I’m living at the time (I rotate between 3 main locations) I have developed a rough framework of a routine in each of these places....and these mostly revolve around my interests and hobbies cultivated in each of these locations the years pre-FIRE....and then pursued without any set limits post-FIRE.

What really makes RE enjoyable is the spontaneity. For example, if the weather is going to be nice this week, we can leave for a camping trip immediately. Without a timetable, there's no anxiety about fitting things around a work schedule.

And as much as I have a routine of sorts, I do really enjoy moments of spontaneity as well. For instance, a few days ago I kayaked over 20km to get some amazing pizza just because I suddenly felt like doing that. I experienced a moment of pizza-craving clarity, if you will. It was such a great experience (both the paddle AND the eating) that I think that this spontaneous event may well be added to the FIRE-routine.
That has got to be one of the many definitions of bad-assery. I might have to add this to my bucket list.


Y'all wake up too early- what is this 4AM I am hearing about?!? I don't think I could do that if I tried, ESPECIALLY if I didn't have a job that necessitated waking up by 8am.

My future vision of a perfect FIRE week (I don't think I can fit this whole list into a single day) involves:
-Building/maintaining a homestead (chickens, gardening, beekeeping, maybe some ducks or goats)
-Reading/library-ing
-Hiking
-Cooking/preserving the harvest
-Reading to kid(s)- I love this and want to continue it after my own kid grows up!
-Calling politicians to encourage them to support good policies (esp. climate change, consumer privacy issues)
-Yoga
-Get togethers with friends
-Whatever projects I come up with, probably involving woodworking, solar power, learning how to make authentic Indian cuisine, studying philosophy & game theory, ...

Overall I want to live a pretty simple life! I imagine I might have challenges traveling while balancing care for a big garden/animals though, and I do want to do SOME travel when I RE. I guess I have a while to figure it out... I'm 29 and have a solid 10+ years to FI, let alone RE.

Unless the US magically decides to get itself together and have a decent healthcare system. Then I might be able to trim that number down a good few years.

2sk22

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Re: What does your post FIRE day look like?
« Reply #33 on: October 12, 2020, 03:46:38 PM »
Hah - I finally get to submit a post in this topic :-)

I retired on September 30 and since then its mostly been unrelenting physical work getting my house ready for some big renovations. After twenty years in my current place, an unbelievable amount of garbage has accumulated. So far the past ten days, I have been spending most of each day sorting through stuff and building up a huge pile of stuff to be discarded.

Once this renovation is complete I will have much more space for my hobbies!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!