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Retirement - when to take that step (leap?)

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aargee:
I never thought about retirement too much but it seems suddenly in front of me, which I guess is a result of the job turning to corporate crap.
The money thing keeps me here but is getting less and less crucial and I can see the time where I just go and say enough is enough. A lot of anecdotal stories go something like "... I wish I'd done this ages ago".
Retirement seems like a dirty word but I'd consider the move to be more like a change in direction, maybe. I'm not necessarily the one to take up the recliner to set up in front of the TV, decline into an aged stupor, and then 'shuffle off this mortal coil'.

Just wondering how others have handled this and the transition to a better (or worse?) life.

jmh:
I used to hear people say 'best thing I ever did' and 'dunno how I found the time for work'... and both turned out exactly true. I retired at 58 after going through yet another change of management / direction / ethos in IT where I worked. Got fed up and jumped.

YMMV but I checked carefully that I could actually afford to quit my job and end up with 50% of my original take home pay. But going from the daily struggle through traffic and having to cope with endless useless meetings and management reversals the choice was made for me. I ended up going two years sooner than I had planned - I always thought 60 was a good time to go.

Once I retired I started doing all the things I never really had time for. Passed all 3 of our amateur radio exams, started on a shelf full of electronics projects which were waiting, started to volunteer at a steam railway, finally tidied the workshop up (which lasted a whole week)...

One downside is I can never remember what day of the week it is. One upside is I no longer care when Monday comes.

AntiProtonBoy:
One thing to keep in mind when retiring is to make sure you have something to do. Not necessarily like a job, but some occupation that's not only relaxing, but also keeps you from idling around and waste away in front of the TV. Some people find retiring difficult (like my old man); they suddenly feel useless and one of the things that made their existence meaningful is now suddenly gone.

Some interesting info about retirement, especially early retirement:
https://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/early-retirement/

retiredfeline:
Your super fund probably offers (online) seminars and materials on various aspects of the process of retirement. Check them out.

daqq:

--- Quote ---Not necessarily like a job, but some occupation that's not only relaxing, but also keeps you from idling around and waste away in front of the TV. Some people find retiring difficult (like my old man); they suddenly feel useless and one of the things that made their existence meaningful is now suddenly gone.
--- End quote ---
Had an old colleague who retired - he was that age. He managed to endure a whole month of it, then went back to work.

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