Saturday, May 21, 2011
Just A Typical Day
Woke up refreshed and without an alarm clock, at 5:30 AM. Went downstairs to enjoy a morning cup of coffee with my daughter before she headed up to get ready for work. We chatted about her upcoming move to a beachside apartment and how much fun it was going to be to get together for picnics and barbeques once she moved in. I put together a butternut squash and lentil stew for dinner and left the stew to simmer in a crockpot while I went upstairs to get ready to go hiking with one of my Meetup hiking groups. Spent three hours hiking through beautiful wildflower and oak filled ravines before returning home to shower and meet my sister-in-law for lunch. Strolled over to a new neighborhood bakery after lunch to pick up a some fresh bread. Returned home again for a much needed nap and then headed outside with a book and a glass of wine to read a bit before dinner. My spouse and daughter joined me for a glass of wine as they each got home from work before we all headed inside to enjoy stew and freshly baked wheat bread for dinner. Decided to leave the dishes for later and leashed up our dog for an evening stroll, stopping to chat with neighbors along the way. Returned home for a little television before turning into bed.
Just a typical day in retirement.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Four Weeks Into Retirement!
It's been a whirlwind of activity and emotions over the last 30 days. Even though I had made a conscientious effort to read several books on what to expect in retirement, not to mention working to ensure I had a full calendar of activities to step into when I left work on the last day, I was not prepared for the emotional roller coaster of those first few weeks. Here's a sampling of what I went through.
Week One: Took off for a week of vacationing along the California central coastline. Woke up every day with a joyful sense that I was playing hooky as I ticked off the days of my previous workweek - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Had a thoroughly wonderful time hiking, kayaking, biking and running in and around the coast, and could feel the stress oozing out of me as the week progressed.
Week Two: Still going strong now that I was at home for the first time during the week, splitting my "new" time between doing long-delayed chores around the house, and working to fill up my new Outlook calendar. Discovered the online sites Meet Up and Groupon and wondered how I'd lived without either. Joined a variety of Meet Up groups and went hiking, out to lunch and to a photography seminar. Visited our local farmers market to enjoy and purchase fresh flowers and fresh produce, and rediscovered the public library where I had a wonderful time combing through the racks of books, magazines and DVDs - all completely free. It felt like I had struck gold there was simply so much to do all around my community.
Week Three: Full blown identity crisis! Out of the blue, and completely unexpectedly, I was overwhelmed with a sense of extreme sadness and loss. I could analyze what I was feeling well enough to understand it wasn't about giving up my job (I had absolutely no sense of loss about that!) but rather that it was about having to finally deal with who I was and what I wanted from the rest of my life now that work wasn't keeping me distracted from having to give thought to either of these major life issues. Desparately needing assistance in understanding what was going on, I went to the library and checked out several retirement books that addressed the emotional transition of retirement, including The Joy of Retirement by David Borchard. David Borchard is a life coach with a focus on helping adults to identify their passions and develop new vision for their lives. And a major theme in David's book, and the others I checked out, was that a feeling of loss was a very normal part of the transition process. Phew, what a relief it was to see that in writing! Perhaps I wasn't losing my grip then after all! And, as the week progressed, it appeared they were correct, because by the end of the third week most of the sadness and confusion had lifted and life was looking pretty darn good again.
Week Four: Full steam ahead! Or, having the time of my life! Each day started with a run as I worked through the training schedule for my second marathon, the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in early June. I added on two days of yoga and strength training as well, checking off two more items on my retirement To-Do list. Thanks to the volunteer training I'd undergone with Read OC, an adult literacy program, I was fully and enjoyably engaged with my new literacy student. My Meet Up activities from week two had led to even more Meet Up groups that were now populating my Outlook calendar with daily options for me to choose from. Already I was finding that there was more items listed on my calendar than I had time to do. What a great feeling! And I hadn't even gotten started on cooking more creatively, carving out time to practice my Spanish or working in my garden. I ended the week by flying up to the Bay Area to run San Francisco's legendary Bay to Breakers with my daughter and some dear friends. I stayed over a couple of extra days, just because I now could, and although I had an absolutely wonderful time bopping around San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley, I was excited to come home and pick up where I'd left off.
The phrase "How did I ever have time to work" is increasingly flashing through my brain as I begin week five. And now that I've survived the first 30 days, I can't wait to see what the next 30 will bring!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Retiring "To" rather than retiring "From"
So close I can almost touch it . . .
With retirement just six working days away, things are heating up at work. My replacement has been hired, and he and I are working madly to transition my fifteen years of tribal knowledge into cohesive working documents. I firmly believe no one is irreplaceable in their job, and I therefore know that my replacement will figure it all out eventually and do just fine, but in the meantime, time is racing and I am worried we will run out of time before everything on my transition list is checked off.
I think I also may have gone a bit overboard in my efforts to ensure my transition to retirement was immediately gratifying. I'm taking two sections of Conversational Spanish but have not yet found time to practice, I'm undergoing training to become an adult literacy volunteer through READ OC but have yet to complete my weekly homework assignments, I'm attending volunteer orientation tomorrow to become a court advocate for abused children in my county and can only hope training doesn't start in earnest until after next week, and I'm in the midst of training for a marathon.
I'm exhausted. And I love it. And I can't wait to add even more.
I plan to kick off retirement with a week long camping trip in Marina, CA. My daughter and two dear friends will be joining me for five days of hiking, kayaking and biking along the central coast. We plan to fill our evenings with lovely dinners, wine, blazing campfires and a roasted marshmellow or two. I'll figure out the rest when I return.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Retirement notice delivered . . . Panama Canal here I come!
Well, the deed has been done.
I've notified my boss that I am retiring. I called and delivered the news within one hour of having received my 2010 bonus amount, and four hours prior to departing on a much-anticipated two week vacation. I wanted to get it over with before leaving on vacation because I was absolutely dreading the conversation - I felt like I was firing someone for goodness sake, even though the person being released was me! Timing it this way, though possibly abrupt, also allowed me to provide my boss with a total of six weeks notice, helping to ensure a replacement could be found and trained prior to my departure.
Why so much notice? Because my boss gave me a boatload of consideration last year when I approached him about taking my job from full time to 80%, freeing up my Fridays for personal growth and development, a toe-in-first approach to retirement if you will, and I wanted to leave everything buttoned up behind me as much as possible in appreciation.
As I hung up the phone, I felt an immediate sense of joy. I woke up at the next morning still giddy that I was on the brink of beginning a new chapter in my life. My husband and I left the house, boarded our ship and set off to cruise the Panama Canal.
The first day at sea, and a bit more grounded, I wandered into the ship's library to look for a book that would help me begin to create structure in my post-paycheck life. I picked up Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and was introduced to his seven step approach to developing a balanced life that includes short and long term goal planning and continued personal development time, all three very much applicable to my post-paycheck life.
Finding this book my first day out was perfect, perfect timing. I spent every sea day curled up with the book, soaking up the warm weather and beautiful views, while I walked through Dr. Covey's detailed plan on how to incorporate priorities, commitments and personal enrichment into manageable chunks via detailed weekly worksheets. I was able to visualize how my new life could be organized in a manner that emulated the structure I was used to at work, but unlike work, made up solely of activities that were deeply meaningful to me.
Will I stay with this approach in the long run? I think it's too soon to tell. But in the meantime, thank you Dr. Covey for showing me a way to begin.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Budgeting Lessons (#1 in a series)
There are a handful of books that have made an enormous impact on the way I approach money and spending. The first, Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, made the memorable connection between purchasing and the life energy needed to sustain each purchase. In other words, it's not a $30,000 auto, it's six months, or 3,120 hours of your life energy to purchase it, and then another $5,000, or 260 hours of your life energy to maintain it when you consider the annual cost of gas, tires, maintenance and insurance. OK, so my maintenance assumptions may be slightly off, but I trust you still get the point.
The second was The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko. Take aways from this book? Stop thinking of your home as a gynormous checking account! Pay it off and stay put, such as the majority of homeowners in Europe appear to do. Paying off a home is one of the most important "getting your ducks in order" steps to take pre-retirement. Not to mention the fabulous peace of mind it affords. Priceless!
And stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. As we all now know, the Joneses are broke!
My most recent little financial find was The Ultimate Cheapskate by Jeff Yeager. Aside from being hysterical, Jeff suggests that much of our spending is due to sheer boredom. Hmmm, so my little habit of going out to a bagel shop for breakfast when I had six perfectly good bagels chillin' in my freezer was because I was bored? Darned if he might not have a point! Jeff challenges his readers to go a full week without spending, other than gas and essential bills, offering that the average American household has enough food on hand to last a month, and enough unused or underutilized entertainment possibilites to last a year.
I took his challenge, and learned some rather surprising things about myself over the course of the week. As disciplined as I thought I was, I had urge after urge to go out and spend for no reason other than boredom. Here's a brief synopsis of how the week went-
The second was The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko. Take aways from this book? Stop thinking of your home as a gynormous checking account! Pay it off and stay put, such as the majority of homeowners in Europe appear to do. Paying off a home is one of the most important "getting your ducks in order" steps to take pre-retirement. Not to mention the fabulous peace of mind it affords. Priceless!
And stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. As we all now know, the Joneses are broke!
My most recent little financial find was The Ultimate Cheapskate by Jeff Yeager. Aside from being hysterical, Jeff suggests that much of our spending is due to sheer boredom. Hmmm, so my little habit of going out to a bagel shop for breakfast when I had six perfectly good bagels chillin' in my freezer was because I was bored? Darned if he might not have a point! Jeff challenges his readers to go a full week without spending, other than gas and essential bills, offering that the average American household has enough food on hand to last a month, and enough unused or underutilized entertainment possibilites to last a year.
I took his challenge, and learned some rather surprising things about myself over the course of the week. As disciplined as I thought I was, I had urge after urge to go out and spend for no reason other than boredom. Here's a brief synopsis of how the week went-
- Saturday morning. Post six mile run I wanted to go out to breakfast "as usual." Because this wasn't an option, I instead made blueberry pancakes with a small amount of blueberries that were a day or so from becoming overripe, squeezed a small glass of O.J. from two oranges I found in the fruit bin, and scrambled a couple of eggs. Result? Fun! Delicious! Satisfying!
- Sunday afternoon. Resisted urge to go out to a $10 per person movie with my husband and instead put on bathing suits and walked across the street to the association pool and jacuzzi that we pay $120 monthly in HOA fees for. Result? Relaxing! Fun! A little decadent!
- Monday - Friday lunch. Came home and ate leftovers, saving about $40 in lunch spend. A sandwich out vs. a sandwich at home tastes pretty much the same. Result? Same satisfaction level as going out. Who knew?!
- Friday night. Made dinner at home instead of picking up take out or ordering in a pizza. Defrosted some chicken to BQ, made brown rice (always in my pantry), and microwaved a bag of frozen peas. I also took a look at my baking supplies and found enough items to make homemade brownies. Result? Hello Domestic Goddess!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Looking for Fullfillment
I got up early to run with my running club, something I'd felt too heavy of spirit to do for some time. We gathered at 7:00 AM for the usual ten minutes or so of chit chat, what I think of as my running fellowship time, before heading out to run six miles along beautiful dirt trails in and around a lake and back. I felt so light of spirit at the conclusion of the run, in spite of a rather memorable total body slide that occured about one mile before the end. Nothing, I mean nothing, is more humbling than falling flat on your face in front of an audience. Of course, me being me, the first thing I checked was that my pricey running sunglasses were ok, which they were. I got a hand up from a friend and finished the run in much better condition, emotionally and spiritually at least, than where I'd started. Which is what I love so much about running.
I'm still 15 working days out from tendering my resignation, but with my departure date firm, I wanted to focus some time today on volunteer options in my community, to ensure I have meaningful activities to step into right away. I found a wealth of opportunities available on the governmental website for my county, which was really exciting. I found and submitted volunteer applications to my local county government for three particular passions of mine; adult literacy, at risk teens, and state parks.
It felt great to be doing something so proactive.
I'm still 15 working days out from tendering my resignation, but with my departure date firm, I wanted to focus some time today on volunteer options in my community, to ensure I have meaningful activities to step into right away. I found a wealth of opportunities available on the governmental website for my county, which was really exciting. I found and submitted volunteer applications to my local county government for three particular passions of mine; adult literacy, at risk teens, and state parks.
It felt great to be doing something so proactive.
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Journey Begins
I have been contemplating this for a couple of years now - is the pursuit of a "better" retirement worth the tradeoff in life years to get there? And what if the pursuit is sort of like a hamster running on a wheel - there really is no end, you simply have to take a breath, muster your courage, and just get off the darn thing.
I'm ready to get off.
Once upon a time I loved working, for many, many years in fact. I'm blessed with a wonderful job that can be as exciting and stimulating as I care to make it. Yes, it has it's share of, well, crap, as all jobs do, but it also presents endless opportunities. The problem is that I no longer find joy in what I do, it feels increasingly meaningless, and other aspects of life that do not involve a paycheck are calling to me.
I'm now at this early retirement crossroads due partly to luck, and partly to lifestyle choices. First the good luck part - we were in the right place at the right time when Company B bought Company A. Now for the lifestyle choices part - we have always been financially prudent. We have lived in our home for 20 years and it is paid off. We have two seven year old autos that are also paid off. We don't shop recreationally, so we don't have credit card debt. Our true joys in life come from being physically active together, and taking our tent trailer (paid for!) out on weekend and week long vacations. All together these pursuits are cheap at the very least, if not free. OK, we do like to travel somewhere "big" once or twice a year as well, but we pay cash and that's our only splurge, and I suspect the urge may be more related to job stress than I realize. It will be interesting to see if this changes in retirement.
The key is that we have always lived on less than one income. Note the "less than one income" reference. That will be key to succeeding in outliving our financial assets in the years ahead.
So, my timeline is as follows: Job notice given on March 7, effective April 8.
The Journey Begins!
I'm ready to get off.
Once upon a time I loved working, for many, many years in fact. I'm blessed with a wonderful job that can be as exciting and stimulating as I care to make it. Yes, it has it's share of, well, crap, as all jobs do, but it also presents endless opportunities. The problem is that I no longer find joy in what I do, it feels increasingly meaningless, and other aspects of life that do not involve a paycheck are calling to me.
I'm now at this early retirement crossroads due partly to luck, and partly to lifestyle choices. First the good luck part - we were in the right place at the right time when Company B bought Company A. Now for the lifestyle choices part - we have always been financially prudent. We have lived in our home for 20 years and it is paid off. We have two seven year old autos that are also paid off. We don't shop recreationally, so we don't have credit card debt. Our true joys in life come from being physically active together, and taking our tent trailer (paid for!) out on weekend and week long vacations. All together these pursuits are cheap at the very least, if not free. OK, we do like to travel somewhere "big" once or twice a year as well, but we pay cash and that's our only splurge, and I suspect the urge may be more related to job stress than I realize. It will be interesting to see if this changes in retirement.
The key is that we have always lived on less than one income. Note the "less than one income" reference. That will be key to succeeding in outliving our financial assets in the years ahead.
So, my timeline is as follows: Job notice given on March 7, effective April 8.
The Journey Begins!
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