What is retirement REALLY like?

Photography

It's a question Mike and I get asked again and again.  Among most of our friends, we are the first to retire.  And sometimes it feels like they are observing us, seeing how we are REALLY doing in retirement.  In other words, are we happy?

Recently I read an interesting article by Rodney Brooks in USA TODAY on his interview with author-radio show host Wes Moss. Wes recently surveyed 1300 people in 46 states about retirement.  He was looking for the happiest retirees and their financial state.  He then wrote a book: "You can retire sooner than you think: the 5 money secrets of the happiest retirees".

In the USA TODAY article he gave his top 3 pieces of advice for happiness in retirement:

1. Pay off your mortgage.  "Happy retirees are four times more likely to have their mortgage paid off in five years or less".

2.  Level of income is important. Happy retirees have at least three sources of income in retirement.  These might include Social Security, a pension, part time work, rental income and investment income.  They have diversification in their income.

3. "Busier retirees are happier".  "Happy retirees have 3.6 core hobbies, unhappy have less than two".

He went on to say that people thinking about retirement should get hobbies so they don't arrive at retirement trying to figure out what to do next.  People who are happy in retirement wanted to stop working so they could have more time for their hobbies and interests.

Gardening

In my own retirement, my best days are when I have several hobbies or activities to choose from.  I might write a blog entry, work on a new denim table clot, or move some flowers in my garden.  I might paint some cast iron chairs I bought at a garage sale.  I might want to finish that new book I just started or work on a new piece of jewelry.  And then there's biking and walking, which I should do more often.

At a party last weekend everyone seemed to be talking about when they could retire.   Seems like most were counting down the days before they were free of the work scene.  But what were they planning to do in retirement?

As I looked around at people attending the party, there were a few people who were involved with  hobbies today such as photography or woodworking.  Others had ideas of what they wanted to do in retirement, but they weren't really doing that activity today.  And some didn't have a plan for retirement; they just wanted out of the work scene.

Before I retired, I didn't really know what I would do with my time.  I thought I might work some, but I have not pursued a job.  I expected to volunteer, but I haven't started that yet.  I planned to write a book, and I've actually made some progress on that.

Jewelry making

But I also had hobbies before my retirement, and I am actively pursuing them in retirement: photography, jewelry-making, sewing, gardening, playing guitar, live music, biking, walking and cooking.  And of course, writing a blog.  And by having so many diverse interests, I don't often get bored.  In fact, most days I wished I had more time.

I agree with Wes Moss that you need to get your financial house in order for retirement.  But the area that's often overlooked in retirement planning is developing hobbies while you are working.  Retiring and having an additional 40-50 hours available in your week can be daunting if you don't know what to do with the time.

So if you are sitting at your desk at work dreaming of retirement (or if you already retired), start thinking about your current hobbies. Do you have any that you are excited about?  Don't be afraid of failure.  If something doesn't work out, drop it and try something new.

Biking

When I was younger I tried golf for several years, and it wasn't my thing.  I also tried skiing, and though I enjoyed the bunny hills of Iowa, skiing once at Winter Park in Colorado scared me to death. So I gave up skiing...At least I can say I've had the experience.

So what's retirement REALLY like?  It's a great place to be, most days anyway....  I think it's different for each person, and it changes over time.  I may be doing something totally different next year, and that's OK.  

Diane

A day in the life of a retiree

I thought I understood busy when I was working 50-plus hour weeks as a Program Manager  in an international  insurance company.  Long hours at work, chores in the evenings and hundreds of miles of weekend driving to see my husband who lived in another state. Now that was busy.

But much to my surprise, life seems equally busy in retirement. And my retired friends all say the same thing.  They still don't have enough time to do everything they want. 

Like most, I wasn't sure what to expect in retirement.  How would I spend my days when I didn't awaken at 5:45 a.m. each day, spend countless hours in project meetings, eat lunch at my desk and leave work around 6:00 p.m.?   Surely I would much more time available once I left the work rat race.

I dreamed of a retirement where I would relax, read books, take leisurely walks and bike rides with my sweetie, spend time with friends and family, travel and write a book. In my dreams retirement would be an idyllic, calm environment where I could stretch my creative wings.  Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

But here's the reality.  My retirement is crazy busy!   And as I talk to retired friends about how busy they are, I decided this might be a good blog topic.

At the risk of boring you to death, here's a summer day in the life of this retiree.  Not glamorous but certainly action packed...

• Get up around 7:30 a.m. without an alarm
• Enjoy a leisurely breakfast in Mike's sunny study, drinking tea and catching up with news, emails and blogs on my iPad.
• Clean the kitchen, and as much as I hate to admit it, this sometimes includes washing dishes leftover from the previous night's meal.
• Shower and get dressed in my usual attire of shorts and a t-shirt.  I absolutely love this carefree style of dressing compared to that of the financial services industry. 
• Do laundry. Repeat. 
• Work on the day's projects.  Fortunately we don't need a lot of meetings, but similar to work  there are always more projects than time or money.
• Here is a quick list of our summer projects: 

• Clean and paint antique cast iron chairs I bought at a garage sale

  

  
  

  
  

  

  Removing chipped paint with wire brush

  
  

  

  Painted with rust-converting primer

• Help Mike re-build the screen porch 

  

  Buying red cedar posts at an amazingly large lumber yard

  
  

  

  Mike cutting an existing beam (don't worry, the porch is held up by floor jacks)
  
  
  

• Create a new flower bed



You just can't have too many flower beds

• Remove ornamental grasses from the yard, till the soil, add peat and plant grass seed 

  

  Mike tilling "away the moments that make up a dull day" (to quote a Pink Floyd song...)

• Paint the music room

  

  No longer a boring white color

• Dig weeds taller than me and remove a tree stump the side yard

• And when I really need a chance to relax I escape to my study for some creative projects like jewelry making, sewing purses or denim tablecloths.

  

  
  

  
  
  

Oops, perhaps I got carried away with projects.  Here's the rest of the day...

• Head out to lunch with Mike at one of our favorite restaurants where we leisurely enjoy lunch with iPads and lots of iced tea.  
• Run errands on our way home including necessary project stops at Menard's, Lowe's, Target, Joanne's, Michael's, and yes of course, Goodwill.  
• Spend the next 4-5 hours working on projects.
• Exercise if we have time.  I know. I know.  Excuses still exist when you retire.
• Start fixing dinner around 7:00 p.m.
• Eat dinner on the screened porch around at 8:00 p.m.
• Finish the evening on the porch with a glass of wine or Mike's recent drink concoction of a "light" raspberry/pomegranate martini.
• Watch the evening news.
• Call it a day and crash for some of the best sleep I've had my entire life.

And I want to mention the great times with family and friends staying overnight at our home, which we've lovingly named The Red Bird Inn bed and breakfast.  This summer has been especially busy with guests starting with Kevin and Kathy and Gretchen and Craig during the Indy 500 weekend and continuing with:

• My mom's visit in late June

Eagle Creek pontoon boat ride with mom

Lunch with mom in Broadripple

• Gretchen and Craig stopping by on their return from a wedding in New York

Great visit with Gretchen and Craig

• A visit this week with my friend Ruth from Des Moines

Lunch with Ruth after biking the Cultural Trail in downtown Indy

And we continue to enjoy time with our friends in the Indy area.  We spent a cool July evening with our friends Atanas and Elena and their sons.

A lovely evening with Elena and Atanas

Martin and Alex enjoying musical instruments 

• For the July 4th weekend, we traveled to south eastern Indiana with friends for a George Thorogood concert followed by a day of wine-tasting.

George Thorogood Concert

Lunch with Chris and Garth, Terri and Darwin and Terri and Scott at Huber Winery

Ok, I admit it.  I'm tired just thinking about all of this activity.  But really this is a path of our own choosing.  We love this life, even though it's busy.  We recognize that we have a lot of interests and projects and are fortunate to have great people in our lives.  And maybe it's just our personalities, or the busy 21st century, but we still have too many things to do in not enough hours.  Just like when we were working, but a key difference now is that we have the luxury of choice.  We can decide how to spend our waking hours.

Just like working days, I still collapse into bed each night.  But now I fall asleep smiling about a fun visit with friends or accomplishing a task I'm excited about instead of agonizing over a work-related problem.  Not dull, this retirement life, but definitely a new definition of busy...

Diane