what are you plannng your retirement to be like

[Deleted]

not money, but all the other things you are planning.

[Deleted]

Lots of travel, sporting events, concerts, BBQ's, campfires and craft beer.

Basically a lot more of what I do in my leisure time now.

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2016 14:35:37 GMT -5 @aj said:

Lots of travel, sporting events, concerts, BBQ's, campfires and craft beer.

Basically a lot more of what I do in my leisure time now.

Do you actually have plans?  Like you will be in Europe for 3 months the first year after retirement, living in this hotel or camping in that place?  Are you trying to figure out pet complications if you have pets?

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2016 14:41:47 GMT -5 @hickle said:

Mar 27, 2016 14:35:37 GMT -5 @aj said:

Lots of travel, sporting events, concerts, BBQ's, campfires and craft beer.

Basically a lot more of what I do in my leisure time now.

Do you actually have plans?  Like you will be in Europe for 3 months the first year after retirement, living in this hotel or camping in that place?  Are you trying to figure out pet complications if you have pets?

We have a list of 40 places where we want to vacation for a week and started on it last year. Knocking out one a year so should have the list cut in half by retirement. I anticipate doing 4 a year in retirement and the list will likely grow. No desire to travel for several months at a time, just a lot of week long ventures away. I'll have NFL season tix soon so will keep that as long as possible.

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2016 14:53:42 GMT -5 @aj said:

Mar 27, 2016 14:41:47 GMT -5 @hickle said:

Do you actually have plans?  Like you will be in Europe for 3 months the first year after retirement, living in this hotel or camping in that place?  Are you trying to figure out pet complications if you have pets?

We have a list of 40 places where we want to vacation for a week and started on it last year. Knocking out one a year so should have the list cut in half by retirement. I anticipate doing 4 a year in retirement and the list will likely grow. No desire to travel for several months at a time, just a lot of week long ventures away. I'll have NFL season tix soon so will keep that as long as possible.

sounds fun

[Apple]

I plan to have my house in the woods (paid off), where I'll enjoy bonfires and building stuff with wood (tables, chairs, whatever).  I'll also enjoy walks in the trees and lounging in a hammock or on a porch swing.  

I plan to travel as much as possible, and, when I become too old/tired of overseas travel and the hassles that come with it, I want to have a truck and camper, or travel van, and drive all over the states and Canada (currently, I've been to more countries than states).  I had planned on my dog being the last pet I would have, simply because I want to be able to travel whenever the mood strikes (sadly, I recently lost her much sooner than expected).

I will visit my son wherever he ends up, and if he has kids, I'd love to bake and craft with them.

I want to have bees.  If they don't interfere with the travel.

I have 20 years until it happens, but since I've dreamed of all the above for years (well, except the bees, those are more recent), I don't see what I want to do changing much.  Hopefully I'll remain in good physical, mental, and financial health, and can make it happen.

[busymom]

I'd like to take some classes, that I've never had the time to take earlier. Like painting, learning a new musical instrument, etc. I'd like to have more time for crafts, so, if DH gets his "man cave", I'll probably put together an office/craft room/hobby room for me.

[Apple]

Mar 27, 2016 15:43:17 GMT -5 busymom said:

I'd like to take some classes, that I've never had the time to take earlier. Like painting, learning a new musical instrument, etc. I'd like to have more time for crafts, so, if DH gets his "man cave", I'll probably put together an office/craft room/hobby room for me.

I'd love to take a ceramics/wheel class again.  That was a lot of fun (even though the clay completely dries out my hands).

[gregintenn]

Arthritis, heart disease, and lots of doctor visits.

[Deleted]

Mar 27, 2016 14:53:42 GMT -5 @aj said:

We have a list of 40 places where we want to vacation for a week and started on it last year. Knocking out one a year so should have the list cut in half by retirement. I anticipate doing 4 a year in retirement and the list will likely grow. No desire to travel for several months at a time, just a lot of week long ventures away. I'll have NFL season tix soon so will keep that as long as possible.

VERY good to start early. First of all, not everyone lives till retirement. Don't postpone all the good times. Second, DH and I have been traveling together since we met, but as he gets older (I'm 63, he's 77), we need to travel at a slower pace, in more comfort, less public transportation, etc. because it wears him down. We're down to one major trip a year (usually transatlantic) but we've done plenty back when we could do silly things like fly overnight from Newark to Rio Thursday night and fly home Monday night. In Coach.

How my plans turned out:

1. Retire at 65. Nope. Ran into intractable toxic politics and left at 61.
2. Go to Australia and NZ. Nope. I'm afraid that WOULD kill DH and as long as he's up for travel I don't want to do a major trip without him.
3. Buy a house on a lake and get a kayak. That happened and it was practically a fantasy. We LOVE our house and the beautiful setting.
4. Travel. Yes, we still do. As noted earlier, only one major trip per year, carefully paced, etc. so DH can rest when needed, but I'm grateful. DH is just fine with me running out and looking for more interesting things and getting dinner to enjoy in the room after he puts his feet up after a day of sightseeing. We're looking forward to Iceland in August. We also do a lot of road trips; DH will cheerfully drive all day while I knit or read. We try to avoid flying and enjoy a leisurely trip with a couple of overnights en route.
5. Learning- I immediately took a class in Geology at the local community college. Loved it and got an A. Unfortunately, we moved out of that county and I don't qualify for a senior discount at the ones in this area. There's also nothing as convenient as the other community college. Many near here are focused on boring stuff like IT and MBA curricula. I want to study ancient Greek and Art History.
6. Fitness- definitely doing well. I get to the gym every day and am starting to sign up for summer charity bike rides of 35 miles each.
7. Volunteer stuff- I have as much as I want. Don't want to get over-committed.
8. I thought I might want to work part-time. That idea lasted about 5 minutes.

[tskeeter]

Retirement equals

Travel
Spend a year or more in Ireland acting as tour guide for friends and relatives
Set up wood shop in the spare garage and learn to use the equipment that I've collected
Build houses for Habitat
Sit at kitchen table, sipping coffee, and looking at snow in the mountains
Take some classes at the local university
Maybe, if I get overly ambitious, turn the yard into a manicured masterpiece

[tskeeter]

Mar 27, 2016 22:11:11 GMT -5 @patstab said:

I had my plans apparently they don't coincide with DH's plans.

So we are once again working our butts off, oh happy day.

I wanted to travel more, of course he doesn't but sounds like he

will a little. I may be in the south next winter for 2 months, don't

know yet, I'm about to the point he can go or stay here, that is

one of the things I really want to do, not stay here where its cold.

I will help him get these houses together this year and now he is

sitting us up where we are going to have so much mowing we can't

leave more then 2 weeks at a time.

I mean neither of us is sick or anything and I don't mind to much

being home in the summer.  I plan a big garden again this year

as we are eating through my canning fast.  I think the home grown

and canned foods are way healthier for us.  Hope to find a good

source for beef and pork, I have one for chicken but it is almost

prohibitively expensive.

I know its healthier for us to keep very active but gosh darn there

is a limit.

Call me 70, I mostly grew up in small towns in southern MN.  With five kids, our family went through lots of meat.  The folks usually bought meat on the hoof directly from the farmer that raised it.  Split an Angus steer with my Aunt and Uncle; buy a whole hog.  The animal would be slaughtered and processed by the local meat locker plant, many of which still exist in small towns in rural areas.  (In small town MN, in addition to providing butchering services, the locker plant provided frozen storage back in the days before home freezers were common.  The locker plant in the tiny town my Mom grew up in is still in operation.  They make the best summer sausage I've had.  So popular that you can't walk in and buy it.  You have to place your order in advance of the next time they make it.)

[Deleted]

I am actively planning on retiring in the next three or four years (65-66) so I think about this a lot.

I get test runs every summer as a teacher, and I can tell you that I'm planning on living in retirement pretty much like I live now.  I'm not a traveler.  Some of us just aren't.  

When I'm off, we play in the yard/garden, share crossword puzzles (I am the closer), spoil the cocker spaniel, etc.  I did tell DH today that every time I mention a craft project, even one as simple as spray-painting the plant stand, he dismisses it as "too much work.'  I'm not asking him to do anything so that's starting to bother me.  He didn't realize that was what he was doing, but now he does and will stop.  So I have fun craft stuff that I want to do.  

I'll also read.  I have so many books on my Kindle!

If I can convince DH, I would like to join the Senior Citizens Center.  I'm very competitive so I love games.

Obviously, the way I envision retirement doesn't cost much more than my life does now.

[Peace Of Mind]

Pretty much like it is now but with DH being around full-time (Yikes! Maybe he'd better at least consult part-time) and with no mortgage.  Just older, wrinklier, and even worse at spelling.

[cronewitch]

I need a new plan mine didn't work out.

The plan was to buy a truck and camper, bought in 2000, I wanted to wait but he wanted it then. Take my boat I bought in 1996 and head to Florida hit all the major fishing lakes in Florida, Texas, Michigan and Wisconsin for a month or two or three each living in the camper at campsites. Meanwhile I would buy some vacant land and build a bard or shed and sell my house storing anything I wanted to keep in the new barn. Come home after a year or so and stay in the camper next to the new barn while a house was built then settle down and just fish locally. We had hoped and it worked that the pets died before we retired.

The way it worked was I found a house on a river, already had a barn and garage but I didn't buy it. He bought it and moved without retiring because I wasn't ready and he loved the house. So I got him a jet sled for the river and 25 chickens, he has found two stray cats so far. He got a riding mower and spends an hour or so a day doing one chore a day or fishing. I live in my old house and visit him every other week where I am treated like company so no chores for me. I cook when I am there and put the dishes in the dishwasher, when I am out of clean clothes I go home. While I am gone he does his laundry, cleans the house and does more chores than when I am there so I never need to do laundry at his house or scrub the shower. I like being the company and I have less chores because I am home less and lower utilities. Tomorrow a man is coming to mow my lawn.

We both ended up really well off so we can afford separate houses, he has SS and some pensions and I have savings and SS so between us we get about 100K or so. He is getting a new electric wench on the boat anchor because a thumb went bad and he can't pull the anchor and got a second vehicle, third if you count his motorcycle, I have a car and a truck and an old truck with a boat on top. So we have 3 boats and 6 vehicles and two houses for 2 people.

I could travel but he can't with the chickens and cats and lawn to mow and everything and I don't want to travel especially alone. When you are old it is ok not to have big plans just live day to day without goals accomplishing nothing.

[mamasita99]

Mar 28, 2016 4:37:54 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

I need a new plan mine didn't work out.

The plan was to buy a truck and camper, bought in 2000, I wanted to wait but he wanted it then. Take my boat I bought in 1996 and head to Florida hit all the major fishing lakes in Florida, Texas, Michigan and Wisconsin for a month or two or three each living in the camper at campsites. Meanwhile I would buy some vacant land and build a bard or shed and sell my house storing anything I wanted to keep in the new barn. Come home after a year or so and stay in the camper next to the new barn while a house was built then settle down and just fish locally. We had hoped and it worked that the pets died before we retired.

The way it worked was I found a house on a river, already had a barn and garage but I didn't buy it. He bought it and moved without retiring because I wasn't ready and he loved the house. So I got him a jet sled for the river and 25 chickens, he has found two stray cats so far. He got a riding mower and spends an hour or so a day doing one chore a day or fishing. I live in my old house and visit him every other week where I am treated like company so no chores for me. I cook when I am there and put the dishes in the dishwasher, when I am out of clean clothes I go home. While I am gone he does his laundry, cleans the house and does more chores than when I am there so I never need to do laundry at his house or scrub the shower. I like being the company and I have less chores because I am home less and lower utilities. Tomorrow a man is coming to mow my lawn.

We both ended up really well off so we can afford separate houses, he has SS and some pensions and I have savings and SS so between us we get about 100K or so. He is getting a new electric wench on the boat anchor because a thumb went bad and he can't pull the anchor and got a second vehicle, third if you count his motorcycle, I have a car and a truck and an old truck with a boat on top. So we have 3 boats and 6 vehicles and two houses for 2 people.

I could travel but he can't with the chickens and cats and lawn to mow and everything and I don't want to travel especially alone. When you are old it is ok not to have big plans just live day to day without goals accomplishing nothing.

It sounds like your "different" retirement plans are just as nice, especially the part about being the company. Nothing like a little space to freshen up a relationship! The only thing I would suggest would be to look into some sort of meetup group for traveling seniors. That could be a good way to meet new friends, and still get some travel in between trips to SO's home on the river. Start with a short trip, though, until you get to know your travel companions better. Eventually you may find a good group to get into trouble with!

[yogiii]

Like someone else said, just more of what we already do on the weekends.  

If my kids have kids I'd love to be close by and be a stay at home G or back-up babysitter.

That's about it, I used to love travelling and always being on the move but I'm already turning crotchety and not minding being close to home more and more.

[cronewitch]

Mar 28, 2016 5:50:21 GMT -5 mamasita99 said:

Mar 28, 2016 4:37:54 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

I need a new plan mine didn't work out.

The plan was to buy a truck and camper, bought in 2000, I wanted to wait but he wanted it then. Take my boat I bought in 1996 and head to Florida hit all the major fishing lakes in Florida, Texas, Michigan and Wisconsin for a month or two or three each living in the camper at campsites. Meanwhile I would buy some vacant land and build a bard or shed and sell my house storing anything I wanted to keep in the new barn. Come home after a year or so and stay in the camper next to the new barn while a house was built then settle down and just fish locally. We had hoped and it worked that the pets died before we retired.

The way it worked was I found a house on a river, already had a barn and garage but I didn't buy it. He bought it and moved without retiring because I wasn't ready and he loved the house. So I got him a jet sled for the river and 25 chickens, he has found two stray cats so far. He got a riding mower and spends an hour or so a day doing one chore a day or fishing. I live in my old house and visit him every other week where I am treated like company so no chores for me. I cook when I am there and put the dishes in the dishwasher, when I am out of clean clothes I go home. While I am gone he does his laundry, cleans the house and does more chores than when I am there so I never need to do laundry at his house or scrub the shower. I like being the company and I have less chores because I am home less and lower utilities. Tomorrow a man is coming to mow my lawn.

We both ended up really well off so we can afford separate houses, he has SS and some pensions and I have savings and SS so between us we get about 100K or so. He is getting a new electric wench on the boat anchor because a thumb went bad and he can't pull the anchor and got a second vehicle, third if you count his motorcycle, I have a car and a truck and an old truck with a boat on top. So we have 3 boats and 6 vehicles and two houses for 2 people.

I could travel but he can't with the chickens and cats and lawn to mow and everything and I don't want to travel especially alone. When you are old it is ok not to have big plans just live day to day without goals accomplishing nothing.

It sounds like your "different" retirement plans are just as nice, especially the part about being the company. Nothing like a little space to freshen up a relationship! The only thing I would suggest would be to look into some sort of meetup group for traveling seniors. That could be a good way to meet new friends, and still get some travel in between trips to SO's home on the river. Start with a short trip, though, until you get to know your travel companions better. Eventually you may find a good group to get into trouble with!

I might have met a new friend yesterday. He works at the grocery store as a meat manager and asked if I was finding everything. So I asked him if my pork roast I picked out had sodium and it didn't say on the label so he checked for me, then he tells me on Fridays and Saturdays he can mark down anything he wants and will for me, he asked the Sunday manager to mark down my roast but he didn't. So he starts vacation tomorrow and is all alone since his mom just died and he owns a landscaping company. So tomorrow he is coming to mow my lawn. He is about 40 years younger than me but I am thinking if he doesn't have anyone and spare time and is local maybe we could be friends like a grandmother grandson relationship not romantic. We chatted already about pork roast and bean soup he thinks sounds yummy and I have the pork roast in the crock pot and beans soaking so will have soup by the time he is done mowing the yard so I could offer him a bowl of soup. He is bringing me a coupon book they give employees with $1,000 worth of coupons he doesn't want. If this works out I might have him weed my flower beds too. I don't know why he picked me to be nice to and offer to discount my meat but maybe because it was Easter and I was dressed nice and an old woman.

[vonna]

I expect DH and I will go through several stages in retirement. Right now we are in stage one, which I have deemed our SAHP stage, since our youngest is only 10. 

We both made the mistake of initially volunteering too much when we first retired, but we have both managed to figure out both the amount of time and the responsibilities for which we can "happily" volunteer. 

And making travel plans now only has to take DD's and DS's school schedules into account -- so much easier now!

I just love having so much control over my time, and so little stress in day to day life.  Still have to pinch myself some days . . .

[buystoys]

Well, our retirement hasn't gone at ALL the way we planned! 

We've been much busier than we expected with home projects.  DH's best friend of 30+ years passed away in May and DH's health took a significant plunge in 2014.  Because of those two factors, we decided to accelerate our project list because DH just doesn't know how much longer his health will be good enough to do big things.  (Like taking down 50 trees along our fence line last summer, knocking down the termite infested rotting shed a couple of weeks ago, things like that.)  Our current plan is to have all the major projects completed within the next five years. 

We thought we'd be doing more day trips, volunteer work, and socializing by now.  The new shed was delivered Saturday, so we hope to have the inside painted, the ramp and steps done and attached, everything loaded back into it and minor landscaping done within the next two or three weeks.  Then we will go back to finishing, painting, and decorating the guest room.  No projects planned for this summer so we can enjoy the pool and maybe do some day trips.  There's a major flea market about an hour away that we've wanted to go to, but we keep missing it with our project schedule.

My biggest concern is DH overdoing it now to make things manageable for me when he can't do stuff any longer.  I keep telling him that we'll just have to hire some work out.  He grumbles about how much that would cost, so that topic will just continue to be revisited again and again! 

Since we're both major homebodies, extended travel isn't really on our radar.  We did enjoy our two week road trip to California last year and we'll likely take trips to visit my family in west Texas and Kansas over the next couple of years.  The only other trip we've really talked about is going to Vegas to celebrate our anniversary.  Maybe in a couple of years?  Not a top item on the so-called bucket list. 

[kittensaver]

Another "More-Of-What-We-Already-Do-On-Weekends" person here

Other than that, we are still planning to rent (or possibly buy used) a motorhome and see the country. It will probably take close to a year to tootle around the whole USA. We want to do that right when we first retire so we still both have energy for it.

In our fantasies, we keep talking about retiring in Maui. It still remains to be seen if that will happen   .

[imawino]

Mar 28, 2016 8:01:54 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

Mar 28, 2016 5:50:21 GMT -5 mamasita99 said:

It sounds like your "different" retirement plans are just as nice, especially the part about being the company. Nothing like a little space to freshen up a relationship! The only thing I would suggest would be to look into some sort of meetup group for traveling seniors. That could be a good way to meet new friends, and still get some travel in between trips to SO's home on the river. Start with a short trip, though, until you get to know your travel companions better. Eventually you may find a good group to get into trouble with!

I might have met a new friend yesterday. He works at the grocery store as a meat manager and asked if I was finding everything. So I asked him if my pork roast I picked out had sodium and it didn't say on the label so he checked for me, then he tells me on Fridays and Saturdays he can mark down anything he wants and will for me, he asked the Sunday manager to mark down my roast but he didn't. So he starts vacation tomorrow and is all alone since his mom just died and he owns a landscaping company. So tomorrow he is coming to mow my lawn. He is about 40 years younger than me but I am thinking if he doesn't have anyone and spare time and is local maybe we could be friends like a grandmother grandson relationship not romantic. We chatted already about pork roast and bean soup he thinks sounds yummy and I have the pork roast in the crock pot and beans soaking so will have soup by the time he is done mowing the yard so I could offer him a bowl of soup. He is bringing me a coupon book they give employees with $1,000 worth of coupons he doesn't want. If this works out I might have him weed my flower beds too. I don't know why he picked me to be nice to and offer to discount my meat but maybe because it was Easter and I was dressed nice and an old woman.

Cougar! 

[imawino]

I like this thread. It has me thinking. I have way too many things I want to do - mostly travels. So many travels!    And I like the idea of picking a few places to actually go and "live" for 6 months or so. Maybe Spain, someplace in the Caribbean.   Some of that will probably depend on the pets I have when I retire, and whether I can get the sweetie on board with my plans. 

I'd like to find other seniors to be active with in clubs and activities (day drinking ).  Maybe some volunteering.

If our vacation home is in Florida, I will probably attend a lot of Braves Spring training games. 

Probably I will just drop dead at 62, and will have saved up for nothing. 

[Deleted]

I see it like weekends also but somewhere warmer and with a dog.

[imawino]

Mar 28, 2016 14:19:26 GMT -5 @xmascookie said:

I see it like weekends also but somewhere warmer and with a dog.

or two!