retire sooner or just work less? Update post 187

[resolution]

Oct 27, 2023 19:00:11 GMT -5 debthaven said:

LOL ... that's probably true NastyWoman ! But hey, it works for me LOL. 

ETA: I never wanted to STOP completely, I just wanted to slow down. I consider myself lucky that I can do that. 

ETA2: We had a fabulous long weekend in Amsterdam recently! Of course I thought of you! 

I'm glad you found a solution that works for you!

I am going cold turkey in less than 2 months now.  I don't even have a real plan for what I want to do, other than going to the gym more frequently and having the whole house clean at the same time...

[debthaven]

Congratulations Resolution!

[zibazinski]

Jun 29, 2023 14:32:22 GMT -5 plugginaway22 said:

My DH (age 63) had 2 ex-coworkers die this month. One was 67, still working full-time, and lived less than a year from his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The other was a young father of 1 in his late 30s who dropped over from a heart attack. We are embracing retirement, and while comfortable we don't have mega-monies. Our time is limited! and even to think about only having 15-20 more good years to travel, or whatever it is you want to do!  Ask yourself how quickly the LAST 20 years flew by. 

The year I retired from teaching, two teachers dropped dead in their classroom. I was never so happy for June. I have never looked back and will not sub or tutor.

[debthaven]

Hi Friends!

How is retirement going resolution ?! You're probably too busy with the holidays to know LOL. 

Next semester I'll be at Job 1 one day/week from mid-Jan to early April, and at Job 2 one day/week from early April to early May. There are two weeks of overlap, I'll have to go in two days those two weeks. 

I'll also be WFH one day/week with my professor/staff students. Few of them have class every week. 

I won't do any more student classes after next semester. There are WAY too many issues (and meetings, none of which I attend LOL) about cheating, AI, etc.

My bank account is happy though! As I've said before, crappy salary + crappy pension adds up! So I'll carry on through 2024 (but still reducing my hours each semester!) 

[finnime]

I'm really glad for you, debthaven. It's working out as you'd hoped, giving you flexibility and some $$.

[resolution]

Dec 21, 2023 21:12:52 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Hi Friends!

How is retirement going resolution ?! You're probably too busy with the holidays to know LOL. 

Next semester I'll be at Job 1 one day/week from mid-Jan to early April, and at Job 2 one day/week from early April to early May. There is a week of overlap, I'll have to go in two days. 

I'll also be WFH one day/week with my professor/staff students. Few of them have class every week. 

I won't do any more student classes after next semester. There are WAY too many issues (and meetings, none of which I attend LOL) about cheating, AI, etc.

My bank account is happy though! As I've said before, crappy salary + crappy pension adds up! So I'll carry on through 2024 (but still reducing my hours each semester!) 

That sounds like a great schedule!

My last day at work is tomorrow, so I have been enjoying a very relaxed week. I made a little handbook about some of my job duties that my other team members don't do, and had a workshop with them to train them. They each took an assignment from it and I have been helping them this week when they run into problems. Other than that, I have just been chatting with people and saying goodbye, and exchanging contact info with a few of them.

I am kind of cheating for the holidays. I can't host because my sister-in-law is allergic to my cats, so I ordered a family size restaurant meal and am heating it up at her house, so no one has to cook this year. I probably won't have a good sense of how retirement will be until after the new year, since my husband will be off work for the week in between the holidays.

I have been exploring different volunteer options in my community, and today I received a letter from our local homeless shelter looking for volunteers. I may go talk to them and take a tour of the facility. One of the reasons I was hesitant to leave my job was that we did a lot to help low income and vulnerable families, which is where my heart is. So the shelter is more appealing to me than the other options nearby. However, I want a good rest before I sign up for anything new.

[debthaven]

That sounds perfect for you resolution. 

[debthaven]

As of last week, I'm done with classes for this semester and summer term.

I'm now doing the interviews for prospective students, plus my 11 staff/faculty students. (All the retirees come out of the woodwork for those interviews LOL.)

I signed up for one class at Job 1 in fall semester ... 2h/week, no marking. I'll be off for 6.5 weeks this summer, so DS1 convinced me to do one more class in fall.

Also, 11 people is too many! I was planning to reduce those in January, but hopefully I'll lose one or two by attrition! Most of them have class every other week, so the teaching is very manageable ... it's the paperwork for 11 people that gets me down.

So I'm still working, but still reducing every semester!

PS Fall semester is short ... it lasts 16 weeks. Then we have two weeks off for Christmas.

But spring semester segues into summer term which segues into the Bachelor interviews which segue into the Masters interviews. That lasts 27/28 weeks.

This is my last year ever doing all that!!! 

[debthaven]

As always, I'd be very happy to hear how other recent retirees are doing!

I do yoga once/week, and I have a private music lesson every other week. I suck at both, but I'm persistent LOL.