Retired At 61 after over 41 Years - Not what I expected!

by George

I have been in the car business my whole life; early on in the retail side with my dad and the last 41 years working for Auto Mfrs. I'm an "A" type person and have always pushed hard my whole life to get ahead and provide a nice life for my family.

I have an incredible wife and two awesome daughters, I own several pieces of property in TX and Fl, have a sizable 401K and a nice income stream from investments and a traditional pension (even though I think I have a fairly good net worth and good cash flow, I'm still worried about money).

I liked my job, but simply got tired of the hassles and BS associated with corporate life; plus, after 41 years of being on the road, I just could not stand travel anymore! Really just got sick of it and didn't feel engaged...so, I voluntarily decided at 61 in 2017 to retire.

For the entire year before I retired, you could never had me believe that I would go through the kind of anxiety, anxiousness with Insomnia that I'm experiencing...not in a million years. I really thought I had a good plan and would sail right through this....Not! I'm sure it will subside, but it doesn't look like its gong to be easy.

I want to say one thing to the people in this forum......I went to my doctors about all of this and unfortunately, the only thing they want to do is pump you full of bad drugs that will make everything worse...I found this out the hard way and have made the decision to not use the drugs and power through it on my own with my family and friends. I took some of the drugs (mostly to sleep) for a little over a month and the side effects were bad. I'm several days into not taking anything(antidepressants, Xanax, Ambien)and already feeling better. Just a word of caution, if you go to a doctor, be careful when it comes to the drugs they will want to give you. Its really a shame that the medical profession in concert with the big drug companies are only trained to load you with bad drugs when there's an issue; they are inadvertently turning the country into a bunch of drug addicts.

Anyway, after seeing this great site, I wanted to add my two cents and recommendations for all to ponder...hang in there...it will get better!

Comments for Retired At 61 after over 41 Years - Not what I expected!

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My Take on Retirement
by: Irwin - Lakeland

Retirement, in my mind, isn't what anyone of us expected.

Easiest way I like to describe it is just this:
When we worked - unless we were the boss - our time was dictated by what the boss wanted accomplished.

Now that we are retired and have no boss - we get to dictate to ourselves how we want to spend our time. I have learned that I should have made time for hobbies and/or interests other than work during my working career ...........but I didn't and so I had to figure that part out myself.

Truth be told, we found line dancing and I began writing (basically for myself but others that follow my rants and raves seem to enjoy my nonsense). These are two of the things that keep us active along with travel.

Fact is - no one is there to tell us what to do with our time now that we are retired - it is up to us to figure that out. We have been retired now since 1996 (21 years this December) and one thing is certain - our days are not boring.

Only advice I can offer is find something you truly love doing and put your heart and soul in it, and pretty soon you will be wondering where your time is going and asking yourself "How did I ever have time to work?"

Go for it!
Don't Give the Doctors Too Much Power
by: Linda/Nevada

I understand the frustration about drug side effects. After being given antibiotics that I should not have been taking, I developed psoriasis. I am now living in my own private hell because of this horrible skin disease.

I no longer take any prescription drugs until I research the side effects and any important information regarding the drug. I have come to distrust doctors who are so quick to write a prescription rather than discussing my medical issues. What would doctors do if they didn't have a prescription pad? Could they still practice medicine?

After changing my primary care doctor, I am hoping to get a better doctor but my hopes are not too high. The one thing I have learned within the past year is to be the driver rather than the passenger in my healthcare decisions.

I am currently reading a book, written by a doctor, that discusses the subject of communication between doctor and patient. It is not comforting to read how doctors view their patients and how miscommunication happens so frequently. I tip my hat to all those nurses who are compassionate and willing to listen rather than shuffling patients in and out of the office in a whopping fifteen minutes.

It is your body and your life, so do your research, ask questions, and then decide what you feel is the best course of treatment.
Retirement is a state of mind
by: diane

I too was a bit anxious about retirement (2013) but I have found that retirement is what you make it. I was a high executive and really didn't have much social life as it was all about work.

I finally realized that through retirement I had an opportunity to explore who I really was. I got to think thoughts I never had before...I got to realize that I really never had my own opinions.

Obviously your story is different but my point is that retirement is an opportunity to do other things. money sure helps as well...but think about what you would have done if you didn't have to get a job to support the family and raise the kids.

maybe a little book store with a coffee bar? hmm or what ever your mind can come up with.
Not What I expected
by: Elna Nugent, MA

Dear Retired at 61…you're just a kid.

Prescribed drugs are never a good idea. You are smart to get off them. But I believe our eating habits can almost put us into drugs just by eating addictive foods.

Have you ever considered seeing a well recommended nutritionist. I wish psychologists would recommend them. My experience has been (and I will be 87 yrs old in two months) that I feel as good and sleep well according to the food I eat.

This is something all retirees should consider. it can add years to your life and make you feel good. Of course some activity is necessary as well.

I love my active interesting life. I don't drink coffee but find that anything that stimulates my mind and brain on better than caffeine. Also being with adult children and 8 grandchildren keeps me on top of things. I write letters to the editor all the time.( I once wrote a newspaper column) .

Also trusting the future and expecting good things to happen works too.

Blessings.
Your comments shared by many I'm sure
by: Larry/ South Carolina

Doug,

I reached my retirement age 7 years ago and decided to keep working. My decision was based on wanting to keep earning an income and the need to keep busy at something I enjoyed.

What I started was my own property improvement business, but I now recognize I won't be able to do that too much longer. A passion that I am developing as I continue my day job, for now, is to start life coaching again. My goal is to help those in their retirement years who plan to continue working, make the most of their retirement life.

Like you, I found this site and fully appreciate everything Wendy is doing to help all of us in our retirement years. So I got active with sharing my experience and have become a blog writer here, especially focused on the "Working" forum.

You seem to me like someone looking to get involved again. You are accomplished and still rather young, with I'm sure, a lot to look forward to. What sealed that impression for me is your declared A-type personality.

To get involved again, from my point of view, means finding something you would truly love to do and make money doing it (or not).

I am preparing more information to be released soon in the "Working" forum. My goal coordinating closely with Wendy is to develop an interactive process where people can declare what they want to do and set it up so all of us can brainstorm online to share ideas, contacts, resources and other support to help them develop their plan and make it come true.

You may want to tune in and share your thoughts on this subject. Best of luck whatever you do.
You can do this!
by: Wendy

My thought to you on being still worried about money -- despite sounding like you are fine in that area:

When Is Enough Enough?

We never know until the future plays out. No financial advisor can guarantee your money will last, and no amount of worry will make it so either.

You have enough. You have family and options... don't sweat the money stuff. Don't worry and make yourself ill. Just start LIVING your life in retirement!

On drugs -- I agree it's best if you can do without, but they do help. It takes time for your body to regulate around the new meds, and also takes time to find the right meds for your body (what helps one person is wrong for the next).

You said you are a Type A -- and I KNOW you can do this! Kick yourself in the Type A A** and look at your life like you looked at business. If your life was a friend asking for advice, what would you tell them?

Then TAKE ACTION. You can't just sit there and wait for miracles to take place. You must take action, whatever that action is for you... the world is waiting for you!

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