Sitting here reading the forums and dreaming about retirement!!!

[waroland]

Getting older is the better alternative. We have been on the road for 4 years with no regrets. The last year before we retired flew by. There is so much to do. We sold our S&B and most of the contents.
We keep busy doing volunteer work at christian conference centers and building churches. I am 70 now and have some health issues, but I don't let them slow me down.
For those near retirement, plan well and have fun.

[targaboat]

I am more on the neutral side. I now believe that not everyone should retire. There are many benefits to having to adhere to the the work schedule both mentally and health wise. Of course it depends upon what you did for work. I also thought it great for a while but now miss all that was involved with work. For example playing golf every day will soon become similar to work. You have to go feeling off and in all weather conditions and that soon gets old. If you start a new career then that is another story. It may require a number years to come to this conclusion.

[Koop]

We thought we could work another year before retirement. Then we realized that working wasn't giving us the return we wanted. I took an early retirement and we hit the road.

No regrets...flyingthekoop.com

[sadrand]

4 more months to retirement! S&B goes up for sale in April. I am having a real hard time getting through these last few months of work! Part of the problem is that I will begin fulltiming as soon as the S&B sells and I can't wait!

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi Christy! Yep, retirement is worth waiting for! Every day is Saturday, no setting clocks except to go to church on Sunday, naps after lunch........

Hang in there, that year will go by before you know it!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[tooltrdr]

There will be a decompression period! Be prepared. Don't waste the time that comes available-family, church, local charities, etc can always use your time and experience. So plan your way a little, relax and ahng on it'll come quickly

[rvtime2]

I took volunteer retirement during a rough business climate ,left end of march 2013. I really enjoy the free time to volunteer at church for most anything they need,its a real blessing. We also traded in two TTs on a motorhome and we have used twice. We plan a longer trip in march,its great to have time to participate in ministry and have time to visit family.enjoy.

[DavisK]

I turned 63 today, but I have 2 1/2 years before I get my 30 in at work. I plan to retire in 3 to 4 years. Before I leave I need to hire someone that can do my job after I'm gone, although I could probably consult for them working less than half the hours I do now for more money.

[Fred1609]

I'm curious....I read of more than a few members selling their S&B's, upgrading to a MH and full timing......What happens when you've reached a point in your lives where full timing/rving isn't possible? Do you sell the MH and get into an apartment or? Just wondering because I hear all the stories at the front end where folks are on the road to freedom but not any at the end of the road.

[Muddypaws]

I did the countdown timer thing too. I told my bosses I was retiring on Dec 31'st 2008 and they talked me out of it. Then they laid me off on April 1'st 2009! The joke was that I got a heck of a golden handshake out of those 3 extra months. So don't be too focused on that end date.....

Retirement is AWESOME! Up to a point.

I hung around the house for about 6 months, read about a hundred Amazon.com books but the mind numbing boredom finally got me. Then I started volunteering at the American Red Cross and a technical educational foundation. There are thousands of great organizations looking for volunteers. Wherever your expertise and passion may take you there will be a need.

Search on 'Volunteer opportunities'. Even your local craigslist will list volunteer 'gigs'.

My volunteer 'gigs' have never gotten in the way of RV'ing. Quite to the contrary: I've been a county park docent for 30-something years and we go there in the RV at least 5 times a year.

[Dick Noble]

You got me to adding up the years- DW and I have been retired almost 14 years! Boy, does time fly! DW actually retired (on paper) while we where on the road for our first trip down south. I'd been retired for 5 months and she did not think that was fair. I think we may have missed one year of not going south in an RV but even that year we rented a beach house on Mustang Island off Corpus Christy for a month. That was the year I scrapped the RV on a tree and had to have the roof replaced (darn ice). If anyone wants to not RV - take a look at www.vrbo.com - that is "vacation rental by owner". We also used this to rent a beach house on Oahu for a month. Split the cost three ways so it was affordable.

[fly_1]

Originally Posted by Fred1609

I'm curious....I read of more than a few members selling their S&B's, upgrading to a MH and full timing......What happens when you've reached a point in your lives where full timing/rving isn't possible? Do you sell the MH and get into an apartment or? Just wondering because I hear all the stories at the front end where folks are on the road to freedom but not any at the end of the road.

A very important question and I think many of us just want to play that by ear. As was once intoned by a close friend of mine and my desired outcome our goal is to enjoy what we do until we drive the MH to an assisted living facility and turn in the keys. I know that this is a somewhat romantic view of our exit strategy but I can dream, can't I?

Seriously, Sandee and I have learned a lot just in the downsizing exercise of selling the home and going full time in something around 400 Sq Ft in living space. It has changed our approach to what we would consider in a S&B exit strategy. Where as before we lived in 1900 Sq Ft with our 2 GSDs we seldom seemed to need more than 20 Sq Ft at any given time. LOL

So, we don't have an exit strategy set in stone. We hope that over the next few years we find some places that might be targets for our end days. We also are putting a lot of money aside for that time. Yet, for now, we just ride the rainbow, enjoy the journey and see where it takes us. We just don't know what we don't know yet.

[RickO]

Originally Posted by CWinLV

Sheesh it's hard to go to work everyday knowing retirement is just around the corner! The next year is going to be the longest of my life, but at least there's an end in sight!

It probably won't seem as long as you think. Just remember, when you go to work tomorrow, it'll be the very last February 25th you'll ever have to work.

Originally Posted by Fred1609

I'm curious....I read of more than a few members selling their S&B's, upgrading to a MH and full timing......What happens when you've reached a point in your lives where full timing/rving isn't possible? Do you sell the MH and get into an apartment or? Just wondering because I hear all the stories at the front end where folks are on the road to freedom but not any at the end of the road.

As Sky Boss mentioned, it's imperative to have an exit strategy IMHO.

I retired nine years ago at 55 and can honestly say that there has not been a single minute that I've missed working or been bored.

We're one of those who retired, sold the stick house, bought a new DP and hit the road full time. We never had any plans beyond that. We figured that we would travel and check out the rest of the country and if we found someplace we felt we wanted to settle down, we would. But, our exit strategy included being able to purchase another stick house at will. We're not one of those who took the equity from their home and spent it on a coach. That would just be too restricting for my personality.

After about three years of full time we found a 1700 sq ft home on a golf course in Arizona. We purchased it and we're loving what we're doing now... although it does mean we're hanging up our keys soon.

Whatever you do just think it through and do some "what if" scenario planning so you'll know how you'll deal with whatever comes your way.

Best of luck.

Rick

[trashman1995]

Good luck! Keep us posted.