My 16 Month Retirement Check-In (My biggest change and biggest surprise) by Scott Stolz, CFP, RICP (week 70)

 

I’m coming up on 1 ½ years into retirement, so it seems like a good time to reflect on how it’s going so far.  To begin with, there’s a lot I don’t miss.  If I were still working, I’d be wrapping up budget season.  I certainly don’t miss that “fun” process.  And the end of budget season means I would be coming up on annual reviews.  I absolutely don’t miss that.  My condolences to all of your full-time workers enjoying those annual workplace rituals.  I remember how much “fun” it is to make sure all of your employees fit nicely into that bell curve that HR likes to see.  I never understood a process that motivated you to keep some underperformers during the year so that you would have people to give a lower rating to during the annual review process.  Of course, that can lead to questions about why you’ve kept those underperformers.  Like I said, I don’t miss any of that.

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About a month ago I experienced a major shift in how I view retirement.  Initially, I felt like I should still do something every day.  For example, writing this blog was a way to have something I have to do each week.  That in turn caused me to search for ideas each and every day.  But the need to “do something” disappeared about a month ago.  Last week was the first week I didn’t publish a blog.  I really couldn’t think of something that was worth writing about.  And do you know what?  I didn’t care.  And I’m pretty sure no one missed it.  I know I have quite a few faithful readers, but I certainly realize that a blog about retirement lacks the excitement of the next episode of Yellowstone (I sure miss that show).  I have found it liberating to reach the point where it’s OK if I don’t do much of anything a day or two a week. 

I think my biggest surprise in retirement is our increase in spending.  My wife and I realize that we need to do things while we are still in our go-go years.  And now that we have time, we really have no excuse.  But these “things” almost always cost money.  Sometimes a lot of money.  For example, last week about 4 hours before game time, we decided to grab two tickets to the fifth game of the World Series.  My wife had never been to a World Series game, and I hadn’t been to one since the Cardinals beat the Brewers in 1982.  And since we can see Tropicana field from the balcony of our condo, it seemed silly not to go.  But, then there’s that cost.  Even though we were fine with seats in the right field bleachers, they were still $900 for the pair.  And it’s not like an extra $900 expense is going to blow up our retirement plan.

But here’s my message for those of you planning your retirement.  It’s not the single $900 expense that can get you off track, it’s that expensed combined with the other $500, $1,000, and $1,500 expenses.  Or even a bunch of $150 expenses.  If your goal is to enjoy your retirement by doing things you previously couldn’t do, my advice is to take your best guess at your entertainment and travel expenses and then double that number.  That will probably be much closer to reality.

 

 

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