The Freedom Retirement Gives You

Every once in a while, I remember how much I hated work.  The snail-paced commutes, boring conference calls, endless meetings, employee reviews and the arrogance of some of the executives that ran the company.  I don’t miss it a bit and, as I drink my coffee in a leisurely fashion, I am truly grateful to have escaped the treadmill of Corporate America.  The freedom retirement gives you is one of the greatest rewards of working forty or more years to finally be done with the need to make a paycheck.  My wife loved her job as a teacher, but she seems to have a bigger smile on her face when she talks about the pleasures of retirement.

For most of our lives we were chained to the school calendar.  First, when our children were in school, we couldn’t take them out to go on vacation even though some of those off-season benefits looked extremely nice.  Lower prices, no crowds and a much more relaxing pace were not things we could take advantage of.  When our kids went off to college, my wife became a full-time teacher so, again, we were prisoners of the calendar.  We finally had the money to take nicer vacations, but summers were too hot and crowded to really enjoy ourselves in the places we wanted to go.  The freedom retirement gives you to take advantage of those beautiful fall days on empty beaches or to stroll through Rome without being pushed along in the crowd is one of the best things about retirement and we appreciate that fact every day.

Even dining out became more enjoyable.  We used to dine out on Friday or Saturday nights because any other night meant having to go to work the next day and seemed to take the fun out of the evening.  I was always out of the house by six to try to get ahead of the traffic so there was a little bit of a price to pay if we ate a bigger than normal meal on the late side after getting home from work.  The restaurants were crowded and sometimes rushed so it detracted from the overall experience.  Now, we can eat out on a weeknight, avoid the weekends and go to some of the nicer restaurants when they’re not that busy.  We can eat a little earlier and it’s just a much more relaxing experience.  It’s another benefit of being retired.  The freedom retirement gives you is something we truly appreciate.

Make sure you fully enjoy the freedom retirement gives you.

The ultimate freedom however is the fact that there’s no one there telling you what to do.  I find that absolutely liberating.  I love to read and being able to explore all the topics that interest me is one of the greatest enjoyments of this time of my life.  I love history and can get lost in a topic for days.  It’s amazing what you can learn when you have uninterrupted time and the resources of the internet to explore.  I know many people who have started new hobbies in their retirement and are having the time of their life.  Two people have decided to take up an instrument and one of our friends has joined a band and started writing songs.  The freedom retirement gives you is one of the great gifts of our golden years.  Remember that you’re never too old to start something new and learn a skill that you’ve always wondered about.  Did you ever want to be an artist?  Do it!  Expressing yourself in a creative way can be one of the most fulfilling things that you will ever do.  Many of us never quite figured out what they wanted to do for a living, and they were pulled in a lot of different directions doing things that would earn money but not satisfy a dream.  Retirement is the time to chase that dream again.  You might not ever record a hit song or paint something that hangs in a museum but don’t be surprised with what you can accomplish at this stage of your life.

The amazing thing is that some of those activities can generate an income so, if you’d like to travel more but struggle a little bit in funding that activity, why not start a little business on the side connected to a hobby or interest that you have.  Our friend who joined a band actually makes some money doing something he would do for free on a street corner for fun.  A lot of retirees have started their own websites related to one of their hobbies and there are many people who have discovered how easy it is to sell some of their belongings online.  They not only clear out their basement; they also can make some nice money doing it.  We had a friend over for dinner last night whose phone signaled that she made a sale as she was eating dessert.  That’s a nice way to end a meal.  Be sure you take advantage of the freedom retirement gives you.  Make the most of your time.  Do something you always wanted to do.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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