Retired

Who is actually Retired on here?. To a certain extent I can be flexible with work hours, if you are not retired how do you find time?.

Re: Retired

I am.

How do I find the time? usually by looking at a clock.

Re: Retired

I finished work early, life's too short and for me, it's better to have quality time now before I'm of pensionable age and may not be as fit as I am now

I had planned it myself ensuring I was financially sound, I'm so glad it was drilled into me from being aged 15 to work hard and save, thanks to the advice from my mum that's exactly what I've done and reaped the rewards for doing so

Re: Retired

Exactly the same as you, Honey. We planned to 'retire' in our mid 50's and by a mixture of making good decisions, living modestly and saving hard, we managed it.

Now, like many others, we wonder how we ever had time to work. Life is full of DIY, gardening, helping out in a market garden (and getting paid in organic vegetables), and raising our own pigs for pork. Oh, and holidays in our motorhome.

Re: Retired

I don't miss work at all, I rarely had quality time off as I worked lots of overtime as part of my plan for my future, the house was paid off years ago so I have no financial concerns.
I was thinking of buying a caravan at one point so we could have lots of mini breaks but the costs are quite expensive when you take into consideration site fees, running costs and the fact that most sites are only open for 9 or 10 months of the year

Re: Retired

Im only retired by health problems, i will never reach true retirement. As for housework ,shopping etc its a doddle. Only gardening is a struggle, with all me bits falling apart.

Re: Retired

We always thought that by the time we retired the retirement age for men would be brought into line with women at 60 instead of the other way round. With this in mind we both worked on retiring at 60. We lived in a big house so downsized, paid off the mortgage and worked part-time for a couple of years. No regrets at all, may be a bit lazy at times but I feel I've earned it !!

Re: Retired

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How do I find the time? usually by looking at a clock.[/QUOTE]

Chuckle.

Re: Retired

I too worked hard and saved all my life . When my husband suddenly needed a heart by-pass aged 53 I suddenly thought life is too short . So age 50 I left work . My husband realised the same and a couple of years he too retired and we moved to the country . I don't regret it one bit and I am busier than ever .

Re: Retired

Honey, you're absoutely right about the costs and drawbacks of caravanning, but it's a lifestyle choice. There are lots of passtimes that cost - golf, sailing, cruising etc.. and if you want to do them, you have to pay.

Caravanning no longer provides a cheap holiday - especially the way some people want every mod-con and home comfort! Living in Scotland, travel to the continent has a lot of overheads so we tend to fly there and only use the van for UK breaks. I'm not too worried about sites being closed in the winter - at least not here in the 'frozen north'!