Originally Posted by
zuludog
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You must make your own decision of course, but what I will say is that I don't know anyone who has retired, either at the official age or earlier and is now bored
Neither do I know anyone who retired early and regrets it
I was one of the last to get my bus pass at 60; and I could take a couple of private/occupational pensions
I then worked out that if I gave up my car and used the bus I could afford to retire early, which I did, at 61
I could still get around, and now & again I hired a car, though I bought one when my state pension kicked in at 65
I have no shortage of things to do -
Hiking & backpacking, either on my own or with the Backpackers Club
Making model planes, something I've done since I was a schoolboy
Visiting places - friends, relations, museums, blues festivals
I've started another hobby - knife making, I buy the blades then fit & make the handles & sheaths
So that means I've learned some leatherwork, and I've started to make belts
Something I call, for want of a better description, as "looking at England" - villages, stately homes, castles and so on. And not just the pretty places - I like industrial museums as well
I would start a Men's Shed if I could find anyone to help me
Friends who are retired, early or otherwise, have spent time on their hobbies, like backpacking, golf, fishing, long cycling tours, visiting art galleries; you get the idea
None of these things need cost a vast amount of money
I really don't see how anyone can be bored when they retire
But you do have to have some sort of a plan otherwise there is a tendency to drift
Or as a friend advised me -
treat retirement like a job