Working Longer

[Bright Raven]

I see friends who retire and are not as happy as when they worked. Retirement is not as golden as most people think. The problem anyone faces at the point in their life when they retire is - aging. It is not a fun experience. It is compelling to sit down and not do anything. I think working longer is not all bad.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/classic- ... 047b4321cb

 

[greybeard]

Right or wrong, traditionally in this country, women had their children to raise (and then the grandkids) and the men had their work. Their jobs helped define who and what they were, as they toiled each week and day to get ahead, provide for their families and have a sense of self worth. When that ends, it leaves a void and is hard to fill. Unless a retiree can pour himself into another endeavor that they feel an equal passion for, the sense of accomplishment is lacking.
For those of us who have been able to replace our daily job with our farm/cattle life, the void is not as obvious or doesn't exist at all. I do not miss a day job 'working for the man' one bit.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I couldn't wait to be able to spend all my time here,,if I'm not doing it, I'm thinking about it...I think the ones that retire don't prepare for the future after the fact...need to figure out what they'd like to do,like hunting,,fishing..traveling anything,, get something lined up for the future..I don't like the idea of working just to make somebody else rich..and watch them enjoy their life's while I eake out a existence....

 

[True Grit Farms]

There's a big difference in your thinking when you've been self - employed your whole life come retirement time. Lots of people have a retirement plan through their past employment. I depend on my rental income and cattle sales to get me through, and hopefully I won't have to go back to work.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

deleted..

 

[Bigfoot]

Oddly enough, I have been having this same thought all day. In a slightly different way. My son and I have been working since shortly after daylight. Nothing we've done, is something I could have done by myself. In other words, a bunch of what needs done takes two people. My dad is getting old enough, almost everything he does requires a helper. Seems like it might be challenging to stay busy here, if I'm the only one here? (did that even make sense?).

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

My Dad is 65 and retired. He helps me every day....sometimes fence related, sometimes mowing, sometimes farm related. He has no desire to "retire" like normal folks. My FIL actually retired three times. He took an early retirement, and went to work for the competition for another 20 years. He was also in the Army Reserves for 25 years. He has now been at his part time retirement job for 17 years, and it's turned into six days a week and 10 hours a day. He told me not long ago that his income from pensions, SS, and the "part time" job is more than triple what he ever made while "working". The man that delivered a load of posts to us yesterday is 86 years old. He looks about 65 and was puffing on a Camel no filter....go figure. He told me that he retired once for a couple years but couldn't take the boredom. My Dad and FIL are both fit and look much younger than they are.
Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life.

 

[True Grit Farms]

My Dad is 65 and retired. He helps me every day....sometimes fence related, sometimes mowing, sometimes farm related. He has no desire to "retire" like normal folks. My FIL actually retired three times. He took an early retirement, and went to work for the competition for another 20 years. He was also in the Army Reserves for 25 years. He has now been at his part time retirement job for 17 years, and it's turned into six days a week and 10 hours a day. He told me not long ago that his income from pensions, SS, and the "part time" job is more than triple what he ever made while "working". The man that delivered a load of posts to us yesterday is 86 years old. He looks about 65 and was puffing on a Camel no filter....go figure. He told me that he retired once for a couple years but couldn't take the boredom. My Dad and FIL are both fit and look much younger than they are.
Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life.

Some folks are not so lucky. I know folks that worked to pay the bills and keep their head above water, no fun or love involved.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

I guess being raised poor changed my outlook...I watched folks around me work their cans off.,,some for 40 plus years..never could afford to even think of retiring...they paid their bills.. But lived week to week with really nothing to show... God bless them...can't count the ones that retired and died a year later... My grandmother being one.. Never got to enjoy it..

 

[1982vett]

Retiring is about doing what you WANT to do....not what you HAVE to do. The blessed retire with a good pension or retirement plan stocked full of $$$$ that enable you to do that. Want to start a second career....great. Want to set on you butt....that's great too. Volunteer, help your family, travel, watch your kids kids or even someone elses to help them out. That's what 40 years of hard work and sacrifice earn those that are fortunate (or make good choices).

 

[wbvs58]

Our government is putting pressure on people to work longer than 65. I am 66 now but would not have liked to have had to work in a physical job much over 60. I work physically hard now and get a lot done but at my own pace, I would not have liked to have had to work at a pace to satisfy a boss in paid employment. I never enjoyed my work as a self employed veterinarian however in retirement for the last 10 years working with my own cattle and small farm I have enjoyed life so much if I was to drop off my perch tomorrow I would go with a smile on my face.

Ken

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

My Dad is 65 and retired. He helps me every day....sometimes fence related, sometimes mowing, sometimes farm related. He has no desire to "retire" like normal folks. My FIL actually retired three times. He took an early retirement, and went to work for the competition for another 20 years. He was also in the Army Reserves for 25 years. He has now been at his part time retirement job for 17 years, and it's turned into six days a week and 10 hours a day. He told me not long ago that his income from pensions, SS, and the "part time" job is more than triple what he ever made while "working". The man that delivered a load of posts to us yesterday is 86 years old. He looks about 65 and was puffing on a Camel no filter....go figure. He told me that he retired once for a couple years but couldn't take the boredom. My Dad and FIL are both fit and look much younger than they are.
Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life.

Some folks are not so lucky. I know folks that worked to pay the bills and keep their head above water, no fun or love involved.

Poor them. Me and my crew will just keep eating this rainbow stew. lol
Whoever will seek, will find. If you are not seeking, you will not find.

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

Our government is putting pressure on people to work longer than 65. I am 66 now but would not have liked to have had to work in a physical job much over 60. I work physically hard now and get a lot done but at my own pace, I would not have liked to have had to work at a pace to satisfy a boss in paid employment. I never enjoyed my work as a self employed veterinarian however in retirement for the last 10 years working with my own cattle and small farm I have enjoyed life so much if I was to drop off my perch tomorrow I would go with a smile on my face.

Ken

It sounds to me like you've ended up a winner. I can't imagine being (edit: staying) a veterinarian and not loving it. Contrary to popular belief, that's a hard way to make a living. :tiphat:

 

[snoopdog]

About Thursday, my neck and back give me some relief , then comes fri, sat, and sundy

 

[Craig Miller]

I just talked to mamaw and pawpaw about this the other day. They've been retired for 25ish years. I remember both of them going to work every day. Mamaw worked at factories in town. Papaw owned a furniture building business. Usually just him and sometimes a helper working in it. When she retired she dove into the genealogy work. And housekeeping. He started bush hogging for people and could work everyday he wanted to. He still keeps busy just keeping up their place. She told me I was too busy and I needed to just sit on the back porch for a while. That's their favorite past time now. I told her I don't want to because that's what they do and look what happened to them...they got old. She knew it was a joke. If they hadn't found something to do though I don't think either would still be around today. As for needing help as Bigfoot mentioned, he always has something he needs help with. If he can't get it himself he just waits until one of us stops by and if it needs done right then he has mamaw to call until she finds somebody home that can come over.

 

[kenny thomas]

I have been a firefighter for 44 years but now I'm working for the insurance. Gonna work 6 more years I think if I can keep passing the fitness test.

 

[callmefence]

My Dad is 65 and retired. He helps me every day....sometimes fence related, sometimes mowing, sometimes farm related. He has no desire to "retire" like normal folks. My FIL actually retired three times. He took an early retirement, and went to work for the competition for another 20 years. He was also in the Army Reserves for 25 years. He has now been at his part time retirement job for 17 years, and it's turned into six days a week and 10 hours a day. He told me not long ago that his income from pensions, SS, and the "part time" job is more than triple what he ever made while "working". The man that delivered a load of posts to us yesterday is 86 years old. He looks about 65 and was puffing on a Camel no filter....go figure. He told me that he retired once for a couple years but couldn't take the boredom. My Dad and FIL are both fit and look much younger than they are.
Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life.

Some folks are not so lucky. I know folks that worked to pay the bills and keep their head above water, no fun or love involved.

Poor them. Me and my crew will just keep eating this rainbow stew. lol
Whoever will seek, will find. If you are not seeking, you will not find.

That's called making your own luck.
I always tell em boys they still mail out bills when it rains. The good ones agree. The others go home and blame bad luck.

 

[herofan]

I am 49 and can retire when I'm 55, and that sounds very appealing to me right now. I can understand someone who is a farmer, or their own boss in whatever job, who continues as long as they can while slowly lightening the load.

I can't, however, understand someone who misses punching a clock for someone else regardless of what the job is. It seems like people want to work forever these days.

I don't understand the being bored aspect. I guess I'm a free spirit and like the feeling of freedom from a job. Someone asked me last year what I planned to do when I retired and I said probably be so lazy you would have to see it to believe it. Maybe that attitude changes as we get closer to retirement.

 

[BK9954]

Dad is 75 and still working, making over double of what me and my wife put together make if you count his SS and previous pensions. He knows the economy won't last forever and is going until he can't do it anymore. Saving up his nest egg as big as possible in case inflation eats it up. He looks like he is 65 and working and staying active is the secret. I won't retire, can't afford it. Will have to do something til I die. Either way it's the way I was made. I am just trying to get to a point t that I can work for myself, not this big corporation.

 

[Craig Miller]

I hope to work for myself after retirement. Hopefully before retirement. Either way I don't want to work for somebody else until the day I die. My in-laws have a neighbor finally decided to sell out his farm. He's 86 and has no heirs. His farm is worth about 1.5 million. She told him he had waited too long to retire. He should have sold out 20 years ago and enjoyed spending his money