5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Retirement – My Early Retirement Regrets

Today, I talk about my retirement journey and the five things I wish I knew before I retired. As someone who retired two years ago, I know the mistakes people make and can help you prepare for retirement.

If you are planning to retire then watch this video to know more about common retirement regrets and what you can do to avoid them.

I'll talk about common retirement mistakes and what you will face once you retire. Let's remember that it is okay to make big changes to your retirement plan and wanting to go back to work once you retire.

#retirement #earlyretirement #retire #retirementmistakes #lifeafterretirement #retirementideas #happyretirement

[ralphholiman]

I retired at 52. At the time, I was just burned out and had had it with my very high stress job. We bought a 42 foot sailboat and headed to the Bahamas the day after I retired. At the time half my friends and family thought we had lost our minds, and half wished they could go with us. And, I knew that decision was going to come with a pretty heft financial penalty. But, we had a wonderful two years of cruising on the boat and living our fantasy vacation. And, then a neurological conditioner my wife that had been a chronic problem, turned into an acute one and we weren't going anywhere again. Whatever reservations I had about retiring early are gone now. It was the right thing to do. At least for us. I've gone back to work part time, now, mainly out of boredom, but I learned the lesson that you better live life while you can. No one is promised anything tomorrow.

[MidwestMoney]

The #1 reason I'm retiring early at 49 is to get out of the corporate machine. There is more to life than being stressed and depressed on a constant basis.

[Tenjiecorner]

I don’t like being around people. So I should be all set for retirement 👍

[handyrams]

Early retiree here. I love the fact that I have less of a social life now. It's fantastic.

[fordify]

I retired at 50 a little over a year ago. I’m a single dad and my son will finish high school next year. I love being able to provide for him making sure he eats well and get to spend more time with him before he’s off to college. I always have things to do. Maintenance on the house or vehicles. Run errands, chores and cook. I’m never bored.

[HRGSXR]

My spouse and I retired in 2009 and it has been the most enjoyable sightseeing in the world. I was a janitor so just not working is a blast.

[drpius]

FORCED TO RETIRE DENTIST.
Made it to 63. So busy I forgot to tend to my own health care.
Working so hard to save money for retirement, so stressed so preoccupied with my professional carree ., always worring about my patients.
I became a dentist who could not see the forrest for the trees. Un aware that diabetes was destroying my eyesight .
The back of your eyes swell = macular edema, the front of your eyes gets covered over by cataracts .
All happens slowly over time with out even noticing the changes until...
Oh gee I can't see well, I must need new glasses I'm older my eyes must have changed as they have done since childhood
The eye doctor said, "No, you can't get new glasses because you must first go to a specialist to fix the diabetic problems, Now my retirement became going to all my different doctors just to stay alive.
Happy ending to the story, I'm now 72 and enjoying life fishing with stable health and 20/20 vision.

[Kozette]

I’m in my 40’s and retired in 2021. I have a small and fun social circle. I’m learning to play the harp, volunteering at a youth detention and travel every other month. I am ENJOYING being retired. Out of habit I still get up by 6am. I’m not bored at all. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[daisyreinacher]

The first 18 months after retirement I cried off and on. I really struggled with letting go of who I was. Once I moved to an over 55 community it solved many of the struggles regarding the social aspect. There are so many activities and amenities here that I’m never bored. Now, I love my life.

[JeffMathias]

The key to being thrilled in retirement is having been miserable at work for 40 years.

Retirement hold’s little appeal if you love your life, enjoy your work already.

[seaork]

He is spot on when he says, "Don't wait to do things when you retire, i.e. travel, etc. Do it now!

[bernie]

I retired 7 years ago at age 62. I chose 62 because that was the earliest I could get Social Security. Don't be fooled into thinking that if you take the money at 62 you will get less money total. The reason you get less per month is because you will draw the money for more months. It's not magic, it's math. Since I retired I have never had one day, not even one minute of one day have I missed working. The truth of the matter is the only reason I went to work in the first place was because I needed money to live. Once I no longer needed the money, I stopped going to work. It's just that simple. Now I live a life where everyday is a vacation day. Everyday is a holiday. Everyday is a weekend. So if you like vacations, weekends and holidays better than working then retirement is for you. For those who fear they won't have enough money to retire, consider this. In the 7 years that I have been retired (and the 5 years that my wife has been retired) we have not touched a dime of our retirement savings. Being debt free before retiring is the key. It's not magic, it's just math.

[hannw]

I can not wait to retire. The money will be difficult because of an expensive divorce and loss of my 401k and home but I’m trying to build it all back. I’m 52 and hope to retire in 10 years. Thanks for your stories.

[boris]

I retired at 47, and in a jiffy, I am 75 now. I remember initially after 3 months of retirement, like the man says, I did miss my secretary, my office, and my “power”. Without my secretary, I have to type my letters and find stamps for the envelopes ! That’s kind of irritating 😅 However, when I started developing new hobbies like golfing and dancing, time really flies…….

[VanaConn]

I’ve been practicing my upcoming retirement @55 by taking 4 of my 6 weeks off all together and I’m darn good at it. You can’t replace time with others. It can’t be bought.

[terenceada]

I retired early about a year ago. I miss the friendships and seeing people at the office. I love early retirement and have no plans to return to work again.

[blktauna]

I am not missing being dismissed by my coworkers for my age and gender. Not one bit. My creativity has returned and I'm learning things now I had no time for before. I do not miss asting hours in communting. I do not miss being expected to work extra hours for free. I have never solely identified with my work, so these items you speak on don't apply for me. My work was not how I felt fulfilled. I now have the time to do those things and I'm grateful for that.

[emersonlangstaff]

I just retired at 62.5 after a 37 year career. My background includes being trained as a therapist and I have always known that ultimately happiness revolves around finding meaning in life- people and pets to love; enjoyable activities; projects to challenge us; dwelling on how blessed we are if we are blessed to share it with people we love; being conscious of our legacy and consciously building it; enjoying our time to relax, but working hard on all that we are into and enjoying our accomplishments, etc. Enjoyed your video and good thoughts!

[robevans]

For me, I wanted to retire because ot stress. I would have loved to cut back and work half time 40hrs a week instead of 60-80hrs but my company could not wrap their mind around that. As far a being bored, I was reminded how pre-retirement someone else is directing your life and how hard it is to learn to be your own boss. The best part of retirement is concentrating on my health - eating and excersicing - which were an after thought before.

[hfjeff]

Thanks for sharing these words of wisdom. Experience is the best teacher. As someone who is looking forward to retirement, I remind myself not to wish my life away. It's not all about the destination but rather enjoying the journey.