Reflecting on my first 12 months of retirement

You wouldn’t believe it, I’ve just passed my first year anniversary of retirement. If you can believe, I can’t. As usual, I can say “Where has the year gone”? But, my first year of retirement has been anything bar usual.

Reflections on my retirement transition

Prior to my retirement I was concerned and anxious about many things in regard to retiring. I usually wouldn’t describe myself as a worrier. I think all the massive changes, that go hand in hand with retirement, had me worrying far more than usual.

Loss of my professional identity and knowledge

For me, just prior to my retirement, I worried about loosing my professional identity and knowledge. And, prior to retiring, I loved my work. What if I retired and later decided I wanted to return to work?

Over the years I had worked so hard to obtain my degrees, to gain the depth of knowledge and understanding in my field, to have a solid professional reputation. To retire, and let it all go, was a really big thing for me.

To retire I had to close my business. What if I retired, and later decided I was bored and missed working? What then?

You may be surprised I put this as my first concern. Yet, at the time, the worry about perhaps wanting to return to work played on my mind.

Prior to my retirement I paid about $1,000 for professional and accreditation fees for another year, just in case I decided to returned to work.  6 months after retiring I hadn’t completed any professional development education, as required to achieve accreditation. And, I was about to jump in a caravan and travel Australia. It was at this point I realised, and accepted, I wasn’t going to achieve accreditation. This is turn meant I would not work in my profession again. Accepting this realisation was a great relief – freeing in a way. I could stop thinking I should be working towards my accreditation points.

Now 12 months on, I do not miss my work. Nor do I regret my decision to retire. Now I am simply me, with no professional hat.

If I ever work again, it will be just because I want. The job would need to be a casual, hands on, practical type work. Something very different from what I did before.

Financial adjustment

Before we retired I worried would we have enough money? Would our retirement lifestyle be negatively affected by reduced available money?

The financial adjustment is still ongoing; hopefully a work in progress.

The best thing we did on our retirement was do a a budget, which we generally stick to.

With full time travel we are always tempted to spend beyond our budget. We have to prioritise what we do and what we spend our money on. The reality is we have less money than when we were both working.

We have decided our priority is travel experiences. Given money only goes so far, something has to give. For us, it is material objects. Therefore, shopping for clothing etc is now very limited.

Prior to retirement I would buy without thinking. Now I always consider – do I really need or want that? Is there something I want more? But, you know what? This is not better, or worse. It’s just different. Now, with reflection, I realise I wasted a heck of a lot of money.

Despite the necessity for budgeting, we are still travel and do most of what we want.

Downsizing and where to live once retired

We decided to sell our home, downsize, and move from our long term hometown. But where were we going to move to?

The decision about where to live has been delayed by the fact that we been travelling Australia for 7 months. And, we are not finished travelling yet.

The decision about where to live has been in the back of my mind throughout the first year of my retirement. We have kept changing our mind. It’s only very recently that we made a decision. We both feel relieved and pleased with this decision.

If we had rushed in, and made a logical decision, we would have made a very different decision. We have decided to listen to our heart.

What will I do with my time in retirement?

Prior to my retirement I was super busy working and running my business. I then wondered what I would do each and every day in retirement.

Soon after retiring I bought a camera and began taking photos. I also began a blog. Prior to retiring I hadn’t considered doing these hobbies.

Well, I’m still taking photos and blogging. Sometimes I wonder about blogging!

But I needn’t have worried about what to do each day in retirement. Travelling Australia means our days are very full. We are either exploring new destinations or resting up and recovering from being tired.

At this stage we see ourselves continuing to travel. I no longer worry about what I will do each day, even when we stop travelling full time. I now know that will unfold when we stop travelling.

What have I learned in this first year of my retirement?

• Retirement is a massive change. And it caused a lot of worry.
• We can survive nicely on less money
• Money is not everything. We live happily with minimal stuff.
• A budget helps us prioritise where we spend our money
• It’s OK to not rush decisions, to take your time
• Things unfold with time. there is no benefit overthinking things ahead of time
• Listen to your heart, not your head. We kept trying to be logical, to make the best decision. Listening to ourselves and what we want seems best
• I don’t need a professional hat. I’m OK just being me.

Have you retired? What has been your experience? Have you any reflections?

Please leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Best wishes from Estelle – Retiree