In fact, I posted the same line as response to Morgan’s tweet. I know, I am not an adrenaline junkie. Boring people, read it as those who have no interests, no curiosity. Everyone has curiosity, you just need to find yours. That’s all. You don’t have to be adrenaline junkie, jump off the cliff, etc.
There are only a few good ones out there. And the only way to know if they truly are good is to become informed about it. And if you’re already becoming informed about retirement finances then you can often do without the consultant.
And most of them aren’t consultants, they are “money managers” who take a hefty fee.
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One more thing, besides Wills, Estate Planning is to set up a Trust, helping all who need to be helped, like your Executors, so they know who your Lawyers, Tax folks as well as Insurance coverages, Insurance Agents… And where to find all these passwords needed to access your accounts! A ton of stuff to deal with, one of my in-laws is dealing with his sister’s affairs, lotsa fun chasing down multiple homes, rental properties, investments, it seems to go on forever…
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There are many wealth management firms, who are doing wonderful job. When you are hiring doctors, lawyers, or wealth managers don’t try to find the cheap ones. Also, don’t assume you can “become informed and therefore you don’t need them”. YMMV.
There are lots of myth. I am not sure when you have hired or talked to one about hiring. There are firms who merely help you with how to exercise RSU, tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning, insurance etc. They charge flat fees based on assets, and not expensive (this is subjective, as I know someone with over $10M assets considers $5K fees as expensive). They are not going to manage your investments, that is yours to manage, or you have to find someone else and they don’t sell you anything.
Also, there are many folks who could actually benefit from someone else managing their money, but that’s a different topic for another day.
I think people is a key factor in retirement. Volunteering is a good way to get out of the house and spend time w people. I joined Kiwanis. We meet twice a month and engage in activities like fund raisers or service projects once a month. That works for me.
There are many other organizations w activities. Find one that fits your style.
Many retire in stages. Some experiment w their vacation time. Some work part time for a while. Retirement is a major change. It takes a while to adjust. But especially when you are active and healthy you have many choices. And can easily adapt—doing more of x and less of y as circumstances change.
I just woke up one day and didn’t feel like working… I told my wife, last few years are good, you continue to work for our insurance, and I want to quit. Stunningly she said okay. That’s it. No plan, nothing. Super busy listening to podcasts, watching and reading many useless things. 
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I volunteered at a local hospital for about 15-16 years after retirement until Covid came along and they ran us all off. I worked one afternoon a week and earned a free lunch. I drove a golf cart hauling patients from building to building. We had seven buildings associated with the hospital. You would be amazed at how many folks go to the hospital and have no clue as to where they are going, who the doctor is, why they are going, are they on planet earth, they just know they have to go to the hospital. Now as a golf cart driver it’s your job to figure out where they belong.
Good times except when it was cold, hot or raining.
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In both your posts you said you “feel like”…so you don’t KNOW??! “Feeling” has little to do with it. It’s numbers, about as analytical as it gets. Input your data into a retirement calculator, or two or three. firecalc.com is a good one, and Fido has one for its clients. I used both. Those will tell you if you have enough, as long as you give it all the details (e.g. when will you start taking SS, and what will be the amounts, living expenses, etc).
1poorlady was skeptical when I said we could retire, but I showed her the calculators. If not for BOTH of us having health scares, I’m not sure I could have convinced her. She also didn’t “feel” like it was enough. But the calculators said it would be fine, and so far it has been. She’s now into other things, and doesn’t seem worried about lack of W2 income.
As for medical, the ACA is your friend. It’s not as good as employer-based coverage, but with the tax credits (if you keep your ordinary income low), a good plan can be had. And you can’t be held liable for preexisting conditions, unlike the pre-Obama era.
Maybe you can’t retire yet. I don’t know. But run the numbers through at least two calculators, and see what they tell you. Don’t “feel”. Trust the math.
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And by all means, do not rely on those easy some percent of your present income calculations. That is a very rough estimate. Put together your actual expenses and anticipated changes. And the same w income.
TMF used to have short courses (and a work sheet) to walk you through the process. It reminds you of various aspects. Last I heard the work sheet moved to the Rule Your Retirement premium service.
I helped w the short course several times years ago. They have you collecting so much info it’s hard to keep up w the course schedule. Take your time. Do it right. Review the numbers. Apply some common sense on the difference between needs and wants. You can always spend more in a good year or trim or defer expenses in a bad year. You plan is not cast in concrete. You can adapt based on your experience and as things change.
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Hi @Hawkwin,
Well, I have been “testing the waters” of retirement for 2 days short of 21 years now, a mere 7,668 days.
While I have relaxed, I can’t really say I have tried being bored. (I KNOW that I am not going to stare at that spot!)
Last spring on a warm sunny day, I parked our RTV on a small rise near the creek, about 700 feet from our house. (Close to where the first two photos below were taken) I was listening to the wind in the grass and leaves, watching birds from Black-chinned hummingbirds to red tail hawks and fascinated by Penny running around.
It was 92 degrees and I watched as this dog would run at top speed up the slope at the south end of the hill behind our house, run north along the edge, sometimes hopping, so she could see ahead in the grass, a 1/4 mile to the north end and down that end.
I would lose sight of her for a couple minutes then see that black and white streak running south on the two-track then continuing straight to the tree-line and creek on our south boundary, turn west almost to the road and turn north again for another trip up the hill.
In this photo, my truck is parked near the south end. We built our house on the small rise at the right side of this photo
The house site is at the far left side here with the north end of the hill.
I saw Penny stop up on top twice for about 10 minutes each. I guess she was looking for “something.”
She did this for 3 hours. 92 degrees. She ran to the house a few times for a drink, then ZOOM, gone.
Needless to say, she is an energetic dog! Here is a Wikipedia page on her breed. Note what it says about “100 miles a day” in the Activities section:
Enough about boring …
I spent 15 years as a firefighter, mostly wildland fires, plus accidents of all sorts, setting up landing sites for air-evac helos, working with radios, our repeater site, generators, rescue equipment, spec’d 4 fire trucks and even kept a quick attack, 200 gallon truck at our house to respond direct to a fire for initial scouting/size-up.
I served on three different boards of directors and still found time to prep, plant, harvest 130 acres on another small farm we own.
So, I guess I am a poor example of the “bored lifestyle!”
Gene
All holdings and some statistics on my Fool profile page
Profile - gdett2 - Motley Fool Community (Click Expand)
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No, I think you actually nailed it. You spent 3 hours watching your dog play, right?
There’s a wellness challenge going viral on TikTok, and, despite its eyebrow-raising name, it has real benefits, according to mental health experts. It’s called “rawdogging boredom” − and, similar to the viral travel trend of “rawdogging” a flight by doing nothing for the entirety of the time you’re on an airplane, this trend involves allotting a specific amount of time to sit alone with no technology to distract you.
That means no phone, no TV and no music. Just you, your thoughts, and, well, your boredom.
As I alluded to upthread, I often don’t feel like I am on vacation until I have put away my phone, my Kindle, turned off the music, even stopped the casual conversation with the Mrs.
Just me, my thoughts, and my boredom. Now, you were watching your dog but I doubt all your attention was focused on the dog the entire time. Your mind likely wandered - you got bored.
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