Retirement

[friendswoodmatt]

How many of you are retired? What age did you hang it up? I recently sold out my compaies to Private Equity and am having second thoughts about retirement -- this forum helps as does some other projects, but I dont think I am ready to hang it all up -- I'm 52 and feel like there's more to do.

 

[lwaters]

I retired at 58 but still have a 180 arce stock farm. I don't miss working one bit from day one. Been to Africa three times New Zealand once and heading to Greenland this fall. Also been fishing in Nicaragua three times.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Have you hunted Africa? If not, go for at least a ten day hunt. After that, figuring out what to do will automatically resolve the doubt about retiring.

I've found there are three types of retirees.
1. Those that don't know how to do anything but work. They usually find another job and work until they're either too sick to work or dead.
2. Those that don't know how to do anything but work and have no hobbies or outside interests.
3. Those that retire and can't figure out how they had time to work.

I'm in category three.

Look at it this way, assuming you're in good health, you have a huge pile of the most valuable possession a human can own, time.

 

[markm]

55 was my magical number and I don't miss working one bit.
I have been to africia 6 times .

 

[friendswoodmatt]

Well I have been retired for almost 1 year-- working on and around the ranch I bought 2 years ago and its getting old-- Still have a kid in HS (grad next year) and then its Africa here I come--

 

[JES Adventures]

At 55 with 3 in college and one there in 2 years I see no immediate plan to retire. I love my job selling ranch real estate in Texas and have an insatiable desire to keep hunting around the globe until I drop. With the cost of hunting always on the rise and the fact I have hunted nearly all the common places and many exotic, I figure I’ve got 10+ years of money making to go!

Then I’ll go fishing.

 

[BnC 04]

Retired at 42 and enjoying every minute spent with family now.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Well I have been retired for almost 1 year-- working on and around the ranch I bought 2 years ago and its getting old-- Still have a kid in HS (grad next year) and then its Africa here I come--

Don't wait! Go now! One never knows when the Grim Reaper is going to swing that scythe.

EDIT. One never knows when Africa hunting in certain countries will come to a crashing halt. Look at CAR, Burkina Faso and Mozambique where the weather went bad. Sure RSA probably has a few years left but political instability throughout a lot of the continent doesn't bode well for the hunting industry.

 

[JES Adventures]

Don't wait! Go now! One never knows when the Grim Reaper is going to swing that scythe.

Ditto, a sudden heart attack took my father and I went on my first Safari 9 months later. No one knows when their time will come so Carpe Diem.

 

[Red Leg]

I pulled the plug on my second career (29 years in the military and 11 years in the defense industry) in 2014 (no one gets rich in the Army - regardless of rank). 62 was, to my mind, perfect timing. We bought our place in Texas and I hired myself to look after it. With the lovely Mrs Red Leg, I hunt and we travel.

And my father died at 67 dreaming of some day going trout fishing. In the mid-eighties, I did not have the means to take him. But my son has taken a cape buffalo in the Zambezi Delta.

 

[friendswoodmatt]

Yes-- my dad died at 60 as well and its on my mind more and more these days --Just got back from a trip with a buddy who sold out as well --he is 74 and in the past year does not look the same (he has gotten old in the last 2 years all of the sudden) -- we discussed it and he blamed it on not having a job to go to every day. That's what got me thinking about being unemployed and unemployable lol. Stay at home dad and rancher (wife retired but went back because son in in HS still and we thought it might set a bad example if we were both dead beats and she loves her job) for a few cows isn't a profession. I have never not had a job-- so it weird for me. I am getting used to it little by little.

 

[cls]

Retired at 55, lasted a year found a job teaching fire arms safety and hunter education, doesn't pay well but passing on knowledge is reward enough and the cash pays for my trips. Like my buddy says "you're a long time dead". Enjoy it while you can.

 

[Newboomer]

Partially retired at around 68 but still doing small jobs, carpentry and construction 10 years later. No end in sight. I have to to be doing something besides hunting, skiing, mountain biking and woodworking. I keep telling myself I'm too old for this s**t but don't have sense enough to quit. An old guy told me a long time ago,"As long as you keep going, you'll keep going. It's when you stop you're dead." That's kind of my philosophy and I'm living it to the hilt.

 

[nztimb]

I've found there are three types of retirees.
1. Those that don't know how to do anything but work. They usually find another job and work until they're either too sick to work or dead.
2. Those that don't know how to do anything but work and have no hobbies or outside interests.
3. Those that retire and can't figure out how they had time to work.

.

Yep, I am in category 3 as well.
Retired due to shoulder problems at 57 and spend a bit of time in the garden and making a few rifle stocks but knifemaking has become one of the most rewarding hobbies I could have embarked on and is full time enjoyment.

 

[Saul]

Wish every day that I could retire and just travel the world hunting and eating.

 

[WAB]

Retiring for the third time this year at 58. Hoping that the third time is the charm!

 

[lwaters]

Wish every day that I could retire and just travel the world hunting and eating.

I got to watch the food and

 

[jeanes]

Retired at 55. I'm in Hogpatrol' s category 3. My dad died one week after his 60th birthday, just as he was starting to think about retirement. Not long after I discovered this site and was starting to seriously think about fulfilling my dream, I went to the doctor for an annual checkup. I went in feeling fine and came out needing heart surgery and with a cancer diagnosis. Don't put things you really want to do off. Lightening can strike out of a clear blue sky.

 

[Hogpatrol]

How many of you are retired? What age did you hang it up? I recently sold out my compaies to Private Equity and am having second thoughts about retirement -- this forum helps as does some other projects, but I dont think I am ready to hang it all up -- I'm 52 and feel like there's more to do.

Do you have a skill set that could be used in a teaching position? Community colleges and night schools sometimes offer part time employment.
I did it for nine years and it was very satisfying.

 

[Ridge Top Ranch]

You always need a reason to get up in the morning. They key to a happy life/retirement is doing what you enjoy. My wife and I have had land we manager for timber and wildlife. We have 9 grandchildren and I love to hunt and fish. Still work a 3 or 4 hours a week.

I retired the first time at 57 knowing I wanted to do something. Started a rep company. No corporate BS. Just doing what I loved, selling products to customers who were my friends. If a vendor or customer got to be a problem I dropped them. Down to one customer with one line now for "hunting money" at 65.

Would not want to work everyday, don't want to work on the land everyday, hunt and fish when it's good and enjoy the grandkids most any day, Flexibility and not being forced to do something is key to my retirement.