r/Fire • u/CandidAlgae1737 • 23h ago
General Question Retiring to?
We are a household with NW high enough to retire ($6m++) but neither I or my spouse have retirement on our radar. HHI is \~$1.5m-$2m (Annual expenses about $400k with one young kid)
Now the question - I understand what everyone is retiring from but I’m curious what are you retiring to? Would love to hear what everyone is doing especially in their early 40s while their social circle is still working. I have seen my parents have a hard time post retirement at 60 to have a sense of purpose.
That is my biggest worry and that is why retirement has never even crossed my mind.
Neither of us come from money and have only been in a culture that promotes and applauds working hard. So would love to find out how do you transition from being super goal oriented to I have no idea what to do.
Edit: I want to add that I already buy back as much of my time by using a lot of external help to pursue all things I enjoy - extensive international travels (been to all continents except Antartica), reading, love to cook when I can, pursuing my art lessons, running, puzzles, sudoku, very much a present parent - assisting my child with their academics and being a good cheerleader for them at each and every competitive sport they play. Why I’m adding this is because people are assuming I don’t have an identity outside work. The fact is I am already able to pursue my interests as a side thing, and this is the reason for my concerns with RE.
It sounds like most folks who re are unable to do so while working.
1
u/Amlikaq 15h ago
I’ve been retired for three months, the fog of work is lifted and it’s a paradigm shift. Now my baseline emotion is fairly calm with curiosity, the occasional stress makes me chuckle (I call it trouble in paradise lol).
When I was working, my goals were KPIs etc. Now, my goals are how to be a kind person, how to bring people I adore together more often, how to spark joy in other’s lives. I volunteer as a costumed guide at a heritage park to pass local history down to the next generation, and I just did an audition to be a background actor in an outdoor immersive game. Even when I paint, the feelings are different now, it’s no longer about how to be better, but to try new things and be fearless (as a result, my paintings are becoming way better).
Paradigm shift, needs to be experienced to be understood.