Retirement – My Journey From “No, Never” to “Maybe One Day”

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When Fritz and I agreed to this experiment, we had no idea what to expect. Who knew my sparkle bomb of an idea (sharing my own thoughts on retirement on this blog) would, well, set off so many sparkles! Thank you for the warm welcome in the comments. I look forward to continuing the journey with all of you.

As I said in our initial post, I want to share how my personal thoughts on retirement shifted from “Nope, Never” to “Maybe One Day.” It may sound subtle, but to me, it was seismic.

I never thought I'd retire. Then...I took a vacation and had an awakening. Share on X

Here’s how it happened…

A Personal Awakening

I love…

  • …accomplishing things.
  • …growing my company.
  • …contributing to my profession.
  • …mentoring those new to the financial planning career.

Give me three days off, and I’m itching to return to work.

That’s why this vacation was different. It was day 13, and I hadn’t been bored yet. We were in Beaver Creek, CO, where we got married. It’s my favorite mountain town.

Until this vacation, when people asked about my retirement plans, I’d casually say I planned to work until 70. But it wasn’t a carefully thought-out plan. It was simply the only path I could see.

Then, at 53, on that vacation, I experienced what a joyful retirement might feel like: a life centered around nature, health, and writing. Writing fills me with joy — when I can do it at a reasonable pace, not squeezed between emails, financial statements, and Zoom meetings.

Suddenly, retirement wasn’t a vague checkbox I advised others to prepare for—it was something I could see for myself one day. Not a fully formed picture.… but like being in a room with the light off and then a dimmer switch turns on, casting just enough glow to glimpse a path forward.

  • Pre-awakening:  The logic was clear: I was supposed to save and plan for retirement. And, since I help others do that, I didn’t want to be a hypocrite.
  • Post-awakening: I was no longer planning for retirement out of obligation — I can see it one day. My future no longer felt like a murky unknown—it felt like something I could shape.

Here’s our Sept 2023 wedding photo from the top of the ski lift in Beaver Creek.

Beaver Creek, CO Wedding Photo
Dana’s favorite place in the mountains.

What Shape Will I Shape?

As I spent time thinking about the retirement I wanted to design, and how I would achieve it, a few things became clear:

1) I Can’t Go from 100 to Zero

Work full time – then stop all at once? No, such an abrupt transition doesn’t suit me. I must begin weaving in more time off now. That means planning more vacations, remote work weeks from Colorado, and learning to take weekends and holidays off like a normal person – weaning myself from the “always on” mindset of an entrepreneur. This is easier said than done.

2) I Work for Fun—So I Need More Fun

When I don’t have anything else exciting planned, I work. Because for me, my work is fun. So, the only way to scale back is to deliberately add other joyful experiences to my calendar. The first step? My husband and I booked a bucket-list hike along the Mont Blanc circuit in the Alps, spanning France, Italy, and Switzerland. We’ll hike about 99 miles over twelve days this summer.

3) I’m Not Building to Sell—I’m Here for the Journey

I needed more clarity around what I want from my eventual succession plan. Some business owners build to sell for maximum enterprise value. That’s never been my path. I’m building future generations of financial planners who will become owners of the firm. Two already have. This gives me something more valuable: maximum life satisfaction value. How do I continue to use this metric as my compass?

4) I Want a Long, Gradual Transition

I need to communicate to my team that I’m looking for shared responsibility. My goal is to scale down gradually over the next sixteen years. Yes—sixteen. It’s a long ramp, but it feels right for me. Each year, I must identify key tasks, determine who can take them over, train them as needed, and then I must let go of that item. 

That clarity I found gave me energy.

Energy is a good sign that you’re headed in the right direction.

My Pre-Go Phase Begins  (And Go-Go Starts Now, Too)

With my newfound clarity, I began working on a new book, which I hope to release this fall.

It’s called Living Off Your Acorns: Your Guide to the Four Phases of Retirement. It covers the mindset and financial shifts that happen in each phase: Pre-Go, Go-Go, Slow-Go, and No-Go.

When does each phase begin? It’s different for each of us.

My Pre-Go phase began on that vacation, when the light went on. While this phase typically spans the five to ten years before retirement, I realized I would need to overlay mine with the Go-Go phase—which for those with a more abrupt path to retirement, typically occurs during the first five to ten years of retired life.

If I don’t overlap mine with my current working years, I’ll reach 70 without having done many of the things I dream about. And at 70, my window to do them will be shorter. So I’m layering in my Go-Go experiences now. This is my path. And I’m intentionally making it happen.

The Financial Side

My financial plan was already in motion. I update it each year. But now, with a more clearly defined path, I approached several things differently in my 2025 update.

First, I stress-tested an earlier retirement.
What if health issues force me out of work early? What if my feelings about work shift in my early 60s? I stress-tested a retirement as early as 65. I don’t think that’s my path—but according to the Transamerica Retirement Survey, 56% of retirees retired earlier than planned. I’d be foolish to assume it couldn’t happen to me.

Next, I ran our custom Social Security plan.
When estimating future benefits, if retirement is far in the future, I use generalized assumptions in financial plans—often based on the Full Retirement Age benefit amount as estimated on someone’s statement. But as someone approaches retirement, we refine those projections. Typically, refinement begins around age 55. This year, I am 54 and my husband is 57. It was time.

Using specialized software, I input our historical and future estimated earnings through our projected last year of work. The program then calculates an actuarially recommended claiming strategy based on inflation, interest rates, and life expectancy.

This is where I got the surprise of a lifetime. I’ve run hundreds of Social Security analyses – I was pretty sure I knew what our recommended plan would be. I would have been wrong. And that?

That’s a story for my next post.

Until then… I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

  • Where have you found clarity?
  • What activities give you energy?
  • Where is retirement still murky for you?
  • And if you’ve had your own “light went on” moment—what was it like?

42 comments

  1. Welcome Dana from KC MO!
    We love to vacation in CO, been everywhere except the SW corner.

    My wife and I have been retired for 10 years now and I believe we have another 10 years of go go travel left in us. I decided to transition into retirement slowly, over a period of 3 years I worked down to just 25 hours per week. So glad I went down from 100-40 slowly. 😉

    When I gave serious thoughts to FIRE, I made a visit to a retirement seminar in Omaha at age 54. The planner took my info and stated he agreed I could retire on the spot. I kind of expected it. In fact, i worked longer than necessary. Our funds have increased so much since 2015. Boldin software states that we have enough cash flow to not withdraw from our portfolio at all till age 97. So we obviously need to either spend or give more. We were both savers and are having difficulty spending more. We have more than we ever dreamed of! I don’t even care if our children fly first class if we choose not to in our travels. Finance is personal and very psychological. Use of it in meaningful ways is what I ponder when I do give thought to finance. Finances/investing has been a hobby of mine since I was 10 years into my 20 year Navy career. In Omaha, I decided to work another 3 years and called it quits at age 57.

    In our first retirement year, we purchased a diesel truck and a fifth wheel and travel around 5 states to build safe and affordable homes with other like minded volunteers with RV Care a Vanners program within Habitat for Humanity. Loved it and highly recommend it. You can build your vacation plans around the 2 weeks commitment of your builds. SD, MO, KS and MN have seen us swinging hammers and acting like monkeys on roofs! LOL. Now we moved on to other local volunteer efforts. Giving time, talents and treasures to others….now, where did I read that?

    In our slow go years, we plan on utilizing bus tours to still experience the great USA. There is SO much to see and do here in this wonderful country!

    You sure know how to pick partners, I feel like I know Fritz after reading most of his posts over the years. He has helped so many folks to realize that learning finance is not that difficult. Fritz motivated us in so many areas of finance. The non-finance side of retirement is SO very important. Fill your time with activities that make you feel alive (building homes) and volunteer to replace your time you spent earning dollars.

    God speed young lady, Steve

    1. Hi fellow mid-westerner! I was born in Iowa City. Then lived in St. Louis until my freshman year in high school. I still have close family in both Des Moines and in St. Louis. Your plans sounds wonderful. And thanks for calling me young. 😊

      1. Hello Dana
        I’m from Sioux City and did my undergrad at Iowa. Go Hawks. We have lived in KC since 1993. I’ve been retired from the pharma industry since 2017 at age 54. I now do some gig consulting in my area of expertise but doing less and less since we are traveling so much. We just flew out to Denver for a concert at Red Rocks last night and sitting here waiting for our return flight to KC in a bit. Travel is such an important part of our retirement plans.

        I agree that the 100–>0 strategy isn’t advisable. That’s why I started a small LLC in 2018 to continue to consult on an ad hoc basis with the primarily decision criteria on if the project and people I would work with are fun. Plain and simple.

        I’ve followed Fritz prior to my full time departure and have found great advice here that I can validate from personal experience.

        Welcome aboard, fellow Iowan. Look forward to hearing more about your journey.

  2. Clarity happened to me in 2012 when I got my first job scare after working 22 years in the tech industry. It caused me to look at the string of 401(k)s from all my prior employers, add them up, and realize for the first time I was in the double comma club. Luckily I found a new job before my old job would have left me high and dry. I then learned to scale way back on spending, pay off the mortgage 21 years early, then retire early using the IRS Rule of 55. If it wasn’t for that job scare, I probably would have kept spending what I made, diligently paid the minimums on that mortgage, and continue to worry that some beancounter across the country could decide to change my employment status on a whim. That event caused me to be in complete control of my finances and living the American dream.

  3. Thanks for the insights Dana. As my retirement has gotten closer, I’ve learned about – and started preaching about – the concept of flextirement. That more gradual transition from full time work to full time retirement works great for a lot of people. And, the organizations involved benefit too.

    So far, the uptake on the concept is low, but I think it’s the future for many. I look forward to your voice added to the mix moving us in that direction.

    Thanks again,

    Curt

  4. Welcome, Dana. I’m very interested in your story as it develops. I’m retired about a year at 59. My triggers to really amp up my retirement preps was two-fold: an employer who used threats and fear as a lever and my growing desire to expand my community service. As someone else said already, “leaders” using fear just motivated me to take firm control over my destiny 😊.
    In terms of finding my Purpose, I simply did what it sounds like you are doing: take a step back and identify my larger focus area. Faith, Family, and Community are my big focus areas.
    Resettling into a new home and community has kept me busy and has allowed me to “reset” physically, mentally, and spiritually this past year. I strongly recommend taking any time needed to do this needed refresh. While I have a long list of things to do and learn, I’m being careful not to get too busy until my reset is done (enough 😊).

  5. Welcome Dana! I’ve been retired nine years and it wasn’t until five years in that I realized what was truly important to me, family, education and travel. It was a journal writing exercise that caused me to actually list activities and determine the scale of happiness each brought. Putting a grandniece through college as a first generation college graduate and experiencing the pride her family felt motivated me further. I began seeking out opportunities to increase connections with extended family and crafted a financial plan that ensures anyone in my family circle who wants further education or training after high school can do so. I updated travel plans to ensure we have no less than 3 weeks for every international trip and am planning future trips that will span 4 weeks. Yes, I now travel in business class and ensure that we travel internationally at least once a year. I express gratitude on a daily basis for such an abundant life.

  6. Hi Dana, from another Dana! (There aren’t that many of us around, so we’re special.)

    I resonate with a lot of what you shared. I have always loved my work (I’m a university professor, finishing up my 35th year this week), and for a long time couldn’t imagine ever retiring from it. I seriously thought I’d be the “die at my desk” type. But things started changing for me about 5-7 years ago, due to a combination of university politics sapping the joy and energy from my work life and then the pandemic, which led to a permanent change in how I spend my time. Long story shorter, I’m retiring from my university career on July 1.

    Even before that, my husband and I had decided that we weren’t waiting for retirement to start traveling and having fun. We’ve taken a lot of great trips and had wonderful experiences over the past ten years (we’re both turning 65 this year). Being a professor affords a lot of flexibility—time off during the year, sabbaticals, maximum control over my time—and we’ve taken advantage of that, plus my husband’s job change in 2016 that led to him working fully from home. And it’s easier to swallow spending serious money on travel while we still have our salaries.

    I also am not going from “100 to 0.” Over the past five years, knowing this day was coming, I started handing off responsibilities—stepping down from a management role at work, finishing up a term as a journal editor, bringing younger scholars onto my research teams, having younger faculty shadow me in the courses I teach. And although I’m leaving my “day job” soon, I will still do some academic work over at least the next year. I have two students whose dissertation committees I’ll still be on, a book contract (a new edition of one of my previous books), and some articles I’m still working on from my final two research projects. I think having some work to structure my day—but not too much—will help me transition out of my career.

    All that said, I’m looking forward to having less responsibility and more free time. My thoughts range from doing more volunteer work to deepening hobbies (cooking, travel, nonacademic writing) to just being able to stay up late with a good book if I feel like it because I don’t have to rest up for a long day tomorrow.

    Thanks for the first post! I look forward to reading about your Social Security discoveries. Fritz had Mike Piper on the blog a few years ago, and I used his calculator and was puzzled by the results, so I asked questions, and Mike was kind enough to interact with me in the comment section. I’m still a bit confused, and right now we’re at both waiting until 70, but we’ll see…

    1. Hello to another Dana! Thank you for sharing your delegation plan. It’s wonderful when people care about their work deeply enough to craft a thoughtful transition plan. And you’ve given me some ideas on what to cover in my SS post. If you’re willing to share any thoughts on what parts you find confusing, I’d love to help clear that up – as I’m sure many other people are confused to. It’s not an easy topic.

      1. Thanks for the reply! Two specific connected things confused me about the SS calculations:

        1) The Open SS tool said I should file for SS immediately (even though I’m still working and below full retirement age) while my husband waits until 70. I have a hard time getting my mind around filing for SS under those conditions.
        2) My husband and I are the same age, and the estimates we get annually from SS say our benefits are identical. So I’m not following why I should file so early. Another question I had is what if I file way early and my husband doesn’t make it until 70? I’d get whatever benefit he’s eligible for, but having filed for my benefit so many years early sounds very risky under that depressing hypothetical.

        Hope that makes sense!

        1. I tried Open SS myself and got the same thing initially. I found there was a tiny box at the top I had to check, which opened up another checklist where I could check that I was still working. Then it gave me a different answer.

          Normally, if you both are the same age with same benefit amounts we’d have one delay until 70 and the other start at their FRA (full retirement age – probably 67 for you.) Or, if longevity ran in the family, possibly have both delay until 70.

          1. Thanks! That’s pretty much what we’ve concluded, too—either I wait until 67 or we both wait until 70. We’ll see how the next couple of years go. Longevity runs in his family more than mine, but I’m healthy at almost 65 and taking good care of myself.

  7. Welcome Dana! Thanks for expounding on your story. Fritz always shared personal reflections and insights to his life and those details really helped me engage as a reader. For me and my wife, we’ve been unemployed (retired has a washed up tone to us) for almost five glorious years. What brings us clarity and purpose is helping others. Not only through the private foundation we established, but also in creating scholarships and providing budget and financial education to many young people we know. Philanthropy and travel will make the go-go years fly by. Looking forward to more from you. Best wishes.

    1. “Fritz always shared personal reflections and insights to his life and those details really helped me engage as a reader.”

      Thanks for the kind words, Gary. Jackie and I really appreciate you making the effort to attend a Freedom For Fido build while you were passing through our area!

  8. I retired around the same time as Fritz-in H1 2018, after my wife in 2017. I really liked most aspects of my job but the corporate grind wore me down and I was aching for an escape hatch. I was fortunate enough to leave with a decent termination package and retiree benefits. Although I was aware of the usefulness of “purpose” in retirement, my wife and I intentionally decided on a very loose framework of travel focused on National Parks, interesting places, family and friends, increased fitness and wellness and time to pursue new hobbies. By the time I retired my wife had an established social routine centered around lunch with friends. We went on a wonderful National Park trip soon after I retired. But when I got home, I realized I still had the itch to work. (That was a light bulb moment because I had no clue that occur when I was focused on the job escape hatch). I created an LLC and have been consulting part time now for 7 years. Some of the consulting involves travel where we have been able to work in the travel we planned. Whatever one wants to call it-Refirement, semi-retirement, phased retirement, working part-time etc..has worked really well. I get to control how much and what work I do, limiting it to what I enjoy. And most of the time my boss (me) is not a jerk. I discovered pickleball which really made a difference during the pandemic for social activity and my wife have taken some great short courses at local universities through OLLI. We have a nice balance of planned and unplanned time and together and separate time. The work income has also provided great benefits providing a bridge to delayed SS, preserving the nest egg and even adding a bit to it along with allowing a splurge or two.

  9. Welcome Dana. Thank you for your contributions to this community.

    I’m a Canadian so our retirement planning is a bit different.

    Financially we Canadians don’t need to worry about “general health care” cost or if our Government pension plans are going to there when one needs it.

    But, as an early retiree the physiology of “being ready” for retirement and having a personal financial plan that would work for me was definitely a priority.

    I recognized though when I paid off my mortgage at 50, that “milestone” which one could consider early was probably the time I knew retirement “could” also be realized early too.

    I though was still passionate about my career and wanted to realize the full potential of it with my CV experience behind me. So, I decided to take on more responsibility as a purchasing manager offered a directors position; but also started planning (writing down) a bucket list of “activities”, I want to pursue (before) I retired.

    So, I joined a band, I started a band, I bought a small cabin on a lake, I started to travel to places I had never been, I started to go to church, I became a mentor for marginalized job seekers from different countries and I too volunteered for local organizations. I even started to support a friends “movie night”.

    Most of these ideas came naturally. Some didn’t.

    For all of them though I just threw my fishing line in to see what I could catch. Sometimes the hook was empty. Or the fish was thrown back.

    So,, I tried again.

    Most though are too conceived with a bit of perspective and align with my personality traits.

    They are all social events that make you think and work a little.

    I did though early on have some “pings” of anxiety that I need to work part time to “keep myself in a weekly routine”. That was lucky highjacked by a retired employment councillor that I bumped into at our community pool.

    She said “Dave, you’re new at this retirement thing. Maybe just take the slow lane for a year and see what happens”.

    I’m glad I did.

    What I found was the time, availability and local places where I could maybe find to be useful, engaged and happy. Without being on a weekly rigid schedule.

    I now, teach guitar to seniors. Through the local seniors association. I can walk to the lessons. I too have all the equipment and drafted lessons from head to now paper.

    It’s only an hour a week, too. Some revised drafting of lessons. Some extra help to strugglers. Answering email questions.

    I’ve too realized I’m a decent teacher and a mentee too – using my management and experience skills along the way.

    I’m now expanding on other musical topics such as performance etc.

    If I had taken a “job”, I would have missed this “calling”.

    It gives me passion for music my students and its a tangible benefit to my lifestyle without being too tided to a schedule.

    So, this is an example (of good advice taken) and to think, be willing to explore one’s options skills and opportunities; and need to take the time to allow it to happen for (you) and your “calling”.

    Hope this example helps.

    Thank you Dana, for continuing with this amazing blog.

    All the best to you and “maybe aim” for a sooner retirement. I’m am sure you are needed in your community. And your place in it.

    1. So many gems of wisdom in your comments. The fishing line analogy is fantastic… and the advice to take the slow lane. I also appreciate your comments about my own journey. I felt a bit of a twang on my heart strings as I read it.

    2. Thanks for the comments. I’ll be 65 in August, and I’m at the “when should should I retire” stage. I don’t have an answer yet, but reading all of the comments is helpful. What I liked about your thoughts was the guitar part. Learning to play is near the top of my retirement bucket list. Any suggestions?

  10. Dana, Thank you for this excellent article, I loved it! I too planned to work until full retirement age and the plan changed. As I did more retirement planning and thought about my parents who did not live to see retirement, the mantra “tomorrow is not guaranteed,” came into clear focus. I retired at 65 and am enjoying life to the fullest. No regrets! Energy comes from exercise, volunteering in my community, reading, and journaling. Looking forward to your next post!

  11. Wonderful article. Retired 2 1/2 years ago at age 62 and have zero regrets. I will say living in Colorado makes it easy for me. I’m m an outdoors person and it would be hard to live somewhere that does not have the pity appeal Colorado does. Looking forward to your future articles. Mike

  12. I went through an eight-year retirement transition. It started in 2010 when my wife wanted to retire (three years before our mutually agreed year). Given her circumstances (work stress), I agreed and also announced my retirement as well (at least, to my supervisor). We both worked for the same company. Prior to this announcement, I had decided to scale back on my work (having refused a promotion that would have required relocation). Instead, I asked if I could take three-week vacations (we earned five weeks each year). When I made my announcement, I was asked what would it take to stay on the job. With nothing to lose, I asked them to transfer my personnel and project management roles to someone else while keeping my research role (becoming my full-time job). At the time, I was a department manager overseeing multiple programs and the principal investigator for internal research and development projects (which was unusual for a manager). I was totally surprised that they agreed. It never hurts to ask if you have nothing to lose.

    I hired my replacement and worked with him to transition those roles while staying in the division (on the technical ladder with no reduction in pay). This arrangement extended my retirement date by three years. However, I started to take two three-week vacations during the last two years before retiring so that we could do more traveling (pre-go-go, so to speak). During the last year (without my management role), I was able to work part-time, four days per week (giving me three-day weekends for the year). While coincidental, the net reduction in pay (loss of spouse’s pay and 20% reduction of my pay) came close to what we would be getting in retirement. While costs were still transitioning, it was like a “dress rehearsal” for retirement (finance-wise, at least).

    During my retirement ceremony, the previous CEO (who retired about three year earlier) came over to me and told me of a potential opportunity but also cast it as a personal favor for him (making it difficult to refuse). Since retiring, he became a member of the Board of Directors of a company for which I had helped by being on their Technical Advisory Board. The CEO of that company wanted to know if I would consider taking on a six-month task to address a specific problem (relating to cybersecurity – my specialty). The commitment was to be available 40 hours per month, work from home, and I would be paid via a monthly retainer to avoid dealing with billable hours. That six-month agreement lasted five years. When I tried to end the agreement at the end of the third year, we negotiated my availability to eight hours per month. That arrangement lasted two more years. I was 68 at that point. By then, I didn’t feel like I could keep up with the technology, putting in just eight hours per month. The reality was that I was probably spending 40 hours per month trying to stay on top the technology in order to provide that “eight hours” of service. I thoroughly enjoyed working and felt that in this environment, I had more time to think rather than do. A consequence of being able to think more was getting two patents awarded. At the same time, my wife wanted to take even longer trips (especially if you are going to places far away such as New Zealand and Australia).

    During that pre-go-go time frame (and some time before that as well), we had traveled to 20+ countries. Since retiring, we have added another 30 new countries and have started a new travel bucket list. We’ve been retired 12 years now (15 years for my wife) and thankfully, still going strong. Presently, we are averaging about 11 weeks of travel per year. Five of those weeks are typically to “escape” winter (“veg out”), while the other weeks involve cruising or land tours.

    1. What a perfect example of what a gradual transition can look like. You are right, it never hurts to ask. And at each stage you had awareness of what would work for you. And it’s also a great real life illustration of what it looks like to overlap Go-Go with Pre-Go. Thank you for sharing!

  13. WELCOME!!!
    Just retired in December after an awful bout of pneumonia during which my company asked “when was I expected back” far too many times. As a cog in the corporate world it was time to prioritize my own needs. While it was about a year ahead of schedule I am enjoying the transition and ability to not be pulled in multiple directions. We are planning a relocation this summer after 35+ years in the same home so I have plunged full boat into cleaning and organizing pre move.

    I had requested to become part time,to scale back in preparation for retirement prior to being ill only to be told “we don’t offer that option”. After I finally pulled the trigger and announced my departure it was suddenly an option since the company had a hiring freeze but I opted to move along. Our finances are in decent shape and we are living on what we will be our retirement income in a few months anyway when my husband retires and that salary is gone so it has been a good test.

    I think retirement timing is a gamble no matter how much we plan and being prepared to take a different path is part of the journey I am trying to embrace.

  14. My “aha” moment for retirement probably wasn’t really a single event. I think it was more of a couple of events. When I was about 56, I was just financially recovering from sending four sons through college, surviving a 10 month period of unemployment and was in a job that I liked a lot, but I would not claim that I adored it. In fact, I had far more jobs that I hated than ones that I even liked, so having a job that I liked was a huge step forward for me. The office I worked with was offering a retirement seminar for anyone within 10 years of retirement. I had always assumed that I would have to work till I was at least 67 – based on rough numbers and the typical rough formulas. I figured I was close enough and signed up for the seminar. For me, the seminar was eye opening. It was mostly a financial lecture, but it was also based on the question, “What does it cost to be you?” That simple question was a bit of a jolt, because to answer it required that I know what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. I also learned enough in the lecture to see that I had more assets than I was considering. I dove into the detailed formulas for my pension, social security and savings and discovered that retiring at 64 or 65 was do-able. It took my wife and I about 2 years of discussions to start formulating a plan on what we wanted to do in retirement. Near the end of the 2 years, the office had another retirement seminar. My wife was allowed to attend with me on this one. I was able to ask harder questions and retain more this time because I knew more. By the time I was done, I realized that I could retire as early as 60. At this point we decided to make my 62nd birthday, my retirement date. I was tempted to pull the trigger several times in the last 2 years, but we stuck to the plan and retired on our set date. I purposely chose a “jump off the cliff” retirement because management had a bad habit of assuming that they could always convince people to stay “one more year” (usually to the tune of 3-5 years worth of one more year). I gave them a full year notice, but they never decreased my workload. I told them my date was non-negotiable and I left on that date. I worked hard on my projects until the day before I left. I left cold-turkey and have not regretted one single day. I do not regret leaving a 90% finished project because they kept changing what finished looked like. It could have been finished months earlier. I think they kept changing the finish line in order to make me feel bad about “leaving them in the lurch”. Truth be told- if I have a less than stellar day now, I just remember the office life and a smile comes to my face. My wife and I had a full schedule and we have executed our plan with joy. We are a little over 3 years into it and are still in full go-go mode.

  15. Hi Dana…I enjoyed your article. I retired five years ago at 64 and went from 110 to 0 just like that. But, I was so well planned and ready from the pre stage that it was not a burden. Since then, I find great joy in volunteering with our local food banks and pantries. Here in KY, food insecurity is horrible. So, I’m helping my community but also, I’ve built a whole new community of friends in the volunteers I see different groups every day. We keep in touch, watch out for each other, recommend books etc. My non volunteer friends can’t understand it because they spend their time differently like playing golf. I volunteer only about 50 hours a month but it’s solid gold to me. My wife and I like to travel and we do 4 nice trips per year. While those are fun, we are tiring of the international travel that is painful even when everything goes right. We are researching trips in the USA now.
    And in the pre stage, where I spent hours on the financial side, I really do not think about money much at all except that we are trying to give more.
    Keep writing, you have a knack for it. Thank you. Much love there is! 😁👍❤️

  16. Your journey to believing you’d retire one day sounds similar to mine — an awakening to what could be. But I fast forwarded myself into my new life more quickly than your plan which sounds wonderful. Having your own business certainly permits you to ease into your life. What particularly resonated was your idea to learn to have fun now — one of the things I realized after a work-centric life was that I really didn’t know how to have fun! I’m so glad you have an exit strategy vs. a firm plan. Making these kinds of emotional adjustments will serve you well. Good luck! (If you’re interested I write about my experiences with the emotional reset in retirement at http://www.retirementcommentaries.com and on substack.

    1. Judi, wow, I just read it. This line definitely reflects a light bulb moment: “I realized that I had two fundamental choices: keep reinventing my work and lock in my value to the firm, or retire and reinvent myself.” 💡 What an amazing realization.

      1. Hi Dana, and thanks for reading. It really was an amazing moment — you’d think I would realize that of course, but it wasn’t until that moment that I chose myself. It’s been a great ride and one where I’ve learned a lot about myself and doing more than I did in a very high-powered job, all in a new way of defining success, fulfillment, you name it. I look forward to reading more of your journey. Sounds like you are doing it very wisely!

  18. Find your inner most slacker! Religion is the key – join me and my brothers and sisters at Our Lady of Perpetual Recreation – it will change your life!

    It might not be efficient, but my wife and I try and leave a reasonable amount of money in the hands of locals when we travel locally and internationally. Guides, craftsmen and others, it’s work for them and enjoyable for us. The world is full of potential opportunities to share your wealth in a way that works on a local/one to one scale.

  19. Hi Dana,

    Right after I recommended The Retirement Manifesto to yet another acquaintance, Fritz released his “I need a break” Manifesto and I was bummed. Then shortly after that I was elated to see you join forces with Fritz to continue the saga.

    Your first effort tells me I will be recommending the Manifesto going forward!

    Like Steve above, I am a midwesterner and was fortunate to retire (at 66, my full retirement age) and to continue to work 3 years of half time during Covid. This allowed me to ease into retirement and to use my other skillset in the afternoons. I have fully transitioned from a desk job as an engineering manager to a woodworker, carpenter, (light) plumber and (light) electrician. It has been very satisying to make upgrades to our home and to help others with handyman projects and repairs. We are in a position where I do not need to charge for my work, but it is nice to know that I could make additional income should it ever become necessary.

    I was already close to retirement when I stumbled across the Manifesto but it was nice to see that most of the advice from Fritz parallelled my own journey. It was comforting to know I was travelling on the same path leading to a “successful” retirement.

    Thank you Dana and Fritz! I am anxious to continue learning!

    Bruce

  20. Good article.

    I was hoping for a bit more detail on the technical side. As my wife and I contemplate retirement in the next few years,getting a grasp of withdraw strategies from experts, such as yourself and also spending levels is of relevance to us.

    I understand completely if you do not wish to expose precise details of your financial life. (I would not choose to do so save in an anonymous “case study”). The technical side makes a future article perhaps more relatable to the so-called average reader. Retiring on 1 million versus 10 million, or a steady stream of pension income (or blogger royalties) changes the perspective further. Even working through hypothetical numbers is of enormous benefit to many readers, such as myself.

    I greatly look forward to reading your post! My wife and I found Fritz to be delightful and am pleased to see the two of you working together for future articles!

    1. Hi Erik, we’ll include more technical content from time to time. I also do an annual webinar, How to Make a Retirement Income Plan – where we walk through a detailed case study. You can find the 2024 recorded version on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/5JX2yNSZ7Rg?si=4yRue7jt-rQI6Lws

      I appreciate the feedback as it’s always useful to know what types of content people value most!

      Dana

  21. Good morning to all:
    I am writing to you from the far western suburbs of Chicago. Like Dana, my husband and I had no set plans for retirement. He has a private dental practice (where he is the king of his castle), and I work in medical practice management for a large healthcare system. However, when I was laid off due to COVID-19 and cutbacks in the summer of 2020, that all changed. I loved being off for the summer, even though I knew I had to land a new job. That summer provided me a lot of time to soul-search and reconsider our plans – and I did just that! I returned to work in the fall of 2020, working with a great group of physicians in a very large practice. But I knew when I accepted that position, the five-year clock had begun ticking. I have spent the last few years “studying” retirement, touching base more often with our financial planner, and biding my time! And then I discovered Fritz and the Retirement Manifesto. More recently, I read How to Retire. These books and many articles, podcasts, and blogs in between, I am teed up for the big moment. My list of things to do and accomplish is growing. I keep a notepad in my office and add to that list whenever I have a new idea. I look forward to your articles in the future. Thank you!

  22. Hi Dana
    love all the posts from you and Fritz. My wife and I are both retire at age 63. Our nest egg should allow for a very comfortable retirement. I have set up the bucket strategy. One thing that has really caught my attention (and % of buckets 1 and 2) are covered call ETF’s (JEPI and JEPQ and a much less extent JPIE). I have searched alot of the last 2 or 3 years posts but can’t find anything on covered calls. Do either of you have strong opinions on these ETF’s?
    Thank you
    Dan in Dallas

  23. Bravo. As a small business owner of 25 years, I’m in the same boat. Flipping a switch ain’t gonna happen and would likely be horrific and scary. It’ll be a slow, very gradual fade. We’re cut from the same cloth. One of my biggest head scratchers is the SS conundrum and I’m curious if your software was proprietary or something you can share? I’m married and she’s 3 years older. I know there are “spousal benefits” and a break even point but with all the possibilities, my head is swimming. I’d love your thoughts on how to get a handle on it from a math perspective.

  24. Welcome Dana!!! Glad you could join us here. My wife and I both retired before we turned 56 and we traveld across the US in our RV for 11 months. It Was our dream and a life that looked beautiful. We thought that life would be fulltime for us. When we returned home we looked at eachother and said, That’s it? A beach umbrella in the sand forever? That is what was printed on my card and retirment party cake. Been there, done that,,,,,,,,, next??? You can only hit the pool and have a nice drink only so many times before it gets borring. You can’t go 100 and and then 0 when you love to work and enjoy getting things done. We are on a path now to see how we can help others and still work a little with a purpose and have fun. Three years in and still searching.

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