Today, April 24th, 2018, marks 2 months since I retired. I am stunned that it has only been 2 months. It seems like it has already been a lifetime. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I am relieved that I am enjoying retirement so much, relieved that I have not yet become bored, and relieved that it looks like my money will hold out as long as I don’t go crazy with it. I guess that is all a good thing.
There are so many things I am loving about retirement. I love being able to say ‘Yes” to every invitation. I love being able to go somewhere and not worry about getting home early because I have to get up for work the next morning. I love being able to go to Friday morning yard sales; I keep forgetting to do this but I love knowing I can go if I want. I love binge watching, albeit slowly, the many TV shows I have recorded – I am two years behind on Big Bang Theory.
I have learned so many things about being retired that I never expected.
1) Being retired means I have lost almost all concept of time, especially when it comes to days of the week. Like the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey says, “What’s a weekend?” I do try to treat my weekends differently than my weekdays, if for no other reason than to keep myself sane. For example, I do not exercise on Saturday or Sunday – unless I missed a day during the week. I try not to do stuff I have to do on the weekends; I save the chores for weekdays. And, of course, weekends are meant for watching sports; golf now, football not soon enough, etc. Yet when it comes to weekdays, I sometimes lose track. I only know today is Tuesday because the gardeners came today.
2) My day patterns are totally changed. I get up at different times every day, but usually no later than 7. But I might not finish breakfast until 8:30 or 9, which never happened when I was working. This moves lunch to 1 or 2 or sometimes never, and dinner can be as early as 4:30 (if I didn’t have lunch) or as late as 7:30 or 8. And I don’t care. There is no rhythm to my day, which is just fine with me.
3) Some days I suffer from something I call “retirement guilt”. I don’t know if other retirees do this, but occasionally I feel guilty for doing something that I enjoy, like designing house plans on my computer, in stead of something that needs to be done, like….well, the list is endless. I have to remind myself that I didn’t retire to fix up my house; I retired to fix up my life!
4) I discovered after my first trip to Black Oak after I retired that retirees spend a lot of time in Native American casinos. White haired ladies and leather-handed old farmers who “can’t get this durned hearing aid to work! WHAT?” They arrive in buses in droves, and just by watching and listening to them you can tell that they are regulars. “Oh, that one never pays off, Martha!” “Hey, Hal, back again?” And then the cocktail waitress brings them their favorite drink without having to ask! I wonder if I really belong here with all these old people, and then realize that most of them are my age. More than that, I wonder how the hell they can afford to be here so often! I know I sure as heck can’t!
5) Speaking of money, a few days ago I did a little calculating and came up with some pleasant surprises. The first is related to food.
Dining Out (mostly fast food, Starbucks** and vending machines):
Last Year Average $433 per month.
Since Retirement $125 per month.
Groceries:
Last Year Average $350 per month.
Since Retirement $500 per month*.Total Food Costs:
Last Year Average $783 per month.
Since Retirement $625 per month.Savings By Being Retired:
$158 per month.
$1896 per year.
*Some of the $500 a month I have spent so far since retirement includes a rare trip to Costco where I bought a lot of staples – NO, not the things you put in staplers! Since I have only been retired for 2 months, that drove the average up. A more realistic grocery per month will probably be closer to $450 a month.
** Starbucks has gone from $45 a month to about roughly $15 a month.
6) The second area I discovered savings in is travel mileage and, therefore, gas money. Although I did not have a horribly long commute when I was working – 9.2 miles according to Waze – I guess it all adds up. Prior to retiring I was filling my tank about once every 2 weeks. Since retiring, it has gone to once a month.