afterFI/RE Life after FI/RE
People
Selected life timeline 2024—2026

She expected new ambitions. First came a welcome, quiet pause.

A banker retired at 40 after divorce, with substantial family help behind her financial position. Rest brought unexpected contentment; writing and occasional consulting later emerged without displacing her preference for control of her time.

Finances
Net worth at retirement2024 · Personal
$4,300,000

Just over $4.3 million after divorce and before retirement. Family-funded education, property deposits and gifts materially contributed; this is not presented as earnings alone.

Source
Posts2
2024
Post 01Recalled in 2026

An unexpectedly welcome pause

“I felt free — and it was blissful.”

Elizabeth GeorgeRead original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Walking, reading and long mornings filled the first six months.
  • The book, business and extensive travel she had imagined did not immediately happen.

How it felt

  • Doing little felt surprisingly good. “weird, cozy, liberating fog”
  • Freedom from being observed or scheduled brought relief. “I felt free”
RecoveryFreedomCreativity
Elizabeth George (opens in a new tab)
Notes

Earlier period recalled in the account published 2026-08-20; this is not a separately published contemporary update. The earlier year is approximate.

Retirement life / personal reflection; exact short excerpt: weird, cozy, liberating fog

Retirement life / personal reflection; exact short excerpt: I felt free

Editorial summaries with short, attributed quotations. The original contains the full story.

2026Year 2
Post 02

Writing without another growth target

“I love not setting an alarm and having full authority over my schedule.”

Elizabeth GeorgeRead original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Writing, exercise, short trips and occasional consulting shaped her life.
  • Social groups and outings supplied some contact beyond home.

How it felt

  • She prized autonomy but missed the daily company of driven colleagues. “full authority over my schedule”
  • She resisted turning every new interest into another growth target. “arbitrary goals”
RecoveryFreedomCreativity
Elizabeth George (opens in a new tab)
Notes

Dated first-person reflection; the observation date follows the interview month where stated, which can precede publication.

Retirement life / personal reflection; exact short excerpt: full authority over my schedule

Retirement life / personal reflection; exact short excerpt: arbitrary goals

Retirement overview and reported duration.

Editorial summaries with short, attributed quotations. The original contains the full story.

See how these posts compare with other people’s experiences.

Let recovery count as time well spent.

Walking, reading and long mornings filled the first six months. Doing little felt surprisingly good. Freedom from being observed or scheduled brought relief.

Research

Last checked Sep 2026. The accounts are self-reported. This timeline follows selected accounts, including recollections where labeled; it is not a complete archive.

  • These are selected first-person accounts, not a complete life history. Later circumstances may differ.
  • Financial figures and household circumstances are self-reported and are not independently verified.
  • The first moment is a retrospective account of an earlier period, except where explicitly identified as a reproduced journal entry.

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