afterFI/RE Life after FI/RE
People
Selected life timeline 2015—2019

He slept through the first adjustment. Later, even Sunday evenings felt free.

After decades in schools, this couple built retirement around family, hobbies and travel. He first had to get used to receiving a pension without working—and to no longer being on call.

Finances
Investments at retirement2015 · Household
$275,000

Combined 403(b) balances; pension income was central to their plan. This excludes housing and is not total net worth.

Source
Posts2
2015
Post 01Recalled in 2019

Sleeping off the old schedule

“I soon got over the guilt”

ESI Retiree 17Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Long naps accompanied the first months away from school administration.
  • Weekday coffee and lunches together were newly possible.

How it felt

  • Receiving a pension without working initially brought guilt. “I soon got over the guilt”
  • He gradually realized he was no longer constantly on call. “a little weird”
RecoveryFamilyFreedom
ESI Retiree 17 (opens in a new tab)
Notes

Earlier period recalled in the account published 2019-07-12; this is not a separately published contemporary update. The earlier year is approximate.

Retirement life / personal reflection; exact short excerpt: I soon got over the guilt

Retirement life / personal reflection; exact short excerpt: a little weird

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

2019Year 4
Post 02

Sunday evenings without dread

“no demands on my time”

ESI Retiree 17Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Family dinners, workshop projects and occasional delivery work filled his days.
  • His wife crafted and made things for their granddaughters.

How it felt

  • They enjoyed choosing how to spend their time. “no demands on my time”
  • Both still missed some school colleagues. “miss some of our coworkers”
RecoveryFamilyFreedom
ESI Retiree 17 (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: no demands on my time

Retirement life / personal reflection; exact short excerpt: miss some of our coworkers

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.

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.
  • An exact age at final departure was not established; an age reported later is not substituted.

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