afterFI/RE Life after FI/RE
People
Selected life timeline 2021—2022

A trial retirement became permanent when family time won.

A software consultant initially kept the door open to another contract. His monthly reflections show a growing preference for being present with his teenagers—and less willingness to exchange that time for another fee.

Finances
Net worth at retirement2021-02-05 · Household
$13,370,000

Author-reported retirement balance; no independent financial verification.

Source
Posts2
2021
Post 01Journal shared in 2022

A month into the trial

“funny that I feel just as busy as when I was working.”

ESI Retiree 34Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • He turned down one consulting offer while considering another.
  • A family holiday was free of his usual work calls.

How it felt

  • He did not miss the job itself. “Don’t miss work at all”
  • Explaining his new status to friends felt awkward. “a weird dynamic”
FamilyBoundariesFreedom
ESI Retiree 34 (opens in a new tab)
Notes

March 2021 journal entry reproduced in the 2022 interview.

Retirement life / personal reflection; exact short excerpt: Don’t miss work at all

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

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

2022Year 1
Post 02

Family time makes it permanent

“overprotective of my time”

ESI Retiree 34Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • School runs, long walks and children’s activities anchored his days.
  • He organized other commitments around family.

How it felt

  • Closing the work chapter proved easier than expected. “surprisingly easy”
  • He protected his time while still describing a retirement honeymoon. “overprotective of my time”
FamilyBoundariesFreedom
ESI Retiree 34 (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: surprisingly easy

Retirement life / personal reflection; exact short excerpt: overprotective of my time

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.

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