afterFI/RE Life after FI/RE
People
Selected life timeline 2022—2026

The fun jobs were fun—until the phone could ring.

u/Visible_Structure483 tried keeping a little paid work in retirement. The tasks had their appeal; surrendering the calendar did not. Across the third- and fourth-year updates, the author let those jobs go, widened a circle of friends and found that autonomy mattered more than another interesting shift.

Finances
Net worth at retirement2022 · Personal
Not established

No departure balance established. The $7m figure in the third-year update refers to brokerage assets at that update, not starting wealth or complete net worth.

Source
Posts2
2025Year 3
Post 01

A small job casts a long shadow

“I don't like having 'the phone call' hanging over my head and inevitably I have plans already when they ask because I'm not thinking "I need to keep Friday open in case they get busy".”

u/Visible_Structure483Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Kept a low-paid optional job alongside learning, travel and friendships.
  • Spent some time separately from a spouse who continued working.

How it felt

  • Disliked the possibility of being called in, even when the work itself had appeal. “I don't like having 'the phone call' hanging over my head”
  • Appreciated an expanding circle of friends. “My circle of friends is expanding”
WorkFreedomFriends
u/Visible_Structure483 (opens in a new tab)
Notes

Publication date at available precision. Retirement milestones follow the author’s own count; a missing milestone is not inferred.

Fun job, on-call constraint and expanding friendships.

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

2026Year 4
Post 02

The calendar wins the argument

“I've made several more friends this last year with other RE'ed people and freelance types who can hang out during the week.”

u/Visible_Structure483Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Left both optional jobs to regain control of the schedule.
  • Made more weekday friends and reconsidered a long-running car hobby.

How it felt

  • Decided that working on someone else’s schedule outweighed the jobs’ benefits. “being on someone else's schedule again was not worth the upsides”
  • Found more people available to share retirement time. “I've made several more friends this last year”
FreedomFriendsSimplicity
u/Visible_Structure483 (opens in a new tab)
Notes

Publication date at available precision. Retirement milestones follow the author’s own count; a missing milestone is not inferred.

Leaving two fun jobs, weekday friendships and car hobby.

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.

  • Spouse continued working during the third-year update. The reported brokerage balance is not total net worth. Departure age is not separately established.
  • This is a selection of reviewed updates, not a complete account history. No later life outcome is inferred from the absence of another indexed post.

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