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Explore turning points, everyday joys and unexpected challenges after financial independence or retirement, with the date and original source for each account.

Age
Wealth
Years
Posts
181–190 of 194 posts

Financial independence let useful work coexist with absorbing hobbies

2016Recalled in 2024

Life at the time

  • His corporate role ended in a restructuring.
  • He revived a consulting business after the corporate stint.

How it felt

  • Their finances seemed sufficient to leave. “looked okay”
  • He recognized that paid work had become optional. “did not need to work anymore”

Parental leave opened into a family-centered retirement

2016Recalled in 2017

Life at the time

  • Parental leave helped him leave his office career.
  • The family spent substantial time in Europe for his wife’s projects.

How it felt

  • Their daughter’s birth made the decision easier. “wasn’t really a difficult decision”
  • He welcomed avoiding awkward explanations about leaving work. “reasonable excuse”

Leaving engineering made room for parenting. Blogging kept a working rhythm in his days.

Dec 2015

Life at the time

  • Staying home replaced long daycare days for his son.
  • Blogging and managing a duplex continued alongside his wife’s employment.

How it felt

  • More time with his child was a central benefit. “that was me”
  • The household arrangement was working for them at this stage. “Right now it’s working out pretty well”

A stay-at-home father finds a public voice

Nov 2015

Life at the time

  • Cared for young children and fitted his own afternoon nap around theirs.
  • Built Financially Alert as an online business and community.

How it felt

  • Loved being home after leaving office demands. “I loved it”
  • Still wanted a challenge and connection beyond the initial freedom. “there was still something missing”

Road trips became a way to keep people close

May 2015

Life at the time

  • Returned from three weeks driving through fourteen states with her husband.
  • Kept a travel journal and stopped for photographs along the way.

How it felt

  • Valued her husband as both best friend and travelling companion. “best friend, and traveling buddy”
  • Enjoyed how road travel deepened her understanding of people and places. “build a greater understanding”

Chosen work gave freedom a purpose. Divorce changed the family around it.

Apr 2015

Life at the time

  • Continued carpentry and writing while being a full-time father.
  • Limited conventional business productivity to protect time for parenting.

How it felt

  • Questioned automatically accepting opportunities just because they paid. “these habits were costing me some freedom”
  • Gave himself permission for a long period with less pressure to produce. “I granted myself 20 years of slack time”

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

2015Recalled in 2019

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”

He escaped Sunday-night dread. A decade later, even freedom needed downtime.

Mar 2014 · Year 0.5

Life at the time

  • Read, cooked, learned, played games and cared for three children.
  • Built a household routine while his wife continued working.

How it felt

  • Enjoyed losing the Sunday-night countdown to another working week. “Now I don’t have Sunday nights anymore.”
  • Was content with ordinary days rather than pursuing a grand replacement mission. “Just enjoying life each day.”

The search for useful days eventually became an overflowing calendar

Mar 2014Recalled in 2025

Life at the time

  • Used a morning production schedule to write before enjoying the rest of the day.
  • Experimented with a book, extended travel and an advertising business.

How it felt

  • Wanted to feel useful after leaving full-time work. “Feeling useful”
  • Found writing particularly satisfying and missed it after days away. “extremely satisfying”

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