← Explore posts shelves

Posts

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
361–370 of 542 posts

Engineering remains a pleasure after retirement

Sep 2020Interview snapshot · published 2021-02

Life at the time

  • Retired from full-time engineering business demands, he continued teaching and working on selected projects.

How it felt

  • He enjoyed keeping a connection to the firm he had co-founded, primarily for fun even when projects earned income. “Primarily for fun”

Slow travel felt right. A return to paid writing helped her value freedom again.

Aug 2020

Life at the time

  • Longer stays replaced hurried vacations.
  • Weekday exercise and healthier routines became easier to sustain.

How it felt

  • She enjoyed exploring places at a slower pace. “slow travel lifestyle”
  • Having time made ordinary choices feel different. “having time makes”

Leaving oil work led to outdoors and a lighter kind of work

Aug 2020

Life at the time

  • He opened the family shop for ten hours weekly.
  • Hiking, photography and local outings continued alongside it.

How it felt

  • The shop routine felt relaxed. “so relaxing”
  • He valued everyday contentment with his wife. “so content”

They drove away from their old life with doubts. Six years later, the road still appealed.

Aug 2020Recalled in 2026

Life at the time

  • Selling, donating and packing reduced the contents of their longtime home.
  • They drove to stay with family in North Carolina after closing.

How it felt

  • Leaving familiar surroundings prompted doubts. “wondering if we made the right choice”
  • In retrospect, he felt the decision had worked out well. “a resounding yes”

Property projects and unexpected friendships

Aug 2020Interview snapshot · published 2020-12

Life at the time

  • The retired former project-management consultant worked on his property and formed new friendships.

How it felt

  • He reported greater contentment as he managed expectations and appreciated friendships without demanding a particular intensity. “I’m more content, and more importantly, so is my wife.”

A home built for family became the base for a surprisingly full calendar

Aug 2020Recalled in 2025

Life at the time

  • They had moved into their custom home in late 2019.
  • Golf and several board positions filled the week.

How it felt

  • The house brought them joy. “brings us joy”
  • They anticipated returning to travel after restrictions. “looking forward”

Two homes, and two different weekday routines

Aug 2020Interview snapshot · published 2020-11

Life at the time

  • He split retirement between northern and southern homes, reading and swimming while his wife continued working remotely.

How it felt

  • He loved the island lifestyle while recognizing the contrast with his wife's indoor working days. “Love the island lifestyle.”

He retired. His calendar filled with people who needed him.

Jul 2020

Life at the time

  • Grew and preserved food, volunteered at food banks and handled repairs. “Garden is in full swing.”
  • Faced dental and household expenses during a market downturn.

How it felt

  • Accepted that unexpected bills continued after leaving work. “Life Happens.”
  • Gardening remained an active part of daily life alongside those disruptions.

An uncertain career pause becomes valuable family time

Jul 2020Interview snapshot · published 2020-10

Life at the time

  • Outside his former career, he helped aging parents, spent time with his wife and daughter, and worked on his health.

How it felt

  • He valued this time even while remaining unsure whether to call it retirement or a search for another business. “am I retired, semi-retired, or still looking for the right business?”

A home routine built around health, learning and people

Jul 2020Interview snapshot · published 2020-11

Life at the time

  • The Financial Freedom Countdown author described a retirement routine of the gym, home cooking, naps, inspiring projects, social time and reading.

How it felt

  • He had traded higher earnings and visible assignments for more control of his time before fully retiring. “This is my current routine when I am at home and not traveling.”

Privacy & analytics

AfterFire uses Google Analytics only if you accept. It helps us understand visits, referral sources, pages and chapters people open, filter use, and clicks to original sources.

After acceptance, Google receives page titles and addresses without query strings, content and chapter IDs, filter names (not selected values or search terms), campaign source/medium/name tags from shared links, original-source domains, referring sites, approximate location and browser/device information. Analytics cookies distinguish browsers and visits. Campaign labels are stored in this tab only after acceptance and expire after 30 minutes without activity. We do not enable advertising personalization or Google Signals, or send your name, email address or account identifier to Analytics.

Declining sends no Analytics data to Google. Accepting starts with the page currently open; we do not replay earlier browsing. Withdrawing consent stops tracking, clears this site's Analytics cookies and reloads the page. It does not delete measurements already received by Google.

We remember your choice on this browser for up to six months. Detailed Analytics data is retained for up to 14 months; aggregated reports can remain longer. Site hosting still processes requests needed to serve these pages.

Read Google's privacy policy and how Google uses information from sites.