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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
31–40 of 95 posts

A travel sabbatical became a flexible working life

2024 · Year 1Recalled in 2026

Life at the time

  • Ended nine months of travel when a long-sought apartment became available.
  • Bought the small apartment without a mortgage and largely renovated it personally.

How it felt

  • Loved doing the renovation and felt proud of the result. “I also loved the process”
  • The small, bright home prompted a rethink of the larger properties once considered necessary. “Now I was thinking about what I actually needed.”

The projects remain, but the commitments are chosen

Nov 2023 · Year 5Interview snapshot · published 2024-04

Life at the time

  • Five years after his executive career, he maintained properties, learned mechanical skills, pursued music and sometimes used his expertise for paid projects.

How it felt

  • He valued control over his commitments and enjoyed being useful on his own terms. “It feels good to be wanted in this way”

Unhurried mornings and creative afternoons

Nov 2023Interview snapshot · published 2024-04

Life at the time

  • Retirement days included coffee and reading, followed by home projects, woodworking, quilt-making, social contact and cycling.

How it felt

  • He enjoyed retirement and the absence of deadlines after years in always-on operations management. “I have truly enjoyed every day of retirement.”

When the plan worked, the spreadsheet became less interesting

Oct 2023

Life at the time

  • Reduced publishing and stopped trying to grow the blog.
  • Kept working while saving for family experiences rather than adding to the FI portfolio.

How it felt

  • Felt she had achieved the autonomy she wanted. “We Have Arrived”
  • Found beginner FI discussions less relevant to a satisfying everyday life. “a level of optionality that feels liberating”

Computer science gives way to cooking and music

Sep 2023Interview snapshot · published 2024-03

Life at the time

  • After leaving government computer science, she earned a culinary arts degree, learned piano and harp, and began studying nutrition.

How it felt

  • She described gratitude for retirement and pleasure in pursuing her own interests. “Already retired and loving it…so grateful.”

A sudden exit leaves the retirement label unsettled

Aug 2023Interview snapshot · published 2024-01

Life at the time

  • Financial security enabled him to leave public administration under political pressure and return to neglected interests.

How it felt

  • The abrupt transition was difficult despite gratitude for new freedom and a supportive spouse; future employment remained undecided. “I may return to work, or I may not.”

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

May 2023 · Year 4.75

Life at the time

  • In 2022 she tried a contract writing investment articles.
  • Revisions and performance expectations made the computer feel like work again.

How it felt

  • She was glad to reclaim control of her time. “Choosing freedom over money”
  • The experiment clarified that paid writing did not fit her interests well enough. “I’m just not that into it”

A third language after a third career

May 2023Interview snapshot · published 2023-08

Life at the time

  • Following careers in the military, industry and teaching, he fully retired and learned another language with his wife.

How it felt

  • He enjoyed control of his time and immersion in language learning, while keeping the possibility of adult teaching open. “I also still feel compelled to teach”

An empty Tuesday gradually stopped feeling like failure

Mar 2023 · Year 1

Life at the time

  • Can accept spontaneous golf, ski trips and coffee invitations.
  • Checks the budget monthly and net worth twice yearly.

How it felt

  • Enjoys the freedom more as time passes. “Over time I’m enjoying this freedom more”
  • Feels little financial anxiety with room in the budget. “rarely thinking about money”

Sharing retirement meant renegotiating the house, the chores and the conversation.

Jan 2023 · Year 4

Life at the time

  • Meals, exercise and Spanish study provided shared time.
  • Travel and individual projects coexisted with deliberately separate activities.

How it felt

  • A new communication approach reduced conflict. “drastically decreased our conflicts”
  • Retirement made emotions easier to handle without eliminating them. “negative feelings”

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