afterFI/RE Life after FI/RE
← 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
31–40 of 177 posts

He enjoyed becoming less important. Moving away from friends was the harder change.

Jan 2025 · Year 2.75

“There is real peacefulness in being unimportant.”

ESI Retiree 56Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Exercise, home projects, live music and trips filled their Florida days.
  • Old friends visited while new local connections grew slowly.

How it felt

  • He found relief in no longer being professionally important. “real peacefulness in being unimportant”
  • Financial optimization still occupied more mental space than expected. “money remains a topic in my head”
ChangeFriendsIdentity
ESI Retiree 56
Read original postesimoney.com

Creative freedom did not replace the feeling of making a difference

2025 · At departureRecalled in 2025

“I didn't love the nitty gritty of the day to day work and was happy to be done with it”

u/gkr974Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Left federal employment at a natural stopping point.
  • Continued enjoyable part-time university teaching alongside hobbies and friends.

How it felt

  • Was happy to leave the daily details of the old job. “happy to be done with it”
  • Expected more time for creative work, including a novel. “which I enjoy”
WorkPurpose
u/gkr974
Read original postreddit.com

Full days did not settle the identity question

2025Recalled in 2026

“I felt challenged and nourished physically despite the discomfort of pregnancy.”

u/sky-high-dragon-flyRead original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Organized toddler classes, playdates and parent groups.
  • Learned piano, exercised and read regularly during pregnancy.

How it felt

  • Felt physically nourished and free of job stress. “challenged and nourished physically”
  • Missed intellectual challenge and worried about being left behind professionally. “under-stimulated intellectually”
ParenthoodIdentity
u/sky-high-dragon-fly
Read original postreddit.com

He got fifty hours back. The pressure to use them followed him home.

Dec 2024 · Year 6

“I’m sure if I put more time into it, I could drive up the revenue, but I don’t want a full-time job.”

Jim / Route to RetireRead original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Lived in Panama, traveled by RV and returned to the United States.
  • Continued blogging while his wife did flexible substitute teaching.

How it felt

  • Remained grateful for retirement even with purpose still unresolved. “I wouldn’t trade my early retirement for anything.”
  • Did not want a conventional full-time job to become the answer. “I don’t want a full-time job.”
PurposeTravelFamily
Jim / Route to Retire
Read original postroutetoretire.com

Redundancy became a retirement worth keeping

Dec 2024 · Year 1

“Much happier and less stressed to be doing something I see as useful.”

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

Life at the time

  • Volunteered with several charities using practical and professional skills.
  • Talked through the working spouse’s challenges and supported her.

How it felt

  • Felt happier and less stressed doing useful things. “Much happier and less stressed”
  • Sometimes felt embarrassed explaining retirement to people in essential jobs. “embarrassed by your privilege”
ChangePurpose
u/Kippax
Read original postreddit.com

He traded corporate pressure for practical help, family meals and long rides.

Dec 2024 · Year 3

“I love my freedom.”

ESI Retiree 55Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Coaching, cycling and community roles filled much of his time.
  • Preparing meals supported his working wife and school-age child.

How it felt

  • He enjoyed useful service with the freedom to come home afterward. “I love my freedom”
  • He felt less able to make large charitable gifts. “return home with my freedom”
FamilyPurposeOutdoors
ESI Retiree 55
Read original postesimoney.com

Money settled before identity and friendship did

Nov 2024 · Year 3

“Travel, btw, is an expensive way to work through boredom, so I’ve had to be a little more strategic with the way I’ve been spending that non-essential bucket.”

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

Life at the time

  • Tried classes, traveled and continued language practice.
  • Kept in touch with existing friends after uneven meetup experiences.

How it felt

  • Appreciated freedom to experiment despite frequent disappointments. “grateful for the time”
  • Social isolation remained harder than managing the money. “the most challenging”
IdentityFriends
u/wolvesbelonginak
Read original postreddit.com

The search for useful days eventually became an overflowing calendar

Oct 2024

“Now, 12 years after leaving work, I’m constantly busy with parenting, school functions, and social events.”

Sam Dogen / Financial SamuraiRead original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Parenting, school functions and social events now filled his calendar.
  • Continued writing a regular financial newsletter.

How it felt

  • No longer described retirement as boring. “constantly busy”
  • Sometimes felt overwhelmed by the amount going on. “overwhelming at times”
PurposeParenthoodRoutine
Sam Dogen / Financial Samurai
Read original postfinancialsamurai.com

Freedom felt oddly disorienting. Local commitments helped give it substance.

Oct 2024 · Year 7

“I’ll start resenting all the time it’s soaking up”

Dave GowRead original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Joined turtle rescue and local planting projects.
  • Balanced writing and other activities with ordinary chores.

How it felt

  • Found that worthwhile commitments could still become too much. “So there’s a delicate balance!”
  • Did not see travel or retirement as a list that could be permanently completed. “Travel is not something you can even finish.”
PurposeBoundariesOutdoors
Dave Gow
Read original poststrongmoneyaustralia.com

Volunteering is more appealing than another consulting job

Oct 2024Interview snapshot · published 2025-01

“I am enjoying the freedom from stress so much”

ESI Millionaire 437Read original post (opens in a new tab)

Life at the time

  • Fully retired again in April 2024, she began volunteering at church and stayed near her aging parents.

How it felt

  • Relief from work stress made her reluctant to return to paid work unless finances required it. “I have started to volunteer with my church”
RecoveryPurposeFamily
ESI Millionaire 437
Read original postesimoney.com

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.