Retirement Countdown 2025

A new haircut Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving. I'm assessing how I feel since leaving the building 5 months ago. When I walked out the door on July 1st. I was filled with joy and at the same time sadness. Joy in the fact that I feel more liberated from my day to day tasks of "work". As for the sadness, it's surreal. I've enjoyed the years of working and to finally "stop" with what I've been doing. And another feeling is also strange. Sadness. Surreal. Strange. (Three "S" notations.) Yes and no, I will not miss my colleagues or the work, but at the same time, I've elected to break free from the daily rigors of work to celebrate MY TIME at this stage in my life. I've been working since I was a preteen. This I can verify through  SSA.Gov  which tracks my first paycheck and tax deduction since I first started working.  First time at Wimbledon! It was wonderful to clean my desk, take in my surroundings, and really take in the moment that I...

*I'm revisiting a challenging predicament, hear me out on this.  This has been such a common and important question many soon to be retiree(s) need to make a decision. Do I stay or should I go? Sounds like a song lyric, but the truth is, yes where do I decide to live after retiring?  The Thinker, Artist: Auguste Rodin Here's my predicament, I live and work in the city where my job is. It makes sense to be centrally located to where my job is - right? But, when you decide to leave, should you relocate? I live in an apartment in the city that has rent control. Many say once I leave, I can't come back as the cost of living for housing will never be the same. On the other hand, I also have real estate property outside of the city that will be paid off soon. I could live there and forego any additional rent paying in the city. But I don't want to live in a remote setting. For me, I'm a city slicker, I love the city vibe, the convenience of walking out my door and getting...