what to do? what to do?

[Lucinda Stone]

gawd, i hate decisions.....  getting to be the time to think about retirement.  i can work the rest of the year and basically quit my job next january...  start collecting soc sec early at 62, i have 2 pensions i already get, and could work part-time and be sorta ok... altho a big expense would be health insurance, altho could be doable with the obamacare. however, the expense of living up north is just not at all possible in that scenario.

plan a---  quit the job, collect the money and head south since i could easily afford a florida condo or house, most familiar with fort myers area on the gulf coast... downside, family and friends up here, altho they all travel so would be visiting from time to time...  get a little part-time gig, just to pay the insurance until medicare kicks in and get a tan!! that's like a priority... being from new england, i'm tired of the pasty-white... and do my sewing business...

plan b--- status quo...keep working until they pry my cold dead fingers off the keyboard... upside i would get more soc sec the longer i work, but can i last another 3-5 years doing this job? when i really want to get my sewing business going? my job is ok but...

if i go, yeah, it's a whole new world and adventure.. and alone (my mother and aunt are snowbirds down there, my daughter has been there a while, not sure how long she will be staying there, she's doing the traveling nurse thing)

people up here say they will miss me, which is kinda funny since i hardly see any of them now...

big plus is the lack of snow and ice, i despise driving in that crap, gives me agita to the nth degree... as for southern heat, that's why they invented air-conditioning....

if i stay, more of the same old same old... not 100% happy in current situation but it's ok, have food shelter and insurance... but my soul/spirit is tired...

i figure the first 20yrs of my life was growing up, the next 20 was the married and kids, the last 20 have just freakin flown by...  so shouldn't the last 20 be for me??

 

[Lucinda Stone]

now we're talking!!!

[blithe spirit]

yipee..a short road trip for me....

[Lucinda Stone]

yipee is right :)

[P.A.]

Are you taking applications for cabana boy?

[WildBillJohnson]

RETIRE!

[Mickchick]

I didn't intend to retire until I was at least 66, but a change in administration where I worked a couple of years ago led to my rethinking that and crunching numbers to see if I could survive without waiting that long.  It was frightening, but I have a pension (about half of what I was making), and I was lucky enough to be able to continue my insurance at the same rate I was paying through the state as an employee.  I decided to retire about the same time that the lease was up on m apartment, and I moved 2.5 hours south to the little 1 BR condo I had bought in Jax Beach 6 years before.  It meant downsizing again, and making new friends, again, but I haven't regretted it at all, nor have I looked back once with longing for the old days.  I had no idea how much stress I was under all those years. 

I made a list of pros and cons, did a budget to see how much I'd need to live and compared it to how much my pension would be before I made the decision.  IF you can swing it financially, I highly recommend going with your heart and pursuing your dream...

[Lucinda Stone]

thank you  :)

 

[3ee1c5vw5om08]

IT SHOULD BE AND YOU SHOULD GO FOR IT. SOUNDS LIKE YOUR SET WISH I COULD GO WITH!!