Early Retirement Extreme Forums

This morning I went to Human Resources and signed the paperwork. My last day at work will be next Friday. I'm not really ERE as I am 55 but still, over at HR, they thought I was awfully young to retire. I have been planning for this for over 10 years and I am almost there!
BTW, all I get from my current employer is health insurance. But to me that is a big deal and I hung around about three more years than I needed to in order to secure it (and of course save more). It was the one big unknown in all of my planning.
I mentioned earlier in a post that my plans are to travel for a while in an airplane I have been building. The plane is done and I have been flying it (see my blog) and I am even more excited about heading out in it now that I have experienced its capabilities. Then I plan to come back to my home and contemplate my next move. I may return to living on a sailboat and sell my house or perhaps this summer I'll find a p[lace I'd like to live for a while. Lots of options . . . finally!
I have enjoyed reading of others experiences here and thought I'd pass my excitement back to the forum!
Hank

Congrats!

Congratulations!
Your soon to be former employer will pay your insurance in retirement?
Building a plane from a kit, what an accomplishment... I liked your blog post on first flight. I'd like to see some posts on actually building from a kit.

Congrats on your retirement. I see you will have no trouble filling your time and enjoying yourself!
Your blog is very cool. I had never thought much about building a plane from a kit as you did as I have no experience in aviation.
I hope you make posting your exploits part of your retirement.

That's great! Congrats!

Whoo-hoo!

congrats !
and i'm jealous, i have 10 hours on the cockpit. i could definitely see being ERE and flying the US and Canada.

Well, now the start of my last week!
Yes, my employer pays my insurance in retirement. I have to pay my contribution which is under $100.00 a month for very good coverage. It is the only thing I get from them other than the contributions they made to my 403b plan while I was working.
I'll try to put some more out on the blog about building the plane. If you are at all interested you can visit the site of the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association). They are the go to people on home building. I now have over 16 hours and have posted more of my exploits here:
http://www.flyinglowandslow.com/blog/

Cool, ksoto. Now four more days of work, I think? How are your colleagues responding? Do you have to, or want to, clean up some messes before you leave, and/or write instructions for the person who takes over your tasks? Could be quite a busy time...

Now only two days left!
I am getting the usual mix of responses from my colleagues. From those who are supportive and even envious to several who say I will be bored and want my job back. Come on! I hope to fly my homebuilt airplane all over North America instead of sitting behind a desk staring at a computer screen. I'm going to be BORED? Perhaps on occasion I'll be scared and wish I was back behind a desk on the ground but flying is like that. The bad moments have always passed quickly. So far.
Many say they want adventure in their lives. But, real adventure always requires some degree of risk and usually some discomfort. Most, given the choice prefer safety and comfort over the alternatives. They may complain about how boring their lives are but they have made their choices.
I am indeed scared as I am making a big change but I can see no other alternative for me. Everything that is truly worthwhile requires taking some risk.
I have indeed spent most of the past few weeks training others. I have been working long hours but the weather was good this evening and I made it to the airport and flew my airplane for over two hours. My final landing was as the sun was setting. I was flying with my door open and the view was incredible.

This is what life is all about. Congratulations brother.

"My final landing was as the sun was setting. I was flying with my door open and the view was incredible."
Awesome! Do keep us posted with your retirement adventures!

And you're done. Or almost. Congratulations.

An update after a month . . . I had high expectations for retirement and I am pleased to say that, so far, they have been exceeded. It is such a joy to wake up every morning to do what I want to do and on my schedule. Time was flying by at such a rapid rate but the most amazing thing happened, it has slowed to a crawl. Kind of reminds me of the long slow summer vacations when I was in grade school. I keep busy and am enjoying myself and taking much better care of myself. I was a little scared about "pulling the plug" but although there are a few negatives, the positives far outweigh them.
One funny thing that happened. On my first Monday of retirement a friend (who really wishes it was her retiring) called me around 1:00 PM to see how I was doing. I was taking a nap after a long bike ride and she woke me up. I must of sounded dazed and when she asked if I was ok, without thinking I said, "You just woke me up, I was taking a nap". She told me I did not need to "rub it in". Funny thing, she doesn't call anymore in the middle of the day.
I have completed the test flying of my airplane and tomorrow morning, bright and early, I head out on my first big adventure.
http://www.flyinglowandslow.com/blog/

I'm very happy to hear things are going great for you, congratulations again!
And please, if your coworker calls again, do rub it in!

great accomplishment congratulations!