It’s time to retire. Both my mind and my body are telling me it’s time. Of course, my husband is in excited agreement since he retired four years ago. I am thankful for the years of diligent saving and investing, rather than spending, that allows us to retire in financial peace. We have done well in that regard, but neither of us can say the same for our health.
Admittedly, some of our issues are inherited, but too many others stem from poor daily lifestyle choices. Michael is addicted to sugar and I’m addicted to salt. Both of us prefer a southern diet with fried chicken, fried fish, and macaroni and cheese being our favorite comfort foods. He loves candy and ice cream while I love potato chips. Although we garden and I work out for an hour five mornings a week and he has returned to golfing once a week, we both sit too much. Nearly all of my hobbies: reading, writing, doing puzzles, watching K-dramas, painting pots, and knitting are all sitting down activities. Even my work requires long hours sitting in front of a computer. Michael has always been a couch potato at home when he isn’t working on a project. We are both overweight by a lot and neither of us sleeps as well as we should. The time for a lifestyle change is past due if we want to live and actually enjoy a substantial time in retirement.
Since the new year, I have given up potato chips altogether. In consultation with my doctor, I am eating only broth soups or salad with homemade dressing for dinner on the nights I have dinner. He has recommended intermittent fasting and so I’m skipping dinner three days a week. I’m getting up and walking around more frequently during the work day and eating considerably less, cutting down on the size of my meals and nearly eliminating rice, pasta and potatoes. I haven’t figured out how to stop Michael from bringing home his sugary treats, though. Threatening and nagging hasn’t worked.
I’ve begun my countdown to retirement by putting a preparation timeline in place. I’ve schedule a training transition for my colleagues. I’ve scheduled all my health and body maintenance checks. In fact I just had my annual mammogram last Wednesday. In addition, my car just received a clean bill of health after paying nearly $500 for maintenance at the dealership to hear the great news. With only 35,000 miles on a fully paid for 2014 Lexus 300 Hybrid, I would think it should be doing well. My only plan is to change out the floor mats. In the next house, I’ll need to park it in the garage to preserve the paint. It was well worth the money to pay for the paint sealing treatment when I purchased the car in 2014 but it is beginning to show signs of wear. I had thought of purchasing a new car at retirement or us making due with just one car, but I realize a new car it isn’t necessary and Michael didn’t like the idea of sharing one vehicle. So I will take my 2014 Lexus into retirement with me.
This month I finally paid off the last of my substantial student loans from my master’s and doctorate degrees as well as my middle daughter’s student loan. It’s crazy in retrospect that I have spent my entire working life paying off student loans. However, that means that with the exception of our mortgage, we are 100% debt free. And our house is worth a whole lot more than our mortgage, so we’re in the positive there. We refinanced from 3.25% down to 2.75% last year and now I wish we had waited because rates moved even lower. But since we plan to move to Las Vegas in a year or two, it may not be worth pursuing refinance again. I suppose I’ll have to make some calculations and find out if it’s even possible.
On Friday, I began removing a few items from my on campus office. My goal is to remove a few items each of the three times a week I go to campus. I will either bring the items home, throw them away, or gift them. My goal is to make leaving my campus office as thoughtful and relaxed as possible when the time comes. Over 23 years, I’ve collected a lot of stuff, so it is a pretty big task. I’ve also collected a lot of unused vacation time, and the payout will be a nice bonus.
The same is true for my wardrobe. I have three closets full of clothes for different occasions. However, when it comes to my clothes, I plan to leave them behind as well. Most will go to Goodwill and my professional clothes will be donated to a shelter for abused women’s shelter to help outfit women seeking work. My goal is to lose 75 pounds in the next year and with that weight loss, I plan to purchase an entirely new retirement wardrobe. It’s going to be fun figuring out my retirement style.
My greatest expense is going to be purchasing an individual healthcare plan while I wait for Medicare to kick in. Even after that, I realize that managing healthcare expenses and supplemental insurance plans will be the greatest challenge and frustration. I see it with my husband and its shameful that things are so complicated.
My last day of work will be June 30, 2021 and I’m finding that as I begin planning my transition, my excitement about what comes next is growing. I’ve already announced that I’m not up for a big party or any fanfare. As a true introvert, I will be the most content to simply slip away quietly when the day arrives.