We can do all the things listed below without having to retire. We play tennis every weekend, and believe me there is only so much tennis your body can take. At 55, your spirit may be willing, your body is not. Your knees can only take so much punishment. It used to be that we can recover from a punishing game within a day or two. Now it is taking a week!
Swimming, yes, you can do that more often like we did every other morning. Even then we take it slow. This we do before we go off to work.
Spend time with children/spouse? Spouse working and children are grown up. They have their own lives to lead. Spending quality time together is way better than better spending too much time with them.
Many retirees found to their chargrin that the list of activities/hobbies that they planned to do in their retirement were either completed within 1 year of their retirement or they totally abandoned them as they neither have the passion nor the discipline to follow through.
I have tried "retired" life, and I concluded that working at a slower pace is better than full retirement. I seldom consume my annual leave and one time I decided to clear them all at once. The initial few days were good, not having to wake early and no care about the time. But after the first week, tremendous boredom set in. After seeing my wife off to work and children off, you are suddenly staring at an empty house. Friends are all at work too.
When working, besides earning money, you keep yourself busy during the weekdays, and you look forward to weekends. Public holidays are special and you appreciate them more. When retired, every day is the same.
In my job, I get to travel for business meetings so I don't exactly hunger for traveling.
I haven't quite found the one thing that will make me look forward to retirement, to having more "me" time to spend on doing the thing that I like.
It is important to have something meaningful to do otherwise your mind will dull rapidly. Don't want to spend my time in shopping malls or libraries just to wait for the day to turn to night. Isn't that frightful?
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Originally Posted by Unregistered
Congratulations on being debt free and owning a paid up condo. Not many people your age own their condo outright. You are on the right track of retiring at 55. Once you retire, keep yourself busy. Here are some activities you can do:
1. Do lots of reading. Catch up on the latest scientific research.
2. Do lots of exercising in the gym. Regain the 6 pack abs you lost many years ago.
3. Do lots of swimming in your condo pool.
4. Play tennis at your condo tennis court.
5. Travel the world.
6. Do voluntary work at charities. You can sit in Organising committees.
7. Learn to cook your favourite dishes.
8. Learn to trade the stock market. You can make lots if you are good.
9. Spend a lot of time with your children, old parents and other family members.
10. Take up new hobbies.
Most important of all, don't be a boring person. Enjoy your retirement.
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