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Sunday, December 26, 2010

Retirement----Sort Of

To retire or not to retire. That is the question.

A few months ago, I made the big decision. After 20 plus years as a financial advisor and insurance agent, it was time to slow down and semi-retire. Semi- because I will still be keeping for a while my insurance business.

Semi retire because my husband is purchasing another business and I will be keeping books for his two businesses as well as our personal finances.

DECIDING:

How did I make the decision? Time and Money.

1. We only have so much sand in our personal hourglass. At 60 I can see that there is more sand in the bottom than the top. It is time to enjoy the sand that I have left.

2. I'm going to be a Grandmother, for the first time. And again....time....it goes by so fast. Do I want to spend my "sand" on shepherding my recalcitrant, balky and frankly ungrateful clients....OR do I want to spend time with my husband, grandchild, my daughter and her husband and my Father who just turned 82 (who also has a limited amount of sand left)

No contest. Family wins out.

3. Time. I haven't had time to do the things that I enjoy. Hobbies that I have let languish over the past 10 years of self employment. Cooking, Quilting, Painting, Gardening, Sewing, Knitting, playing my guitar. I am sooooo...looking forward to being able to exercise my artistic and creative side, instead of my analytical and managerial side.

4. Money. While most of my clients have done very well, even through this latest downturn and many have actually made money, I am just sick of dealing with everyone's problems. Holding hands. Trying to keep people from running off of the rails. Frankly.....I'm sick of most of my clients. One positive sign that it is time to quit.

5. Money. The fees and charges to doing business have gone up and up and up. A 25% increase next year for basic services from my Broker Dealer. Fees added to fees. Not to mention paperwork and compliance up the boo yang. Add in the office overhead, insurance etc. It was a no brainer.

So....I have moved my office to my husband's business. Upstairs above the workshop. Despite his whining that he is going to lose his 'man cave', he admits that it does look pretty nice, manly and .....bonus!!!.. I will be cleaning the office so that there aren't as many manly dead spiders, flies and cobwebs. Another bonus. I plan to set up a wet bar and get some nice recliners and a flat screen television so we can watch movies and just relax.

MOVING:

OMG. The pain of moving almost 10 years of office accumulation, files, supplies, decorations. And moving all of it UP a flight of stairs. I'll tell you one thing. After all these trips up and down the stairs carrying my end of the furniture and boxes of stuff......I will have buns of steel. Right now I feel like someone has kicked me in the rear.






Throwing away items. It is liberating!!. Anything to do with securites. Trash it. Have I looked at it in the last 2 years? Nope....trash it. How many of these pens, folders, whatevers do I really need? Trash half of them. Dumpsters full of trash.

ADJUSTING:

So far, the adjustments to retirement has been a bit strange because we have been so busy with moving and repositioning.

First thing to deal with is the idea that "I don't have to be anyplace at any particular time". I don't have to get up and be in my office at 8:00 am. My time is going to be my own!. At first I felt like I was shirking something.

I don't have to get dressed up into work clothing, which is for me heels, suits or nice pants outfits. Looking forward to the transition into more casual, less make up, less jewelry styling......while being careful not to transition into slob.

Because my time is NOT structured and I don't have multitudes of client obligations, right now, I feel like I should be doing something else. Something constructive.

I know.......I'll bake some bread and settle on a new knitting project, open a bottle of wine and sit in the easy chair and listen to some Coletrane, while the Dumbplumber is busy with his latest book and nap.

Ahhhh.... retirement. I think I can learn to like you.