# 9 Worst Retiremen Regrets



## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

An article in the Bottom Line newsletter I get listed not retiring sooner, not doing your homework, not burying the hatchet sooner, not planning for the leisure time , not downsizing earlier , not kicking a bad habit earlier, not drawing Social Security at the right time, not traveling earlier in retirement and taking better care of your health as the ten worst regrets.

What say we pick one and offer our thoughts and see how it compares to what the author of the article thought? 

All I have read are the section bullets listed above but my thought on the downsizing earlier makes little sense to me because in my situation I had no mortgage and was freshly divorced shortly after my retirement and used after divorce and retirement "downsizing" more as an income stream to rebuild within my household footprint to suit my after retirement interests.

Selling off her sewing and quilting stuff freed up space for my poker table and left me enough money to buy a nice poker table and corner nook bar.

So what are some of your thoughts or experiences on some of these "mistakes"? 

After a bit of discussion I will dig the article out and see how our perspectives differ from that of the article author.


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Shrek said:


> An article in the Bottom Line newsletter I get listed: (1) not retiring sooner, (2) not doing your homework, (3)not burying the hatchet sooner, (4)not planning for the leisure time , (5)not downsizing earlier , (6)not kicking a bad habit earlier, (7)not drawing Social Security at the right time, (8)not traveling earlier in retirement and (9)taking better care of your health as the* ten* worst regrets.


As to the regrets:
1. never ran across a retiree that didn't think that.
2. most with this regret are the ones who either ran out of money or had to go back to work because lack of..
3. don't have the foggiest of what this has to do with retirement. 
4. gee, isn't retirement suppose to be all "leisure" time and doing what you want, when you want?
5. most all retirees I know only "down-size" after some major event happens like death, accident, health failure, or like in your case divorce.
6. as with # 3 don't know what this has to do with retiring, just sounds like common sense to me.
7. even the "experts" can't agree as to when is the "right" time for a person to start drawing SS is. So guess it's a matter of choice for most and the regret comes in retrospect.
8. think this happens after a major health issue occurs preventing travel and ends procrastination of doing such.
9. the problem with health is that after years of abuse of a younger body it all comes to roost when we get old(er).
10. ahhh, what's ten........... :bored:


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## COSunflower (Dec 4, 2006)

I started downsizing after my divorce 9 years ago and am doing it AGAIN as my older son's family moves in with me. Today was the "final" move day so all 5 family members are here with me tonight. We have been working on this move for the past month - ever since I retired and I am about worn out!! I have taken numerous loads to the thrift store, kept my garbage can and recycling bin full and STILL have alot more to go!!! I was talking with my daughter-in-law tonight and we figure that with all of mine AND theirs...it will take us a full year to COMPLETELY dejunk and pare down to ONE household. I guess it is good to take care of it all first thing but gosh!!! I don't even FEEL retired yet!!!


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

Shrek said:


> ... not retiring sooner,


I got my 20-year pension and I retired at 42.

This is thirteen years later, and I do not regret retiring when I did.

From among my career field, most of my former co-workers went on to have other careers, to get other pensions. Double-dipping, triple-dipping, etc.

I have known a few of them to have died on the job, who never took time to enjoy the pension income they already had.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Can't think of one regret. Any complaint starts entering my mind, I just think of the endless pleasure of simply getting up when when the sun streams in through the window rather than in the dark to make it to work.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

ET1 SS said:


> I got my 20-year pension and I retired at 42.
> 
> This is thirteen years later, and I do not regret retiring when I did.
> 
> ...


Precisely why when my employer early outed me with a full 30 as part of the early buyout of my contract, I took it. Three or four months before that we gave a military double dipper his retirement present of fishing gear and the guy keeled over dead in the parking lot 15 minutes after out processing as he was putting his new gear in his truck side box.

The day I out-processed, I bid my farewells, jumped in my truck, stopped at the bait store for some worms and Milo's Sweet Tea and started my retirement with a final outing technically on the clock for 20 minutes at the boat landing.

The article says most retirees regret not retiring earlier because they overlook that most expenses reduce after retirement and although medical sometimes increases, purchasing extra health insurance still doesn't cost more than the other after retirement savings.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

Shrek said:


> Precisely why when my employer early outed me with a full 30 as part of the early buyout of my contract, I took it. Three or four months before that we gave a military double dipper his retirement present of fishing gear and the guy keeled over dead in the parking lot 15 minutes after out processing as he was putting his new gear in his truck side box.
> 
> The day I out-processed, I bid my farewells, jumped in my truck, stopped at the bait store for some worms and Milo's Sweet Tea and started my retirement with a final outing technically on the clock for 20 minutes at the boat landing.
> 
> The article says most retirees regret not retiring earlier because they overlook that most expenses reduce after retirement and although medical sometimes increases, purchasing extra health insurance still doesn't cost more than the other after retirement savings.


Yes, exactly.

At our last home, one day I recognized our mail-man. He and I had served together on my first sub back in the late '70s. He had gotten his military pension, then went to work for the post office. It was nice to be able to talk about 'old-times' a bit with him. After about a year of that, he had a heart attack and died. He never reached his second pension.

During that same period of time, I bumped into another former co-worker. He was working in a computer repair shop. I did not recognize him at first. He recognized me, we had been in a fire-fight once, where I had saved his life. To me it was a minor incident, but it left a big impression on him. Less than a year after re-connecting with him, he was shot, by an irate customer, in the parking lot of his computer store. I attended his funeral, where I met his family. They told me, that he had told them, stories about me from when he and I had served together.



Take your pension, and enjoy life. 

You might only get a short period of time to enjoy retirement. Or you might get a long time.

When I was booted out onto pension, in my out-processing medical, the doctor told me that according to statistics of retirees with my background, few of us live very long.


[edit: I should explain that we owned a home near a military base. Immediately after I got my pension, we came back state-side and lived in that home. Being near a base, is largely why I was able to bump into former co-workers. After the second one died, we moved away from that area]


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## mjlitt (Apr 17, 2014)

I just had the retirement webinar. Can't make up my mind and the spouse is no help. He's focused on how the New Jersey pension system got into such dire straights. I guess I'll wait until closer to SS age.


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## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

mjlitt said:


> He's focused on how the New Jersey pension system got into such dire straights.


 Yeah, that's made the news down here too (probably because Christie is seen as a possible presidential candidate). NJ is following the lead of states like Illinois which quit funding their plans on an actuarial plan and went to a pay as they go policy. It's not good policy and risky for sure, but if it is any consolation, under current law, a state may not bankrupt. It has to pay whatever pensions have been promised.


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## FarmChix (Mar 3, 2013)

Hubs and I have really been looking at the numbers lately. We will save at minimum....in auto fuel alone....$1200 a month!!!! It makes it pretty tempting! Still in the process of downsizing. Once we sell the house and get moved, it is a pretty strong consideration. We are already pretty self-sufficient. It's *funny* as in ironic, that the numbers change so dramatically on what you need to have in saved dollars depending on what financial planner you believe. I read one report that says you need the equivalent of five years "career" income in retirement funds, before you should retire. Even if you only use half of what you use when working, that only amounts to ten years of retirement. Certainly doesn't make sense to me! LOL


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## topofmountain (Nov 1, 2013)

I have no regrets at all. Life is great.


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## COSunflower (Dec 4, 2006)

No regrets yet either!!! I've only been retired since April but am loving it! I had planned to work 2 more years till SS but medical problems put me out this spring. I wondered what God was doing.....but now I KNOW what He was doing - I NEEDED to retire and I feel so much better already!!!  I have always lived frugally and now I spend only half or less of what I spent monthly before. Retirement saves ALOT of money!!!


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Well, we are currently trying NOT to have regrets. Due to my DH&#8217;s job requirements changing we thought he&#8217;d loose his job last year. He can get pension from the county, so he would simply retire and do the same job somewhere else. He cans till work another three years on his current certification, so we are not retiring at 60 after all.

We have bought a smaller house near family, which we are currently fixing up. We have let go all of the animals other than the dog and cat. This is the beginning of downsizing. We built our current home so when we sell it will be pure profit. This is part of having a nest egg.

Our health is good for our age, and when he does finally retire, I plan on us traveling around the country visiting family (Northern California, Los Angeles, Phoenix AZ, Houston Tx, Katy Tx, Chicago, Chicago, Chicago). No more big dogs. Our border collie is almost 13 and weighs 40 pounds, the next one will be lap size. Easy to travel with.

I also have plans to have a business, so that will take care of boredom. I don&#8217;t know what he&#8217;s going to do. This is the &#8216;leisure time&#8217; problem. When he retires he will still work (after I drag him around the country) part time and ease into retirement.


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