Hello everyone! I have a success story to share. My primary care physician is retiring early next year! Wow, another student escaping the rat race. That’s good. In 2012, I retired from my engineering job and had to find a new doctor closer to home. Surprisingly, Dr. C saw me from the Pension in 40 years when I entered. FIRE was in its heyday at that time. We talked a little bit about early retirement, but quickly turned our attention to health care. Dr. C used to be a great primary care doctor, but the health care system has made life more difficult for family doctors in the last few years.
Primary care physicians are overloaded with patients and their compensation is lower than specialists. They are also burdened with paperwork and red tape. As a result, medical students do not want to become family doctors. They have loans to pay so it’s best to specialize. That’s too bad because I like having a babysitter. Dr. C is familiar with my health care history and has kept me healthy for many years. Hopefully, I can get a good PCP next year. I have heard that it is more difficult than ever to find a new doctor. The United States is facing a severe shortage of primary care physicians.
Anyway, I want to give Dr. C tips for a happy and successful early retirement. Dr C is frugal, childless, and has a working partner. We can safely assume that Dr. C is well prepared financially. I think the biggest problem will be transitioning to retirement. Retirement can be difficult at any age.
Stay busy
My best tip from Dr. C to stay busy after early retirement. Many people think they will enjoy a relaxing retirement, but that is an illusion. Sure, it’s fun to watch Netflix and play video games all day on the weekend. However, you will tire your mind if you do it every day. Most of us will feel empty and unfulfilled if we are not doing anything productive. This is especially true for early retirees. We are young and want to be useful.
It’s good to rest and relax for a few months after a stressful job. However, early retirees need to plan for the future as well. You need to take on some passion projects when you have unstructured time. Staying active is essential to a happy retirement. Here’s what I did 12 years ago.
SAHD, Blogging, and Side hustles
When I retired in 2012, I was busy with my son. He was only 18 months old and needed a ton of guidance. Being a stay-at-home dad to a young child was stressful, but I really enjoyed it. RB40Jr and I had a lot of fun exploring Portland. (It was great at the time.) I continued to blog, but it was on the back burner until RB40Jr started school.
When she started school, I had more time for myself and focused on blogging. It kept me busy and inspired many readers. I enjoyed sharing my journey. It is possible to retire early if you save and invest consistently.
I would also participate if I had more time. I would charge scooters and bring food back and forth for years. These distractions kept me busy and reduced withdrawal. Working part time after retirement can be very helpful. It keeps you from getting bored and even a little money goes a long way. However, lately I have been very picky. These days, I don’t leave the house for less than $30/hour.
Slowly approaching full retirement
All these activities kept me busy since I retired from my engineering career. However, they are all slowly folding in their own ways.
RB40Jr is young now and doesn’t need me as much. I spend a lot of time taking him to different activities. But he still goes independently every day. Next year, he will be in high school and can ride a bike there. In less than 5 years, she will be off to college and my time as a SAHD will be over.
Blogging is a hobby of mine, but it has declined significantly over the past few years. Also, I have no enthusiasm for FIRE these days. We are successful and we are no longer focused on money. I don’t care much about saving and earning extra money. We are older now and want to enjoy life more. FIRE is not the main consideration now. I think students enjoy learning about these struggles.
Lastly, I’m starting to get lazy with side gigs. These app-based side hustles pay well at first, but the pay drops after they are established. It’s getting harder and harder to make good money with Uber, DoorDash, and other app-based gigs. They have to be profitable to pressure gig workers. These days, I only take cooking orders. That pays anywhere from $20 to $50 per delivery, but you usually only get one order a day during lunch. It’s okay because an hour a day is not enough work for me. However, I have been getting a few orders lately. I refuse anything under $30 and the algorithm might blacklist me. Last week, I delivered 1 order and made $40. I don’t mind working a little.
Staying busy after retirement
So what will I do after all these jobs are wrapped up? Will I finally be able to relax and chill by the pool? It’s impossible! I know that staying busy keeps me happy. Besides, we don’t have a pool.
This term, I make pottery and play the ukulele at a local community center. Both jobs are very exciting. They keep me busy and out of trouble. I would love to set up a pottery studio one day. Unfortunately, our home has no space. That will have to wait.
I am also interested in bonsai. I made a few bonsai pots in my ceramic class and will start some seedlings next spring. Life is full of opportunities. You just have to try new activities and see if you enjoy them. You will have a happy retirement if you have many things to do.
That’s my advice to Dr. C. Relax for a few months, then look around for new activities to try. You need to grow and learn new skills to have a fulfilling retirement. I will bring the class catalog to the community center the next time I see Dr. C. There are too many activities to try. They even have a knitting class and a metal shop just for the heck of it. Volunteering is a great option as well.
Do you have any advice for Dr. C? What do you think is the key to a happy retirement?
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A minimum wage is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in real estate with CrowdStreet. They have many projects all over the USA so check them out!
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