I retired a month ago.  I sold my business and took down the proverbial shingle.

So now what?

Retirement used to mean you put in your 25 – 30 years, maybe even 40 years, collected the gold watch, and went fishing.  If you had a pension you started collecting on it and filed for Social Security benefits.

I didn’t give myself a gold watch, and I don’t have a boat or a lake for fishing.

CHANGING PRIORITIES

Retirement today can mean doing whatever you choose.  For instance, I completed a class to be an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) in December.  That’s the first time in 45 years I’ve taken any kind of a formal class. I took and passed the state certification exam and passed; I can now volunteer time to assist the volunteer fire department in our town.  I feel good donating time.

I’m also not filing for Social Security right away.  I have enough money set aside so that I don’t have to work anymore, unless I choose to, and my monthly SS payment will be more if I wait. I may look for some kind of part time work I can do from my home office, since I do not want to be tied to a schedule.  I’m good at research if you know someone who needs some writing work done!

If you have saved carefully, you may not need to work either, and with newfound time free, consider what is important to you and what you want to do FOR YOU.

IDEAS TO EARN INCOME – IF YOU CHOOSE TO

Let’s face it, a homestead seldom makes enough money to pay all the bills. If you do want some kind of work, but not full time, here are some things to consider.  Some pay better than others, and some just may be a fulfillment for your soul.  Or maybe you just volunteer at something you really want to do – that alone can be immensely rewarding.

• Be a consultant for your former job, or in the same industry.  Consultants often earn far more money than the average employee salary.  I bet you can find a way to leverage your past work experience into a part-time or consultant relationship.
• Learn a new skill (good for the brain cells!) and find few hours of work centered on your newfound knowledge.  Kind of like my EMT work.
• If writing is a gift, offer your skills to the local community paper.  Small newspapers are always looking for content.  It can get you out of the house and form new bonds within your town.  Magazines will sometime pay small amounts for story or joke contribution.  I sent some cooking tips into a magazine and received $25 for just a few lines.
• Set up an EBAY store – buy local and sell items online.
• If you like photography, sell some nice photos to a stock photography company, or to magazines.  Enter some photography contests.  Today’s cell phones often have cameras that rival some lower cost digital DSL’s.  No fancy equipment required.  If you do have more professional equipment, and are proficient at using it, maybe some pet or family portraits are in order. Or enter some photo contests; see if the local paper needs coverage of local events with pictures.
• Plant a larger garden than normal and set up a farm stand by your driveway.  Sell extra vegetables at a local farmers market.  Ditto for other items like fresh homemade bread or pies.  Do make sure to check on your state’s cottage laws regarding food sales.
• Do you have equipment that can be put to use helping neighbors?  Lawn mowing in summer for instance, or snow plowing in winter.  Maybe you have a trailer and can do some hauling work.
• Start a business doing pet or farm sitting.  Take on only as many clients as you want.
• Do you like helping people?  Consider running errands or doing housework.  Elderly people especially, since they usually want to stay in their own home, but just can’t manage many things on their own anymore.  Provide a shuttle service for their doctor appointments or do their grocery shopping.  Lawn service, handyman work around the house or automotive repairs are all candidates.
• Sign up to be an Uber driver part time.
• Be an online consultant – QuickBooks trains and hires customer service reps that work form home.  Just log in and work however long you want to.
• Do you have computer skills?  Many older people don’t.  Set up software or troubleshoot problems.
• Volunteer locally –  soup kitchens, libraries, hospitals, animal shelters and many others often depend on volunteers to get work done in the facility and to assist with events.  Maybe you want to become a fireman or EMT too!

FIND WAYS TO CUT BACK

The other side of the retirement coin is learning to cut back on expenses.  It can mean rethinking your new priorities.  Cutting back on spending means needing less income, or making the income you have work.  Do you really need more boxes from Amazon??

Look into the possibility that your home should be more energy efficient, and save on heating and cooling costs; can you add in some more attic insulation? Fix the leaky faucet? Change out all the light bulbs to the LED kind?  How many things are plugged in all the time, stealing energy even when they are not in use?  Take time to unplug things – any electrical equipment with a light on draws power even when not in use.  In most areas, your power company can do an energy audit for you and make suggestions.

Hang up clothes outside on a clothesline, rather than use the electric or gas dryer.  I find my electric bill goes down substantially during the months when the weather is nice enough to hand clothes out.  Plus, my clothes and sheets smell like sunshine! 

Follow the old adage – “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”.. Find ways to repurpose items rather than throw them away only to buy new.

Rather than click on the “buy” button immediately, leave items sitting in your online cart for a day or two before submitting the order.  You may find you don’t really need that item after all.

Plant a garden.  Even if you don’t plan to sell vegetables, a small investment in seeds can still produce a lot of food, which is probably much fresher and healthier than local groceries.  Plant only things you and your family will eat; no point in throwing out food no one wants.

Learn to do something new for yourself, rather than hiring the work out. You Tube has videos on virtually anything.

RETIRE YOUR WAY

Regardless of when or how you retire, take some time to think about what you want.  Many of us learned to let work and time control us, rather than the other way around. Workaholics, myself included, wrapped up our existence in our work, rather than in life.  Take control of your life now.

I just knew that I didn’t want to look back in 4 or 5 years and say “should’a, would’a, could’a” about life and work – I should of retired sooner, I would have visited family more, I could have done this or that….. I want to make sure I can do some of the things I want to do, before I might not be able to.

Remember, no one lies on their death bed thinking they should have worked more!