Would you quit your job if you had enough money to live on and had health care?

I am now 67 and on Medicare. I have held onto a part time job because I thought I "should" work if I could and if I was generally pleased with my job.

Now I have found I don't really have to work for the money and I would like to quit for a variety of small reasons. But I don't know what I would do with my time as I can't fill it all with the grandkids and some travel.

Has anyone done this and regretted it? Not regretted it?

I am in a quandary. Is work "good" for you? Will my mind disintegrate (I already went back for a Masters just a few years ago)?

Hope some of you can help out my thought processes here!

since time is money and money seems to be that important to you. :shrug:

And I am in the position of not having to have a 9-5 to survive.

hardly a problem

I put in my time with nonprofit, advocacy organizations. I have worked for the ACLU, League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood and other health related agencies. I raised money for these organizations. I have also been active in politics as a volunteer (Ned Lamont being the most recent).

I don't think the people at DU are any more immune to questions about time and money than I am. I can think of worse things to worry about and I think you can too...

I was responding to RGBolen. I think you have a well-rounded life. :hi:

Thanks for your comment. It helps a lot.

(or will be receiving) Social Security and/or a pension.

My mother left me all of her financial investments, most very good to ordinary. Over the years she invested in bond and bond funds and they pay a decent income.

I live pretty frugally but I don't want to be crazy about it. While it pays for me to work, tax wise, I am at a place in my life where I am tired of working period. I guess it's having control of my time that interests me so much, but I realize that I might not be able to stand it after a year or so...

When I reach retirement age, I hope to have a decent little nest egg squirreled away, but it's not the most important thing. Even if I won the lotto, I would continue to work - not for the money, but because I like to work and feel useful. There is a certain amount of creativity involved in translation work, and that is fun for me too.

I'm not really trying to denigrate what you're saying - theres nothing wrong with wanting to make money. But different people have different priorities, and honestly, I think for most people, after reaching a certain age, and mortality becomes very real, the amount of money you have in the bank seems to matter a bit less. You want to help out the kids and grandkids a bit and all, but mostly they are self-sufficient, so you start to focus on the things that really matter, byeond just feathering your nest.

Put your time where your heart is. Volunteer, write, go fishing.

I used to work a full-time job plus a private practice on the side. About 10 months ago I left the full-time job & now work about half-time--because I need to--but I really enjoy my free time & can't imagine being bored. I got a little more active with my county party, I spend more time outside, & I'm better able to indulge my reading addiction. If I could quit working for money entirely, I'd do it in an instant, knowing that I could fill my time instantly with rewarding things to do. I think that the fact you took a Masters indicates that you are mentally alive & don't have to worry about boredom.

Don't you think?
GAC

but I wasin the fundraising end and that can suck you down very fast. I left PP of CT with high blood pressure and disillusionment. I am still disillusioned with the nonprofit world, causes I really cared about.

This is why I am going to have such a hard time volunteering again. So I think I'll take some time and travel to places I really want to go with no deadlines or pressures to return...

One other thing: Unless you've got oodles of money, you also earned that Medicare and SS. We pay into that as insurance. It's not an investment, so if one doesn't need it, i don't think one should take it, but if we need it to live, well we've earned that too!

Main thing: Enjoy your retirement, Yank.
GAC

to a job where i am just a pawn never.

I'd quit this SOB so fast it would make their heads spin. There would be a sucking sound as my ass headed out the door and, two weeks notice?? bwhahahahah!!!

I can think of a lot better ways to occupy my time than what I'm doing now to enrich someone else much more than I'm being enriched.

:evilgrin:

I don't work anymore and am very happy not to. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I was just an ordinary footsoldier in the campaign but of course I would do it again!

Can't imagine not doing anything.

Maybe you could do something freelance, so you could decide in what time to do any work.

one is "not doing anything." Shoot if I didn't have to work for "the man" I'd be doing more political activism than I currently do because I wouldn't be tired all the time.

Work sucks the best hours of your life as well as the best years of your life.

If work was such a good thing then they'd not have to pay us to do it.

filling my days, and in fact wonder why I don't have enough hours in the day. My wife is 56 and still works, and enjoys doing that...

ww

you can still go back to school and take classes. i wish i could go to school just for the fun of it.

health care has really held me back from really doing what i`ve wanted to...in the last few years i think my health care bill was well over 150,000 dollars which was paid 100% for by insurance...

curious about your creativity. But, it will take adjustment because you'll spend many hours alone until you find that one thing that other people will be impressed about.

Then I'd be freed up to focus on volunteer work and graduate school.

O8)

I gave up my job so I could stay home and finish raising our son. I'm 48 and He'll be 15 next year so I plan on looking for employment next spring. But I think that I have been very lucky to be able to do what I have done.

Sometimes I wonder how I found the time to work before.

I would stay in school to get a PhD in something really obscure and has little marketability but it interests me and get a job as a college professor. It gives you a lot of free time to travel plus it keeps you busy and your mind sharp

Between teaching classes of 200-300 undergrads and having to publish constantly (and attend all the required conferences in your field)--not to mention dealing with departmental duties and often very volatile politics, academics is not the place to go for a nice, pleasant little job.

If you want to teach part time at a local community college, with smaller classes, then you might have more time to enjoy yourself.

But I have a very stressful job.

That's basically committing suicide, IMO. One needs interesting projects to keep going, be they gardening or electronics, or volunteering for something...

I live to learn, become aware and to find joy. Work is only in that equation by force. If there was no need for work, then I have that much more time to learn, become aware and find joy.

n/t

maybe start your own part time business? Anything you're intersted in pursuing at all?

I guess my answer is that, even if I stopped working, I'd still be working :shrug:

the spare change helps.

in a situation where I could knew that finances were not an issue.

I do think that "not working" is bad for people.

If you have that sort of financial independence, why
not quit and start a "small business" doing something
you enjoy? If your business expenses are low, you can
keep working at something you LIKE to do, and never
have to worry if you're actually "making money".

That would seem like an ideal situation to me.

passed on. I fill my days and you can too. Talk to retired people. I find it hard not to be doing things. You are allowed to loaf and read and walk around too. :) Also, you are allowed to go back to work as well, perhaps parttime in a job you like.

...and I even like a lot of them.

But then I'd seek out a more fulfilling job.

My retired folks volunteer with a food bank and a help program that finds temporary shelter for the homeless.
You could think of something that would maybe help out the less fortunate or the environment or just some young person starting a business, something that would be interesting to you.

Oh, what I could do if I only had the time....:loveya:

You are lucky!! :hi:

what are you going to do with all your time? and he said..I'm going to find out what makes me weep and then do something about it! I thought that was pretty cool. Last I heard he was doing humanitarian work in Brazil.

:thumbsup:

work for the next person... If you have a problem with time off now, you seriously better take a second look at how to fill your days.

ww

But you've got a lot of life left to live! If you've been filling your time with a part-time job, I'm certain you'll find other ways to spend your time! But, if you like your job, keep it!

Good luck!

And that lasted about three years.

The rest of the time I've basically hated what I've been doing but did it anyway for the money.

Ever since I was a child I've been perfectly capable of keeping myself occupied with reading or learning or just daydreaming.

Nowadays I'm obsessed with the intertubes, for someone who enjoys learning it's like trying to drink from a fire hose.

If I could, I'd be out of my job so fast it would generate Cherenkov radiation.

I think you just wrote my life story, except the one job I really liked was for 6 years. The other 15 have been crap, and like you, I work simply to make money to support myself and family.

I'd retire in a heartbeat, and again like you, "reading or learning or just daydreaming" describes me to a T. It doesn't take much to make me happy, and the "intertubes" are a wonderful outlet to more learning.

I'm 51, and stopped working around 1996.

Here's what happened. I got up when I felt like it. I wore what I wanted. I listened to music. I rewatched The Prisoner series. Tried new recipes. Started brewing beer with enough time to pay attention to details. Perfected my whole wheat bread recipe. That took years.

But it wasn't easy. I did feel guilt. That lasted a few years. At this point in time that is completely gone.

I'd say the biggest thing I'm having to deal with is boredom. There are a lot of things to do, especially since there is an internet. But after a while you'll find that you have so much time on your hands, you will have done everything you ever wanted to do.

But the best part is TIME. You see, I felt that time was worth more than money. After all, even the most wealthy would give anything for an extra moment, if they knew it was ending right now. But it's more than that. I realized somewhere along the line that I was earning money so I could spend it. And that meant time. I was in a building when it was sunny. I came home when it was dark. I wanted time. No amount of money could buy me time. So I just went for the target. Time.

Time is freedom. You can do whatever you want when you have it.

And after it's all over, I'm going to be sorry I didn't spend my time in ways that I should have.

I've never understood how anyone who has enough money to live on without working would continue working.

Think of all the music that you've never heard. You could spend the next thirty years just listening, and never hear it all. Coltrane, Dead Kennedys, Count Basie, ESG, Belle and Sebastian, and a never ending stream of new stuff.

Yoga, learning Buddhism, volunteering. Anything.

But I will say that if a job is totally what one loves, then this whole concept of free time takes on a less important tint. But how many people are doing exactly as they want. Very few, I believe.

One more thing- with free time you can start your own business.

Time is the issue. And the big fear is boredom.

I've reached a point financially where I can jump ship so my past excuses of needing just a little bit more no longer hold up. Sometimes I wished my job sucked so that I could get a shove out the door. But its a good job with a nice balance of freedom and responsibility and 8 years to go till my full pension, etc.. 22 years as an engineer and at 48 I can feel myself becoming "institutionalized". In my company we call it the "Golden Handcuffs". Many of my fellow co-workers did thier 30 years, invested responsibly and retired wealthy, yet most come back to work part time because of the boredom of retirement. They certainly dont need the money.

And I only worked 4 years as an engineer. Wow, 22 years. You must have learned a lot. There is only so much time in life. I decided riding my bike and being able to feel the wind blowing on my face were more important than being in an office. I took the 12% penalty on my pension, and used it as down on a piece of land.

I used the real estate boom as my means of earning money. My first two properties were Kamikaze runs. I maxed out credit cards waiting for the sales to arrive. Then the third and fourth properties were paid and cash in the bank.

Of course I have no kids. So I'm a bit different than 99% of the people.

I watched my dad work his life away as an engineer. Stupid. I wasn't doing that. Although he loved it. Ampex, Applied Materials, and other. Still, coffee in the morning. Elk in the pasture. Walking the creek with salmon brushing against my leg. Biking every day. You can't beat that.

Inertia is the devil which can get us all.

If you quit without knowing what you will do next, it is possible you will start to piddle all your time away doing almost nothing. If almost nothing is what you want to do, then that's okay I guess.

I'd get too bored. As it is, I'm terrified of being called back Stateside and chained
to a desk job. I think that would age me 20 years in a week.

If you feel that you must "work", then volunteer. My stepdad is a retired engineer, so he volunteers for Habit for Humanity.

There is so much you can do with your time. Life is too short. Enjoy it. And.....congratulations.

let yourself explore doing the things that catch your interest. Do some hum-drum stuff too. You'll figure it out...eventually. Just think if this as another stage of "figuring out what to do with your life". You've done it before. You can do it again.

I'm going to retire. I have too many other interests that I'd like to have time for. As much as I enjoy my job, it takes too much time away from other things I enjoy even more.

My mom is an excellent model of a financially secure "retired" person. She does all kinds of volunteer work, mentoring, etc. To me, that would be a lot more rewarding than the "job satisfaction" I get along with my paychecks.

you are satisfied with what you have, volunteer for something.

I can't imagine having to "fill time" or being bored since I've been retired. Nothing was more boring than the daily BS of work. And, I had what would be considered by many as "interesting" jobs.

I would do what I want, when I want, which is pretty much what I do now other than having to go to work to make a living.

:P

or you wouldn't be asking us. I bet after you get all of these suggestions, you end up doing what your gut reactions is.

However, whichever way you go, I wish you the best and hope you are happy with your decision.

For myself, when I feel comfortable and feel I have enough money to live on, I hope and plan on being able to help those less fortunate than I. That being, helping out at the Union Mission from serving meals, cleaning, helping those who need legal advice or assistance get to our network where they can get help, etc.

Good Luck.

"Take this job and shove it/I ain't workin' here no more..."

It's not even that bad of a job. It even pays slightly more than assistant manager at Burger King! It's just the daily grind: up at 6:30, 40 to 45-minute commute, then work, then repeat the commute, and if I'm home by 5:45, it's a good day. It just gets old after a while.

I would use the Internets, plus low-tech items known as "books", to make sure my mind didn't disintegrate.

It's the sonic boom left in my wake as I vacate my office!

I would find enough things to keep me occupied - home improvements, the music I never have time to practice working 40+ hours a week... it would be heaven!!!

I'm glad you enjoy your job.

I would love to quit work. Then I could do anything I wanted......reading, volunteer work or maybe take a few classes!!! There are many things you can do to keep your mind active besides work!

I also write, though, and I'd keep doing that because I love it.

you will find the time filled to the brim and wonder how you were able to live while you were working.

But there is the other side, some researchers say that it takes about 1 month for every year you have been in relationship to move into your new life. I've had friends who in the first year or two of not working being depressed because they didn't have a ready answer when asked what they did.

I stopped working full time in 2004 and I haven't looked back. I still make money, but in other ways than 9 to 5.

Besides this is election year and you could fill your time in your local party.

Good luck, hope you find happiness and contentment.
:hi:

I have lots of interests that don't even involve any or a lot of money and would be quite content. I hate working. Work is for chumps with no talent.

I would be gone tomorrow! Unfortunately, I have to wait six more years. I also have a young teen (13 years) and I need to hang around to collect my medical benefits. If they offered me an early-out, I would leave faster than the ink could dry on the paperwork! For the record, I'm still fairly young (45 years) and I would go back to Detroit and teach History or Social Studies.....

Ann Arbor

I'd be out of here so fast...there are so many things I want to do.

Work just gets in the way...it takes a big chunk out of my day!

I know when I lost my job and was unemployed for a year, I nearly went nuts not doing anything (luckily, my husband was employed and made enough for us to get by). I wound up volunteering at the local Senior Center, and I had a ball! Right now, I'm working two jobs; if by some stroke of fate I was able to not work, I'd quit the one job but would stay on at the other (which is a non-profit) and give that group a big donation!

and had access to health insurance or health care.

I work because I was not born to a wealthy family. If I had a trust fund, I'd not work that's for sure.

be able to decide what you want to do without the pressure of finances forcing your hand one way or another. I like what i do and it keeps me busy (and sometimes up at night!) When i get to the point that i no longer need to work, I think i would still work if my clients needed me. That, to me at least, is the most rewarding part. Knowing that what i do every day has or will have a real, positive impact on my clients.

Not much of an answer, i suppose. Perhaps "Follow your heart" is as good an answer as i could relate.

I guess the reasons I have for quitting involve some actual problems with the nature of the job. I work for Literacy Volunteers, managing about 30 vols in their ESOL work. Our classes are held days, nights and weekends and to reach the underserved we are in some bad neighborhoods. Frankly, with the recent surge in shootings in New Haven I have become frightened to go out after dark. Second, I don't like having to be almost "on call" for our Saturday class. While these time commitments aren't for more than a couple of hours if that it still "binds" me. It's only 15 hrs p. week but I still feel pinched because I have to juggle my schedule all the time.

Luckily, I have a financial advisor who is helping me with the hardheaded dollars and cents side and he feels very good about incrasing my "drawdown" each month from my accounts. However, I am far from rich; I just had smart parents who had started investing in small amounts for a long time and built up a nice portfolio.

Finally, I work with such lovely people I feel guilty if I say no to another weekend or evening commitment. I have been home, post operative from a lengthy stay in the hospital and rehab and they are holding the job open for me to return (as an hourly worker I have no medical leave with pay, which is when I actally saw I didn't have work for money as I have been).

Thanks so much.

I just enjoy doing things on my own terms. I also know that people appreciate you more when they know you don't HAVE to be there.

At my age (late 20's). If I did though, I'd have a plan for some scheduled time. I think that if you don't work, that it is good to do something for yourself and others.

Maybe help with Meals on Wheels or a literacy project or some environmental thing? Whatever you might be interested in.

I would quit my job in a heartbeat. I hate the concept of work. I am inherently lazy I guess and if I won the lottery I would quit my job and do whatever the hell I wanted.

Paint. Hike. Garden. Volunteer for arts and political groups in my community, maybe run an art gallery. Read a whole lot.

All things I do or have done in the past but regret not having enough time for because of my day job.

What are the things *you* love?

It's good to cut down on your workload after age 65, but stopping work altogether to just play golf or dominoes or whatever does not seem fulfilling to me. It's great to travel, and one should take ample time for traveling and just taking it easy.

But just being older doesn't mean we no longer want to contribute and interact with people (in a way other than tipping a caddy). My dad retired from a government management level job over 15 years ago, and quickly got bored, so he started a small consulting firm and has continued to consult employers about the areas which he previously worked to enforce regulations on. He has a little extra income and productive work, but still has extra time to putter in the garden, take trips and enjoy life.

I think semi-retirement is the way to go, if you can make it work. Human beings are hardwired to want to do useful things. Recreation starts to feel empty if its not balanced with some productive work.

(Of course, if money is not a problem, there are also all kinds of volunteer gigs that could be just as rewarding.)


I really hope that when I go, it's in my sleep after a busy day, where I feel I've accomplished something.

What I don't want is a long, boring and sad convalescense and then to slip away.

Here's hoping you find a great, fun and rewarding way to put that extra education to use. Your life experience is a great asset, and any organization would be lucky to have you!

I'd substitute volunteer work for the job as it would be much more fulfilling.

Only you dictate the meaning and value of your life,...only you.

As long as live consistent with what YOU DICTATE as the meaning and value of your life,...you will have no regrets.

Pssst,....it's kinda' 'twisted' that you are asking others' opinions about your life rather than being THEE DEFINER of your life.

just saying

DU is fairly representative of people like me. We are all progressives. I feel at home here. But I certainly am not relying on DU to decide what I should do. I wanted to hear others about their own experiences and what thhey would do if in my position. I also a seeking the thoughts of my family.

I realize in the end this is mine to decide; I never though otherwise so I am surprised at your reaction.

BTW, I have found some helpful nuggets from the respones to this post. I am not to old to learn from others' experiences!

Like Duh!!! I'd be outta here in a milliflash.

Why would you even ask?

But, actually, will need to keep this job for a while.

Even when I can afford retirement, I'd probably find some work. Perhaps a part time job at Half Price Books?

I only work because I have to. I take pride in my work but I'd drop it in a second if I could be secure and living leisurely for the rest of my life.

travelling as much as I could afford, and doing volunteer work.

And let somebody else who NEEDS the job have it.

Not having to deal with office politics and having to tiptoe around (some) people would be a relief.

I'd quit in a nano-second.

I REALLY would.

I'm only about 12 years behind you.

I hope I never retire although I can see cutting back some.

jobs if you get too bored.

I certainly would!!!

Then, spend most of my time with animal rescue work and creative arts. (I love to daydream!)

at my desk because I ran out the door so fast.

I would be less affected to manufactured crises due to the procrastination of others however.