Retire rich or retire early?

[Ashcan Bill]

Originally Posted by Madman31

What do people who retire early do all day anyway?

Although it's a little tough for me to understand personally, there are people who have no hobbies, no interests, no social contacts outside of their work. These people honestly should be careful when it comes to retiring. They'll have a hard adjustment and probably won't be that happy.

I retired when my company offered an early out, and around 1200 people went with me. We had 10 leave just from my department; guys I'd worked with for over a quarter of a century. One of these guys went into depression for over a year after we left. While the rest of us were grinning ear to ear, he honestly didn't know what to do. His job had been his life. He's finally made the adjustment and is doing okay, but he's not as happy as the rest of us.

If you honestly don't know what you'd do with your time, maybe retiring isn't for you. There are people who truly struggle with it.