I’m Aging Out Of Early Retirement So It’s Time For Full Retirement And Goodbye

It has been a great ride, but I’m now aging out of early retirement. I’ll hit the official retirement age of 65 in a couple of months and have already done the mandatory signup for Medicare. While that little retirement benefit will save me a lot of money in my budget, it also depressingly makes it clear that I’ll officially be considered by governmental definitions as elderly. YIKES! 

I still feel like I am an early retiree. I used to feel like I was always 35 inside my head. Then that switched to a still youthful 55 as the years passed by and has held steady there. Feeling younger than our birthday dictates is one thing, reality the other. I’m more proud of being an early retiree than I am about my past career. A career is what we are conditioned to believe we need or have to do. Early retirement is what I decided I wanted to accomplish regardless of what the system demands. 

I’m Aging Out Of Early Retirement So It’s Time For Full Retirement And Goodbye

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I’m Aging Out Of Early Retirement, Time To Say Goodbye

The world moves quickly and we all change with it. After 13 years of early retirement and 9 years since starting Leisure Freak sharing what I did and any other tips to help others wanting to walk the path of FIRE, Leisure Freak will retire with me. It’s aging out of early retirement too.  In a way an early retirement of its own by a few months. I knew this day would come but until today it was always a tomorrow thing. But now is the right time.

Although my story and what I did to retire early is based on valid personal finance principles that still hold true today, much of my experience likely seems ancient with today’s challenges. It was painfully evident as I struggled to personally offer new relevant content. I have pretty much said all there is for me to say without sounding like an out of touch old coot

I happily accomplished much of my early retirement bucket list. There were some rewarding retirement gigs, lots of recreation, increased my social network in my community, and volunteer work. I’ve enjoyed learning all there was to having a website and sharing my early retirement story. I’ve been touched by all those who contacted me or commented that I helped them in their own journey or provided inspiration to create their own plan. I appreciate all of my Leisure Freak readers and all of the support I’ve received from my online friends and partners.

I still plan on following my favorite sites and staying in touch with my closest associates. I’ll remain reachable at my leisurefreaktommy gmail account. I’m looking forward to what comes next in retirement or I suppose what will be FIR instead of FIRE. I’m just now leaving the very worthy FIRE quest talking points to those who may offer more current experiences to meet today’s personal financial freedom challenges. 

Once again, thank you all

Leisure Freak Tommy

21 thoughts on “I’m Aging Out Of Early Retirement So It’s Time For Full Retirement And Goodbye

  1. Hi Tommy,
    I’m a longtime reader, though I rarely comment, and I wanted to make an exception when I saw today’s post. Thank YOU for your blog! This is one of the few FIRE sites I’ve followed, as your view from ‘the other side’ made early retirement seem possible in a way that ‘preparatory’ blog posts can’t.
    Your wit and your grit educated and inspired me on my own journey towards FIRE, and I’m grateful for your time and talents (and willingness to share them) that went into writing this blog. Thanks again and best of luck in your next phase of retirement!

  2. Best of luck to you Tommy. I will miss your insights and thoughts, but I wish you all the best for the future and I hope you do a lot of fun and rewarding things. I think your blog was really valuable because you had a regular life and expenses and a hard job and you weren’t a multimillionaire with a tech start up company. So you have shown regular people how they can retire early also.

    1. Thanks for comment and well wishes Susan. It was a pleasurable experience telling my common person story from a lower income upbringing through financial independence and early retirement. I’m glad that you found value in it.
      Tommy

  3. And I just recently discovered your blog! Enjoy your retirement from blogging. Off to deep dive into your blog.

  4. I’ve really enjoyed your column over the years and am going to miss you. I wish you and your family all the best as you open the next chapter. You’re an excellent writer and I hope you’ll consider writing about a new topic at some point .

    1. Thanks Paula. I came from an engineering career writing business and software requirements for users and developers so I tend to overwrite things. So I appreciate your comment. Who knows where I end up, just going to see what comes next.
      Tommy

  5. Just wanted to say “thanks” for putting out all of this great content. I’ve enjoyed reading your posts and learning from your experience. You’re no nonsense, approachable and straightforward approach to life appealed to me from the very first post I read. I am still very inspired by your fire story and hope you enjoy yourself in the years to come!

  6. I too have really enjoyed following. Came across your blog when you published the “It’s okay to have dark retirement motivations” piece, which given my situation at work at that moment really spoke to me, as I’m sure it did to many others. Best wishes on the next phase…

    1. And I should add, that piece is one of the all time classic in early retirement writing. If Oxford ever puts together an anthology of blog posts on retirement, that’s got to be in there.

  7. “I’m more proud of being an early retiree than I am about my past career. A career is what we are conditioned to believe we need or have to do. Early retirement is what I decided I wanted to accomplish regardless of what the system demands.”

    This really resonated with me – thank you for stating it so perfectly. While I’m still a couple of years from hanging it up for good, this is how I feel / will feel when that day comes! Thank you!

  8. Thanks for all the content you have shared. I have been a long time reader and I’m sorry to see Leisure Freak go. I will miss catching your retirement insights.

    1. Thanks for the comment Franklin. I appreciate your being a frequent reader. I decided I needed to step back from early retirement blogging because I am now entering a different retirement space. I’ve pretty much covered all that I did, experienced, and my flavor of FIRE. That being said, the Leisure Freak site isn’t going away right away, if at all. I will reassess its future after taking some time off while getting used to the full retirement transition and enjoying a different flavor of life.
      Tommy

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