So what is it being 58 really like? Despite my denial about this, I fear the term “middle age” is something fading quickly unless I manage to make the age of 116. There are some physical clues and also some changes in my outlook which might illuminate the answer.
The physical things are probably the easiest. I had my haircut the other day. Without even asking, the barber tidied up my eyebrows and this has happened before, much to the amusement of my family. It was the barber using her electric trimmer to do my ears that took me by surprise. Perhaps it is my fading eyesight which didn’t even alert me to my ears needing their own trim.
I am more wrinkled these days. Other tale-tell signals include my nose is growing, I sleep more and feel the cold more. I take longer to recover between runs than I did just a few years ago.
Perhaps it is the realisation that I actually have something “wrong with me” that has really brought all this home to me. I refer, as regular readers will already know, my slightly dodgy kidneys. Bits of our bodies which start to creak and fail are meant to be afflictions of much older people, not people of my age, surely?
Then there is the label of being “retired”. This, I now discover, seems to infer I’m passed it and not simply a recognition that I’ve stepped back from my salaried career to take up noble causes, go on cruises and buy golf clubs.
It is my outlook and attitude which seem to have changed the most and this has also surprised me. Having spent so much of my life towing the corporate line, I don’t have to anymore. Now this hasn’t turned me into an out-and-out rebel overnight but it does make me more inclined to speak out when things are wrong, at least in my view.
I also have a far greater appreciation of the challenges faced by my daughters in their early twenties but they might find this impossible to comprehend.
I find myself thinking of our next house move. Or should it be to a house? Surely a flat would mean less maintenance and more in keeping with us being just the two of us? Will our next move be our last, or a step towards some form of sheltered housing?
Heck no! While I might be tempted to take things easy, the moment I give some things up will be the time I will feel as if I’m giving in.
So I think the next ten years will be critical for us. While we have our elderly mothers to consider, we should be making the most of our [actively] retired years. This means using our time well; achieving the elusive balance between hobbies, socialising, taking care of ourselves our family and our home, plus being generous with our time.
Turning 58 was interesting. It did not have this huge impact but did get me thinking of a few things. First, just grateful that I made to 58. Also started to look at the financial because retirement is getting considered. Lucky that mortgage has been paid off, no car payments and a pretty good 401K plan exists no that is a great and relaxing feeling. Another thing that is being considered is the next move. Having ti decide if 63 or 65 is time to stop full time work and watching what the Politicians are doing that can affect it. No doubt that the house won’t need to be as big in a few years and looking at options such as downsizing to. Townhouse and getting another modest house. Covid-19 has also affected some choices. Traveling international because of the health risks is something my wife and me are not looking at right now. Hope these thoughts explain what happened turning 58.
Hi RDF
Thanks for leaving your comment. You have highlighted some of the delights of retirement and also expressed how Covid has scuppered the things we were planning to do. At least we can hope that things are gradually improving now.
Yesterday I posted how I feel at being 60 years old – you might find it interesting https://maturingwell.co.uk/index.php/2022/01/27/what-does-being-60-feel-like/#more-4742
Be thankful you have a 401k worth enought to “retire”. Have you ever figured out how much it takes to have an account that will sustain you? Try $450K at 8 % for $2k a month. It’s simply NOT possible to do working a job and having only half your money to work with after taxes. It’s not possible. That’s why there was once a dollar for dollar pension plan. Only 10% of America’s population have an adequate retirement. What are the other 90% going to do when they won’t even let you work after 60?
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Hi Truth Speaker
Many thanks for leaving your interesting comment on one of my most popular blog posts.
I have to confess, that being English, I don’t know much about the American approach to retirement.
However, I do remember being in NYC a couple of years ago and I found myself talking to an American who suggested few Americans retire in their 50s.
Nevertheless, how much we come to depend on the state to support us is open to debate. In the UK, people currently draw their state pension at 66 and this rises to 67 in a few years when I reach that age. There’s nothing to stop people from saving for their retirement through some kind of pension plan and at the moment it is very tax efficient.
It is about personal choice. I do recognise, however, these things are often easier said than done but with planning, financial discipline and hard work, retiring early ought to be possible.