Retired At 48 - 8 Months Later

My husband Rich and I both retired on the same day–May 11, 2012. We were each age 48 at the time. We had planned, saved, and prepared for over the 13 years in order to retire early. Finally the day arrived.

Rich loves to needle me by saying that I am “a year” older than him, since I was born in 1963 while he was born in 1964. In reality we are less than 5 months apart, but I figured if I am to be labelled as being a year older, then he owed me an extra year of work before he could retire. I lost that battle but won the war, because, all kidding aside, retirement would not be nearly as much fun without him to share my adventures with.

For the first time in over 26 years, we had an entire summer off and did not need to be stuck inside an office on beautiful sunny days. The days have slipped by like a whirlwind and it is already 8 months later. We find ourselves even busier than when we were working. The more time available to us, the more we pack into a day. Maybe this will pass, as we are still finding it hard to believe that our days of leisure are not numbered and so we don’t know how to slow down yet. But more likely, this is just our nature and how we like to enjoy life.

We’ve gone on 3 vacations since retiring including a trip to British Columbia and Seattle, a 3-week road trip around North-West Ontario and U.S.A and a Christmas jaunt to New York City to see the amazing holiday displays. We’ve been able to enjoy the many festivals and cultural events that Toronto has to offer. I blog about our travel, cultural and dining exploits regularly.

A major consideration in scheduling our retirement date was to be able to spend more time with our aging parents.  Our timing was impeccable, as we were available to help one set of parents downsize and move to a retirement home–a labour-intensive and emotionally draining event for all involved.

I have also been able devote more time to writing, which has always been an interest of mine. Spurred on by the numerous friends and family who have inquired how we were able to retire at such a young age, Rich and I set out to write about it.  The result is our book “Retired at 48 – One Couple’s Journey to a Pensionless Retirement“.  It will be available in paper format from Iguana Books and other online bookstores by the end of January and in eBook format by early February.  Watch this blog for more details.