I'm retired! Today was my last shift.

[disneysteve]

Without the inheritance I would have stayed full time longer rather than going part time in 2021. I haven’t run the numbers but 3 more years of full time would have landed us in roughly the same place. So retirement probably would have been at the same time but I wouldn’t have gotten to enjoy the lighter schedule I’ve had the past 3 years.

I've thought about this response and feel I need to amend it. The inheritance did accelerate my exit. I didn't get it all at once because of the nature of settling an estate, but I did get it in a few large chunks and was able to invest it right away. Had I kept working full time, I would have earned a lot more but that would have been over the course of 3 years. I wouldn't have had the growth and compounding of dumping half a million dollars into investments all at once.

So without the inheritance, I would have needed to remain full time and probably work an additional year or two. My original plan was to retire at 62 and we were on track for that so the inheritance allowed me to do two things - cut back my hours and stop completely a year or two earlier than planned.

I probably mentioned this in the past, but my cousin was a huge proponent of early retirement. He retired at 55 and enjoyed 11 years of freedom before he died. I figure using the money he left me to retire early was a perfect way to honor his memory. Nothing would have pleased him more than knowing that he made my early exit possible.

[crazyliblady]

I worked 9 am to 1 pm today and that was my last shift. I'm officially an employee through June 8 but I don't have any more work scheduled and don't plan to pick up again.

It was a little emotional walking out the door. I've loved this job and will miss the people and the activity but it's time to move on to the next phase of life.

They are having a party for me on June 9. I'm really looking forward to that.

Happy Retirement, Steve! You have been an inspiration to me in my saving and debt payoff journey! Best wishes to you and your family in your retirement!

[Like2Plan]

Congratulations!