# If you make money after you retire, you are not really retired?



## Vinny (Jun 22, 2018)

I am retiring next week. As a key employee my company tried to keep me with raises, increased profit split and even less hours from my already 3 days a week work schedule for which I get paid a full week's salary. Great work if you can get it. I kept on telling them that I want to retire and even if I work a day a week I am not retired. I will still have job responsibilities and not 100% freedom of my time or what I want to do with it.

Then they offered to hire me as an independent contractor for what would be a very nice salary for most people where I live. However it required that I do a few hours of work each day, keep track of income and expenses, pay FICA for both the employer and employee, me and have to deal with problems that pop up while always being near an internet enabled device. The money was good but in the end I once again thought that even working for myself is still working and not retirement. 

I will retire next Friday although I have cut the cord last week and am just sitting around waiting for the month to end. I ever wrangled to get half of what my annual bonus would be since they want to be in my good graces should some project work pop up or questions that only I can answer. That got me thinking about is it really retiring if you make money from doing work? I often hear people say that they are retired but work part time to earn a little extra cash. How is that retiring? It might be considered as retiring from one job to go to work for another job which means you are still employed and therefore not retired.

Weigh in on your thoughts about this since so many people I know talk about retiring and taking another job for less pay and less hours. I almost did that but I realized that it was still working but for a lot less money and have responsibilities to an employer or customer. My idea of retirement is to put my working years behind me. Even if I took a part time job, I would not consider myself retired since I am working for money which is what retirement is not. Let's have your thoughts on this.


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## C'est Moi (Jun 22, 2018)

I agree; retirement is freedom from any job.   I actually had people say to me, "if you get bored you can go to work at Home Depot in the garden center or something."   My thought was, why on earth would I give up a lucrative professional well-compensated job to stand on my feet all day for peanuts at Home Depot??   That reasoning totally escapes me.   

My husband did return as a consultant for a brief time; mega-corp waved the big bucks so he decided to go for it.   The original "couple of months" kept expanding until finally he decided enough.   We both retired early at 60.  

I would say, never burn your bridges if there is any chance you might decide to return to work for a time.


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## Aunt Bea (Jun 22, 2018)

IMO financial independence is more important than retirement.

Being free to pick and choose what you do without making money/survival your prime concern.

Sometimes the money is just a way for people to keep score.


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## AZ Jim (Jun 22, 2018)

I was offered a Independent Contractors deal when I retired but I was leaving for my new cabin in another state and nothing could make me change plans.  That was in 1991.


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## fmdog44 (Jun 22, 2018)

"Stages". There are stages in everyone's lives is the way I see it. Childhood, pre-teen, teen, young adult, middle age, old age for example and with those stages come life styles. What is "working"? Animals don't work, we do but why? Some work to sustain, to maintain, or to build. I have been retired for three years and this is what life is supposed to be as it is what I directed all my effort was for. Everyone is different. Being happy with ones decision is all that matters. This our one chance unless one believes in reincarnation so make the most of it.


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## StarSong (Jun 22, 2018)

I'm now 65 and semi-retired at 63. Mostly I'm retired.  Right now I'm doing a little work even though I'm on a RV beach camping trip in Monterey, CA.  Maybe work an hour a day when I'm "on" but usually less.  I retained what I loved best about my work while others do the parts I was less fond of. 95% can be done from my computer.  

Three good clients bring a small income stream of about $18K annually. Equally importantly, the work keeps my brain engaged in my former field of employment and my wholesale privileges alive because I oversee my clients' inventory levels and manage their purchasing.  

With luck this will continue for another five years. If it ends sooner, I will still be grateful for the extra years of enjoyable employment and extra income.


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## Knight (Jun 22, 2018)

Each day has 24 hours. 8 for sleep 16 for eating, personal grooming, shopping and non fun stuff, and doing what ever a person feels like doing. For grins & giggles lets say retirement lasts 20 years. 1/3 of that is spent sleeping, 2/3's for making the most of what time is left. Then it's all over. Why would anyone that doesn't need money want to use up a portion of that 2/3's working?


You are either retired or not if your last years are spent adding more money to what is already enough to provide for the lifestyle you want to live.


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## Manatee (Jun 22, 2018)

The joy of retirement is that your time is your own.  Having said that for the first couple of years I worked a 6 month season.  Then we hitched up our trailer and traveled.  We went to visit our daughter in Washington state with stops at Pike's Peak, Yellowstone, Olympic National Park, Seattle, Vancouver BC, the Oregon coast, the Grand Canyon, San Antonio and back home to Florida.  The next year went again, but by a different route.  The following year we went up the east coast all the way to Nova Scotia. There were many other trips, some down into Mexico.  Now at 83 & 84 we no longer have a trailer, but we have some very fond memories.

Our "kids" are able to work on line, and will put in a few hours on their laptops when they fly in for a visit.  The grandkids are going in that direction.


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## Lon (Jun 22, 2018)

MAKE or EARN MONEY??? I continued to make money after retirement with investments and now at almost age 84 I am still investing and making money.


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## StarSong (Jun 22, 2018)

Knight said:


> Each day has 24 hours. 8 for sleep 16 for eating, personal grooming, shopping and non fun stuff, and doing what ever a person feels like doing. For grins & giggles lets say retirement lasts 20 years. 1/3 of that is spent sleeping, 2/3's for making the most of what time is left. Then it's all over. Why would anyone that doesn't need money want to use up a portion of that 2/3's working?
> 
> 
> You are either retired or not if your last years are spent adding more money to what is already enough to provide for the lifestyle you want to live.



Many people _e*njoy*_ at least part of their work - I know that I did and still do.  So that's why I'm ok using part of my relaxation time working.  I don't color my world only in blacks and whites.  Retirement, or more accurately, semi-retirement, is one of my many deliberately chosen shades of grey.


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## Vinny (Jun 22, 2018)

Good replies. When I was not working a full week I called myself semi-retired. For me, I feel stress even if I have to work one hour a day. I just do not like to HAVE to do anything. I do not even like when I have doctor and dentist appointments so I tend to group them together to give me 6 months in-between them. I may change since I never had a time in my life when I was not employed. For now I just want to be retired from my old life and embrace my new which does not include receiving a paycheck signed by someone else.


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## TonyK (Jun 22, 2018)

Vinny: Tell them you need time to take care of some matters. Get back in touch with them in the fall with your decision. Enjoy the summer and freedom. Don't answer their call to help out even if they offer you lifetime free passes to Disneyworld, Starbucks, Publix, and Whole Foods.

I am retired, but I work when I want. Two days a year as a poll inspector. Two days a year for group presentations. Four days a year doing friend's taxes. Selling my books whenever I can. And another 20 to 30 days as a sub in three schools. I decide if I want a subbing job. Sometimes I'll turn it down on the computer for a number of reasons. I tell the computer when I'm not available. At times a secretary might call me begging me to come in as they are desperate for subs. I usually will say yes. If I don't want to sub I won't answer my phone. I enjoy working with children and it keeps me feeling young. It's hard to explain unless you've hiked up three flights of stairs with 20 second graders. ;-)

It sounds to me like you would want the ability to say no without the negative consequences. Good Luck!


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## C'est Moi (Jun 22, 2018)

Vinny said:


> Good replies. When I was not working a full week I called myself semi-retired. For me, *I feel stress even if I have to work one hour a day. I just do not like to HAVE to do anything. I do not even like when I have doctor and dentist appointments so I tend to group them together to give me 6 months in-between them. *I may change since I never had a time in my life when I was not employed. For now I just want to be retired from my old life and embrace my new which does not include receiving a paycheck signed by someone else.



I'm the same way; I get resentful if I have "an appointment."   I briefly considered volunteer work but I don't want anyone/anything dictating my schedule.


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## john19485 (Jun 22, 2018)

I'm retired, but I work a little, and make a little bit of money, once in a while, I'm still the poorest boy in Roy, Utah.


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## jujube (Jun 22, 2018)

When I first retired, I kept saying I was going to get a "little part time job" when we got back to town in the fall.  I said that for about three years.  For three years, the Spousal Equivalent would snicker.  After that I realized that there was no way I was going back to work again.  I don't have the patience to put up with office politics and corporate bullsh!t again.  That ship has sailed!


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## StarSong (Jun 22, 2018)

Maybe it's different for people who owned their own businesses.  Back then I didn't have a boss, per se, and I don't have one now.  My time is still mostly my own.  I schedule my work to suit my schedule and my clients are cool with that. 

We planned to do this consulting as part of our retirement, both to help those clients and as a favor to ourselves.  We quite enjoy it which is no surprise since we liked our work when we did it full time.


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## OneEyedDiva (Aug 10, 2018)

That's the "new retirement" Vinny.  No more seniors rocking in their rocking chairs. Retirement affords one the freedom to start a business, work a different "career" or do nothing but leisure stuff.  Point is one has retired from the job or career that they obviously spent many years doing.


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## StarSong (Aug 11, 2018)

OneEyedDiva said:


> That's the "new retirement" Vinny.  No more seniors rocking in their rocking chairs. Retirement affords one the freedom to start a business, work a different "career" or do nothing but leisure stuff.  Point is one has retired from the job or career that they obviously spent many years doing.



Well said, Diva.  Retirement lets us freely choose how to spend our time, and work may be part of that choice.


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## mathjak107 (Aug 11, 2018)

i always found retirement means never having to work , not necessarily not working . i love everything i do .

my wife and i have a photography business that sells photo's on line . i teach motor controls and variable frequency drives one day a week  at my old company and enjoy it .

now that i got back in to my drumming i would like to do some side gigs and studio work .


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## OneEyedDiva (Aug 17, 2018)

mathjak107 said:


> i always found retirement means never having to work , not necessarily not working . i love everything i do .
> 
> my wife and i have a photography business that sells photo's on line . i teach motor controls and variable frequency drives one day a week  at my old company and enjoy it .
> 
> now that i got back in to my drumming i would like to do some side gigs and studio work .



Finding some gigs would be cool MJ.  My doctor and I have the same instrument so we'd discuss music on my visits. He didn't feel he played that well (I never heard him and one's own opinion of one's talent is subjective) but he told me a few months ago that he's playing in a band. I was blown away! They started out as a "garage band" but are now doing gigs in different parts of the state.  I have produced an album of original songs on my digital piano which was released in 2003 but playing in public makes me nervous so I don't do it. I played for the church once and I wound up quitting after a few Sundays. I always wondered though, if I'd be less nervous if I played in a band rather than solo. If you start gigging...let me know!


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## mathjak107 (Aug 17, 2018)

i played with a group at a music fest in long island last saturday


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## OneEyedDiva (Oct 11, 2018)

mathjak107 said:


> i played with a group at a music fest in long island last saturday



Very cool MJ.  Sounds like it should have been fun.


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