If not now, when?

By: Nanette Fairley
This week, someone close to me got a challenging medical diagnosis. While I felt the emotional roller coast ride for them, I also felt grateful that I had made, what was a difficult decision at the time. To leave full-time employment two and a half years ago now and below the ‘normal’ statutory age. There were a million reasons not to:
But there are also as many reasons to do so and some of these swayed my eventual decision……
You won’t often hear me calling it ‘retirement’, as these days we can have so much more than a sedentary life which that word suggests. But if you are struggling to decide when is the best time to ‘retire’ or step out of full-time employment, perhaps begin to paint a picture for yourself of what life will look like once you do. What will you do once the initial honeymoon period is over? What will a typical week look like? How will it feel? What is your plan for your what’s next? Maybe even take some time off and do a trial run. If you can create that picture for yourself you will be drawn towards it and the decision to leave full-time employment will be easier.
I hear you say ‘but I don’t have enough money yet!’ Sure your finances are important but they cannot be the sole driver for deciding when you step out of full-time employment. It’s kind of like planning a holiday and only focusing on the budget – not your destination, what you will do on holiday or what you will experience. To help you put your finances into perspective do you need good financial advice? Do you need to unpick why you still need the security of a full-time pay check when you appear to have saved enough? Could a half way step help – like finding a part-time role so you still have some income being generated from your work?
Granted, making the decision to step out of full-time employment is not always the easiest one. Some people instinctively know when they are ready, some overstay their time in full-time employment, others have no plan to make this transition possible. Whatever you do, don’t let your Third Age – that wonderful, flexible time after full-time employment ends – be taken away from you.
#ifnotnowwhen #thirdage #retirement #bigdecisions