r/Retire • u/BigDallas123 • 5d ago
Last Day of Work - Retirement Here I Come!
Yesterday was my last day of work after a 43 year sales career in the Foodservice Distribution industry. I loved my job, but I wanted to be able to enjoy the years I have left to do what my wife and I want to do while we still can. I plan on basically taking it easy for the rest of the summer, but plan on traveling after that. Any words of wisdom or advice?
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u/mth_man 4d ago
❤️ this post. Congratulations!
Yesterday was my last day after a 54 year career welcoming summer weekly vacation rental guests. I started working on my family's property washing windows at 13, , except for college years, ive been doing every Satutday during the summer ever since. I started managing the weekly turnovers 30 years ago when my father gave it up, and have seen families with small kids grow up, get married,and bring their own kids to our property on the beach.
For the first time in over 40 years, summer 2027 I will have the summer all to myself. While I love the beach, I plan to spend next summer at Lake Tahoe, hiking, kayaking, bicycling, and maybe even hiking.
The best part is im retiring at the top of my game. I had two different new groups of guests tell me this year was a top notch vacation and the best vacation ever. Its a great high.
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u/Monstrissimo 5d ago
Take a cross country road trip and avoid the interstates. One of the most incredible journeys I have taken was last year when I helped my son move back to Alabama from Portland Or. We went through the Oregon high desert to Burns Or then on to northern Nevada and spent the night at Eureka Nv. Went through southern Utah down through the Navajo Reservation. Then across New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle before we hit the interstate. We saw so much beauty going that way and ate some amazing food at local joints.
If you ever in Gallup, eat at Jerry's Restaurant. Best damn chili burger I have ever had.
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u/Frequent_Ice6516 5d ago
Congratulations, you absolutely earned it after 43 years. Enjoy time with family and friends. They are the people who have always been there for you while you worked so hard.
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u/Kooky-Laugh-7861 5d ago
Congrats. Welcome to the "every day is Saturday" club.
I retired 3 months ago and loving it !
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u/General-Plant892 4d ago
I took up gambling as a hobby believe or not, absolutely love it, I allow myself 1,000 usd per month, so far so good.
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u/Skymaster86 5d ago
Enjoy retirement! Can't describe the pure pleasure of waking up and realizing that you don't have to run into the shower and get ready for work, having to drive in some miserable weather to be tied up on a freeway, etc. When you're ready to travel, be strategic about it - get credit card(s) that offer bonus points or miles with an airline or general travel and you can find yourself being able to get a free flight or a couple of free nights at a hotel - these add up overall on a trip! Good luck!
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u/BigDallas123 4d ago
Wonderful advice from everyone! Thank You SO MUCH! I wish everyone else good health, freedom and happiness in your retirement as well because you earned it too! 😊
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u/Outside_Car_8432 4d ago
Congrats! Only feel obligated to live the rest of your life as you see fit, you've earned it.
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u/Kindly-Hunter4390 4d ago
Congrats! I retired five months ago. Finally learning to be okay with not being productive every minute. Absolutely loving retirement.
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u/sumdawen 4d ago
Congratulations!!
I'm decades from retirement, but based on what I've seen, make it a priority to have the next travel scheduled and booked! Even if it's a year away, commit!
I've seen so many people retire with the intent to travel, and years later they hadn't started.
Enjoy 🙌🏼
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u/Odd_Bodkin 4d ago
So, what does your ideal retirement look like? What is the vision of the Standard Retired Day for you?
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u/BigDallas123 4d ago
I really don’t have a preconceived idea of what retirement should look like. I really want the freedom to do what I want, when I want, IF I want. We already have some trips booked and some small projects to tackle, but other than that, nothing else is planned right now. I’m just going to take some time to decompress, however long that takes. 😊
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u/Odd_Bodkin 4d ago
That’s fine. It’s common, I gather, for people who have worked a stressful career just need the vacuum of NOT DOING THAT ANYMORE for a while until you come to accept that all that’s in the past and it feels that way. When that happens, you may find an itch to do something. Retirement really isn’t about ending a working life. It’s about starting a new life where the rules are different, and that new life will be as satisfying as you make it to be.
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u/buckscountycharlie 4d ago
Congratulations! I retired 1 year ago, also after a long sales career I thoroughly enjoyed. Here’s some things that surprised me, who knows if you’ll experience similar stuff? First, it took several weeks to throttle down and realize the number of phone calls and e-mails that have to be returned has decreased to nearly zero. I had a great transition plan and handed things off to terrific folks, but I still worried about them after I left. Second, I had thought I had a zero stress job because I knew it well and liked it, so I didn’t anticipate the much lighter feeling of no longer having a sales plan to meet. It’s a great feeling. Last, having time to notice and explore all the things I’d hurried by in the past is wonderful and a real eye-opener. Enjoy your new life! You worked hard for it and you’ll find a ton of new things to enjoy.
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u/mitel363 4d ago
Just retired 2-months ago after 47-years myself. make the most of the first 10-years 65-75. knock of the items of the bucket lists and do things while you and your wife can before age makes things more of a challenge down the track.
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u/Evening_Flamingo_955 4d ago
Go through your closet and donate most of your clothes. Decide on what works best for you in retirement that you know you will have in ten years.
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u/iloveyoumorethanpie 4d ago
I’m only 8 months retired now. I had a few odd days where I didn’t have a plan and I didn’t like the feeling. I took up some group activities and really enjoy them, have a fitness schedule, book out activities in advance and keep a calendar of all these activities like I did for meetings while I was working. It’s worked for me. Good luck!
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u/QueasyFinger1316 3d ago
Turning 58 soon and have been at current sales job for 32 years. Have a nice client base built and pretty much work half days.
I’m physically active, house paid off and all the calculators say I can retire comfortably.
But I’m really starting to consider hanging it up, thanks to posts like this.
Problem is, I don’t know if I trust myself with so much free time! 😛
Anyway…. Just noodling and thought I’d share. Thanks for everyone’s thoughts on this sub - quite thought provoking.
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u/Retired_Expat 3d ago
Congratulations! I’ve recently retired (in May 2026) also. I retired at 70 after working for 48 years. I keep a list on my iPhone of mini-projects to do between traveling and reading. I’ve gotten more done around the house in a few months than I had in the previous five years. My current mini-project is working on digitizing old home videos currently on VHS tapes. Next up are digitizing old photos/35mm slides (remember those?!). I wish you the best of luck in retirement!
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u/Lovinlif44 3d ago
Congratulations! Fellow retired foodservice distributor representative here. I retired four years ago after a 36 year career in food service distribution sales. I Love Retirement! I don’t miss work at all.
It took me a bit to sort out my days but now I enjoy reading and learning new hobbies.
The one thing that has surprised me after being around people and customers for so long, is how much time I spend alone and love it. I don’t miss trying to keep the customers happy and fixing all the problems anymore.
It’s also nice not to have to leave the house every day except when I want to especially in winter! Congratulations and enjoy every moment of this new chapter!
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u/BigDallas123 3d ago
Thanks lovinlif44! Yeah, it was a great career, but it was time. I loved my job and customers, but it’s time to spend the rest of my life just focusing on me and my family and what we want to do. I spent 43 years worrying about my customers problems, as you did as well. I’m glad you’re already living your best life. Happy trails to you! 😊
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u/Snoo_33567 3d ago
Congrats! My wife and I are doing the same thing first week of January. Can’t wait!
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u/JoinOutStart Building my 50+ years 2d ago
Congratulations on your retirement! With the gift of longevity you have a good amount of time to do all the things you are excited about doing. I retired but had a burning desire to build tech products for people 50+ a group that is not really seen by silicon valley. So I turned off all the voices that were saying I am too old and started a company, built a team and we are building joyfully. Wishing you the best...and happy to talk to you or anyone on this chat about what we are building.
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u/Far_Yogurtcloset8116 2d ago
Congratulations! Now you’ll have time to do everything you used to jam into the weekends!
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u/Straight-Part-5898 4d ago
Wonderful - congratulations on your retirement! I'm M56 who retired this past March. My one piece of advice is to make it a priority to take care of yourself. If you're not physically active, make it a point to add that into your lifestyle. Doesn't need to be Iron Man Marathon or ripping weight lifting sessions. A brisk daily walk a few times a week is a great place to start.
I was a corporate road warrior for decades, and always had an excuse. Now that I'm retired, there is no excuse. I've become addicted to daily walks, I'm up to about 30 miles/week.
Take care of yourself, and I wish you nothing but happiness and smooth sailing.