How it Began
From my journal entry dated 12/24/23: It's Sunday, Christmas Eve 2023. On Wednesday, my last day of work before the holiday break, I decided I was ready to retire. I'm sixty-seven years, 1 month, and 15 days old. I always thought I'd work until I turned seventy, have a big retirement party, and then tackle the to-be-read pile of books teetering precariously on my nightstand. But last Wednesday I changed my mind, poof, just like that I'm ready to retire and I have no plan. I am not prepared. All I know is that I'm submitting my intent to retire when I return to work on January 2nd, and hopefully will be released from my C-Suite job at a non-profit within a few weeks, 3 months at the outside. Now What? I did have the good sense to schedule an emergency meeting with our financial planner on the Wednesday of my retirement epiphany. My husband, who retired last year, and I learned we can live modestly on Social Security and investments because we are debt free and I...