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Hello, everyone!
I have been lurking for a few months, getting to know you from afar, and enjoying your posts and comments. Since I have wanted to chime in on a few threads, I figured it would be good to introduce myself.
My wife and I retired on July 1, 2025 from teaching (I ethics, she English) at the university level. While only three and a half months into it, retirement has been more wonderful than we expected. I think the surprise was that I loved teaching, and really did not want to retire. Then, once I stopped, I found that I loved the freedom from work obligations to hike, write, play, read, travel as we wish.
Another surprise of retirement has been how free we are financially. We lived for years on tight incomes. I was never one to track my finances, except once a year. Yet, I am grateful for the advice I received years ago to stick my money into index funds, let it go, and then live both frugally for ourselves and generously toward others.
You all have been wonderful in helping me understand all sorts of news aspects of a good life in retirement. Thank you!
Carl, like DrLefty I am also class of 2025. I retired mid August at age 62. I have enjoyed reading Humble Dollar over the years and plan to post soon on lessons learned on my journey towards retirement.
Brian, looking forward to your post. I’m also class of 2025.
Welcome from another member of the “class of 2025”! I also retired from a university teaching career on July 1. My field was (is) applied linguistics and writing.
One thing about an academic career is that I always felt like I was on duty. If it was the weekend, I still might have emails from students or papers to grade. Summer or holidays, I might be prepping my classes for the next term, doing my own writing, or administrative work to do. I vividly remember the 70-page program review self-study document I had to submit for my department on Jan 2, 2020.
Anyway, since July 1, I’ve had multiple delighted moments of just realizing how much time and freedom I have now. I thought I’d miss it more, especially the teaching, which I enjoyed all the way through my last class that ended in June. Nope, not really. I was ready!
Hi, Dana! I appreciate your generous welcome. Linguistics has always been a fascination for me (and my wife, who taught Language Arts in Middle School and the university level).
I can relate to the always being ‘on’ for the students, and the struggle to produce administrative reports. Ugh. Yet, I, too, loved teaching even to my last class. Hopefully my colleagues will invite me in for a few presentations. My only connection now is the IRB, which I chaired for years.
The freedom has been amazing. I look forward to contributing to this community.
Enjoy the new-found freedom. Please continue to post to the Forum.
Thanks to all of you for your warm welcome, and the comments and suggestions. I look forward to contributing.
Welcome to HD and Retirement! My wife and I are fairly new at retirement. She retired a year earlier than I to give her time to adjust to her “new” schedule I have acclimated pretty well, she has not.
Thanks! So far, so good for the both of us. Every day brings new conversations and ideas.
Welcome to Retirement!
Welcome, Carl, and I look forward to your future contributions.
I retired 8 1/2 years ago and have truly enjoyed the freedom. Looks like you are already basking in that!
Welcome to the next phase of your life. For me it was a bit of a transition, but very much mostly a good one. I hope the same for you and your wife. Looking forward to more articles from you.
Glad to hear your start to retirement is going so well. I have thoroughly enjoyed mine and would hate to have to go back to work! (And I enjoyed my job most of the time.) Look forward to your posts – and maybe your wife’s?
I will ask her!
Hi Carl, welcome! Looking forward to your contributions. Congratulations to you and your wife on your retirements. Chris
Carl, it’s great to see your first post. If you are so inclined, click your underlined name to add a bio to tell a little more about yourself.
Thank you, Edmund. I just added a short bio.
Enjoy your freedom. And keep writing and giving us updates. I hope the frugally and generously mix doesn’t deprive you of good times in retirement.
Thanks! I will write and update y’all.
Congratulations to you and your wife on joining the retirement club. I tell people it’s the best “job” I’ve ever have had.
I’d like to read about your conflict with loving teaching, and not really wanting to retire if you are willing to share. Also would be interested in how you connected with Humble Dollar. Possibly via the extensive coverage of our beloved Jonathan’s passing?
PS you can click on your name hyperlink and post a profile if you wish.
Thanks, David. I filled out the profile…I appreciate the tip. I will plan to write a longer response that explores my conflict.
I may be one of the rare people who discovered this website first and then discovered Jonathan’s writing. I never heard of him until last year and am sorry I will miss what he might have written.
As to how I found this site: When I was about nine months from retirement (October 2025), I did a web search for best retirement sites and blogs, and Humble Dollar was among them. I liked what I read from the start.
There are plenty of articles most of which are still contain pertinent information. Just click on his hyperlink name. Also a book entitled The Best of Jonathan Clements curated by himself was published just a few months ago. The proceeds go to a a charity that you can read about.
His book is on my ‘to-read’ list! Thanks!
Hi Carl, I’m looking forward to your conversations.
Carl, I just noticed your post. Congratulations on your retirement and welcome to the HD community—I’m glad it seems to be going well. The freedom of time and choice you describe is my greatest joy in retirement; I would find it hard to relinquish. Your ethics background will surely bring a new and interesting slant to any articles you decide to share. I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts and experiences.