Well, so much for Plan A.

When it comes to retirement planning, I was a late bloomer. I was so busy with a demanding job, navigating a pandemic and caring for an elderly parent, I postponed any earnest planning efforts thinking I would have plenty of time. I began asking questions and researching the retirement process just about two years before I hoped to exit my corporate life, already in my 60s. I don't recommend this approach. Thankfully, when I finally had a chat with financial advisor, I learned that I had managed to avoid major financial missteps over the preceding decades. I also learned that there were many more decisions still to be made.

I was very fortunate to have wonderful colleagues and friends who preceded me into retirement, so I had an opportunity to learn from others. I began by asking each of them for the one key learning from their own experience and the first bit of advice I received was golden.... buy your forever home before you retire. This advice triggered months of home shopping and the eventual decision to move to an area that was new to us but still within a two-hour drive to family. While major life changes are generally stressful, I can't imagine how much more difficult it would have been without a salary and the security of a regular income. Still, I had a Plan A...move to paradise and continue to work at a job that challenged me until I was ready to gracefully stop. I looked forward to a smooth retirement transition, slowing the pace of my life without losing any of the fulfillment.

The curve ball came less than two months after we closed on our forever home as I was unexpectedly impacted by a corporate layoff. I was suddenly in a new town, unemployed and a two-hour drive from my favorite haunts, my friends and my established support systems. My procrastination with retirement planning had resulted in a steep learning curve and lots of sleepless nights. Do I actually retire? Do I find a new career? What do I want to do with my unexpected free time? This blog is an attempt to share my learnings, returning the kindness and wisdom provided to me but it is also my attempt to find my footing as I navigate the ups and downs of this life transition.