Making Big Decisions In Retirement

 

While planning for our respective retirements my BFF and I had often discussed the wisdom in delayed decision making, especially with regard to “big” decisions like moving to a new town or city, selling a home, buying or selling an automobile, spending a gob of money on a lavish vacation, etc.  In fact, we both subscribe to the notion that after a big life changing event, such as retiring itself, one should consider waiting a year before making any type of big decisions in order to settle in and also settle down emotionally first.  As it has turned out that is advice I am really happy I chose to adhere to.

 

Retiring is a huge event in one’s life and it does take a fair amount of time to adjust and get settled in.  I was super excited to retire, however I wasn’t prepared for all the “losses” that came along with it.  My sense of purpose faltered, I no longer had the daily interaction with the people that I used to, my entire life and schedule changed and it took me a while to readjust and get into a new groove.  Adding big life decisions to the mix would have been overwhelming and I don’t think I would’ve have been as well prepared to make wise choices as I am now that I’ve got that first year under my belt.

 

I have always tried to be practical in my decision making.  Use my head and my gut instead of my heart and my emotions.  Researching all avenues and really thinking things through first so that I can make the best decision possible for me and to not be overly influenced by the opinions of others.  After all, I am the one responsible for the outcome of any decision I choose to make, no one else.

 

Prior to retirement I was fairly certain that I was going to be selling one of my vehicles and I was pretty sure of which one that would be.  However, I took my time before I did so and I’m glad I did.  I was able to easily figure out which vehicle I use the most, is the most practical for my current lifestyle, meaning it will fit my needs as far as what I do on a daily basis and then which one was not.  As I had imagined the vehicle that fits my needs the best is my little pickup truck, not the newer four door sedan with the great gas mileage.

 

After a year of retirement I could see how I use my truck the most and found I was driving it much more frequently than the car.  I always take it to Lowes and Home Depot for home improvement supplies and landscaping materials.  It has been the vehicle I use to drop donations off at the thrift store and pick up things I find on Facebook Marketplace.  It is my vehicle of choice to pick up bunny hay and chicken food from the feed store and because I’m already out and about I will quite often stop at the grocery store on the way home if I happen to need anything.  Because my pickup has an extended cab I have plenty of room to place groceries even if I happen to have a passenger with me.

 

With a year of retirement completed I determined that I am one driver with three vehicles and as far as I can tell you can only drive one at a time.  I was finding myself trying to come up with opportunities to drive the car just so it would get used.  In the past year I put less than 350 miles on it.  By the time I was ready to actually sell my car I knew I was making a good solid decision and I was able to do so with no qualms about it.  Even though the truck is older and uses more fuel I knew I had chosen to keep the right one.

 

Now I have more space in my driveway, no more anxiety about the fact that the car was doing a lot of sitting.  I no longer have to license, smog test and insure that vehicle or maintain it so I’m saving a good chunk of change and some time too.  Someone else is now reaping the benefits of having a really nice car with low miles and a great maintenance history and a newer set of tires.  It still had that new car smell too with three quarters of a tank of gas and a new oil change.  It sold quickly and I got a good price for it meaning I was able to add that as well as the insurance refund I received into my savings account.  Letting my vehicle go actually gave me some peace of mind so I knew it was the right thing to do.  The fact that I took my time to make a solid decision that made sense for me, and me alone, also meant I would have no regrets about that sale and I didn’t.