Today’s the day.  10 years. No April Fool’s Day.

It’s been a full decade since I stopped working on April 1, 2016.  

Related: Blasting Out of MegaCorp

Naturally, such a foolish anniversary has gotten me wondering what I have done with all of that extra time.  If you take 60 hours/week of working & commuting time and multiply it over 48 work weeks/year across 10 years, I had 26,400 hours freed up from work stuff.  I’d like to think I’ve made the most of that time, but who knows?

To reflect, I sat down to organize what I’ve been doing instead of going to the office …

Overseas Travel … It’s amazing to think of all of the places we’ve gone to in the last 10 years.  Especially considering there was ~2 years of no overseas travel due to the pandemic lockdowns.  We made six trips bucket list outside of North America.  Highlights were Japan/Tokyo & Kyoto, the UK/English Countryside & Scotland, the Holy Land/Jerusalem & Sea of Galilee, Jordan/Amash & Ancient Petra, Continental Europe/Driving from Paris to Rome, twice to Bavaria/Oktoberfest & family roots, biking in Italy/Venice & Prosecco Hills, and a River Cruise/Danube to Vienna & Budapest.  We’re off to Iceland & Ireland this August.

Car Stuff … My trusty sports car, SUV & Jeep have became fun hobbies in and of themselves.  The amount of time I spent enjoying car shows, road rallies, track days, autocross, and off-road jamborees was a big surprise.  My son, friends and I participated & competed in many events including two trophy finishes in multi-state charity sports car rallies.  A neighbor and I did the Northwoods WI Jeep Jamboree and spent 4 days on forest & logging roads driving the Jeep across MN from Lake Superior to the Red River.  Altogether, I’ve driven thousands of miles on roadtrips of different kinds throughout the Midwest.

Outdoor Adventures … I’ve never been particularly outdoorsy, but that’s changed a lot in early retirement.  During the pandemic, I started hiking and photographing waterfalls in MN, WI, and Northern MI and camping in my Jeep.  I’ve reached 80+ waterfalls already with a few more on my list.  In the process, I also started “collecting” MN State Parks, through their hiking club program.  I’m up to about ~45 of the parks / 125 miles hiked – out of 68 parks / 175 miles possible.  I also drove my SUV / Jeep on the circle tour of Lake Superior and out to the Black Hills / Devil’s Tower.

Super Sports & Entertainment … Early retirement has been like a second childhood in terms of sports – both playing & watching.  I typically have 3 activities set on my calendar each week.  That’s included league curling, league softball, weekly tennis, weekly bike rides, and over the last couple years – learning pickleball.  In addition, I’ve added to my list of going to major sports events, including the Super Bowl, the NCAA Men’s Final Four & Championship, ESPN Summer X-Games, USA Curling Nationals, the NHL / MN Wild Winter Classic (-8 degrees), the Ryder Cup US vs Europe Golf, and the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. In addition sports, we’ve enjoyed numerous concerts, broadway plays, and special events.

Board Service … I kept involved in the world of business as a board member for a few different organizations.  I spent 3 terms / 9 years on a corporate board, which I retired from last year.  I’ve been on the board of our metro zoo for 20+ years and served the last 6 years on our executive committee as gala chair (with my wife), vice chair, chairman, and past chair.  I also spent 20+ years as an advisory board member of a top-ranked Big 10 MBA brand marketing program.  

Interesting Investing … I’ve never been a very ‘active’ investor.  Our wealth has come from saving a lot and just investing in low-cost S&P 500 Index Funds.  Still, I did get involved in Angel Investing in early retirement.  It was fun to sit in with small businesses and assess their strategies and potential.  New product development isn’t for the faint of heart, but so far, our “One More Year Fund” has broken even (x-the cost of capital) and helped some companies trying to improve the world.  I’ve also had fun learning about cryptocurrency with a “hobby stake” that has probably been my best investment over the last 10 years. 

Winter Getaways / Snowbirding … A big part of our 10 early retirement years has been getting away from MN’s bitter cold winters.  Starting as soon as I retired, we’ve now gotten away every single year over the last 10 years.  At first, it was just 2-week trips to warm weather cities (Miami, New Orleans, Cabo) – including some great Caribbean cruises.  Then we started doing extended “Snowbird” trips to Florida, looking around the state and staying in monthly rentals.  Three winters ago, we took the plunge and bought our own place in Celebration FL – right outside Walt Disney World.  I honestly would have been shocked if you told me that in 10 years I’d have a condo down here.

Learning New Things … I’ve learned a lot about finance, the economy, and government over the last 10 years.  Having so much time to read, follow the news cycle, and write this blog (this is my 1,169th post) makes me feel like I should have earned an advanced degree by now.  While most of my learning has been self-directed, I also have taken university classes in Sociology, Film Studies, Architecture, and Advanced Materials.  History has also been a big interest – both tied to travel – and also special events.  For America’s 250th Birthday, I’ve been researching & compiling the story of “America’s 250 Greatest Moments” and posting them on the @USATop250 Facebook page.

Healthy Living … What good is early retirement if you aren’t healthy enough to enjoy it? As I leave my 50s and enter my 60s, I can’t help but see how I am aging.  My weight is now about 5 pounds less than the day I retired.  I had a serious heart attack on December 26, 2019.  While I recovered perfectly well and often joke about it, the heart attack did shake my confidence in living a long worry-free life.  I take my prescriptions diligently, I keep moving (see Sports), and I’ve tried to eat better.  I’ve learned the value of stretching – constantly.  Playing sports, I’ve seriously pulled muscles in my leg (right quad), back, ankle (achilles).  I never got COVID, despite thinking that natural immunity was a better route than the vaccine.

Mister Riley … I suppose I should include our surprise adoption of a dog under “Healthy Living”. They say that pets – like our pupper, Riley – keep us active and healthy. I was against getting a dog when I first retired, but even though he is extra “work” (a 4 letter word!), Riley has been a terrific addition to our lives. Most of the time. 😉

Quirky Fun … Every 12-18 months, I’ve tried to add one item to what my buddy Russ and I call our “Quirky Resumes”.  I finished my longstanding quest to reach all 50 states (final was Idaho), won a blue ribbon in the Minnesota State Fair, was inducted into the White Castle Slider Hall of Fame, flew on the real Goodyear Blimp with my son, spent the night in Minnesota’s “Most Haunted Place” (Sauk Center Hotel), attended the 2024 Great American Eclipse from the Indianapolis “Line of Totality”, partnered with my neighbors to concoct an Elderflower cordial, landed a fish from a boat in the Sea of Galilee, and raced (timed) a Ferrari F8 on a professional track in Las Vegas (just 6 seconds off Mario Andretti’s pace). 

In short, I think the list shows that I have had a lot of adventures and fun goofing off.  I’ve written before that the honeymoon never really ends in retirement because who can get tired of freedom & independence? I often say that I don’t really remember the daily grind of a relatively high-stress MegaCorp job anymore.

I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has been reading these posts over 10+ years. It’s been a fun ride and I love hearing what is happening in your lives, too.

I always try to make this site a mix of personal finance learning and early retirement lifestyle insights. I’m much more knowledgeable on the lifestyle side than the personal finance side.

I will put together a post of how our financial portfolio looks now compared with our expectations 10 years ago.  I’ll also share some thoughts from my wife as she reflected on this big anniversary in our lives. In short, it has turned out very well.

How many years have you been retired now?  What have you invested your time in and how has that worked out for you?

Image: AI Generated ChatGPT