Very well said. Retirees need to hear this...over and over. Life is short and it really becomes what we make of it. It shows as you're saying it that you are indeed happy and rewarded, that you mean this. I'm so happy for you. Safe travels and more joyful/rewarding endeavors moving forward Cliff! xoxo
Similarly, I joined the Army when I was 17 and currently retired. At first it was hard. Not knowing how to go about my day without any deadlines, no alarm clocks...nothing. Coming to a hard stop was definitely something that I had to ease into. Not having to work anymore does help gain more time, but I honestly don't know where the day goes. The day, the week the month, the quarter and year still goes by super fast. But I am finding out that I still stay busy with projects at home and errands for home. I honestly don't know how people find time to work when there's so much to do at home. Congrats! I have always taken an interest with garment sewing. So now, I finally can. I have a sewing room set up. I have also wanted to learn how to play the piano. So now I can. I have a baby grand at home.
I retired 04/22 at 51 as a state trooper. Stss as yes home 5 months and couldn’t stand it. I had to jump back in. Hope to retire a 2nd time. I’ll be 57 then.
Well done! I do think 56 is a great age to retire. Young enough to really go out there and enjoy the world, before your body comes up with a different plan.
I had 10.5 military, and then the rest of my current 33 years as civil service. I was recently disability early retired from Federal service in May. I'm also currently enjoying my very long weekend. Gratz to both of us, and others in same situation.
Congrats on your retirement and thank you for both your military and civil service - your happy retirement is well deserved. Also, thanks for supporting the channel!
The background music while you’re talking is a distraction. It’s OK when you just wanna cover some dead air but when you’re speaking, it’s a big time distraction.
Congrats and I'm glad to hear positive things about your post-military life. You've made great points regarding the benefits of retiring. I've always said that it's hard to leave a life we've known for 20+ years. I've retired from the Air Force after 21 years, two years ago and it took a while to adjust but I'm happy where I am now. We bought a house before I retired so most of my time is learning how to build things for the house. I enjoy catching up with my kids' activities and coaching them in their respective sports. I've also taken advantage of Space-A more, now that I'm no longer limited by leave days. I live half an hour away from Travis AFB, so my wife and I frequently take weekend trips to Hawaii. I'm only 42 but my plans includes attending law school next year if I get accepted. Looking forward to your videos!
Hey thanks for the comment - much appreciated. You are fortunate to live in such close proximity to Travis AFB and I hope that you will be able to continue to enjoy many space-a adventures. Travis makes Hawaii almost easy and that's pretty amazing. I'm a Gray Area retiree (USAR) and limited geographically, but I am working to maximize my space-a travel opportunities. Congratulations on your retirement at 42 you are still a youngster with tons of opportunities ahead of you. Law school sounds like a great plan and I hope that it leads to a rewarding second career for you!
Great video. I am already retired but probably would have considered retiring earlier but the health insurance was the big roadblock for me. May I ask how did your health insurance before being of Medicare age? (Was it thru your military service or something else others can do too?)
Upon becoming vested in the California Public Employee Retirement system, I became eligible for their retiree healthcare through my former employer the CA Senate. I am eligible for Tri-Care through my military retirement, but that is unaffordable until age 60. I will add that when I turn 60 years of age AND begin drawing Army Reserve retired pay.
@@CliffWagner Very cool that you got all the "stars to align". Great planning. Unfortunately at my old job I was 5 months short of being eligible for the retirement health plan when they decided to sell my department to another company and buy services from them. After starting the new job, my old job contacted me and said I was so close, they would let me have it anyways, so I left the new employer and retired (so I was able to retire a few years short of Medicare.)
Very well said. Retirees need to hear this...over and over. Life is short and it really becomes what we make of it. It shows as you're saying it that you are indeed happy and rewarded, that you mean this. I'm so happy for you. Safe travels and more joyful/rewarding endeavors moving forward Cliff! xoxo
Thank you so much for the kind words and well wishes. Your comments and support for the channel are sincerely appreciated!
Thanks for the video! Retirement is great. I retired a little over a year ago. I am concentrating more on my health and getting more active.
Congratulations to you sir and I am glad to hear it is going well for you!
Hey Cliff, good to see you. I worked with you for years at the Capitol. Glad to see you podcasting....Godspeed brother ...Kermit
Hey brother - great to hear from you! Hope all is well on your end - thanks for the comment!
Similarly, I joined the Army when I was 17 and currently retired. At first it was hard. Not knowing how to go about my day without any deadlines, no alarm clocks...nothing. Coming to a hard stop was definitely something that I had to ease into. Not having to work anymore does help gain more time, but I honestly don't know where the day goes. The day, the week the month, the quarter and year still goes by super fast. But I am finding out that I still stay busy with projects at home and errands for home. I honestly don't know how people find time to work when there's so much to do at home. Congrats! I have always taken an interest with garment sewing. So now, I finally can. I have a sewing room set up. I have also wanted to learn how to play the piano. So now I can. I have a baby grand at home.
Glad to hear that you have settled into retirement successfully. Thank you for your comment and for supporting the channel!
Lots of 👀s up there... Take care out there heroes ✌🏻👼🏻🤟🏻
I would have loved to retire at 56, but just did so this May at 65. Congrats to you, and yeah, this is great...
Thank you for the comments and for supporting my channel! Also, congratulations on your retirement.
I retired 04/22 at 51 as a state trooper. Stss as yes home 5 months and couldn’t stand it. I had to jump back in. Hope to retire a 2nd time. I’ll be 57 then.
Thank you for your service and for the comment! Hope you have an awesome second retirement!
We love to hear from recent retirees to get a sense of what we can expect. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comment and good luck to you!
Well done! I do think 56 is a great age to retire. Young enough to really go out there and enjoy the world, before your body comes up with a different plan.
Hey thank you so much!
I had 10.5 military, and then the rest of my current 33 years as civil service. I was recently disability early retired from Federal service in May. I'm also currently enjoying my very long weekend. Gratz to both of us, and others in same situation.
Congrats on your retirement and thank you for both your military and civil service - your happy retirement is well deserved. Also, thanks for supporting the channel!
The background music while you’re talking is a distraction. It’s OK when you just wanna cover some dead air but when you’re speaking, it’s a big time distraction.
Thanks for the comment!
@@CliffWagner yessir
Congrats and I'm glad to hear positive things about your post-military life. You've made great points regarding the benefits of retiring. I've always said that it's hard to leave a life we've known for 20+ years. I've retired from the Air Force after 21 years, two years ago and it took a while to adjust but I'm happy where I am now. We bought a house before I retired so most of my time is learning how to build things for the house. I enjoy catching up with my kids' activities and coaching them in their respective sports. I've also taken advantage of Space-A more, now that I'm no longer limited by leave days. I live half an hour away from Travis AFB, so my wife and I frequently take weekend trips to Hawaii. I'm only 42 but my plans includes attending law school next year if I get accepted. Looking forward to your videos!
Hey thanks for the comment - much appreciated. You are fortunate to live in such close proximity to Travis AFB and I hope that you will be able to continue to enjoy many space-a adventures. Travis makes Hawaii almost easy and that's pretty amazing. I'm a Gray Area retiree (USAR) and limited geographically, but I am working to maximize my space-a travel opportunities. Congratulations on your retirement at 42 you are still a youngster with tons of opportunities ahead of you. Law school sounds like a great plan and I hope that it leads to a rewarding second career for you!
Retiring in September!! Super excited.
I am totally excited for you - so very well deserved! Love ya!
I wanted to retire at age 57 but it just isn’t in the cards. I guess I’ll just have to work until I’m 60. Darn. Congratulations on your retirement.
Thank you for your comment and best wishes as you gear up for retirement - life is good!
Great video. I am already retired but probably would have considered retiring earlier but the health insurance was the big roadblock for me. May I ask how did your health insurance before being of Medicare age? (Was it thru your military service or something else others can do too?)
Upon becoming vested in the California Public Employee Retirement system, I became eligible for their retiree healthcare through my former employer the CA Senate. I am eligible for Tri-Care through my military retirement, but that is unaffordable until age 60. I will add that when I turn 60 years of age AND begin drawing Army Reserve retired pay.
@@CliffWagner Very cool that you got all the "stars to align". Great planning.
Unfortunately at my old job I was 5 months short of being eligible for the retirement health plan when they decided to sell my department to another company and buy services from them. After starting the new job, my old job contacted me and said I was so close, they would let me have it anyways, so I left the new employer and retired (so I was able to retire a few years short of Medicare.)
You won't be happy very long, so it is time for you to put your application in at Taco Bell.
Thank you for the great advise! I will get right on it!