Starting My Transition to Retirement

I am now 67 years old, and of course, thoughts of retirement are constantly in my mind.  I currently have a part time job with the Prince William County School System as a GED teacher.  I have held this position off and on for over 10 years, and it will be hard to leave it as I have enjoyed it very much and hopefully have made a difference in my student's lives.  However, to quote an expression, "all good things must come to an end."  It is time to move to another chapter in my life.

I am not just now thinking about what I need to do for my retirement.  I signed up for Social Security and Medicare in 2014.  I have already decided to live in Lynchburg, VA, for two main reasons.  The cost of living is lower in Lynchburg than in northern Virginia.  I also know some people there, especially my ex-wife.  We are still good friends even though we have been divorced for over 10 years.  I will rent a place in Lynchburg instead of buying one since it is easier to move out of a place that you rent.  I will be moving to Lynchburg in June 2017.

Currently I have 4 sources of income: my GED job, Social Security, IBM pension fund, and rent income from a drive-in theater in Ocala, FL, which I co-own with my brother.  Just last week I decided to transfer my GED paycheck to my savings account and live off the other three sources of income.  If I can do that without any problems in northern Virginia, I certainly can do that in Lynchburg.  I am optimistic that this grand experiment will work.

There are still things I must do to continually prepare for this transition.  I need to start downsizing.  I must draw up a living will and decide on an executor for my estate.  I also must continue saving for the actual move, but hopefully that will be easy if my grand experiment works.  I should have a nice nest egg by putting my GED paycheck in my savings account.

As I continue my preparations for my retirement, I will make updates to this blog.  Hopefully writing this blog will help me crystallize what I need to do to make this major change in my life.  I am excited about this transition, but I know some unexpected problems may come up as well.  That is part of the fun of change.  It would be boring if everything about change is smooth.