My Top Ten Reasons to Retire

The top ten reasons to retire would differ from person to person. I don't think there is an ultimate and undisputed list that would fit everybody.

Here I attempt to give you my list – in order of priority:

Income
You've made adequate provision for retirement. In other words, you can afford to retire. How do you determine that? Well, use a retirement income planner (found elsewhere on this Web site) to determine your net worth, and to determine your expected retirement income adjusted for inflation.
Time
Before my retirement I often lamented: I've got everything, but I haven't got time! Even if you have the funds to do things, you need time and plenty of it. To plan. To meditate. To travel. To experiment. To read. The list is endless.
However, I must admit that after ten years into retirement I seem to have too much time on my hands!
Believers
My wife and I have always been Christian believers, but it was in retirement that we had the time to read wider and study Christian history. To visit and explore Christian Rome, Athens, Turkey, Rhodes, and Malta. In retirement our faith matured, although we are still on an exciting spiritual journey.
Family and friends
My wife and I have always had a large circle of friends. Retirement made it possible to visit most of them and spend quality time. Family that we haven't seen for decades were visited and the strings picked up. And our grand children are not strangers anymore!
Health
Even though I thought I maintained a healthy lifestyle before retirement, I was under a lot of stress. After retirement I remained involved, but without the responsibility. Our health was good. We could travel extensively. Even participate in adventure travel and enjoy it thoroughly.
Today we are so glad we did it! Approaching our seventies, we encountered medical challenges we never anticipated.
Nature
Retirement allows you to take leisurely walks and smell the roses – so to speak. We've always been fond of visiting nature reserves, but it was never much longer than a weekend or so. In retirement we were able to participate in a three week 4x4 safari into a remote and rarely visited area of the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Similar adventures followed and our knowledge and understanding of nature deepened.
Volunteer work
Before retirement it was not practical to get involved with any form of volunteer work. And we always had a nagging guilt complex about it! In retirement you can get involved in as much volunteer work as you can handle.
Unstructured
During my pre-retirement years my schedule, work wise as well as leisure wise, was set weeks and even months in advance. In retirement we deliberately try to be more unstructured. We must still plan our travel adventures, but most days are unallocated. We can make arrangements on very short notice.
Research
It can also be called: Ongoing Education. Since retirement I researched numerous endeavors that's advertised aggressively. For example: Forex Trading. I pursued it with dedication and passion, but it didn't work for me. The Internet makes it possible to research any subject.
No commuting
Before I retired I have spent probably thousands of hours caught up in traffic. Waiting at airports. Boring hotel rooms. It is such a blessing to be able to drive into town, or even into the city, when the traffic is light. To fly when it is off-peak. To travel when it is not high season.

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