Retirement gave me time, health, and clarity – but money stress and projects brought me back to work

Most people who retire don’t just jump back into working after a few months of retirement but that’s exactly what one Reddit poster is doing. The poster’s situation is unique, though, because she retired at a really young in order to get away from a bad manager and now she has a great opportunity to go back to work and earn a lot of cash while working for a friend. 

The poster’s story shows that retirement does not have to look the same for everyone, and that it is entirely possible to leave work and return if that’s the right choice for your situation. Here’s why the Redditor’s move made sense, along with some tips on deciding whether you might want to do something similar if you’re retired and a great opportunity comes along. 

Undoing retirement is sometimes the best choice

The Reddit poster explained that when she left work, she had enough money to support herself without a paycheck — but just barely. Her time off was great for her family as she has two kids, and the household ran better when she was home since they had someone available full time to take care of the children and the family’s other needs. Her health also improved as she was able to exercise more.

However, her mood didn’t improve, she still wasn’t able to travel because her husband was working and she had the kids to care for, and she started to experience more money stress because her budget was limited.

When her friend offered her a $400K salary to go back to work, she decided to take the job because she feels like doing so will allow her husband to retire earlier, and because the family will have more money to do the things they want, so she won’t feel that financial pressure anymore. And this makes good sense.

It’s hard to know what retirement is going to feel like until you’ve done it, or if your retirement budget will seem like enough. Since this poster’s budget didn’t leave her feeling comfortable and there’s a clear purpose for her earning extra money, turning down a good job that will give her more security simply doesn’t make a lot of sense.

How to decide whether to go back to work after retiring

This poster asked herself a smart question when she was deciding whether to give up the benefits retirement had brought her and her family. She asked herself what the purpose of earning the extra funds was. 

You can always work longer and earn more money (at least if you can find a job and don’t have serious health issues that prevent it). However, if there is no purpose to doing so because you genuinely have enough, then why would you want to trade your limited time in exchange for a bigger bank account balance that’s not going to meaningfully improve your life?

Unless you simply love working,  the chance to earn a fat paycheck isn’t reason enough to go back to work unless that extra money will help you out in a real way.  For the OP, the extra money will let her husband retire early to travel with her, and will ensure she doesn’t have to be so careful about her budget,  which she found to be a source of frustration. These valid goals are worth working for. 

The OP may want to talk with a financial advisor about how best to achieve her golals with her new paycheck, though, and anyone who is making retirement decisions may also decide it’s worth getting advice from an advisor because a financial professional can help them to get a big picture view of what life will look like both with and without a return to work.

Getting a clear idea of what each path holds financially can guide you in making the very best choices about whether giving up your job for good is the right choice.

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