Have we saved enough to live a comfortable life?
Will we outlive our money?
What if we have unexpected expenses?
These are the kind of thoughts that made Dwight Merrick decide to work a couple of extra years.
I probably would have gotten that a little sooner and started traveling a little bit more.
Yeah, its those two years.
You just never know.
Am I going to outlive my money?
I would retire at 64 knowing what I know now, Merrick says.
(Hes sincemoved to Tennessee.)
He decided to work for one more year.
Retirement isnt just about leaving a job.
It’s about changing your life your routine, your budget, your priorities, where you live.
It’s decision after decision, and you don’t always make the right one.
Is there something you wish youd done differently?
AARP Members Edition wants to hear about your retirement regrets.
A mistimed exit from the office?
A move to the wrong place?
A relationship you gave up?
Spending too much, or too little?
Share your story atretirement@aarp.organd we might feature it in this series.
I worked till the day I was 66 and then retired, he says.
I did not hate my job at all.
My job was fine.
But by the time I got to 66, that last year of work, I was stretching it.
I just really didnt enjoy going back to work anymore.
And thats when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
Merrick had heard the financial pundits on TV saying that youneed $1.5 millionto retire comfortably.
He didnt have that.
But his own financial planner advised him to focus on thespending side of the ledger.
And I went through my budget and came up with a number that I felt comfortable with.
He aims to spend three or four months a year on the road and built that into his budget.
