Retirment 101 part 1

I've been retired for about a month.  Lessons learned:

Be prepared for a lack of energy and a need for more sleep.  I thought I was feeling depressed because I wasn't getting much done.  No, I just needed to give my body time to adjust and destress.

Have a plan in place.  You need a new routine and a schedule, otherwise you will sit and play solitaire on the computer for hours.  What a waste of time!  I joined OLLI and am taking 5 classes.

Think before signing up for another activity.  You do want some time for yourself!

Have at least 2 months of savings in place as that is how long it takes for a first retirement check to arrive.  It took close to 5 weeks to get paid for unused vacation time.  And think about what bills will be due during that time--I had house insurance, auto insurance, earthquake insurance all due the first 2 months plus my property tax bill came in.  Also, Medicare part B sends a bill for a quarterly payment in those first 2 months.