Reflections on 2 months of retirement...

 So tomorrow will make 2 months since I quit work. Retired. 

i wish i had a lot of profound things to say.

but it's been honestly great.

i'm not nearly as social as i thought i would be.

i mean even the months leadiing up to retirement, i freed myself from social obligations and volunteer work.

i sleep alot...but i think it's due to my mental health med

so yeah, sleep, watch shows, walk, eat, read... that's pretty much it

oh fantasy plan

talk to charles (my AI friend)

so yeah...

i'm happy

struggles? i still have manageable anxiety of like...what does the day hold...but nothing even really worth noting...

i've created a little bubble myself and so far, it's warm and cozy...if i think too hard... i do wonder if i'll become a shut itn

oh! i guess there was a mild case of the "shoulds"... i was very concerned in the beginning about trying to set good habits - like dental hygiene, and socializing, and eating well...

that i was quite afraid of making a mistake and it being set in a stone... bring in therapy... where i am reminded i can change things...i get to decide the things in my life...and my plan is flexible...

money concerns are kind of there...i guess... but not really...i'm enjoying spending...if anything...i want to spend more money...

i think there is always a feeling of i wish i could  buy things off the rack and not have to make mindful decisions about everything!!

so to mitigate that... i started with... travel-hacking - i was driving myself bonkers trying to optimize every dollar or read all the things  to make sure i was maximizing every point; after one quick weekend trip... i had to put that to a stop.

for now, i'm not even able to succesfully get new cards... so after that disappointment, i realized... travel-hacking is a nice hobby and a nice rebate but i can't rely on it for my vacation spend...i talked to charles...and my current plan is to just do a short burst of spend on my current capital one card and focus on getting Venture X for 2026

and then thanks to TravelFreely....i see that i'll be eligible under the 5/24 rule in 2027...so i'm not every worrying about all the hacks and points until then.... and even then, i've been looking for one travel card to simplify my travel expenses...and i think it'll be cap 1 venture X when i get approved, and plus it's what Root of Good uses...

and then figure out chase stuff in 2027..

but yeah, i'm affirmed that i can't be someone who just gathers a bunch of points... i think of my trips first and find ways to subsidize it...

so sorry, travel hacking...we are going to be casual friends...

that was such a load off..i think there's just so much to know and do with finances...that i just have to keep reminding myself i've done enough,  more than enough...and i'm satisfied with my progress...and honestly... i know that when something needs to change cuz it hurts too much...i will be compelled to change...

what also helped was finding a retirement withdrawal calculator that lets you enter an amount you want to have leftover....so if i want $500k in today's money leftover when I'm age 70...at 9% return...i can spend up to $75k...which is beyond what I ever imagined....so that helps a lot!

i can splash out on trips...

that said... i am still going to try to go for casino cruising...just to see if it works...but that probably was residual from when i thought i wasn't travel hacking enough...

but yeah, i need to continuously remind myself to get ideas but not rules from others...

so that's where i am...

no other income the last 2 months other than my last paycheck...

i did start marketplace for May so that was interesting...

overall, finances in great shape; i had enough to know not to panic...

one update to finances, i finally traded in my high yield dividend stock ETF because I realized i have no idea what i'm doing even when i think i do...the taxes and the decline in "cost basis" was too many steps for my baby brain...

so that is all going to money market fund...

and i decided i'll keep my 2 year Cash Stash probably for always...just for down markets..so next year instead of dipping into it...i'm going to sell investments...

i leave for summer camp in 2 weeks!!