Welcome to Retired Not Expired: The Real Journey Begins

Retirement is often painted as an endless holiday. You work for decades, you pack up your desk, business and suddenly you are supposed to be living the dream. I quickly realised the reality is a bit more complicated. Welcome to Retired Not Expired Club.

Stepping away from a lifelong career felt incredibly strange. One day, my diary was packed with commitments and deadlines. The next morning, it was completely blank. While sleeping in and having a lingering cup of coffee felt fantastic at first, I soon found myself wondering exactly what came next. The transition from full-time work to full-time freedom is a massive shift, and no one really hands you a manual for it.

That is exactly why I created this space. Retired Not Expired club is a place for absolute honesty about life after work. I want to share the genuine stories of navigating this new chapter. We will celebrate the brilliant highs—the spontaneous trips, the thrill of picking up new hobbies, and the simple joy of reading a book on a quiet Tuesday afternoon.

But we will also talk openly about the lows. We will tackle the moments of feeling unmoored, the strange shift in personal identity, and the days when figuring out what to do feels a bit overwhelming. It is completely normal to have hard times during this transition, (so I am told) and we should talk about them.

Here, you can expect transparent reflections, heartfelt stories, and plenty of laughs. I plan to share my funny blunders, my steep learning curves, and the quiet moments of gratitude. Retirement is not an expiration date; it is simply a different kind of beginning. We still have plenty of energy, wisdom, and joy to bring to the table.

I would love for you to join me on this adventure. Leave a comment below and tell me a bit about your own experiences. What has been the best part of your retirement so far, and what has caught you by surprise? Let us navigate this messy, beautiful chapter together.

 

26/03/2016

The Honest Truth About My First Year of Retirement

When you spend decades working, you tend to build up a rather grand vision of what retirement will look like. You picture endless sunny mornings, leisurely coffees, and finally having the time to dive deep into all the hobbies you previously squeezed into your weekends.

I am just over a year into my own retirement, and I am here to share a secret that nobody tells you: stopping work is incredibly hard.

Initially, I had a very clear plan. I was going to transition smoothly, stepping away from the exhausting daily grind of my small jewellery business while continuing to make pieces at my own pace to simply sell online. Throw a house move into the mix, and I assumed I would be comfortably busy. However, the reality of this transition proved to be much trickier than those lazy days I used to dream about.

If you are currently navigating this massive life change and feeling a bit lost, I want you to know you are not alone. Here is a look into my personal journey over the last twelve months, the highs, the lows, and the unexpected ways I have found to cope.