Episode 9: Confronting Retirement Anxiety...Starring Penny Sturtevant
I retired from k-12 teaching in May of 2019. In February of 2019, I was teaching away and not yet planning on drifting off into the sunset. Everything changed that month when our school board announced that they were offering a buyout to veteran teachers to ease labor costs. Suddenly, I was presented with a lucrative option that I wasn’t anticipating. I took my school board up on their offer and I only had three months left in the school year to second-guess myself.
Penny Sturtevant, my lovely wife, will retire in three months. We recorded this episode in February of 2022. It’s a time capsule. My objective is to record another episode with her next fall or winter where we can check back in with her. But the focus of this episode will be her mindset now. Penny became a mom in 1981. She’s had a kid under roof or a job since then. We’re now empty-nesters and in three months she’ll be retired. This will be a massive transition for her and comes with a degree of anxiety.
The Problem:
Retirement is a major life change and some anxiety is expected.
Hear Penny articulate her concerns and hopes. I’ll wager that you relate to her message.
What you can do About it:
- List all of the things that make you anxious about retirement (liabilities).
- List all of the things that excite you about retirement (assets).
- See if you can utilize any of your assets to solve your liabilities.
- Please reach out to me at theretiredteachercoach.com.
It’ll be fun to check back with Penny next fall or winter and see how retirement is treating her.
