Retirement Snapshot
- Name: Nancy B.
- Location: Southern California
- Age: 63
- Retired At: 61
- Marital Status: Married 40 years
- Profession: Author and knitwear designer
About 6 years ago, Nancy B. started designing knitted beanies (hats) inspired by the U.S. National Parks. She built a small side business selling the patterns and kits on her own website. When COVID-19 shut everything down, she lost her day job as an exhibit designer. With all the free time, she poured herself into her designs, expanded her business, and recently had her first book published, Knitting the National Parks. We talked to Nancy about her retirement.
Retirement Reality
Retirement Awaits: What does a day in retirement look like for you?
Nancy: The variety from one day to the next is one of the things I love best. I try to divide my time between business tasks and personal time. But because I enjoy my business so much, it’s sometimes hard to set those boundaries. I might spend 6 hours packing and shipping orders one day, doing a little laundry in between, and then crafting with my three grown daughters in the evening. Another day might be working on designs, writing and taking photographs for my new book, knitting, and watching a couple movies. No matter what, I always make room for my family. Every day.
Your Retirement Plan
Retirement Awaits: Did you have a solid plan going into retirement?
Nancy: Not really. We just knew we wanted to live comfortably, spend lots of time with family, travel a bit, pursue hobbies, and work on my beanie business. No grand plans to travel the world. We just wanted to spend time together and be happy.
Best Part About Retirement
Retirement Awaits: What’s the best part about retirement?
Nancy: The freedom. I love being in charge of my own days. There’s always a lot to do, but I get to decide what to do and when to do it. And that’s pretty exciting! I rarely use an alarm clock and I don’t have to answer to anyone about how I spend my time. It’s just the best!
Challenges In Retirement
Retirement Awaits: What’s the biggest challenge in retirement?
Nancy: I know a lot of retirees struggle with finding a sense of purpose after leaving a lifelong career. I believe finding happiness in the freedom to truly be oneself is the greatest gift we can give our families and ourselves.
Cost Of Retirement
Retirement Awaits: We want people to understand how much retirement really costs. How do you manage your money now? Do you have a budget, meet with your advisor on a regular basis, etc?
Nancy: With a family to raise, we were never very good at financial planning, saving, or investing, and relied mostly on company 401(k) plans. We met with our financial advisor a couple of years before retirement to really understand where we were, what to expect, and to see if we had enough in our 401(k)s to travel. We now meet with him once a year. Because we went into retirement with little debt, our regular living expenses are manageable and covered by Social Security and pension, while the income from my business allows us to travel, leaving our savings to grow a bit.
Retirement Advice
Retirement Awaits: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give someone about to retire?
Nancy: To view retirement as a beginning and not an end. When your days are truly yours, the possibilities are endless! After wanting to be an author most of my life, it finally happened in my 60s. You’re never too old to follow your dreams!
Things I Wish I Would Have Known
Retirement Awaits: What are a few things you wish someone would have told you about retirement/this season of life/transition?
Nancy: Although I don’t think it’s really something other people could have told me, I wish I would have saved a little more.
It takes time to get over the feelings of “I should be doing this right now” or “I shouldn’t be doing that today.” For most of our adult lives, we’ve squeezed all the “want to do” activities into evenings or weekends. Once every day and every hour opens up, it’s hard to tell yourself it’s okay to knit in the middle of a Tuesday, wake up at 10:00 a.m. if you feel like it, or plan a mid-week getaway. But you can! Once it sinks in that you are free to plan (or not plan) every day of your own life, it always feels like a weekend, with a lot less crowds.
Best Retirement Vacation
Retirement Awaits: What is your favorite vacation or vacation spot?
Nancy: Any place in nature. Especially national parks! Not only does each one offer something unique to experience but being out in nature is a great way to click the reset button when life starts feeling a little stressful. Nothing beats the sound of waterfalls, the wind blowing through the trees, or the crunching of leaves on the trail. We also love spending a few days in a cabin at El Capitan Canyon. We cook and relax around the firepit, take walks to the beach, stargaze in the evenings, and nap outside if we feel like it.
If you want to learn more about Nancy’s life in retirement, check her out on Instagram @nancybatesdesigns, on Facebook, or on her website, Nancy Bates Designs.
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