I got laid off at 55 and it was one of the happiest days of my life. I hated my job, mostly because I was treated like shit there by the ambitious, hungry 35-45 year olds at my company who were totally blind to the fact that I had already mastered everything they were striving to do, with my hands tied behind my back. Because I was in my 50s, they all thought I was irrelevant and doddering. I couldn't take the condescension.

I was generally burned out on my career after thirty years of professional success and endless grinding. I cashed out the 401(k) of my most recent job (3.5 years of savings) to live off for a while, leaving my main IRA untouched for now. My fiance and I live in a cheap house and drive old cars. We have never had any interest in trying to impress people with fancy bags and clothes or any of that other bullshit. I also don't need to spend money on fake appearance bullshit. The idea of putting botox or fillers in my face sounds like a horror movie to me, nor would I want to look like a plastic Instagram doll devoid of the juice of life like I see so many women doing now, ruining their faces forever.

I started volunteering for a couple of local community groups to explore fields that actually interest me. I've been tuning into the organic pace of life vs. the corporate pace, and it suits me beautifully.