[Guest]

John (pianodude), this sort of decision is really a family decision.

Putting everyone else in the loop in terms of what is happening and what the options are, and giving them all the chance to express their opinions will lift a major part of the burden off of your shoulders. The old line about worry shared is worry divided is true.

Similar to the decision I made ten years ago to take a permanent job versus staying and doing computer consulting -- took a 25% hit to the salary plus a couple years of catch-up with Revenue Canada over fiscal year end versus calendar year end, and closing down the consultancy.

Benefits -- regular pay-check without having to worry about having to eat my tax money or finding the next contract. My wife is a lot happier, too.

Brainstorm with everyone on the benefits and disadvantages of the two courses open. Consider what tools can help you continue doing piano tuning (frequency meters, etc.) and their cost in the equation.

Anyway, my $0.02, but I can't make the decision for you -- I've learned that for myself. I can only express my opinion of what you should be doing to consider the decision.

[reo]

Originally Posted by Gary Maker

Ever hear the saying: "He who has the most toys when he dies, wins!" ??

I know that when I was younger, it was important to have a nice car, a nice home, and all the goodies that go with a certain life style. But now that I am older and having my share of health struggles, its my family and friends that I have to depend on. None of these other things are anywhere near as important to me now. Ultimately when all is said and done in life, its family and friends that mean anything and everything.

You have to ask yourself, what is it I'm working for? Is what I'm working for worth being away from my loved ones? IS it really that important?

Even as much as I love this wonderful hobby, if it were to mean having to sacrifice precious time spent with my wife, kids, grandkids, & friends, guess which one is going to lose?? I may not have a lot or things I would love to have in a material way but I have everything I need!

Thankfully I am able to have the best of both worlds in my present situation! A close loving family and a hobby that I truly enjoy and will stick with as long as I am able. Wild horses couldn't drag me away from that.

NO, I'm sure that I won't win by having all the toys when I die, but I will have had a loving family who knew that I was always close by and there for them when they needed me!

well said, Gary, what I think it comes down to is that we do not feel that we need to 'reward' ourselves with 'stuff' as often in retirement as when we were working .....actually not needing to be a certain place at a certain time the next morning is a huge reward in itself along with the extra benefits listed in your post....plus hopefully money and possessions are not the real legacy that we will leave behind when we're gone.....Ron