That’s it. My wife and I have had enough. We (mid 30’s) finally came to the realization that we won’t be able to retire anyways so we may as well work jobs that won’t kill us mentally or physically, just in the hope to be able to retire when we can’t enjoy it. She started her own bakery out of the house with her as the only staff member and I’m working (sort of. I love it) at one job seasonally with the rest of the year being self improvement, creativity and sometimes work. It’s finally something that will allow a lot of time with family, is flexible and pays enough to get by.
We’ve gone through a lot of the options: high paid and stressed, low paid and exhausted (and sore), berated by customers, managers and owners. The path we’re on now seems to the best. So what if we work till we’re 75 if it’s something we like? A brief stint in senior care showed me that I don’t want to be effectively disabled at age 80. I’d rather be healthy, working and knowing that I lived in my younger years fully than to be invalid and waiting for death.