You’re right. People do tend to make a huge fuss about retirement, myself included. The assumption is that, after 40-some years in the workforce, a person would like to rest. At least that’s the conventional wisdom. But as you point out, resting isn’t for everyone. Let’s take a moment to decide whether your desire is pragmatic or myopic.
It’s hard for me not to focus on your admission that you "don’t have much money saved for retirement anyway.” An easy conclusion could be since you don’t have much saved for retirement, you’ve adopted a fresh outlook which doesn’t value retirement. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know if there’s anything wrong with it on the surface. For instance, I’ve decided not to pursue a modeling career. Does it matter that my decision is based on what I see when I look in the mirror? Not really.
It’s important to mention that many people of retirement age discover they are unable to retire, therefore they involuntarily come to the same conclusion you have. The primary difference is that their discovery comes under duress. And some decisions and processes, which would have made their reality a bit easier, no longer are possible.
With all that said, a little bit of planning will allow you to successfully not retire.
