About Ray Garner
I didn’t plan to end up here. But I’m glad I did.
For nearly 40 years I was Dr. Garner — a dentist. That title defined me, structured my days, and gave me my sense of purpose. Then on April 30, 2024, I walked out of my practice for the last time, got in the car with my wife LoriAnn, and drove straight to Florida to start over.
I won’t pretend that transition has been easy. It hasn’t. I’ve made financial mistakes. I’ve wrestled with questions I didn’t expect. Who am I without the white coat? What gets me out of bed now? Does what I do still matter?
Those questions are exactly why RetireReadyRx exists.
The story behind this blog
I grew up in a loving home where faith was central and hard work was expected. I backed into dentistry more out of practicality than passion and then gave it everything I had for nearly four decades. I built a practice from a single rented room so small my assistant was trapped in the corner when the chair went back. I built a building. I raised five kids with a woman who is, frankly, one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever known.
LoriAnn and I got married young, fast actually, under circumstances that would have broken most couples before they even started. We’ve weathered things together that I won’t fully detail here, but I will say this: the strength of our marriage wasn’t built on easy days. It was forged in hard ones. She has been my anchor through every chapter of this life, and this one is no different.
When I retired, I didn’t just lose a career. I lost my identity. And I wasn’t prepared for that.
What I’ve learned
Nobody warned me that retirement is as much an emotional and spiritual transition as it is a financial one. I had savings. I had Social Security coming. What I didn’t have was a clear picture of who I was going to be on the other side.
I’ve made mistakes with money since retiring. I’ve struggled with confidence. I’ve had to rebuild my sense of purpose from the ground up. And through all of it, my faith and LoriAnn’s consistent encouragement to stay rooted in prayer, scripture, and community has been what kept me going.
That’s what this blog is about. Not just the money. All of it.
What you’ll find here
RetireReadyRx is built around three things I believe every meaningful retirement requires.
Faith, because purpose and meaning don’t retire when you do.
Finances, because financial peace is the foundation everything else is built on.
Freedom, because this chapter, done right, should be the most intentional one yet.
I’m not a financial advisor. I’m not a guru. I’m a retired dentist in his 60s who made nearly every retirement mistake in the book and is figuring it out one honest step at a time.
If you’re within ten years of retirement, or already there and things feel a little off, you’re in the right place. Pull up a chair.
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