New on the RLM Website

Check out these new articles on the Retirement Life Matters website.

I don’t know anyone over 50 who doesn’t have concerns about memory. LifelongLearning expert Nancy Merz Nordstrom discusses brain research and fun for your brain.

If you’re still thinking about ways to earn extra income, Stan Spector suggests starting a retirement business to help all the stressed out people who just don’t have enough time.

Charlottesville, Virginia home to Thomas Jefferson is an ideal place to retire, according to expert Warren Bland.

Share my journey as I visit the Hopi nation in NE Arizona.

Would You Have Lunch with a Python?

We have visions about the adventures we’re going to have in our retirement life. There are place to go, people to meet and things to do.

When the day actually arises, it’s easy to let fears and phobias take over, so the challenges and opportunities begin to diminish. There’s always the fear about money. And then there are the concerns about our health – you know we’re not young anymore. It becomes very easy for the walls of options to close around us.

One of my favorite quotes is from author Barbara Sher in It’s Only Too Late if You Don’t Start Now, “Why is it when midlifers talk of fulfilling their lifelong dreams before they’re too old to do them, they’re never talking about dreams like publishing a book or singing at the Met?”

Now is the time to dust off some of those old dreams you’ve shelved because you needed to earn a living and raise a family. What are the adventures you want to have? The biggest obstacle you have is you.

If you’ve started the list of the things you’d love to do, but… I’d like to introduce you to Warren Stortroen. A mild mannered insurance man for his professional career, he has now reached notoriety for having gone on 57 Earthwatch expeditions since retiring twelve years ago.

Once you read about Warren, you’ll want to get out there and do something outside of your comfort zone.

French Cooking and Retirement Life

So, what do French cooking and retirement life have in common?

My husband and I went to see Julie and Julia last Friday night. This is the perfectly poached egg he presented me with on Saturday morning.

What does my husband share with Julia Child? They both value the concept of ‘mastery.’

My husband approaches French cooking with the same methodical precision he approaches building his plane. If it calls for a quart of whipping cream, then off to the store he goes for supplies.

He hurt his leg pushing carts at the grocery store on Saturday. We were both afraid he'd torn a tendon, so I wanted him to stay off his leg.

"I'll cook dinner, " I declared.

I was completely lost. I didn't know where to start. We ended up pulling some frozen crabcakes from the freezer. I totally tanked.

The good news. The delicious smells of French cooking permeate my house with Julia’s signature Boeuf Bourguignon simmering on the stove.

The leg is healing and he's back to cooking.

What Stands in the Way of Your Retirement Dreams?

When I knew we were going to travel to Arizona recently, I contacted RLM Experts, Billy and Akaisha Kaderli to see if we might meet and have breakfast. One of the highlights of my job is meeting the amazing people who are interested in Retirement Life Matters. Billy and Akaisha exemplify the new retirement spirit.

Entrepreneurs’ and restaurant owners, they found themselves with a beautiful home and successful careers, but working up to eighty hours a week with little joy in their lives. They did what many fantasize. They walked away from it all. They retired early and started to live life.

The number one stumbling block people give for not living their dreams is finances. Not only do Billy and Akaisha travel around the world, often staying in a location for months at a time, but they do it on a meager income. They have chosen to live a frugal lifestyle exemplified with the recent sale of their only vehicle.

There’s a saying that most of us go to the grave with our dreams still inside of us. Entering into retirement is an occasion to revisit, recapture and establish dreams for the next stage of life. When you talk to people years before they plan on retiring they will share visions of travel, learning new skills, connecting with others and making a difference. After retirement, many people feel lost, unfocused and fearful about living the life of their dreams.

Billy and Akasha Kaderli model a retirement that, while frugal is full and complete with worldly travels, rich in experience and relationships.

Work for Those Over 50 – What’s the True Story?

As the boomer generation creeps into retirement life, an interesting phenomenon is starting to emerge. More workers, by choice and otherwise are going to continue to work. While this may appear depressing at first glance, further investigation offers additional insight.

The headline read “Career Changers After Age 50 Are Permanently Worse Off.” In a well crafted article, the author sited numerous statistics about older workers and the challenges they face in getting work after 50.

In fact, studies consistently show that workers who are laid off at mid-life have a difficult finding another job that pays the same or better. In general, people who left a job involuntarily, earn two-thirds what they did in their previous job.

Employees who left a job voluntarily fare much better. People who leave a job on their own earned either the same or more in subsequent positions.

The article continued to share very important information about the mature worker not first apparent by the headline. While workers who change jobs at mid-life do struggle to maintain the pay they had earned, they are much happier in their new work and they like their new jobs better. In fact, ninety-one percent reported they liked their new job, even if they earned less money.

“They are more satisfied and they report less stress because it appears that they have more control over what they are doing and they certainly don’t have a lot of people telling them what to do,” says Susan Reinhard, senior vice president of the AARP Public Policy Institute. In addition to being happy in their work, nearly two-thirds entered into new positions or new industries.

Work is going to continue to be an important aspect of retirement. That doesn’t mean it’s an indictment to a less fulfilling or rewarding third age. Not only providing income, work presents an opportunity to stay connected, provide structure and meaning in life.