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  33. <title>Building Blocks</title>
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  35. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/building-blocks/#comments</comments>
  36. <dc:creator><![CDATA[fritz@theretirementmanifesto.com]]></dc:creator>
  37. <pubDate>Thu, 28 Mar 2024 08:06:05 +0000</pubDate>
  38. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  39. <category><![CDATA[contentment]]></category>
  40. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  41. <category><![CDATA[legacy]]></category>
  42. <category><![CDATA[Purpose]]></category>
  43. <category><![CDATA[retirement activities]]></category>
  44. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=14852</guid>
  45.  
  46. <description><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve been thinking about building blocks recently. The thought originated when I built something a few weeks ago, and I&#8217;ve been thinking about building blocks ever since. I&#8217;ve realized a [&#8230;]</p>
  47. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/building-blocks/">Building Blocks</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  48. ]]></description>
  49. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve been thinking about building blocks recently.</p>
  50. <p>The thought originated when I built something a few weeks ago, and I&#8217;ve been thinking about building blocks ever since.</p>
  51. <p>I&#8217;ve realized a few things about building blocks:</p>
  52. <ul>
  53. <li>They aren&#8217;t just childhood toys.</li>
  54. <li>Building blocks exist throughout our entire lives.</li>
  55. <li>We&#8217;re never too old to play with them.</li>
  56. <li><strong>Used wisely, they can help us live a better life.</strong></li>
  57. </ul>
  58. <p>Today, my thoughts on building blocks, why they&#8217;re important, and how we can use them to live a better life.</p>
  59. <hr /><p><em>Building blocks aren&#039;t just for children. Today, we&#039;re exploring how to use them to build a better life.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fbuilding-blocks%2F&#038;text=Building%20blocks%20aren%27t%20just%20for%20children.%20Today%2C%20we%27re%20exploring%20how%20to%20use%20them%20to%20build%20a%20better%20life.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click To Tweet</a><br /><hr />
  60. <p><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14854" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-03-11.46.40-AM.png" alt="" width="430" height="647" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-03-11.46.40-AM.png 430w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-03-11.46.40-AM-199x300.png 199w" sizes="(max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px" /></p>
  61. <h1>Building Blocks</h1>
  62. <p>Today, I&#8217;m asking you to change your perspective on those building blocks you used to play with as a child.&nbsp; Let&#8217;s expand our definition, and see how we can use building blocks to improve our lives in retirement.&nbsp;</p>
  63. <p><strong>Here are a few examples for you to consider&#8230;</strong></p>
  64. <hr>
  65. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Saving For Retirement</strong></span></p>
  66. <p>You&#8217;ve saved your entire life for retirement.&nbsp; That&#8217;s a building block.&nbsp; You started early, perhaps by signing up for your company&#8217;s 401k savings plan.&nbsp; With that first paycheck, a small building block was placed on the table of your life.&nbsp; With every paycheck, another block was added to the wall.</p>
  67. <p>Decades later, that wall has grown.&nbsp; All those building blocks represent your chance of living free, without the obligation of working for a paycheck.</p>
  68. <p>Money is a building block and, if used wisely, can result in years of freedom to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it.</p>
  69. <p><strong>Building blocks.</strong></p>
  70. <hr>
  71. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Your Job As A Teenager</strong></span></p>
  72. <p>Thinking back, you can probably recall some lessons from that job you had as a teenager.&nbsp; It may have been the first time you had a bit of money in your pocket, and you learned the value of money.&nbsp; Perhaps it was an interaction with a customer learning how to treat a customer you don&#8217;t care for but had to find a way to please.</p>
  73. <p>In my case, I think about my job working for a landscaping company.</p>
  74. <p><strong>My landscaping job taught me I enjoy &#8220;Building Things.&#8221;&nbsp;</strong> There&#8217;s something tangible about creating a physical &#8220;thing&#8221; and realizing it&#8217;s going to last.&nbsp; I enjoy returning to my hometown and seeing a landscaped wall that I built 40 years ago, still standing. It&#8217;s rewarding.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  75. <p>During my 3+ decades in Corporate America, <strong>I missed that feeling</strong> of building physical things.</p>
  76. <p>Now that I&#8217;m retired, I&#8217;ve rediscovered that joy that comes from building things that will last.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  77. <p><strong>Building blocks.</strong></p>
  78. <hr>
  79. <figure id="attachment_14905" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14905" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-14905" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PXL_20240314_185444654-scaled-e1710528461880.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="563"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14905" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">A recent MTB ride on some Tennessee singletrack.</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  80. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Childhood Joys</strong></span></p>
  81. <p>As a child, I spent the majority of my free time outside in the small Michigan town that I called home.&nbsp; I loved riding my bike on the trails behind the college football field.&nbsp; Even today, I can visualize every trail, every hill, every turn.&nbsp; I spent HOURS out there, and those are some of my best memories from childhood.</p>
  82. <p>When we moved to the mountains for retirement, I decided to explore mountain biking.&nbsp; I <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-is-it-so-hard-to-spend-money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>splurged on a new mountain bike</strong></a> as my 60th birthday present, and haven&#8217;t regretted the purchase for a moment.</p>
  83. <p>I love riding in the woods as much as an &#8220;old man&#8221; as I did as a child.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
  84. <p>The same goes for swimming.&nbsp; Every week my sisters and I would jump in the college pool during family swim night. In the summer, we&#8217;d climb on the school bus that ran kids from the school to the local beach (can you believe they did that?&nbsp; Unchaperoned!&nbsp; Ah, those were the days).&nbsp; I never remember learning how to swim, it&#8217;s just something that I&#8217;ve always known how to do.&nbsp; It&#8217;s just something that I&#8217;ve always loved.</p>
  85. <p>I&#8217;ve learned to embrace <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-pursuit-of-childhood-joy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Pursuit of Childhood Joy,</strong></a> and that pursuit has made my retirement more fulfilling.</p>
  86. <p><strong>Building Blocks.</strong></p>
  87. <hr>
  88. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Family Tree</strong></span></p>
  89. <ul>
  90. <li>60 years ago, your grandparents raised your parents.</li>
  91. <li>30 years ago, you were raised by your parents.&nbsp;</li>
  92. <li>Today, you&#8217;re watching your children raise your grandchildren.</li>
  93. </ul>
  94. <p>Your family&#8217;s foundation has been built over generations, and it will continue to be shaped for generations to come. <strong>It&#8217;s been that way in the past, and it will likely be that way in the future.</strong></p>
  95. <p>How your parents were raised impacted how they raised you, which impacted how you raised your children. That, in turn, is impacting your grandchildren today.&nbsp; As a grandparent, you have a unique opportunity to make an impact that will last for generations.&nbsp; Think of the memories you have of your grandparents.&nbsp;</p>
  96. <p>Then, focus on the memories you want your grandchildren to have of you.</p>
  97. <p>Make an impact on your legacy, while you still can.</p>
  98. <p><strong>Building Blocks.</strong></p>
  99. <hr>
  100. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Spirituality</strong></span></p>
  101. <p>As we age, it&#8217;s natural to think about what happens after we die.&nbsp;</p>
  102. <p>We prepared for retirement, so why wouldn&#8217;t we do the same for our next chapter?&nbsp; <strong>Eternity lasts a lot longer than retirement, and it deserves some focus.</strong> None of the material goods we&#8217;ve accumulated will matter once we&#8217;re gone, so take time to invest in the things that will.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  103. <p>Even if you&#8217;re not spiritual today, there are likely some spiritual building blocks from your past.&nbsp; Consider dusting off some of those blocks and investing your time in exploring spiritual issues. If you have a relationship with someone you know who is religious, invite them to lunch and have a serious discussion.&nbsp; Ask them for a suggested book, podcast, or YouTube channel. Visit a church for Easter.&nbsp;</p>
  104. <p>If it&#8217;s been a while, try saying a prayer.</p>
  105. <p>Look for spiritual building blocks.&nbsp; Chances are you&#8217;ll find them.&nbsp;</p>
  106. <p><em>&#8220;Seek and you will find&#8221; Matthew 7:7.&nbsp;</em></p>
  107. <hr>
  108. <figure id="attachment_14910" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14910" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-14910" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_20200207_134726-scaled-e1710779066465.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="563"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14910" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Yes, my wife and I have joined Pickleball Nation&#8230;</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  109. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Find Your Building Blocks</strong></span></p>
  110. <p>For a great retirement, dig through the building blocks of your past.&nbsp; Think of something you enjoyed doing, and figure out how to do it in retirement.&nbsp; Find a lasting impact you want to make, and look for building blocks from your past you can use as a foundation.</p>
  111. <p><strong>We&#8217;re at a stage in life where we&#8217;re free to explore</strong>, and finding building blocks from your past that you can build on now is a great approach for improving your life.</p>
  112. <p>Here are some examples to get you thinking:</p>
  113. <ul>
  114. <li>Did you enjoy tennis?&nbsp; Try pickleball.</li>
  115. <li>Were you in a Youth Group?&nbsp; Join an Adult Bible Study.</li>
  116. <li>Did you enjoy your summer job (landscaping for me)?&nbsp; Tackle a home project.</li>
  117. <li>Did you like helping people?&nbsp; Join a charity. Mentor a child. Lead a Scout troop.</li>
  118. <li>Did you have a favorite dog?&nbsp; Walk dogs at your local Humane Society, or foster.</li>
  119. <li>Did you ride a bike?&nbsp; Try out an e-bike.</li>
  120. <li>Were you a good parent?&nbsp; Be an even better grandparent.</li>
  121. </ul>
  122. <p>You&#8217;ll likely find that the things you enjoyed in your earlier years are fertile fields to harvest in retirement.&nbsp;</p>
  123. <p><strong>Building Blocks.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></p>
  124. <hr>
  125. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>The Building Blocks That Inspired Today&#8217;s Post</strong></span></p>
  126. <p>I mentioned that I recently built something that inspired this post.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  127. <p>Earlier this month, I built the dog shelter in the photo below during a <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/freedom-for-fido-a-story-of-finding-purpose-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Freedom For Fido</strong> </a>build.&nbsp; It was satisfying beyond words.&nbsp; Before retirement, I&#8217;d never built anything from wood and you wouldn&#8217;t have found &#8220;building things&#8221; on my retirement bucket list.&nbsp; I never saw it coming.</p>
  128. <p>I now enjoy building &#8220;real&#8221; things, and you seem to enjoy seeing them (the post below <strong>went viral</strong>, with 3k+ likes and 229 comments on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheRetirementManifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>my Facebook page</strong></a>).&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  129. <figure id="attachment_14857" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14857" style="width: 674px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-14857 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-03-12.15.24-PM.png" alt="building blocks in retirement" width="674" height="709" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-03-12.15.24-PM.png 674w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-03-12.15.24-PM-285x300.png 285w" sizes="(max-width: 674px) 100vw, 674px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14857" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>The project that inspired today&#8217;s post</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  130. <p>As I built the dog shelter, I thought about the path that led me to build a shelter for some dogs in need.</p>
  131. <p>That thinking led me to Building Blocks and the role they play in our retirements.</p>
  132. <p><strong>The building blocks for the dog shelter project</strong>&nbsp;look something like this:</p>
  133. <ul>
  134. <li>Block 1: I enjoyed my landscaping job as a teenager.</li>
  135. <li>Block 2: I missed building things in my corporate job.</li>
  136. <li>Block 3: When Freedom For Fido started, I had a <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-dog-house-and-improve-your-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>mentor teach me to make doghouses</strong></a>.</li>
  137. <li>Block 4: I discovered I loved woodworking.</li>
  138. <li>Block 5: When we knew it wasn&#8217;t a fad, <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-tour-of-my-woodworking-shop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>we built a woodworking shop</strong></a>.</li>
  139. <li>Block 6: I&#8217;ve continued to add blocks to the pile, challenging myself to build new things.</li>
  140. </ul>
  141. <p>Building blocks have led me to places I never imagined in retirement.&nbsp; In the process, I&#8217;ve learned&#8230;</p>
  142. <p><strong>You&#8217;re never too old to play with building blocks.</strong></p>
  143. <hr>
  144. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Your Next Steps</strong></span></p>
  145. <p>I hope this article motivates you to search out building blocks from your past.&nbsp; Think about the things you used to enjoy. Quiet your mind and listen to your thoughts.&nbsp; Think about things that matter to you, things you&#8217;d like to build on. If something comes to mind, pursue it.</p>
  146. <p>Take that first step.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  147. <p>Pick up that block and see where it leads.&nbsp; Play with it for a while, then reach for another.</p>
  148. <p><strong>Try to find 5 new building blocks</strong> to play with over the next month.&nbsp; You&#8217;ll probably find one or two that spark an interest.&nbsp; Build on that interest, and see where it leads.</p>
  149. <p>Your life will be better as a result.</p>
  150. <hr>
  151. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  152. <p>Sometimes I think my brain isn&#8217;t normal, and I&#8217;m fine with that.&nbsp; I have no idea why building a dog shelter led me down a path of thinking about building blocks, but I&#8217;ve learned to embrace my thoughts.&nbsp; As a reader, I appreciate your encouragement as I write where my thoughts lead, and trust you find my words helpful on your journey.&nbsp;</p>
  153. <p>Today, my thoughts led me to a metaphor for <strong>searching through your past</strong> to find things that will make your life more enjoyable in the present.&nbsp; It&#8217;s working well for me as I strive to live my best life in retirement, and I suspect it will work for you, too.</p>
  154. <p>I hope these words motivate you to give it a try.</p>
  155. <p><strong>Building Blocks.</strong></p>
  156. <hr>
  157. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:</strong></span></em> What building blocks from the past are you using to make your life more enjoyable now? Do you have any examples?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;&nbsp;</p>
  158. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/building-blocks/">Building Blocks</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  159. ]]></content:encoded>
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  161. <slash:comments>29</slash:comments>
  162. </item>
  163. <item>
  164. <title>Retirement Lessons From Lewis &#038; Clark</title>
  165. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-lessons-from-lewis-clark/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=retirement-lessons-from-lewis-clark</link>
  166. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-lessons-from-lewis-clark/#comments</comments>
  167. <dc:creator><![CDATA[fritz@theretirementmanifesto.com]]></dc:creator>
  168. <pubDate>Thu, 14 Mar 2024 07:21:46 +0000</pubDate>
  169. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  170. <category><![CDATA[affiliate]]></category>
  171. <category><![CDATA[contingency planning]]></category>
  172. <category><![CDATA[financial planning]]></category>
  173. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  174. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  175. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=14868</guid>
  176.  
  177. <description><![CDATA[<p>This post contains Amazon Affilliate links which will pay a small commission to me (at not cost to you) if you order through the links.&#160; I recently read one of [&#8230;]</p>
  178. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-lessons-from-lewis-clark/">Retirement Lessons From Lewis &#038; Clark</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  179. ]]></description>
  180. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>This post contains Amazon Affilliate links which will pay a small commission to me (at not cost to you) if you order through the links.&nbsp;</em></p>
  181. <p>I recently read one of the best books I&#8217;ve ever read.</p>
  182. <p>It led me to places I never imagined.</p>
  183. <p>As a result, I even &#8220;became a professor&#8221;, teaching a class at the University of North Georgia on what I had learned. <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(But I&#8217;m getting ahead of myself.)</em></span></p>
  184. <p>The book was about Lewis &amp; Clark.&nbsp; As I was reading, I couldn&#8217;t help but see the countless metaphors of how their expedition applies to our retirement journey.&nbsp; &nbsp;They provided lessons that each of us can benefit from as we navigate our retirement expeditions.&nbsp;</p>
  185. <p>Today, I&#8217;m sharing the retirement lessons from Lewis &amp; Clark.</p>
  186. <p>These lessons will <strong>help you achieve success in your retirement</strong> in the same manner Lewis &amp; Clark successfully navigated their journey to the Pacific Ocean.</p>
  187. <p>I trust you&#8217;ll enjoy the journey.&nbsp;</p>
  188. <hr /><p><em>Lewis &amp; Clark led an amazing expedition of discovery. In the process, they provided a roadmap for how to live a great retirement. Today, I&#039;m sharing their retirement lessons...</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fretirement-lessons-from-lewis-clark%2F&#038;text=Lewis%20%26%20Clark%20led%20an%20amazing%20expedition%20of%20discovery.%20In%20the%20process%2C%20they%20provided%20a%20roadmap%20for%20how%20to%20live%20a%20great%20retirement.%20Today%2C%20I%27m%20sharing%20their%20retirement%20lessons...&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click To Tweet</a><br /><hr />
  189. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14872" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-9.55.06-AM.png" alt="what Lewis &amp; Clark discovered" width="493" height="681" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-9.55.06-AM.png 493w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-9.55.06-AM-217x300.png 217w" sizes="(max-width: 493px) 100vw, 493px" /></p>
  190. <h1>Retirement Lessons From Lewis &amp; Clark</h1>
  191. <p>One of the best books I&#8217;ve ever read is <a href="https://amzn.to/4cbeh6u" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Undaunted Courage</strong></a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(Amazon affiliate link),</em> </span>a #1 New York Times Bestseller written by Stephen Ambrose. If you&#8217;ve not yet studied the amazing feat that was the Lewis &amp; Clark expedition, I strongly recommend you consider reading the book.&nbsp; I didn&#8217;t fully realize the scale of their expedition until I read this book and was mesmerized by all that they endured.</p>
  192. <p>Whenever I read, I try to think of ways to apply what I&#8217;m learning to my own life.&nbsp; I consider myself an &#8220;active reader&#8221; and enjoy challenging myself as I read words written by others.</p>
  193. <p><strong>This book penetrated my mind,</strong> and I couldn&#8217;t help but see the connection between what I was learning from Lewis &amp; Clark and our journey of retirement.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve always enjoyed thinking in metaphors, and this book was full of them.&nbsp;</p>
  194. <p>A month after I finished the book, I received an invitation to speak to the Los Angeles chapter of the American Association of Individual Investors (<a href="https://aaiila.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>AAII</strong></a>).&nbsp; I presented on the retirement lessons from Lewis &amp; Clark. <em>(The webinar was recorded, you can view the YouTube video <a href="https://youtu.be/Sh1_7ctywow?si=Bfw-Y8v4OIoEDvdl" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here</strong></a>).</em></p>
  195. <p>A few months later, I was invited to teach a class at the University of North Georiga as part of their <a href="https://ung.edu/healthy-aging/peaks.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Personal Enrichment, Action and Knowledge Series</strong></a> (PEAKS). Since I had a presentation ready from the AAII work, I suggested the same topic.&nbsp; They agreed, and last week I &#8220;taught&#8221; my first college class.&nbsp;</p>
  196. <p>Below is a photo from the session:</p>
  197. <figure id="attachment_14874" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14874" style="width: 366px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-14874" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot_20240307-191237-e1709997752474.png" alt="teaching a class on lessons from Lewis &amp; Clark" width="366" height="480"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14874" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>&#8220;Professor Fritz&#8221; teaches his first University class.</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  198. <p>If you&#8217;d like to see the slideshow I used for both presentations, you can view it here: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-WmmbpDbwgHCdjL_HoUmW_-zd764Kz8L/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&#8220;Learning To Thrive In Retirement: Lessons From The Lewis &amp; Clark Expedition.&#8221;&nbsp;</strong></a> (<em><strong>Note:</strong> some slides of interest are not included below, so I&#8217;d encourage you to take a few minutes to scan through the entire presentation.)</em></p>
  199. <p>I&#8217;ll incorporate relevant slides from the presentation as I outline the lessons from Lewis &amp; Clark below.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  200. <hr>
  201. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Lesson #1:&nbsp; The Lewis &amp; Clark Expedition was Similar to Retirement</strong></span></p>
  202. <p>Following is a summary of key elements of the Lewis &amp; Clark expedition.&nbsp; As you read the list, think of how many of these attributes also apply to our journey in retirement:</p>
  203. <ul>
  204. <li>A journey into the unknown.</li>
  205. <li>The journey included elements of danger.</li>
  206. <li>Preparation was critical for success.</li>
  207. <li>Self-sufficiency was required.</li>
  208. <li>Once underway, it was tough to turn back.</li>
  209. <li>There were unexpected developments en route.</li>
  210. <li>The expedition was a success.</li>
  211. </ul>
  212. <hr>
  213. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Lesson #2:&nbsp; Preparation is a Key To Success</strong></span></p>
  214. <p>My personal belief is that the primary reason the Lewis &amp; Clark expedition was successful was their level of preparation.&nbsp; <strong>Imagine the questions they had to answer</strong> as they prepared for a 3+ year journey into the unknown. As I created this slide, I tried to imagine myself in their shoes as they prepared.&nbsp; Then, I thought about all of the questions each of us have as we&#8217;re preparing for retirement.&nbsp; The comparison is interesting:</p>
  215. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14878" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.45.48-AM.png" alt="what do I need to do to retire?" width="768" height="416" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.45.48-AM.png 768w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.45.48-AM-300x163.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /></p>
  216. <hr>
  217. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Lesson #3:&nbsp; Milestones Help Keep Your Journey on Course</strong></span></p>
  218. <p>I created the following map to provide a summary of the Lewis &amp; Clark expedition.&nbsp; I find it a helpful way to comprehend at a glance the scale of their accomplishment:</p>
  219. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14879" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.53.58-AM.png" alt="Where did Lewis &amp; Clark go?" width="782" height="443" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.53.58-AM.png 782w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.53.58-AM-300x170.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.53.58-AM-768x435.png 768w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.53.58-AM-135x75.png 135w" sizes="(max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px" /></p>
  220. <hr>
  221. <p>As I thought about using their expedition as a metaphor for retirement, I modified the milestones to reflect those on our retirement journey.&nbsp; Assuming the &#8220;Continental Divide&#8221; is the date of our retirement, I came up with the following milestones for our retirements:</p>
  222. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14880" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.57.25-AM.png" alt="what you nee" width="782" height="443" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.57.25-AM.png 782w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.57.25-AM-300x170.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.57.25-AM-768x435.png 768w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-10.57.25-AM-135x75.png 135w" sizes="(max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px" /></p>
  223. <p>Recognizing there are milestones you need to achieve on your retirement journey is one of the lessons from Lewis &amp; Clark.&nbsp; Don&#8217;t jump blindly into your journey, but realize there are steps that you can take throughout the journey that will improve your chances of success.&nbsp;</p>
  224. <hr>
  225. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Lesson #4: Have The Right Team in Your Boat</strong></span></p>
  226. <p>Lewis &amp; Clark were intentional when they chose members of their expedition, focusing on what skills each of the members could provide.&nbsp; Their expedition success depended on <strong>having the full complement of skills</strong> &#8220;in the boat&#8221; that were required to meet whatever challenges they faced.&nbsp; They needed good hunters to provide food, strong oarsmen to pull them up the Missouri River, people who knew how to trade with Indians, strong navigators to find their way, medical knowledge to deal with injuries, etc.</p>
  227. <p>Likewise, <strong>retirement is not a journey we should take alone.&nbsp;</strong> If you&#8217;re not 100% confident managing your finances as a DIY investor, this is an area where it justifies paying an expert to ensure you&#8217;re ready for retirement. Hire a CFP who&#8217;s worked with hundreds of others on their journey, they can help you navigate your way.&nbsp; You&#8217;ll also need an attorney to develop your legacy plans, an accountant to help with your taxes, and a blog writer who writes about the unknown trail ahead (<em><strong>I know a guy, wink</strong></em>).</p>
  228. <p>Lewis &amp; Clark were partners in the expedition, and they focused on communication and understanding to avoid conflict.&nbsp; In the same way, <strong>partners in a marriage have to work together</strong> to adjust to their new life in retirement.&nbsp; Communication is key, and understanding your partner&#8217;s desires, strengths and weaknesses will go a long way to avoiding conflict during your expedition.&nbsp; There&#8217;s a reason I cited relationships as one of the keys in my book, <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-book/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Keys To A Succesful Retirement</strong></a>.&nbsp; Finally, realize your relationships with co-workers will fade, and focus on building relationships with the people you&#8217;ll be spending time with in retirement.&nbsp;</p>
  229. <p>Relationships mattered for Lewis &amp; Clark, and they matter in your retirement.</p>
  230. <hr>
  231. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Lesson #5:&nbsp; Adapt For The Unexpected</strong></span></p>
  232. <p>Lewis &amp; Clark knew very little about the Rocky Mountains they were to be crossing.&nbsp; There were no maps of the area, and they were literally &#8220;blind&#8221; to what was ahead. Canadian surveyor Peter Fidler estimated The Rockies to be 3,250 feet tall during his 1792 survey.&nbsp; In reality, the mountains were far more daunting, and hauling all of their supplies on foot would be impossible.</p>
  233. <p><strong>They needed horses.</strong></p>
  234. <p>Fortunately, during their &#8217;04-&#8217;05 winter layover in present-day South Dakota,&nbsp; they had recruited <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacagawea" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Sacagawea</strong></a> (and her Quebecois trapper husband, Charbonneau, who knew numerous Indian languages and served as a translator).&nbsp; Sacagawea was a member of the Shoshone Tribe, an elusive tribe who lived in the peaks of the mountains and were famous horsemen.&nbsp; Sacagawea was instrumental in facilitating the negotiations for the required horses, and the expedition was successful as a result.&nbsp;</p>
  235. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14887" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-12.53.45-PM.png" alt="lessons from Lewis and Clark - horses" width="588" height="460" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-12.53.45-PM.png 588w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-12.53.45-PM-300x235.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 588px) 100vw, 588px" /></p>
  236. <p>Similarly, we should be prepared for the unexpected in our retirements.&nbsp; By studying information on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/shining-the-light-on-retirement-blind-spots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Blind Spots,</strong></a> for example, we can &#8220;develop our own Sacagawea&#8221; to help us prepare for the things that might surprise us on the journey ahead.&nbsp; Recognize you don&#8217;t know what you don&#8217;t know, and focus on building your knowledge and flexibility to adapt to the unknown challenges ahead.&nbsp;</p>
  237. <hr>
  238. <h2><strong>Lesson #6: Mitigate The Risks</strong></h2>
  239. <p>Lewis &amp; Clark faced seemingly insurmountable risks on their expedition, but that didn&#8217;t stop them from doing as much as they could to mitigate the risks they were aware of.&nbsp; From their discussions with fur traders, for example, they knew they would face <strong>hostile Indians</strong>.&nbsp; Part of the mission from President Jefferson, however, was to interact with as many of the Indian tribes as possible during their journey and compile information on their cultures, territories, and traditions.&nbsp; To mitigate the risk, they brought extensive trading items they knew would be of value to the Indians (e.g., beads), and made sure they had members of their team who had skills in communicating and trading with Indians.&nbsp; They had some close calls, but their strategy proved sufficient to mitigate the risk.</p>
  240. <p>Knowing of the risk that<strong> they could die en route</strong>, they also made plans to have periodic shipments of all of their botanical samples and maps delivered &#8220;back East,&#8221; sending 1-2 members of their Expedition back with the materials to ensure safe delivery.&nbsp; Likewise, they included members on their team who had <strong>boatbuilding skills</strong> in the event they had to carve canoes from trees to replace any lost boats en route (a strategy they had to use when they were unable to haul their boats over the mountains and needed replacement boats for the journey West from the Continental Divide).</p>
  241. <p>One of the retirement lessons from Lewis &amp; Clark is learning to recognize, prepare for, and mitigate the potential risks we face on our journeys.&nbsp; Following are a few examples:</p>
  242. <ul>
  243. <li>Increased <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-28-of-retirees-are-depressed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>risk of depression</strong></a>:&nbsp; (Mitigation:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/10-ways-to-find-joy-in-life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Focus on mindset</strong></a>, seek purpose, exercise, build social networks)</li>
  244. <li>Sequence of Return Risk:&nbsp; (Mitigation:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-retirement-paycheck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Bucket Strateg</strong></a>y, building a cash reserve, asset allocation)</li>
  245. <li>Health decline: (Mitigation:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-get-in-shape-for-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Build a fitness routine</strong></a> to maximize your &#8220;healthspan&#8221;)</li>
  246. <li>Running out of money &#8211; (Mitigation: Develop a <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-much-can-you-safely-spend-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>safe spending strategy</strong></a>, conduct <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-step-by-step-guide-to-your-annual-financial-update/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>annual financial reviews</strong></a>)</li>
  247. </ul>
  248. <hr>
  249. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Lesson #7:&nbsp; Explore Alternative Routes</strong></span></p>
  250. <p>The final of the lessons from Lewis &amp; Clark comes from their return Eastward.&nbsp; After spending the winter of 1805-06 on the Pacific Coast, the team pursued alternative routes back home (note the various green lines across the Rocky Mountains on the map of their route, below).</p>
  251. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14888" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-1.14.54-PM.png" alt="Lewis and Clark mountain route" width="735" height="319" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-1.14.54-PM.png 735w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Screenshot-2024-03-09-1.14.54-PM-300x130.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 735px) 100vw, 735px" /></p>
  252. <p>Part of their mission from President Thomas Jefferson was to determine the northernmost point of the Mississippi River watershed since this was the definition of the land purchased in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Louisiana Purchase</strong></a>. In addition, he wanted them to find the easiest passage over The Rocky Mountains.&nbsp; Neither objective could be met without exploring alternative routes.&nbsp;</p>
  253. <p>Their expedition benefited from seeking new paths.</p>
  254. <p>As a metaphor for retirement, we should recognize the value of exploring different routes during our retirement years.&nbsp; Our retirements benefit from the eager pursuit of our curiosity, and curiosity will lead us down new paths. As I wrote in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-is-like-a-game-of-poker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Is Like A Game of Poker</strong></a>, we should always be open to picking up new cards and discarding the ones of lesser value currently in our hands.&nbsp; It&#8217;s only by trying different cards that we can build our best hand.</p>
  255. <p>Like Lewis &amp; Clark, our journeys will benefit from seeking new paths.</p>
  256. <hr>
  257. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  258. <p>As I think about the time I spent reading <a href="https://amzn.to/4cbeh6u" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Undaunted Courage</strong></a> <span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(Amazon affiliate link)</em></span>, two thoughts come to mind.</p>
  259. <p><strong>One,</strong> the book shed some light on retirement lessons from Lewis &amp; Clark.&nbsp; As I read through the book, I was continually surprised by how many metaphors applied to our lives in retirement.&nbsp; Theirs was an extraordinary expedition, and there are lessons we can learn from them that will increase our odds of a successful retirement journey.&nbsp; Summarized:</p>
  260. <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Retirement Lessons From Lewis &amp; Clark</strong></span></p>
  261. <ol>
  262. <li>The Lewis &amp; Clark expedition was similar to retirement.</li>
  263. <li>Preparation is a key to success.</li>
  264. <li>Milestones help keep your journey on course.</li>
  265. <li>Have the right team in your boat.</li>
  266. <li>Adapt for the unexpected.</li>
  267. <li>Mitigate the risks.</li>
  268. <li>Explore alternative routes.</li>
  269. </ol>
  270. <p><strong>The second thought</strong> is this:&nbsp; we can all benefit from being &#8220;active readers.&#8221;&nbsp; Rather than just reading the words on the page (or computer screen), THINK while you read.&nbsp; Challenge yourself to find ways to apply the words to your life.&nbsp; Make a game of looking for metaphors.</p>
  271. <p>It makes reading more fun and can lead to places you never expected.</p>
  272. <p>Like teaching in a University classroom.</p>
  273. <p>Class dismissed.</p>
  274. <p>Yours truly,</p>
  275. <p>The Professor.</p>
  276. <p><em>PS.&nbsp; <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/while-you-still-can/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>My Dad</strong> </a>was a college professor for 38 years and &#8220;The Professor&#8221; was his nickname in the coffee shop where he met friends for breakfast every week.&nbsp; I take great pride in adopting his nickname as my own, at least for today&#8217;s post.&nbsp; I wish you were still around to read this post, Dad.&nbsp; I truly enjoyed an afternoon of &#8220;standing in your shoes&#8221; and trust you&#8217;d be proud&#8230;</em></p>
  277. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></span> Which of the lessons from Lewis &amp; Clark most resonated with you?&nbsp; Also, are you an &#8220;active reader?&#8221; If so, what truths have you found while reading a book?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  278. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-lessons-from-lewis-clark/">Retirement Lessons From Lewis &#038; Clark</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  279. ]]></content:encoded>
  280. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-lessons-from-lewis-clark/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  281. <slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
  282. </item>
  283. <item>
  284. <title>What A Difference A Day Makes</title>
  285. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-a-difference-a-day-makes/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=what-a-difference-a-day-makes</link>
  286. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-a-difference-a-day-makes/#comments</comments>
  287. <dc:creator><![CDATA[fritz@theretirementmanifesto.com]]></dc:creator>
  288. <pubDate>Thu, 29 Feb 2024 08:50:07 +0000</pubDate>
  289. <category><![CDATA[Retirement State of Mind]]></category>
  290. <category><![CDATA[carpe diem]]></category>
  291. <category><![CDATA[charity]]></category>
  292. <category><![CDATA[contentment]]></category>
  293. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  294. <category><![CDATA[Just Do It]]></category>
  295. <category><![CDATA[legacy]]></category>
  296. <category><![CDATA[Purpose]]></category>
  297. <category><![CDATA[retirement activities]]></category>
  298. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=14810</guid>
  299.  
  300. <description><![CDATA[<p>The day began like any other. As he woke from his slumber and lifted his head, he felt the weight of that hated chain hanging from his neck. He&#8217;d been [&#8230;]</p>
  301. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-a-difference-a-day-makes/">What A Difference A Day Makes</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  302. ]]></description>
  303. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The day began like any other.</p>
  304. <p>As he woke from his slumber and lifted his head, he felt the weight of that hated chain hanging from his neck.</p>
  305. <p>He&#8217;d been hooked to that chain his entire life.&nbsp; It was a part of him now.&nbsp; He knew its limits, and he knew he couldn&#8217;t defeat it.&nbsp; He had long since given up even trying to escape from its life-sucking weight.</p>
  306. <p>But today would be different.&nbsp;</p>
  307. <p>Today, he would run free.</p>
  308. <p><strong>What a difference a day makes.</strong></p>
  309. <hr /><p><em>A single day can make all the difference in the world. Want proof? Read on...</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fwhat-a-difference-a-day-makes%2F&#038;text=A%20single%20day%20can%20make%20all%20the%20difference%20in%20the%20world.%20Want%20proof%3F%20Read%20on...&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click To Tweet</a><br /><hr />
  310. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14817" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-9.41.52-AM.png" alt="freedom for fido" width="432" height="648" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-9.41.52-AM.png 432w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-21-9.41.52-AM-200x300.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" /></p>
  311. <hr>
  312. <h1>What A Difference A Day Makes</h1>
  313. <p>My career in Corporate America was 33 years long.&nbsp; I can count on one hand the number of days during that span where I felt I made a significant difference.&nbsp; As much as I&#8217;d like to think otherwise, I was a cog in the machine.</p>
  314. <p>In contrast, I&#8217;ve been retired for 5 1/2 years. I don&#8217;t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of days where I&#8217;ve made a difference that matters.</p>
  315. <p><strong>Making a difference.&nbsp; </strong></p>
  316. <p>It&#8217;s become the driving force in a retirement I love.&nbsp; It&#8217;s the thing I seek.&nbsp; The thing I embrace.&nbsp; The thing I&#8217;m most proud of.</p>
  317. <p><strong>Isn&#8217;t that what retirement should be about?</strong></p>
  318. <p>Today, the story of a few days from my retirement.</p>
  319. <p>Days that demonstrate &#8220;What a difference a day makes.&#8221;&nbsp; Days that hopefully give you inspiration for your retirement. Days to inspire you to make a difference with <strong>your</strong> remaining days.</p>
  320. <hr>
  321. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Day 1:&nbsp; Courage To Take The First Step</strong></span></p>
  322. <p>Her Mom had passed a few months earlier, and she&#8217;d been struggling to regain her stride.&nbsp; She&#8217;d been a caregiver for years, and her &#8220;job&#8221; had ended unexpectedly when her Mom passed.&nbsp; She realized, in hindsight, that caregiving had become her purpose in life.&nbsp; Her purpose had ended, and she felt adrift.</p>
  323. <p><strong>What a difference a day makes.</strong></p>
  324. <p>In the late morning of Jan 1, 2019, she came across the following video on Facebook, where Mike Rowe featured an Oregon charity called <a href="https://www.fencesforfido.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Fences For Fido</strong></a> on his show, Returning The Favor.&nbsp;</p>
  325. <p>Her world was about to change in ways she never expected.</p>
  326. <p><iframe loading="lazy" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FReturningTheFavor%2Fvideos%2F533179490426812%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="314" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
  327. <p>The video features a charity that builds free fences for low-income families with dogs in need (often on chains). As soon as the video ended, she said to her husband, <strong>&#8220;We should do that here!&#8221;</strong></p>
  328. <p>I could see the passion in her eyes.&nbsp; Her excitement.&nbsp; Her need to pursue this thing.&nbsp;</p>
  329. <p>I immediately agreed and encouraged her to take the first step.&nbsp;</p>
  330. <p>We talked about how we could make it happen.&nbsp; My wife sent an email to Fences For Fido, which my wife and I found for this post and are sharing below:</p>
  331. <hr>
  332. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-14842" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-28-4.22.31-PM.png" alt="" width="774" height="376" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-28-4.22.31-PM.png 774w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-28-4.22.31-PM-300x146.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-28-4.22.31-PM-768x373.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 774px) 100vw, 774px" /></p>
  333. <hr>
  334. <p>Fortunately, they responded favorably and a wonderful 5-year mentorship was launched. They&#8217;ve been amazing and helped her learn the steps to launching a 501c3, as well as many other details along the way.</p>
  335. <p>Our first step was deciding on a name.&nbsp; We chose <a href="https://freedomforfido.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Freedom For Fido</strong></a> and were off and running.</p>
  336. <p><strong>What a difference a day makes.</strong></p>
  337. <hr>
  338. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Day 2: Changing A Life</strong></span></p>
  339. <p>Michelle has a prosthetic leg, but she&#8217;s never let that diminish her love for dogs.&nbsp; Despite living at the top of a steep driveway, she dedicated herself to walking each of her 6 rescue dogs every day.</p>
  340. <p>It was difficult, but the dogs deserved the best after all they&#8217;d been through.</p>
  341. <p>We first became aware of her situation when we approached Billy, the owner of <a href="https://www.evolutionaryk9.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Evolutionary K9</strong></a>, a local dog training facility. Jackie and I had never built a fence in our lives and asked Billy if he&#8217;d be willing to teach us.&nbsp; We also invited him to be on the new Board of Directors for Freedom For Fido.&nbsp; Fortunately, he said yes to both.</p>
  342. <p>As we prepared for our first build, we discussed how to find needy recipients for our free fences.&nbsp; Billy knew Michelle from his work in the dog community and suggested we offer to build our first fence for her.&nbsp; He contacted her and explained our new charity, and before long we were driving up her driveway to build our first fence.</p>
  343. <p>I&#8217;m grateful that we took the time to document our first build in this YouTube video.&nbsp; A few highlights worth noting:</p>
  344. <ul>
  345. <li><strong>40-second mark:</strong> Michelle struggles to walk one of her dogs on that infamous driveway:</li>
  346. <li><strong>3:00 mark:&nbsp;</strong> The first moment of Freedom!&nbsp; We&#8217;ve now done 124 builds, and it never gets old.</li>
  347. <li><strong>5:05 mark:&nbsp;</strong> Our first Thank You!&nbsp; &#8220;This is just absolutely life-changing for me,&#8221; says Michelle.</li>
  348. </ul>
  349. <p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZID89OuWI78?si=wEwbrd8dutVIH3F1" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />
  350. &nbsp;</p>
  351. <p>When we first started Freedom For Fido, we thought it was going to be all about the dogs.&nbsp; That all changed on the day we built Michelle&#8217;s fence.</p>
  352. <p>As we listened to Michelle&#8217;s heartfelt gratitude, we realized it was about so much more.&nbsp; We were helping people in need.&nbsp; We were changing lives.&nbsp; We were making a difference.</p>
  353. <p><strong>What a difference a day makes.</strong></p>
  354. <hr>
  355. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Day 3:&nbsp; A Chance Encounter</strong></span></p>
  356. <p>I was walking out of Home Depot with a load of supplies for an upcoming fence build when I saw my friend Roger walking across the parking lot.&nbsp; &nbsp;I had no idea our chance encounter would lead to one of the most successful initiatives the charity has undertaken.</p>
  357. <p><strong>What a difference a day makes.</strong></p>
  358. <p>As we were chatting, Roger made a proposal that changed our world.&nbsp; It went something like this&#8230;</p>
  359. <p><em><span style="font-size: 1rem;">&#8220;I took up this realtor gig as a bit of a hobby in retirement, and it&#8217;s been successful beyond my wildest imagination.&nbsp; I&#8217;d like to propose something.&nbsp; I&#8217;d like to pay for your next fence build, but I&#8217;d also like to make a suggestion.&nbsp; You and Jackie should consider setting up a &#8220;Fence Sponsorship&#8221; program where others could do the same.&nbsp; People love what you&#8217;re doing and I think it&#8217;d be a good fundraising initiative.&#8221;&nbsp;</span></em></p>
  360. <p>I thanked Roger for his $1,000 donation and Jackie and I followed his suggestion to launch a Fence Sponsorship program.&nbsp;<em> (I can&#8217;t let this section go without providing you a link to our website.&nbsp; If you&#8217;re interested in sponsoring a fence, or simply providing a small donation to help up help more dogs, you can <a href="https://freedomforfido.com/donate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>donate here</strong></a>).</em></p>
  361. <figure id="attachment_14834" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14834" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-14834" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Roger-Sponsorship-e1708875416600.jpg" alt="getting dogs off chains" width="850" height="638"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14834" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Roger at his sponsored fence build</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  362. <p>At our annual fundraiser last year, our MC pitched the Fence Sponsorship program throughout the event.&nbsp; By the end of the evening, we had 18 folks who had agreed to be fence sponsors.&nbsp; <strong>$18,000 of additional contributions were raised</strong> based on Roger&#8217;s suggestion, and we&#8217;re building fences as fast as we can build them as a result.</p>
  363. <p>We&#8217;ve never really talked about the financial side of our charity, always trusting that God would provide.&nbsp; The reality is that we spend a lot of money, and it would have been difficult to maintain our pace of building fences without that chance encounter with Roger.&nbsp;</p>
  364. <p>Perhaps the encounter wasn&#8217;t chance after all.</p>
  365. <p><strong>What a difference a day makes.</strong></p>
  366. <hr>
  367. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Day 4: The Day That Led To Today&#8217;s Post</strong></span></p>
  368. <p>In late February, we completed our 124th fence build, helping over 300 dogs in the process.</p>
  369. <p>Our favorite moment at every build is the final moment of the build when the dogs are released and run free for the first time.&nbsp; We call it &#8220;Freedom Day,&#8221; and it&#8217;s rewarding beyond words.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  370. <p>To get a taste, just listen to all of the laughter from our volunteers when the dogs run free in the following video <em>(it&#8217;s less than 3 minutes long, and I guarantee you it&#8217;s worth your time).</em></p>
  371. <p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/00VwdA-7Dvw?si=Jd7OfocazFyi49b9" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
  372. <p>Despite participating in all of those Freedom Days, there was something special about Taurus (our 124th build).&nbsp; When my wife and I did our &#8220;site visit&#8221; to determine the layout of the fence, my heart was broken even more than normal when we saw him on his chain.&nbsp;</p>
  373. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-14844" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot_20240228-163405-e1709156158213.png" alt="what a difference a day makes" width="352" height="475"></p>
  374. <p>His was the largest chain we&#8217;d ever seen, and I could only imagine the weight he felt when he woke up every morning with that weight hanging from his neck.&nbsp; It led to my opening paragraph, which I&#8217;ll share again here&#8230;</p>
  375. <hr>
  376. <p><em>The day began like any other.</em></p>
  377. <p><em>As he woke from his slumber and lifted his head, he felt the weight of that hated chain hanging from his neck.</em></p>
  378. <p><em>He&#8217;d been hooked to that chain his entire life.&nbsp; It was a part of him now.&nbsp; He knew its limits, and he knew he couldn&#8217;t defeat it.&nbsp; He had long since given up even trying to escape from its life-sucking weight.</em></p>
  379. <p><em>But today would be different.&nbsp;</em></p>
  380. <p><em>Today, he would run free.</em></p>
  381. <p><strong><em>What a difference a day makes.</em></strong></p>
  382. <hr>
  383. <p>After Taurus&#8217; Freedom Day, I created a collage showing &#8220;Before&#8221; and &#8220;After&#8221; pictures and posted it on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/freedomforfido" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Freedom For Fido Facebook Page.</strong></a>&nbsp; As I looked at those two pictures, the scale of the impact we&#8217;re making hit home. It was then that I knew I had to write today&#8217;s post.</p>
  384. <p>It was the moment I realized, &#8220;What a difference a day makes.&#8221;</p>
  385. <hr>
  386. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14837" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-25-11.10.36-AM.png" alt="what a difference a day makes when helping a dog" width="658" height="722" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-25-11.10.36-AM.png 658w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-25-11.10.36-AM-273x300.png 273w" sizes="(max-width: 658px) 100vw, 658px" /></p>
  387. <p>I hope my words express the depth of the inspiration I receive from using my time in retirement to give back to those in need. These are the most fulfilling days I&#8217;ve ever lived.&nbsp; My life is better as a result, and I expect I&#8217;ll be finding ways to give back for the remainder of my life.</p>
  388. <p>If you&#8217;re struggling to find joy in your retirement, I encourage you to get involved in charitable work.&nbsp; Identify a need in your local area, and find a way to address it.&nbsp; Visit a few websites for local charities, and pick one to volunteer with.</p>
  389. <p>Make the decision now to dedicate one day of your life to doing something for others in need.</p>
  390. <p>One day.</p>
  391. <p>At the end of that day, I hope you realize for yourself&#8230;</p>
  392. <p><strong>What a difference a day makes.</strong></p>
  393. <hr>
  394. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Conclusion</strong></span></p>
  395. <p>If we live to age 85, we get the privilege of living for 31,046 days.</p>
  396. <p>If you retire at age 63, you have 8,035 days left (25% of your life).</p>
  397. <p>For the first 63 years of your life, you were forced by necessity to focus on yourself.&nbsp; 75% of your life has been expended by focusing on school, on your job, on that promotion.&nbsp; By definition, you didn&#8217;t have the time freedom to focus on others like you do now that you&#8217;re retired.</p>
  398. <p>Today, I&#8217;m encouraging you to take one day out of the 8,035 you have left and do something for someone in need.&nbsp; Find a way to give back.&nbsp; Focus on others over self.</p>
  399. <p>If done well, I suspect you&#8217;ll learn something and your life will be better as a result.</p>
  400. <p>The lesson you&#8217;ll learn?</p>
  401. <p><strong>What a difference a day makes.</strong></p>
  402. <hr>
  403. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>&nbsp;Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></span> Are you using any of your time to help others?&nbsp; What&#8217;s your experience been? What advice would you give to others who are looking to get involved in making a difference? Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  404. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-a-difference-a-day-makes/">What A Difference A Day Makes</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  405. ]]></content:encoded>
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  407. <slash:comments>63</slash:comments>
  408. </item>
  409. <item>
  410. <title>9 Retirement Surprises</title>
  411. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/9-retirement-surprises/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=9-retirement-surprises</link>
  412. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/9-retirement-surprises/#comments</comments>
  413. <dc:creator><![CDATA[fritz@theretirementmanifesto.com]]></dc:creator>
  414. <pubDate>Thu, 22 Feb 2024 09:20:53 +0000</pubDate>
  415. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  416. <category><![CDATA[contingency planning]]></category>
  417. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  418. <category><![CDATA[retirement savings]]></category>
  419. <category><![CDATA[worry]]></category>
  420. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=14420</guid>
  421.  
  422. <description><![CDATA[<p>Life is full of surprises.&#160; That fact doesn&#8217;t change in retirement.&#160; Today, we will look at some common retirement surprises, based on a fascinating study I just read and felt [&#8230;]</p>
  423. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/9-retirement-surprises/">9 Retirement Surprises</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  424. ]]></description>
  425. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Life is full of surprises.&nbsp;</p>
  426. <p>That fact doesn&#8217;t change in retirement.&nbsp; Today, we will look at some common retirement surprises, based on a fascinating study I just read and felt was worthy of sharing.</p>
  427. <p>If you&#8217;re curious about what surprises your retirement may have in store, this article is for you.</p>
  428. <hr /><p><em>Life is full of surprises, and that fact doesn&#039;t end with retirement. Here are 9 surprises you may not expect in retirement.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2F9-retirement-surprises%2F&#038;text=Life%20is%20full%20of%20surprises%2C%20and%20that%20fact%20doesn%27t%20end%20with%20retirement.%20Here%20are%209%20surprises%20you%20may%20not%20expect%20in%20retirement.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click To Tweet</a><br /><hr />
  429. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14800" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-17-6.51.54-AM.png" alt="9 retirement surprises" width="432" height="649" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-17-6.51.54-AM.png 432w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-17-6.51.54-AM-200x300.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" /></p>
  430. <h1>9 Retirement Surprises</h1>
  431. <p>I recently came across a study from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies titled&nbsp;<a href="https://transamericainstitute.org/docs/default-source/research/life-in-retirement-preretirees-expectations-retiree-realities-report-september-2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Life in Retirement: Pre-Retiree Expectations versus Retiree Realities.</strong></a> The study surveyed 2,546 workers aged 50+ and 2,104 retirees and compared the responses between the two groups.</p>
  432. <p>It&#8217;s a fascinating study, and I encourage you to scroll through its 72 pages if you have some spare time.&nbsp; The good news is you don&#8217;t have to.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve compiled some of the more interesting findings and charts from the study below.</p>
  433. <hr>
  434. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>1.&nbsp; You&#8217;ll Worry Less About Money</strong></span></p>
  435. <p>#1 on our list of retirement surprises focuses on retirement fears. The following chart is telling &#8211; almost every question about fears in retirement had higher responses among the 50+ workers than retirees.&nbsp;In particular, note the first bar in response to &#8220;Outliving my savings and investments&#8221;, where a <strong>13% gap</strong> exists between workers vs. retirees:</p>
  436. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14770" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-13-3.55.00-PM.png" alt="you'll worry less about money in retirement" width="896" height="367" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-13-3.55.00-PM.png 896w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-13-3.55.00-PM-300x123.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-13-3.55.00-PM-768x315.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 896px) 100vw, 896px" /></p>
  437. <p>As I mentioned in my article <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/introducing-the-90-10-rule-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The 90/10 Rule of Retirement</strong></a>, one of the more common retirement surprises is the fact that you worry less about money after you retire than you do in your final working years.&nbsp; I never thought it would happen to me, but it did.&nbsp; Based on the data from the Transamerica study, it appears I&#8217;m not alone.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  438. <hr>
  439. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>2. You&#8217;ll Retire Sooner Than You Expect</strong></span></p>
  440. <p>I&#8217;ve written about this reality before (see <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/unprepared-for-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here</strong></a> and <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/27-will-you-forced-to-retire-early-chances-are-the-answer-is-yes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here</strong></a>), but it bears repeating.&nbsp; <strong>More than 50% of folks retire earlier than they planned</strong>, and that reality is supported yet again by data from this latest study.&nbsp; Below are three interesting charts on the topic:</p>
  441. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14777" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-9.56.47-AM.png" alt="forced into early retirement" width="647" height="408" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-9.56.47-AM.png 647w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-9.56.47-AM-300x189.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 647px) 100vw, 647px" /></p>
  442. <p>The Transamerica study confirms the same reality that previous studies have found, with 56% of respondents stating they retired sooner than planned.&nbsp; When comparing that reality to the following chart, concerns should be obvious:</p>
  443. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14773" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-9.43.40-AM.png" alt="forced into retirement" width="826" height="447" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-9.43.40-AM.png 826w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-9.43.40-AM-300x162.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-9.43.40-AM-768x416.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 826px) 100vw, 826px" /> While those 50+ workers expect to retire at a median age of 67, the sad reality is that many of them will be forced into retirement earlier than they expect.&nbsp; <strong>If you&#8217;re still working in your 60&#8217;s, be aware of the risk.</strong>&nbsp; Save even more aggressively than you are now, and prepare yourself for the very real probability that you won&#8217;t &#8220;make it&#8221; as long as you hope.&nbsp; This warning is relevant, especially given the following chart which quantifies how many of the 50+ workers are unprepared for a forced retirement.&nbsp;</p>
  444. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14789" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.20.35-AM.png" alt="how to plan if you're forced into retirement" width="659" height="420" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.20.35-AM.png 659w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.20.35-AM-300x191.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 659px) 100vw, 659px" /></p>
  445. <hr>
  446. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>3. Your Retirement Transition Will Be More Abrubt Than Expected</strong></span></p>
  447. <p>There is a huge gap between the expectations of 50+ workers vs. retirees regarding how they&#8217;ll transition into retirement.&nbsp; While 44% of workers expect to transition into retirement gradually (e.g., reduced hours), only 13% of retirees were able to pull it off (a<strong>&nbsp;31% gap</strong>).&nbsp; On the other hand, 41% of retirees stopped working immediately vs. only 23% of workers who expect the same (an<strong>&nbsp;18% gap</strong>).</p>
  448. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14775" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-9.49.30-AM.png" alt="working part-time in retirement" width="881" height="408" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-9.49.30-AM.png 881w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-9.49.30-AM-300x139.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-9.49.30-AM-768x356.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 881px) 100vw, 881px" /></p>
  449. <p>If you&#8217;re still working, be aware of the reality that reducing your working hours as a strategy to transition into retirement is difficult to execute.</p>
  450. <hr>
  451. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>4. Your Life Will Be Better In Retirement</strong></span></p>
  452. <p>While this may not qualify as a &#8220;retirement surprise,&#8221; it&#8217;s reassuring so I decided to include it here.&nbsp; 43% of retirees state their enjoyment of life has improved in retirement, and 42% say they&#8217;re happier now than when they were working.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  453. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14779" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.01.50-AM.png" alt="life after retirement" width="802" height="364" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.01.50-AM.png 802w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.01.50-AM-300x136.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.01.50-AM-768x349.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 802px) 100vw, 802px" />&nbsp;</p>
  454. <p>I suspect some of the 16% of retirees who state their enjoyment of life has declined (as well as the 14% who are less happy) have found themselves stuck in Phase II of <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Four Phases of Retirement</strong></a>.&nbsp; Hopefully, in time, they&#8217;ll find their way onto Phase III and IV.</p>
  455. <hr>
  456. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>5. You&#8217;ll Travel Less Than You Expect</strong></span></p>
  457. <p>60% of workers have travel among their Retirement Dreams, whereas only 36% of retirees actually spend their time traveling.&nbsp; This <strong>24% gap</strong> is telling.&nbsp; While most folks dream of traveling in their retirement, the reality is that far fewer actually do it.&nbsp; I don&#8217;t know the cause for the discrepancy, but I know it&#8217;s a reality my wife and I have faced.&nbsp; We planned on traveling in our RV 3-6 months each year, but the reality is we only travel in our RV for 4-6 weeks.</p>
  458. <p><strong>Why?&nbsp; </strong></p>
  459. <p>We find our time &#8220;fully absorbed&#8221; doing things we love in our retirement mountain town and have found 4-6 weeks per year simply fits better with our retirement lifestyle.&nbsp; Travel sounds exciting (and it is), but I suspect most folks spend more time traveling in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Phase I</strong></a> of retirement and find it declining as they develop Phase III and IV interests at home.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  460. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14781" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.07.35-AM.png" alt="how much will I travel in retirement" width="846" height="400" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.07.35-AM.png 846w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.07.35-AM-300x142.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.07.35-AM-768x363.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 846px) 100vw, 846px" /></p>
  461. <hr>
  462. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>6. You&#8217;ll Be Tempted To Take Social Security Early</strong></span></p>
  463. <p>The word is starting to get around that it&#8217;s often advantageous to <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-determine-when-to-claim-social-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>delay taking your Social Security</strong></a>.&nbsp; If you want to do a simple check on your specific situation, I strongly recommend taking a look at this <a href="https://opensocialsecurity.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Open Social Security calculator</strong></a> (I can almost guarantee you that it will recommend you delay taking your Social Security).&nbsp; Despite the mathematical facts, however, it seems the majority of retirees take Social Security sooner rather than later, as demonstrated by the following chart which shows a median claiming age of 63 years old:</p>
  464. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14787" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.18.06-AM.png" alt="best age to claim Social Security" width="491" height="387" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.18.06-AM.png 491w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.18.06-AM-300x236.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 491px) 100vw, 491px" /></p>
  465. <p>Don&#8217;t make your Social Security claiming decision without running the numbers.&nbsp; While it&#8217;s tempting to take it as soon as possible, there&#8217;s a lot more to the decision than meets the eye.&nbsp; Typically, a later claiming age will result in higher net income over the course of your retirement. Before you claim, do your research.&nbsp;</p>
  466. <hr>
  467. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>7. Talking About Money Will Remain Taboo (but it shouldn&#8217;t)</strong></span></p>
  468. <p>It&#8217;s concerning to me that 44% of retirees (and 59% of workers) never talk about their financial plans.&nbsp; It&#8217;s a strange taboo in our society that needs to change.&nbsp; Perhaps I&#8217;m biased, given that I&#8217;m a blogger who writes about money, but the reality is that members of our families need to know our financial plans.&nbsp;</p>
  469. <p>I&#8217;ve had a few friends who had major medical issues (including a 53-year-old friend who died in bed one night), and it&#8217;s too big a risk to not have a contingency plan In Case of Emergency.&nbsp; I write an annual &#8220;Love Letter&#8221; for my wife that includes our latest Net Worth statement, contact information, usernames and passwords, and instructions on what to do if I get hit by a bus.&nbsp; We talk about it, and we have a plan.</p>
  470. <p>Do you?</p>
  471. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14790" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.23.56-AM.png" alt="do people talk about money" width="803" height="449" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.23.56-AM.png 803w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.23.56-AM-300x168.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.23.56-AM-768x429.png 768w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.23.56-AM-135x75.png 135w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.23.56-AM-270x150.png 270w" sizes="(max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px" /></p>
  472. <hr>
  473. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>8. Most Retirees Don&#8217;t Have Legacy Plans In Place</strong></span></p>
  474. <p>In the same vein as #7 above, far too few of us have our legal documents in place.&nbsp;</p>
  475. <p>Do you have a will?&nbsp; It&#8217;s the most basic requirement of a legacy plan, and yet only 39% of workers and 51% of retirees have a will.&nbsp; The numbers decline from there.&nbsp; It&#8217;s concerning that 44% of workers and 31% of retirees have no documentation at all.&nbsp; Quit procrastinating and start taking the steps that need to be taken.&nbsp; You don&#8217;t want to leave a mess behind, as highlighted in the recent ChooseFI episode <a href="https://www.choosefi.com/love-loss-and-money-the-shocking-financial-aftermath-of-a-fi-spouses-death-amy-ep-476/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&#8220;Love, Loss and Money:&nbsp; The Shocking Financial Aftermath of a FI Spouse&#8217;s Death.&#8221;</strong></a></p>
  476. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14791" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.25.30-AM.png" alt="how many people have a will" width="875" height="449" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.25.30-AM.png 875w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.25.30-AM-300x154.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.25.30-AM-768x394.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 875px) 100vw, 875px" /></p>
  477. <hr>
  478. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>9. You&#8217;ll Wish You&#8217;d Saved More Money</strong></span></p>
  479. <p>For our final item on the list of retirement surprises, we&#8217;re going to talk about money with the following three charts.</p>
  480. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14793" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.27.40-AM.png" alt="I wish I'd saved more money" width="864" height="424" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.27.40-AM.png 864w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.27.40-AM-300x147.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.27.40-AM-768x377.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></p>
  481. <hr>
  482. <p>First:&nbsp; Regrets.&nbsp;<strong> 73% of retirees wish they&#8217;d saved more money.</strong>&nbsp; Unfortunately, by the time you get to retirement, it&#8217;s too late.&nbsp; You have what you have, and you learn to make do.&nbsp; If you&#8217;re still working, let this be your wake-up call.&nbsp; Start making some short-term sacrifices now to minimize your chance of regret in retirement.&nbsp; Increase your savings rate by a few percentage points this month, and scrimp a bit to make it work.&nbsp; Sure, you can always make excuses, but the only person you&#8217;re hurting by not saving more while you still have the chance is you.</p>
  483. <hr>
  484. <p>Second, an interesting look at the expected primary source of retirement income.&nbsp; It&#8217;s an interesting chart from which I&#8217;ll let you draw your own conclusions:</p>
  485. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14794" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.28.58-AM.png" alt="social security going away" width="864" height="387" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.28.58-AM.png 864w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.28.58-AM-300x134.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.28.58-AM-768x344.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></p>
  486. <hr>
  487. <p>Finally, are you curious about<strong> the income of the typical retiree?&nbsp;</strong> Based on the study, the median retiree income is $58,000, with 14% making less than $25k.</p>
  488. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14795" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.30.07-AM.png" alt="how much money do retirees have" width="864" height="387" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.30.07-AM.png 864w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.30.07-AM-300x134.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-16-10.30.07-AM-768x344.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></p>
  489. <hr>
  490. <h2>Conclusion</h2>
  491. <p>I enjoy studying the topic of retirement and find content like this Transamerica study of value.&nbsp; For those who have already retired, it allows an opportunity to compare your experience to that of other retirees.&nbsp; For those still working, it provides an insight into some of the retirement surprises you may not expect.</p>
  492. <p>For me, the key takeaways from this study are:</p>
  493. <ul>
  494. <li>If you&#8217;re still working, recognize the risk that you&#8217;ll be forced into retirement earlier than planned.</li>
  495. <li>Plan well, and chances are you&#8217;ll worry less about money in retirement than you expect.</li>
  496. <li>Recognize that a gradual transition to retirement can be difficult to execute.</li>
  497. <li>Find an opportunity to talk with your family about your money, and put a legacy plan in place.</li>
  498. <li>Finally, be optimistic:&nbsp; Done well, retirement can be the best years of your life.</li>
  499. </ul>
  500. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></span> Which of these retirement surprises most surprised you?&nbsp; What have you experienced in retirement that you didn&#8217;t expect?&nbsp; What advice would you give to those walking the journey behind you? Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  501. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/9-retirement-surprises/">9 Retirement Surprises</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  502. ]]></content:encoded>
  503. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/9-retirement-surprises/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  504. <slash:comments>86</slash:comments>
  505. </item>
  506. <item>
  507. <title>The 4 Phases of Retirement</title>
  508. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-4-phases-of-retirement</link>
  509. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/#comments</comments>
  510. <dc:creator><![CDATA[fritz@theretirementmanifesto.com]]></dc:creator>
  511. <pubDate>Thu, 01 Feb 2024 09:05:11 +0000</pubDate>
  512. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  513. <category><![CDATA[contentment]]></category>
  514. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  515. <category><![CDATA[objectives]]></category>
  516. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  517. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=14692</guid>
  518.  
  519. <description><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve been planning a post about the phases of retirement for a while, but I wanted to be sure I&#8217;d spent enough time in retirement to write with credibility.&#160; In [&#8230;]</p>
  520. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/">The 4 Phases of Retirement</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  521. ]]></description>
  522. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve been planning a post about the phases of retirement for a while, but I wanted to be sure I&#8217;d spent enough time in retirement to write with credibility.&nbsp; In my 5th year of retirement, the time has come.&nbsp; At this point, I&#8217;ve moved through all of the major phases of retirement, and my life has stabilized to the point that I can write from experience.</p>
  523. <p>As I was preparing to write this post, I came across an excellent TEDX talk on the topic and realized it was the best content I&#8217;ve ever seen on the topic.&nbsp; The video has gone viral for a reason.&nbsp; Yes, it&#8217;s that good.</p>
  524. <p>So today, I&#8217;m sharing a TEDX talk on The 4 Phases of Retirement, with a summary of the key points and my commentary on how my experience compares to the phases of retirement presented in the talk.&nbsp; I&#8217;m also adding suggestions on how best to prepare for the various phases to <strong><em>help you achieve a great retirement</em></strong> <em>(my byline).</em></p>
  525. <p>If you&#8217;re curious about how your retirement is likely to evolve, this post is for you.<strong>&nbsp; </strong></p>
  526. <ul>
  527. <li><strong>If you&#8217;ve not yet retired</strong>, today&#8217;s is a great lesson to get you thinking about how to increase your chance of retirement success and avoid the dreaded Phase II.&nbsp;</li>
  528. <li><strong>If you&#8217;re already retired, </strong>today&#8217;s post will help you figure out how to &#8220;squeeze the juice&#8221; out of retirement and join the 60% of retirees who achieve Phase IV.</li>
  529. </ul>
  530. <hr /><p><em>I came across a TEDX Talk that is the best content I&#039;ve ever seen on the phases of retirement.&nbsp; Today, I&#039;m sharing my experiences and thoughts on the phases.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fthe-4-phases-of-retirement%2F&#038;text=I%20came%20across%20a%20TEDX%20Talk%20that%20is%20the%20best%20content%20I%27ve%20ever%20seen%20on%20the%20phases%20of%20retirement.%C2%A0%20Today%2C%20I%27m%20sharing%20my%20experiences%20and%20thoughts%20on%20the%20phases.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click To Tweet</a><br /><hr />
  531. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14730" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-19-11.20.32-AM.png" alt="what are the phases of retirement" width="424" height="643" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-19-11.20.32-AM.png 424w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-19-11.20.32-AM-198x300.png 198w" sizes="(max-width: 424px) 100vw, 424px" /></p>
  532. <hr>
  533. <h1>The Four Phases of Retirement</h1>
  534. <p>How many stages of retirement are there?&nbsp; That depends on who you ask, as demonstrated below:</p>
  535. <p><strong>6 Stages:&nbsp;</strong> If you ask Investopedia, you&#8217;ll find <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/07/sixstages.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Journey Through The 6 Stages of Retirement.</strong></a>&nbsp; It&#8217;s an interesting read, but in essence, they present the same 4 stages I&#8217;ll discuss below.&nbsp; Their additional 2 stages include &#8220;Pre-Retirement&#8221; (fair enough, since each of us should have a planning stage prior to retirement) and &#8220;The Big Day&#8221; (one day seems too short a time frame to truly be considered a phase).</p>
  536. <p><strong>5 Stages:</strong> If you ask the Second Wind Movement, you&#8217;ll find <a href="https://secondwindmovement.com/retirement-stages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>5 Emotional Stages of Retirement.</strong></a>&nbsp; Again, you&#8217;ll see the four phases discussed below with the additional phase of pre-retirement.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  537. <p><strong>4 Stages:&nbsp;</strong> If you ask Riley Moynes, you&#8217;ll see the four stages discussed below.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve chosen to go with this option for today&#8217;s article, since the &#8220;pre-retirement&#8221; phase is, by definition, prior to retirement.&nbsp; I prefer to focus on the changes that occur after you&#8217;ve retired, though I&#8217;m a huge believer in the value of retirement planning.&nbsp; To me, however, the bigger question of &#8220;what&#8217;s retirement really like&#8221; is best answered by using the 4-stage approach.</p>
  538. <p><strong>3 Stages:&nbsp;</strong> If you ask Merrill Lynch, you&#8217;ll find <a href="https://www.ml.com/articles/planning-for-stages-of-retirement.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>3 Stages of Retirement</strong></a>, but I found their &#8220;Exploring, Nesting, Reflecting&#8221; phases a bit simplistic and insufficient in addressing the reality of most retirement transitions.</p>
  539. <hr>
  540. <h2>Riley Moynes &#8211; The Four Phases of Retirement&nbsp;</h2>
  541. <p>For today&#8217;s post, we&#8217;re going to listen to <a href="https://thefourphases.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Riley Moynes</strong></a>, who &#8220;wrote the book&#8221; on the subject.&nbsp; His book, <strong><a href="https://amzn.to/3SnYadM" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Four Phases of Retirement: What to Expect When You’re Retiring</em></a></strong><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">&nbsp;(Amazon affiliate link) </span></em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">has an impressive 4.4 rating on Amazon.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p>
  542. <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">More importantly, he&#8217;s the speaker in a TEDx Talk, &#8220;The 4 Phases of Retirement,&#8221; a video that&#8217;s gone viral with over <strong>2.3 Million views</strong> and 2,000+ comments on the YouTube presentation.&nbsp; Below is the video, well worth 13 minutes of your time to watch (if you don&#8217;t have time, no worries &#8211; I&#8217;ll be summarizing each of the 4 phases he presents below):</span></span></p>
  543. <p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DMHMOQ_054U?si=68sWIPe00GcsEsIR" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
  544. <hr>
  545. <h2>My Commentary On The Four Phases of Retirement</h2>
  546. <p>Below, I&#8217;ll present a summary of the four phases of retirement as presented by Riley Moynes (the &#8220;<em>quotes in italics&#8221;</em> are taken directly from the video).&nbsp; In addition, I&#8217;m including my commentary, personal experience, and suggestions for &#8220;How Best To Prepare&#8221; for each of the four phases.&nbsp; Finally, I&#8217;ve included links to past articles that relate to each phase.</p>
  547. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14736" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/beach-1236581_1280-e1705782342105.jpg" alt="how long does the honeymoon phase of retirement last?" width="800" height="450"></p>
  548. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Phase I:&nbsp; Vacation Phase</strong></span></p>
  549. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Phase I is the initial phase experienced in retirement often referred to as the &#8220;Honeymoon Phase.&#8221;&nbsp; In this phase, retirement feels like a vacation.&nbsp;<em> &#8220;There is no</em></span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><em> set routine.&#8221;</em>&nbsp; For most people, this phase represents <em>&#8220;their view of an ideal retirement.&nbsp; Freedom, Baby!&#8221;</em>&nbsp; For most folks, <em>&#8220;Phase I lasts for a year or so, then it begins to lose its muster&#8230;we begin to feel a bit bored&#8230;and we ask ourselves, &#8220;Is that all there is to retirement?&#8221;</em></span></p>
  550. <p><strong>My Commentary:</strong>&nbsp; Riley is spot on with his description of the first phase of retirement.&nbsp; I remember the joy of not having to wake up to an alarm clock, never having to deal with the commute, and celebrating the Freedom we worked so hard to earn.&nbsp; It&#8217;s exactly what you were hoping retirement would be.&nbsp; However, just like in marriage, the honeymoon doesn&#8217;t last forever.&nbsp; For most people, the transition to Phase II happens 12-18 months after retirement.&nbsp;</p>
  551. <p><strong>How Best To Prepare:</strong>&nbsp; Embrace your Freedom and enjoy it.&nbsp; You&#8217;ve earned it.&nbsp; Realize, however, that the honeymoon won&#8217;t last.&nbsp; Prepare yourself emotionally for the reality that you have not yet settled into retirement.&nbsp; In time, you&#8217;ll be doing some personal reflection.&nbsp; You&#8217;ll soon realize that there&#8217;s more to retirement than a permanent vacation, and it will take some time to work through the next few phases before you settle into your &#8220;real&#8221; retirement lifestyle.</p>
  552. <p>In the introduction to my book <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-book/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Keys To A Successful Retirement</strong></a>, I wrote, <strong>&#8220;At about the one-year mark</strong>, <strong>I want you to pull this book back off your shelf.&#8221;&nbsp;</strong> There was a reason I wrote that sentence, and Riley captured perfectly the mental shift that takes place at that time.&nbsp; The honeymoon is ending and it&#8217;s time to move into the next phase of retirement.</p>
  553. <p><strong>Articles Of Interest:</strong></p>
  554. <ul>
  555. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-the-first-week-of-retirement-is-really-like/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Retirement Reality Series</strong></a> (my retirement journey from Week 1 to Year 4)</li>
  556. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/were-you-nervous-before-you-retired/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Were You Nervous Before You Retired?</strong></a> (my tips for a new retiree)&nbsp;</li>
  557. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/100-days-freedom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>100 Days To Freedom</strong></a> (what I was thinking 100 days before I retired)</li>
  558. </ul>
  559. <hr>
  560. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14737" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chamber-5264172_1280-e1705782835528.jpg" alt="how do I deal with depression in retirement" width="800" height="600"></p>
  561. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Phase II:&nbsp; Lost &amp; Loss</strong></span></p>
  562. <p>While everyone experiences Phase I, an interesting thing happens with Phases II and II.&nbsp; While some retirees struggle and &#8220;get stuck&#8221; in these phases, others can avoid them entirely (Riley cites that 10-15% of retirees skip these phases, which was also, fortunately, my experience).</p>
  563. <p>Phase II is the most challenging of the phases of retirement, and a dangerous phase that some retirees struggle to get out of.&nbsp; Riley cites <strong>the following characteristics</strong> of Phase II:</p>
  564. <p><em>&#8220;Phase II is when we lose The Big 5&#8230;significant losses all associated with retirement.&nbsp; We lose that routine&#8230;sense of identity&#8230;relationships, sense of purpose, and for some people a loss of power.&nbsp; We don&#8217;t see these things coming&#8230;</em></p>
  565. <p><em>Phase II is also where we come face to face with&nbsp;The 3 D&#8217;s:&nbsp; Divorce, Depression and Decline, both physical and mental.&nbsp; The result of all of this is we can feel like we&#8217;ve been hit by a bus.&#8221;</em></p>
  566. <p><em>Before we can appreciate and enjoy some of the positive aspects of phases three and four, you are going to, in phase two, feel fear, anxiety, and quite even depression.&nbsp; That&#8217;s just the way it is.&nbsp; So buckle up and get ready.&#8221;</em></p>
  567. <p><em>&#8220;Fortunately, at some point most of us say to ourselves, Hey, I can&#8217;t go on like this&#8230;and when we do, we&#8217;ve turned the corner to phase three.&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</em></p>
  568. <p><strong>My Commentary:</strong>&nbsp; Riley does an excellent job summarizing what Eric Weigel called &#8220;The Messy Middle&#8221; in his book <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/reimagining-retirement-a-book-review/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Reimaging Retirement</strong></a>.&nbsp; Given that only 10-15% of retirees skip this stage, the remaining 85 &#8211; 90% find themselves dealing with Phase II.&nbsp; It&#8217;s an uncomfortable place to be, and can only be overcome when the retiree decides she is going to do something about it.&nbsp; That decision is one that each individual must make for themselves.&nbsp; Some never make that decision, and suffer through years of difficulty.&nbsp; Don&#8217;t be that person.&nbsp; You can move on, but it will only happen if you make an intentional decision to pursue a better life.</p>
  569. <p><strong>How Best To Prepare:</strong>&nbsp; The question that comes to my mind is, <strong>&#8220;What&#8217;s the difference between the 10-15% of retirees who skip Phase II and the 85-90% who don&#8217;t?&#8221;</strong>&nbsp; Given I was in that 10-15%, and have spent years researching and writing on the topic, I think I know the answer.&nbsp; The good news is that it&#8217;s within grasp for anyone preparing for retirement.&nbsp; The highest correlation I&#8217;ve found between retirees who have a smooth transition vs. those who struggle is <strong>the amount of time they&#8217;ve spent preparing</strong> (both financially and non-financially) before retirement.&nbsp; It was the primary focus of <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-book/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>my book</strong></a> and a topic I&#8217;ve written about extensively. If you&#8217;re struggling in Phase II, or not yet retired, I encourage you to read my book.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve also included a few relevant articles below which you may find helpful.&nbsp; The key to avoiding Phase II is to pursue your curiosity, which we&#8217;ll discuss shortly.</p>
  570. <p><strong>Articles Of Interest:</strong></p>
  571. <ul>
  572. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/shining-the-light-on-retirement-blind-spots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Shining The Light on Retirement Blindspots</strong></a></li>
  573. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-four-paths-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Four Paths of Retirement</strong></a></li>
  574. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-keys-to-a-great-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>5 Keys To A Great Retirement</strong></a></li>
  575. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-28-of-retirees-are-depressed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Why 28% of Retirees Are Depressed</strong></a></li>
  576. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-ultimate-pre-retirement-checklist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Ultimate Pre-Retirement Checklist</strong></a></li>
  577. </ul>
  578. <hr>
  579. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14739" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/chemistry-5632654_1280-e1705783233907.jpg" alt="how to get through the difficult phases of retirement" width="800" height="532"></p>
  580. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Phase III: Trial &amp; Error</strong></span></p>
  581. <p>When someone decides they need to do something to change their life and end the struggles of Phase II, they&#8217;ve turned the corner and entered Phase III.&nbsp; As Riley says,<em> &#8220;In Phase III we ask ourselves &#8220;How can I make my life meaningful again? How can I contribute?&#8221;. The answer often is to do things that you love to do and do really well.&#8221;</em></p>
  582. <p>Riley cautions that Phase III will be a period of trial and error, and the retiree should not be disappointed with some inevitable failure.&nbsp; You should continue to pursue things that interest you.&nbsp; From the video: <em>&#8220;I know all of this can sound bad. But it&#8217;s really important to keep trying and experimenting with different activities that will make you want to get up in the morning again.&#8221;&nbsp;</em> In time, as outlined in Mike Drak&#8217;s book&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-heaven-or-hell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Heaven or Hell</strong></a>, you&#8217;ll find your way out of Retirement Hell and into Retirement Heaven.&nbsp;</p>
  583. <p><strong>My Commentary:</strong>&nbsp; In my experience, Phase III and IV will make up the majority of your retirement years.&nbsp; Even though I consider myself happy in Phase IV, I continually challenge myself to evaluate what I&#8217;m doing with my time and consider new activities that interest me (Phase III behavior).&nbsp; In the past, I&#8217;ve used the metaphor of picking up and putting down cards, constantly seeking to improve my hand.&nbsp; For me, this is one of the true joys of retirement, and <strong>all of the things I&#8217;ve discovered</strong> that have brought purpose to my retirement have come as a result of the trial &amp; error Riley discusses as an element of Phase III.&nbsp; Enjoy the process, it&#8217;s fun to challenge yourself to improve your hand continually.&nbsp;</p>
  584. <p><strong>How Best To Prepare:</strong> &nbsp;Riley was a guest on <a href="https://www.retirementwisdom.com/podcasts/the-four-phases-of-retirement-dr-riley-moynes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>this Retirement Wisdom podcast</strong></a> discussing the four phases of retirement and made the following statement, which highlights how important the pre-retirement planning stage is in successfully navigating the stages of retirement:&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
  585. <p><em>“…be thinking ahead of what are some of their strengths, what are some of the things that they love to do and to be considering ways, well before they retire, that they might be able to apply those things when they do retire. And so to be able to have kind of a network that they might have built up or to look at some possibilities in advance, I think is extremely helpful.”</em></p>
  586. <p>I agree 100% with Riley on this one and encourage anyone who is not yet retired to dedicate as much time planning for the non-financial elements of retirement as you do the financial ones.&nbsp; &nbsp;That was the approach I used, and I jumped directly from Phase I to Phase III as a result.</p>
  587. <p><strong>Articles Of Interest:</strong></p>
  588. <ul>
  589. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/7-secrets-to-a-great-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>7 Secrets To A Great Retirement</strong></a></li>
  590. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/accept-the-challenge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Accept The Challenge</strong></a></li>
  591. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/improve-your-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>4 Challenges To Improve Your Retirement</strong></a></li>
  592. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/its-time-to-get-uncomfortable/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>It&#8217;s Time To Get Uncomfortable</strong></a></li>
  593. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-retire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>5 Things You Need To Know Before You Retire</strong></a></li>
  594. </ul>
  595. <hr>
  596. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14740" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-20-3.44.08-PM.png" alt="how to squeeze the juice out of retirement" width="734" height="495" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-20-3.44.08-PM.png 734w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-20-3.44.08-PM-300x202.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 734px) 100vw, 734px" /></p>
  597. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Phase IV: Reinvent &amp; Rewire</strong></span></p>
  598. <p>Riley uses &#8220;squeezing the juice&#8221; as his metaphor for getting the most out of retirement, and encourages folks to ask themselves some pointed questions as they seek the most from their lives.&nbsp; <em>&#8220;What&#8217;s the purpose here?&nbsp; What&#8217;s my mission? How can I squeeze all the juice out of retirement?&nbsp; It&#8217;s important that we find activities that are meaningful to us and that give us a sense of accomplishment. And my experience is that <strong>it almost always involves service to others.&#8221;</strong></em></p>
  599. <p>On the <a href="https://www.retirementwisdom.com/podcasts/the-four-phases-of-retirement-dr-riley-moynes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Wisdom podcast</strong></a> mentioned above, Riley made the following statement about Phase IV (bold added by me):</p>
  600. <p><em>“…<strong>only about 50 to 60% of retirees break through to Phase Four</strong>. Not everyone gets there. But those who are able to break through to Phase Four are some of the<strong> happiest, most productive, satisfied, and gratified people that I have ever met.</strong> Phase Four is when we rewire and find something new that really, really hits us and that we just squeeze all the juice out.”&nbsp;</em></p>
  601. <p>The purposes you find in Phase IV will result in the recovery of &#8220;The Big 5&#8221; cited as being lost in Phase II (routine, identity, relationships, purpose and power).&nbsp; As Riley states, <em>&#8220;It is magic to see.&nbsp; Magic.&#8221;</em></p>
  602. <p><strong>My Commentary:</strong>&nbsp; While Riley states only 50 to 60% of retirees break through to Phase IV, I&#8217;m a firm believer that it&#8217;s achievable by all of us.&nbsp; I support his suggestion to <strong>pursue service to others</strong> as your means to finding your way into Phase IV.&nbsp; The work my wife and I are doing building free dog fences through <a href="https://freedomforfido.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Freedom For Fido</strong></a> is the most fulfilling work I&#8217;ve ever done in my life, and I can testify to the &#8220;magic&#8221; Riley speaks of when someone learns how to squeeze the juice out of retirement.&nbsp; Our working lives were, by necessity, focused on self.&nbsp; Take advantage of your independence in retirement to focus on others.&nbsp; Based on my experience, and thousands of others, it&#8217;s your most likely path for finding your way to Phase IV.</p>
  603. <p><strong>How Best To Prepare:</strong>&nbsp; In my book, I encourage readers to pursue their curiosity.&nbsp; Listen to that inner voice, and take the first step in whatever direction it leads.&nbsp; If it involves service to others, listen extra closely. That approach is what led to my creation of this blog, where my focus is &#8220;Helping People Achieve A Great Retirement&#8221; (outwardly focused). The same approach led my wife to establish Freedom For Fido, where we help low-income people who are in need (outwardly focused).&nbsp; The pursuit of curiosity and using your time to help others is likely the greatest differentiator for the 50-60% of retirees who make their way to Phase IV versus those who don&#8217;t.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  604. <p><strong>Articles Of Interest:</strong></p>
  605. <ul>
  606. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/freedom-for-fido-a-story-of-finding-purpose-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Freedom For Fido &#8211; A Story of Finding Purpose In Retirement</strong></a></li>
  607. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-72-of-retirees-are-happy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Why 72% of Retirees Are Happy</strong></a></li>
  608. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/10-ways-to-find-joy-in-life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>10 Ways To Find Joy In Life</strong></a></li>
  609. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/you-can-do-anything-you-put-your-mind-to/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>You Can Do Anything You Put Your Mind To</strong></a></li>
  610. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-fragility-of-life/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Fragility of Life</strong></a></li>
  611. </ul>
  612. <hr>
  613. <h1>Conclusion</h1>
  614. <p>I frequently use &#8220;The Starting Line&#8221; when talking about the beginning of retirement.&nbsp; That&#8217;s intentional, and I use it for two reasons:</p>
  615. <p>1) Too many people think of retirement as the &#8220;end&#8221;, when in reality it&#8217;s &#8220;the beginning.&#8221;&nbsp; I prefer to look forward and firmly believe life is better that way.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  616. <p>2) Retirement is like a marathon, and crossing the starting line is a very small step in a race with many phases. The use of &#8220;The Starting Line&#8221; is my way of reminding people that they have a lot of life ahead of them, and they need to decide how they&#8217;re going to run their race.</p>
  617. <p>Riley&#8217;s four phases of retirement captures the reality of a retirement life better than any other content I&#8217;ve seen on the subject.&nbsp; If you&#8217;ve not yet retired, learn the important lessons he teaches to minimize your chance of getting stuck in Phase II.&nbsp; If you&#8217;re already retired, apply the lessons thousands of others have used to move yourself into Phase III and IV.</p>
  618. <p>Ultimately, you are in more control of your journey through retirement than you have been in any other phase in your life. Accept the responsibility, and enjoy the process.</p>
  619. <p>Squeeze The Juice.</p>
  620. <p>Enjoy Life.</p>
  621. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></span> <strong>If you&#8217;ve already retired</strong>, what phase are you in?&nbsp; What tricks have you used to avoid getting trapped in Phase II?&nbsp; What tips do you have to help folks reach Phase IV?&nbsp; <strong>If you&#8217;ve not yet retired</strong>, are you concerned about Phase II?&nbsp; What are you doing now to maximize your chances of reaching Phase IV?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat&#8230;</p>
  622. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/">The 4 Phases of Retirement</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  623. ]]></content:encoded>
  624. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-4-phases-of-retirement/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  625. <slash:comments>70</slash:comments>
  626. </item>
  627. <item>
  628. <title>The Wonder Years</title>
  629. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-wonder-years/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-wonder-years</link>
  630. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-wonder-years/#comments</comments>
  631. <dc:creator><![CDATA[fritz@theretirementmanifesto.com]]></dc:creator>
  632. <pubDate>Thu, 18 Jan 2024 09:09:55 +0000</pubDate>
  633. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  634. <category><![CDATA[contentment]]></category>
  635. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  636. <category><![CDATA[Just Do It]]></category>
  637. <category><![CDATA[retirement activities]]></category>
  638. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  639. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=14670</guid>
  640.  
  641. <description><![CDATA[<p>If you&#8217;re over the age of 50, you likely have fond memories of watching The Wonder Years. The coming-of-age series ran from 1988 &#8211; 1993 and featured the likeable Kevin [&#8230;]</p>
  642. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-wonder-years/">The Wonder Years</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  643. ]]></description>
  644. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you&#8217;re over the age of 50, you likely have fond memories of watching <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonder_Years" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Wonder Years</strong></a>.</p>
  645. <p>The coming-of-age series ran from 1988 &#8211; 1993 and featured the likeable Kevin growing up in the late 60&#8217;s to early 70&#8217;s.&nbsp; In my opinion, Kevin&#8217;s infamous voice-overs were the key to the show&#8217;s success, and shed light on his thinking as he shared his memories of his brother (Wayne), sister (Karen), parents (Jack and Norma), and best friends Paul and Winnie.</p>
  646. <p>And, who can forget that opening song, &#8220;What would you do, if I sang out of tune&#8230;.&#8221;</p>
  647. <p>For those who missed it, here&#8217;s the opening theme song:</p>
  648. <p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b0bK-vUlw6M?si=ix6lEjBFLKAWO5sL" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br />
  649. &nbsp;<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>(Title image source:&nbsp; <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Wonder_Years_logo.svg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wikipedia)</a></em></span></p>
  650. <p>I had a recent epiphany, and it relates to the show.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  651. <p>In thinking about The Wonder Years, I realized there are some key messages in the show that can help all of us <em>&#8220;Achieve A Great Retirement&#8221;</em> (my byline).&nbsp;&nbsp;Today, we&#8217;re going to examine the philosophy and lessons learned by Kevin as he reflected on his childhood.&nbsp;</p>
  652. <p>Turns out, the lessons Kevin learned as he tried to figure out adolescence are also very applicable to us as we try to figure out our paths in retirement.</p>
  653. <hr /><p><em>The Wonder Years was unique in its use of Kevin&#039;s voice-overs to share his thoughts on adolescence. Turns out, he taught us some lessons we can also use in retirement.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fthe-wonder-years%2F&#038;text=The%20Wonder%20Years%20was%20unique%20in%20its%20use%20of%20Kevin%27s%20voice-overs%20to%20share%20his%20thoughts%20on%20adolescence.%20Turns%20out%2C%20he%20taught%20us%20some%20lessons%20we%20can%20also%20use%20in%20retirement.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click To Tweet</a><br /><hr />
  654. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14687" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-04-9.31.09-AM.png" alt="the tv show The Wonder Years" width="431" height="644" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-04-9.31.09-AM.png 431w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-04-9.31.09-AM-201x300.png 201w" sizes="(max-width: 431px) 100vw, 431px" /></p>
  655. <hr>
  656. <h1>The Wonder Years</h1>
  657. <p>During my four years at a Midwestern liberal arts college, I was required to take a theater class in my quest for a diploma.&nbsp; I sighed as I signed up for &#8220;Messages In Film,&#8221; and figured it would be one of those classes that wouldn&#8217;t apply in the least, but at least I&#8217;d check the box.</p>
  658. <p>Surprisingly, I enjoyed the class and learned a lot in the process.</p>
  659. <p>One of the things I remember was the professor&#8217;s insistence on looking deeper at a film&#8217;s message.&nbsp; &#8220;Every film,&#8221; he said, &#8220;has two layers of meaning.&nbsp; There&#8217;s the surface-level story, and <strong>there&#8217;s always a deeper, hidden message.</strong>&nbsp; Our goal with this class is to teach you to find those deeper messages.&#8221;</p>
  660. <p>We&#8217;d watch movies during the class, and then be assigned papers to write on the deeper meanings we felt were being communicated.&nbsp; Forty years later, I still remember watching Apocolypse Now and searching for the hidden meaning (there are loads of them, by the way. If you&#8217;re curious, check out <a href="https://www.sparknotes.com/film/apocalypsenow/section1/#:~:text=Apocalypse%20Now%20illustrates%20the%20horror,foggiest%20parts%20of%20human%20nature." target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>this</strong></a> summary).</p>
  661. <p>As I used this same methodology when thinking about The Wonder Years, I came up with the following deeper messages that we can apply to our retirement years:</p>
  662. <hr>
  663. <h2>The Wonder Years &#8211; Hidden Messages For Retirement</h2>
  664. <p>As you reflect on Kevin&#8217;s journey and hear his voice-over commentary in your head, try to find ways to apply the lessons he was teaching you as you seek your new life in retirement.&nbsp; Yes, it turns out even The Wonder Years had those hidden messages my professor taught me to look for.&nbsp;</p>
  665. <p>To this day, I&#8217;m thankful I took that class.</p>
  666. <p>Here then, are the hidden messages from The Wonder Years that you can apply to your life in retirement:</p>
  667. <hr>
  668. <h2><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>1. Rediscover Your Curiosity</strong></span></h2>
  669. <p>I&#8217;m curious if the use of the word &#8220;Wonder&#8221; in the title of the show had a double meaning. Childhood was a time of wonder, and the very act of wondering is a good way to stimulate our curiosity.&nbsp; Was the use of the word meant to remind us of the wonder we once had, or was it simply a word to define a period of our lives?&nbsp; Either way, our retirement can be defined as The Wonder Years in the same way that our childhood was, and it should serve as our reminder to pursue wonder and curiosity in this chapter of our lives.</p>
  670. <p>Many of the themes in Kevin&#8217;s journey focused on pursuing his curiosity.&nbsp; Pursuing our curiosity is a skill that many of us have lost in our working years.&nbsp;<strong> It&#8217;s a muscle we need to learn to exercise again</strong>, and it is one of the most important keys I discuss in my book, <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-book/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Keys To A Successful Retirement</strong></a>.&nbsp;</p>
  671. <p>The best way to find your Purpose in retirement is to learn to listen to your curiosity and take a first step in whatever direction it leads. Just like Kevin, we need to explore new hobbies, interests, and experiences with a fresh perspective. This exploration often leads to fulfillment and joy, like our childhood curiosity did in our Wonder Years.&nbsp; Following is a quote from the show that demonstrates the value of curiosity:</p>
  672. <p><em><strong>&#8220;In every life, there comes a time when that thing you dream becomes that thing you do.&#8221;</strong></em></p>
  673. <p>I love that quote and believe it applies directly to our retirement years.&nbsp; &nbsp;NOW is our time to do the things that were once our dreams.</p>
  674. <p>Learn from Kevin.</p>
  675. <p>Don&#8217;t miss the opportunity to live your dreams.</p>
  676. <hr>
  677. <h2>2. Embrace Change</h2>
  678. <p>Retirement is one of the biggest changes you&#8217;ll face in life.&nbsp; Try as you might to avoid it, the reality is there will come a time when you retire.&nbsp; Rather than resist that change, learn to embrace it.&nbsp; Here&#8217;s a quote from the show that captures that philosophy:</p>
  679. <p><em><strong>&#8220;Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what&#8217;s to come. But that night, I think we knew it was time to let go of what had been and look ahead to what would be.&#8221;</strong></em></p>
  680. <p>&#8220;We knew it was time to let go of what had been and look ahead to what would be.&#8221;&nbsp; Sounds like a quote about retirement to me.&nbsp; Listen to Kevin and dream about the opportunities the change of retirement offers.&nbsp; Seek out the positives and minimize your time worrying about the negatives.&nbsp; Like many things, your mindset toward the change will likely be a self-fulfilling prophesy.&nbsp; Savor your past, but be excited about your future.</p>
  681. <p>A friend in my <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-ive-learned-from-my-retirement-mastermind-group/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Mastermind Group</strong></a> shared a quote with me, and it&#8217;s worth sharing here.&nbsp; &#8220;You know a person is getting old,&#8221; he said, &#8220;when they always talk about the past and not the future.&#8221;&nbsp; The future is our lives.&nbsp; Don&#8217;t live your life in the past.&nbsp; Dedicate your energy to making your future all that it can be.&nbsp;</p>
  682. <p>In The Wonder Years, the best example of dealing with change comes in the final scene of<strong> The Final Episode,</strong> which is worth a watch if you are a fan of the show.&nbsp; Kevin&#8217;s voice-over is epic in this one:</p>
  683. <p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0hS3Q8IbALw?si=pMCFtcBVxslKK5H8" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
  684. <hr>
  685. <h2>3. Build Meaningful Connections</h2>
  686. <p>Who can think of The Wonder Years without reflecting on the relationship between Kevin and Winnie?&nbsp; Or, the relationship Kevin has with his best friend, Paul?&nbsp; What about those family dynamics that became the plot of so many episodes?&nbsp; The dynamic of these relationships was one of the keys to the show&#8217;s success, and the same is true of our retirement.</p>
  687. <p>Kevin invested a lot of time in his relationships, and his authentic approach to caring for his friends and family was obvious.&nbsp; In the same way, we need to invest time to build our relationships in retirement.&nbsp; Those relationships we had at work fade in retirement, and life is not meant to live alone. Take time to be intentional as you foster closer relationships with new people to replace those you&#8217;ve lost from work.&nbsp; Focus on tightening your relationships with your family.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  688. <p>Invite a friend to breakfast, or for a hike.&nbsp; Invite a couple over for dinner and a night of playing games (we do that often with our best friends and savor our time with them).&nbsp; Reach out and call an old friend (I did that today, and enjoyed our chat, Bill). Volunteer at a local charity and focus on your interactions with the other volunteers. Take a week and go visit a family member you haven&#8217;t seen in a while.&nbsp; Offer to babysit your grandchild so your child can take a much-needed vacation.</p>
  689. <p>If you got into an emergency today, who could you call to bail you out?&nbsp; If you don&#8217;t have 2 to 3 people that readily come to mind, it&#8217;s time to focus your energy on building meaningful relationships.&nbsp; There&#8217;s a reason that fostering strong social connections was Secret #2 in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/7-secrets-to-a-great-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>7 Secrets To A Great Retirement</strong></a>.&nbsp;</p>
  690. <p>To close out this section, here&#8217;s a YouTube video with the Top 10 Best Kevin &amp; Winnie Moments from the show:</p>
  691. <p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HtxAuJVyN_s?si=Y6hYJfMtQ_JDOXdX" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
  692. <hr>
  693. <h2>Learning To Embrace Your Inner Child</h2>
  694. <p>When I first started this post, the working title was &#8220;Learning To Embrace Your Inner Child.&#8221;&nbsp; The Wonder Years connection came later, as I was in the writing process (I love the serendipity that comes with writing).&nbsp; I went with the thought, and I&#8217;m pleased with the results.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
  695. <p>The seed for the post, however, was planted when I had a recent epiphany.</p>
  696. <p><strong>My Epiphany:</strong></p>
  697. <p><strong><em><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Retirement is a lot like childhood.</span></em></strong></p>
  698. <hr /><p><em>I had an epiphany recently: Retirement is a lot like childhood. The more we embrace our childhood mindset, the better our retirement years will be.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fthe-wonder-years%2F&#038;text=I%20had%20an%20epiphany%20recently%3A%20Retirement%20is%20a%20lot%20like%20childhood.%20The%20more%20we%20embrace%20our%20childhood%20mindset%2C%20the%20better%20our%20retirement%20years%20will%20be.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click To Tweet</a><br /><hr />
  699. <p>I hinted in my last post (<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-retire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>5 Things You Need To Know Before You Retire</strong></a>) about the epiphany I had.&nbsp; It happened spontaneously during <a href="https://investordna.ca/2023/12/26/93-fritz-gilbert-the-retirement-manifesto-navigating-blind-spots-and-commandments-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>my podcast interview</strong></a> on Awe-Inspired &amp; Retired, and it focused on <strong>how we can use our childhood mindset to live our best life in retirement.</strong> Wonder Years was simply the metaphor I chose to communicate the concept.</p>
  700. <figure id="attachment_14708" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14708" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-14708" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-08-12.52.42-PM-e1704736436966.png" alt="" width="800" height="160"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14708" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The moment the epiphany happened&#8230;</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  701. <p>Specifically, the epiphany came when Riley asked me <strong>“What do you want to do when you grow up?</strong>“. (if you&#8217;d like to hear it, scroll to the 57:30-minute mark <a href="https://investordna.ca/2023/12/26/93-fritz-gilbert-the-retirement-manifesto-navigating-blind-spots-and-commandments-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here.</strong></a>)</p>
  702. <p>My initial (unscripted and spontaneous) response to Riley&#8217;s question was,</p>
  703. <blockquote><p>&#8220;I hope I never grow up&#8230;the interesting thing about retirement is that <strong>it&#8217;s the closest thing in life that you&#8217;ll ever experience to childhood</strong>&#8230;you&#8217;re free to do anything you want to do.&nbsp; So I&#8217;m a kid.&nbsp; I&#8217;m a 60-year-old kid&#8230;&#8221;&nbsp;</p>
  704. <p>As I expanded on the answer, I added, &#8220;I&#8217;m intentionally viewing retirement as a time where I never have to grow up.&nbsp; I can be a child for the next 15 or 20 years.</p>
  705. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>&#8220;What&#8217;s a kid do?&#8221;</strong></span></p>
  706. <p>&nbsp;&#8220;A kid goes off and rides his bike and plays at the playground&#8230;and then he goes out to the beach&#8230;they play different ways every day&#8230;they&#8217;re getting exercise&#8230;they&#8217;re being outside&#8230;</p>
  707. <p><strong>Kids Play.</strong></p>
  708. <p>&nbsp;So that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m doing.&nbsp; I view life in retirement <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-is-like-a-game-of-poker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>like a hand of cards</strong></a>.&nbsp; At any given point you can put a card down or pick a new one up. And you should.&nbsp; You should always try new cards.&nbsp; And if you find a card you enjoy (like me with my writing), you hold that card for a while.&nbsp;</p>
  709. <p>All those cards are just a kid riding his bike.&nbsp; My blog is just me riding my bike.&nbsp; It&#8217;s my plaything.&nbsp;</p>
  710. <p>So, if you want my answer to &#8220;what I want to be when I grow up,&#8221; I want to be a professional card player, and I want to build the best possible hand that I can.&nbsp; &nbsp;That&#8217;s what I&#8217;m focused on.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
  711. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14698" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-08-9.30.57-AM-e1704724388201.png" alt="engage your inner child" width="400" height="531"></p>
  712. <p>Embrace your inner child.</p>
  713. <p>Learn to play again.</p>
  714. <hr>
  715. <h1>Conclusion</h1>
  716. <p>The Wonder Years is a great metaphor to help you live your best life in retirement.</p>
  717. <p>By looking into the deeper meaning behind Kevin&#8217;s voice-over insights into his adolescent years, we&#8217;re shown the secrets to living a great life.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  718. <ul>
  719. <li>Rediscover Your Curiosity</li>
  720. <li>Embrace Change</li>
  721. <li>Build Meaningful Connections</li>
  722. <li>Embrace Your Inner Child</li>
  723. </ul>
  724. <p>I encourage you to think about my epiphany and consider how you can apply it to your own life. The epiphany is simple in concept and easy to apply:</p>
  725. <p><em><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Retirement is a lot like childhood.</strong></span></em></p>
  726. <p>Sharon summarized it well when she left her comment on my last post.&nbsp; She wrote: <em>&#8220;I’m almost 2 years into retirement and I’m going to start thinking like my inner child/teenager, what would SHE want to do??&#8221;&nbsp; </em></p>
  727. <p>Well said, Sharon.</p>
  728. <p>The Wonder Years were presented as a memory.&nbsp; Kevin&#8217;s past, and his thoughts about his adolescence as he looked back on those years as an adult. But that doesn&#8217;t mean our Wonder Years can only happen in our memory.&nbsp; It should be a part of our lives NOW.&nbsp; I&#8217;m living my Wonder Years now and you can do the same.&nbsp; Sure, I&#8217;m using the memory of childhood to help facilitate my life in retirement.&nbsp; After all, as a wise man once said (wink),</p>
  729. <p><em><strong>&#8220;Retirement is a lot like childhood.&#8221;&nbsp;</strong></em></p>
  730. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The more we embrace our childhood mindset, the bigger the impact it can have on our lives. Kids play, and the more we learn what &#8220;play&#8221; looks like in retirement, the better off we&#8217;ll be.&nbsp; Pick up a new card or put an old one down. Never stop improving your hand.</span></p>
  731. <p>Embrace it.</p>
  732. <p>Go out and play.</p>
  733. <p>Live Your Wonder Years.</p>
  734. <hr>
  735. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong> </span>Did you watch The Wonder Years?&nbsp; Do you think the lessons it teaches also apply to our lives in retirement?&nbsp; How are you embracing your childhood mindset, and what are the results? Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  736. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-wonder-years/">The Wonder Years</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  737. ]]></content:encoded>
  738. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-wonder-years/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  739. <slash:comments>43</slash:comments>
  740. </item>
  741. <item>
  742. <title>5 Things You Need To Know Before You Retire</title>
  743. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-retire/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=5-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-retire</link>
  744. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-retire/#comments</comments>
  745. <dc:creator><![CDATA[fritz@theretirementmanifesto.com]]></dc:creator>
  746. <pubDate>Thu, 04 Jan 2024 09:38:14 +0000</pubDate>
  747. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  748. <category><![CDATA[contentment]]></category>
  749. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  750. <category><![CDATA[Purpose]]></category>
  751. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  752. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=14628</guid>
  753.  
  754. <description><![CDATA[<p>There are a few things you need to know before you retire. If you&#8217;re not retired, it&#8217;s impossible to know what it&#8217;s REALLY like to be retired.&#160; Without knowing, it&#8217;s [&#8230;]</p>
  755. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-retire/">5 Things You Need To Know Before You Retire</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  756. ]]></description>
  757. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There are a few things you need to know before you retire.</p>
  758. <p>If you&#8217;re not retired, it&#8217;s impossible to know what it&#8217;s REALLY like to be retired.&nbsp; Without knowing, it&#8217;s difficult to determine how to plan as you make your final preparations for retirement.</p>
  759. <p>Your next best option, then, is to learn from those who have walked the trail ahead of you.</p>
  760. <p>Today, you&#8217;re in luck.</p>
  761. <p>Below, we&#8217;re sharing the things you need to know before you retire.&nbsp; Retirement will likely be some of the best years of your life.&nbsp; Making the transition, however, requires planning to be successful.&nbsp; So, consider these 5 areas as you make your plans.&nbsp; Addressing them before you retire will increase your odds of a successful transition and lead to many enjoyable years in retirement.</p>
  762. <p><strong>If you&#8217;re already retired</strong>, I&#8217;d love your input.&nbsp; After reading the 5 things outlined below, I&#8217;m asking you to jump into the comments with other tips you&#8217;d give someone who is on the brink of retirement.&nbsp; Let&#8217;s make this a community effort to help those who are following in our footsteps.</p>
  763. <hr /><p><em>There are certain things you need to know before you retire. Today, we&#039;re sharing the things that really matter as you plan for your retirement.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2F5-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-retire%2F&#038;text=There%20are%20certain%20things%20you%20need%20to%20know%20before%20you%20retire.%20Today%2C%20we%27re%20sharing%20the%20things%20that%20really%20matter%20as%20you%20plan%20for%20your%20retirement.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click To Tweet</a><br /><hr />
  764. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14636" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-30-9.41.49-AM.png" alt="what to do before you retire" width="429" height="647" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-30-9.41.49-AM.png 429w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-30-9.41.49-AM-199x300.png 199w" sizes="(max-width: 429px) 100vw, 429px" /></p>
  765. <h1>5 Things You Need To Know Before You Retire</h1>
  766. <p>When you&#8217;re planning to retire, <strong>it&#8217;s natural to focus on the numbers.</strong>&nbsp; None of us want our money to run out before we die. Money seems like the highest area of risk, so we focus on getting it right.</p>
  767. <p><em><strong>Focusing on money is necessary, but insufficient.</strong></em></p>
  768. <p>Once you&#8217;ve retired, you realize there&#8217;s much more to a successful retirement than money. There are a lot of other risks beyond the financial ones.&nbsp; Risks of becoming depressed, getting bored, being lonely, and feeling lost.&nbsp; Focusing on these risks is a critical, and often overlooked, step in the retirement planning process.</p>
  769. <p>To increase your odds for a smooth transition, it&#8217;s critical to plan for the non-financial aspects of retirement in addition to focusing on the finances.&nbsp; Research has proven that the amount of time you spend planning for retirement is highly correlated to how smooth your transition will be.&nbsp; Based on my personal experience and years of research, below are 5 non-financial items you should think about in your final year before retirement.</p>
  770. <hr>
  771. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>1) Freedom Is Great, But It Comes With An Obligation</strong></span></p>
  772. <p>The biggest allure of retirement is Freedom.</p>
  773. <p>Freedom&#8230;</p>
  774. <ul>
  775. <li>&#8230;from the alarm clock.</li>
  776. <li>&#8230;from the commute.&nbsp;</li>
  777. <li>&#8230;from the boss.</li>
  778. <li>&#8230;from those dreadful Zoom calls.&nbsp;</li>
  779. <li>&#8230;from those even more dreadful annual performance reviews.</li>
  780. </ul>
  781. <p>And yes, the Freedom IS wonderful.&nbsp; But&#8230;.</p>
  782. <p>Think back to your childhood years, when you had that thrill of Freedom on your last day of school.&nbsp; Ah, a whole summer off!&nbsp; FREEDOM!!&nbsp; If you&#8217;re like me, however, by the middle of July you were getting bored.&nbsp; Your Mom would make suggestions on things for you to do, and you&#8217;d give her one of those infamous adolescent eye rolls.</p>
  783. <p><strong>News Flash:&nbsp;</strong> Retirement is a LOT longer than summer vacation.&nbsp; Longer, even, than those 20+ years you spent in school.&nbsp; And with it comes an entirely new (and often, unexpected) obligation.&nbsp; Being unprepared for that obligation can result in a difficult transition as you figure out what you&#8217;re going to do with your endless summer vacation.</p>
  784. <p>The obligation?&nbsp; Figuring out what you&#8217;re going to do with your newly discovered time freedom.</p>
  785. <ul>
  786. <li>24 hours a day</li>
  787. <li>365 days a year</li>
  788. <li>For the next 20 years.</li>
  789. </ul>
  790. <p>If you&#8217;ve thought about it at all, you&#8217;re likely a bit worried about getting bored.&nbsp; I know I was. And yet, I&#8217;ve never been bored a single day in my 6 years of retirement.&nbsp; Why?</p>
  791. <p>Because I pursued my curiosity and found some things that gave me life.&nbsp;</p>
  792. <p><strong>The good news:</strong> you can easily manage the obligation you&#8217;re about to face.&nbsp; The key is to think about it beforehand, and start preparing for the journey ahead. The more time you put into it before you retire, the easier the task becomes.</p>
  793. <hr>
  794. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>2) Your Transition To Retirement Will Be Harder Than You Think</strong></span></p>
  795. <p>Barbara retired 6 months before me, and I&#8217;ll never forget a comment she made a few months later.&nbsp; &#8220;Wow,&#8221; she said, &#8220;the transition to retirement is SO much harder than I thought it would be. I wish someone had told me how hard it would be before I retired.&#8221;</p>
  796. <p>Consider yourself told.</p>
  797. <p>Based on research I published in the <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/shining-the-light-on-retirement-blind-spots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Blind Spot Study</strong></a>, 52% of pre-retirees expect their transition to retirement will be smooth.&nbsp; When folks who retired were asked the same question, however, only 32% of retirees said it actually was smooth.&nbsp; Do the math, and that means <strong>68% of retirees had a rough transition</strong>.</p>
  798. <p>The transition to retirement is hard.</p>
  799. <p>Your entire world changes and most folks are unprepared for how dramatic that change will be.&nbsp; As we&#8217;ll discuss in Item #4 below, you&#8217;ll miss a lot more from your job than just the paycheck.</p>
  800. <p>It&#8217;s time to put on your game face.&nbsp; Recognize your world is about to change in ways you never expected, and prepare yourself to make some major mental adjustments.&nbsp; In time, you&#8217;ll get through the transition and likely find retirement to be the best years of your life. But I urge you to be realistic about how long it will take to successfully implement the change.&nbsp;</p>
  801. <p>The more time you spend thinking about those changes, the shorter your transition will be.</p>
  802. <p><strong>PS:</strong>&nbsp; There&#8217;s a fascinating post on Facebook where someone asks:</p>
  803. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14642" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-30-10.31.38-AM.png" alt="" width="634" height="147" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-30-10.31.38-AM.png 634w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-30-10.31.38-AM-300x70.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px" /></p>
  804. <p>As I write these words, there are 370 responses to that question.&nbsp; If you want to get a sense of how big those surprises are, read the comments <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/316480976703570/permalink/911325283885800/?mibextid=Nif5oz" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here</strong></a>.&nbsp; (Note, you&#8217;ll have to join <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/316480976703570/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Retired Life group</strong></a> before you&#8217;ll be able to see the actual post, but I assure you it&#8217;s worth the effort).</p>
  805. <p><strong>The good news:&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong>Your transition doesn&#8217;t have to be difficult.&nbsp; My transition was smoother than I could have imagined, and I didn&#8217;t struggle in the least with the move into retirement.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Because I put a lot of effort into addressing both the financial and non-financial aspects of retirement in my final years of work.&nbsp; I mentally prepared for the change that was about to happen in my life, and I was realistic with my expectations.&nbsp; Nothing magic, and something anyone can do.</p>
  806. <hr>
  807. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>3) Money Won&#8217;t Matter As Much After You Retire</strong></span></p>
  808. <p>In my final few years of work, I talked to a lot of retirees.&nbsp; I was really focused on &#8220;the numbers&#8221; at the time, and I was surprised how often retirees told me they didn&#8217;t think much about money in retirement.&nbsp; &#8220;You have what you have, and you learn to live with it,&#8221; was a common refrain.</p>
  809. <p><strong>I&#8217;ll admit, I wasn&#8217;t a believer.&nbsp;</strong></p>
  810. <p>As I worked through the <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-one-retirement-question-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>One Retirement Question Project</strong></a>, however, I started questioning my beliefs.&nbsp; The answers from the numerous 80+ year-old retirees I interviewed were surprisingly consistent.&nbsp; Almost none of them mentioned money as the key to a successful retirement.&nbsp; All of them stressed that the true key to a successful retirement was finding something that you enjoyed doing, something that motivated you, something that provided personal reward.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  811. <p>Three years into my retirement, I realized they were correct.&nbsp; I wrote about my conversion in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/introducing-the-90-10-rule-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The 90/10 Rule of Retirement,</strong></a> where I defined the rule as follows:</p>
  812. <p><em><strong>“In preparation for retirement, most people spend 90% of their planning time on the financial issues and 10% on the non-financial issues.&nbsp; After retirement, the ratio reverses, and most retirees spend the vast majority of their time focusing on the non-financial issues of life.”</strong></em></p>
  813. <p>The concept of finding your Purpose became the theme of my book, <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-book/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Keys To A Successful Retirement,&nbsp;</strong></a>and I&#8217;m now a firm believer in the importance of the non-financial aspects of retirement.</p>
  814. <p>If you&#8217;re not yet retired, I understand your hesitancy to believe the phenomenon.&nbsp; Been there, done that.&nbsp; All I can say is &#8220;trust me,&#8221; and consider my advice to recognize that it&#8217;s critically important that you carve out some time to think about the non-financial aspects in your final few years before retirement.</p>
  815. <p>Your retirement will be better as a result.</p>
  816. <hr>
  817. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>4) You&#8217;ll Miss Certain Attributes From Your Working Years</strong></span></p>
  818. <p>When people think about leaving their jobs, their thoughts naturally lead to the loss of their paycheck.&nbsp; That&#8217;s natural and understandable.</p>
  819. <p>What most people don&#8217;t think about, however, are the numerous non-financial benefits they receive from their work.&nbsp; Things like:</p>
  820. <ul>
  821. <li>Structure to their day</li>
  822. <li>Mental challenges</li>
  823. <li>Relationships</li>
  824. <li>A sense of reward</li>
  825. <li>Purpose</li>
  826. <li>A sense of identity</li>
  827. </ul>
  828. <p>When you retire, it isn&#8217;t just your paycheck that disappears.&nbsp; Everything on that list vanishes in a moment.</p>
  829. <p>Your day is no longer structured.&nbsp; In a single day, your life goes from one that is tightly structured to a day with no structure at all.&nbsp; You no longer have to wake up at a certain time.&nbsp; You no longer have meetings filling your calendar. You no longer have deadlines you&#8217;re working toward.&nbsp; All of the structure is, in a moment&#8230;</p>
  830. <p><strong>Gone.</strong></p>
  831. <p>At the same time, you find your day has no specific purpose for you to work toward.&nbsp; When people ask you what you do, you hesitate as you realize you don&#8217;t really have a response to that question.&nbsp; You think you&#8217;ll stay in touch with the people you worked with, but in reality, those relationships fade quickly.&nbsp; The following chart from the previously mentioned <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/shining-the-light-on-retirement-blind-spots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Blind Spot</strong></a> study highlights this reality:</p>
  832. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14044" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screenshot-2023-05-16-10.56.15-AM.png" alt="what will you miss when you retire" width="698" height="424" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screenshot-2023-05-16-10.56.15-AM.png 698w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screenshot-2023-05-16-10.56.15-AM-300x182.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 698px) 100vw, 698px" /></p>
  833. <p>Ultimately, it&#8217;s the non-financial aspects from work that you miss more than the paycheck, and it&#8217;s one of the primary reasons <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-28-of-retirees-are-depressed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>28% of retirees are depressed</strong></a>.</p>
  834. <p><strong>The Good News:&nbsp;</strong> It doesn&#8217;t have to be this way.&nbsp; As you&#8217;re making plans for how you&#8217;re going to <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-retirement-paycheck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Replace Your Paycheck</strong> </a>in retirement, take time to think about how you&#8217;re also going to replace all of those non-financial attributes you currently get from work.&nbsp; I did exactly that, and it looked something like this:</p>
  835. <ul>
  836. <li>Do you want some structure in your day?&nbsp; Join a gym, and sign up for a few classes.&nbsp;</li>
  837. <li>Worried about losing your sense of identity?&nbsp; Start a blog, and become a writer.</li>
  838. <li>Find ways to build relationships outside work, before you retire.</li>
  839. <li>Worried about losing your purpose?&nbsp; Start (or join) a charity.</li>
  840. </ul>
  841. <p>You get the idea.&nbsp; Now, the hard part.&nbsp; Do it.</p>
  842. <hr>
  843. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>5) You&#8217;ll Have An Important Job In Retirement</strong></span></p>
  844. <p>I hate to break it to you, but your &#8220;working years&#8221; don&#8217;t end when you retire.&nbsp; It turns out you&#8217;ll be working a lot in retirement, but it&#8217;s not what you think.</p>
  845. <p>Your retirement &#8220;job&#8221; is unlike anything you&#8217;ve ever done in your life.&nbsp; There is no resume required, and no job interview will take place before you&#8217;re hired. You&#8217;ll be your own boss, and you&#8217;ll develop the requirements of the position. The job description cannot be written, because the job you discover will be unique to you.&nbsp; Your first task is to learn to exercise a portion of your brain that&#8217;s likely been dormant since you were a child.&nbsp; Learn to listen to your curiosity, and have the courage to follow wherever it leads.</p>
  846. <p>Learn to play again, like you did as a child.&nbsp; The play will be different this time, but it will have similarities to your childhood.&nbsp; Yes, I still ride a bike in the woods, just like I did as a child.&nbsp; But I also spend a lot of my time helping others, something that my childhood self wasn&#8217;t too interested in.&nbsp; Just like a child, I don&#8217;t worry too much about money these days. My job isn&#8217;t focused on making money like it was in my working years.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  847. <p><strong>Now, it&#8217;s about something bigger.&nbsp; </strong></p>
  848. <p>Your retirement job will focus on finding things to do with your time that bring personal reward, enrichment, and satisfaction.&nbsp; Cherishing time with the future generations, and being intentional as you pass down your legacy to the family members who follow behind. Being more aware of your spiritual life, and investing in things of eternal significance. Doing what you can do to change the world (or at least the small corner of it that you call home).</p>
  849. <p><strong>Or not.&nbsp; </strong></p>
  850. <p>It&#8217;s your job, and you have the freedom to decide what it entails.</p>
  851. <p>As a child, I ran when we played tag.&nbsp; I swam at the local beach through those endless summer days.&nbsp; I rode my bike as I delivered newspapers around my hometown. Now, I run, swim, and bike because I&#8217;m focused on doing what I can to improve my healthy years of life.&nbsp; While the purpose may have changed, I continue to find those activities just as enjoyable as I did in my youth.</p>
  852. <p><strong>This, then, is your retirement job.</strong></p>
  853. <p>For the next 20 years, you&#8217;ll be continuing this work.&nbsp; Exploring things that interest you.&nbsp; Finding ways to use your time that bring a sense of satisfaction.&nbsp; Finding ways to help other people. Taking care of your body, mind, and soul.</p>
  854. <p>In your final years of work, prepare your mind for your new job.</p>
  855. <p>Like many things in life, your new job will be as rewarding as you make it.</p>
  856. <p>I suspect you&#8217;ll find, like many others, that it&#8217;s the best job you&#8217;ve ever had.</p>
  857. <hr>
  858. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>A Final Thought</strong></span></p>
  859. <p>Last month, I appeared in my favorite podcast episode to date.&nbsp; You know how sometimes you just feel &#8220;alive&#8221; and your brain is firing on all cylinders?&nbsp; That&#8217;s how I felt when I was talking with Caleb and Riley in <a href="https://investordna.ca/2023/12/26/93-fritz-gilbert-the-retirement-manifesto-navigating-blind-spots-and-commandments-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>this episode of the Awe-Inspired &amp; Retired podcast.</strong></a>&nbsp; If you have a few minutes, I&#8217;d encourage you to give it a listen, especially if you&#8217;re not yet retired.</p>
  860. <p><strong>What did I like about the interview?&nbsp;</strong> I was brutally honest in my response to their question, &#8220;What would have kept you at work?&#8221;&nbsp; I was unprepared for the question, and the response I gave came straight from the heart.&nbsp; If you don&#8217;t have time to listen to the entire episode, just scroll on <a href="https://investordna.ca/2023/12/26/93-fritz-gilbert-the-retirement-manifesto-navigating-blind-spots-and-commandments-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>this link</strong></a> to the 16:00-minute mark and have a listen. The quote below was part of my response, as well as the edited video clip below (to hear the complete response, you&#8217;ll have to listen to the podcast, but I trust you&#8217;ll find it worth your time):</p>
  861. <p><em><strong>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got a very limited timeframe here where we can live life like we&#8217;ve never been able to live it before. That&#8217;s worth more than money.&#8221;</strong></em></p>
  862. <p>Click on the image below to hear an edited clip of my response:</p>
  863. <p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/19k_LaUH3CJo5EVOCUnpTsgRkTLD890qt/preview" width="640" height="480"></iframe></p>
  864. <p><strong>Perhaps my favorite part of the interview?&nbsp;</strong> My impromptu response to the final question of the interview, when Riley asked me <strong>&#8220;What do you want to do when you grow up?</strong>&#8220;.&nbsp; If you&#8217;d like to hear it, scroll to the 57:30-minute mark <a href="https://investordna.ca/2023/12/26/93-fritz-gilbert-the-retirement-manifesto-navigating-blind-spots-and-commandments-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>here.</strong></a>&nbsp; I won&#8217;t give you any insight into my response other than to say I&#8217;m considering writing an article to expand on the answer I gave.&nbsp; I also got a great email from a woman who heard the podcast and wrote to tell me she loved my answer to that question.&nbsp; I smiled as I read her words.&nbsp; I consider emails like hers my compensation in retirement, and they&#8217;re worth more than money.</p>
  865. <p><strong>Bottom line:&nbsp;</strong> Retirement is amazing.&nbsp; It&#8217;s our one chance in life to do what we want to do, whenever we want to do it.&nbsp; It&#8217;s our chance to change the world.<strong>&nbsp; I wouldn&#8217;t encourage anyone to work longer than you have to.</strong>&nbsp; Even if you love your work, is it really worth giving up the few remaining healthy years you have left in your life?&nbsp; Is it worth losing the rare opportunity to explore other things that could bring more joy to your life than you ever expected?</p>
  866. <p>For me, the answer is obvious, and I don&#8217;t think I could have given a better answer than the one I gave to Caleb and Riley.&nbsp;</p>
  867. <p>If you&#8217;re nervous about retirement, I hope my answer assures you that the joy of retirement is worth the effort.</p>
  868. <p><strong>Yes, the transition can be difficult.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></p>
  869. <p>However, by addressing these 5 Things You Need To Know Before You Retire, you&#8217;ll be well on your way to a smooth transition, and a retirement life that exceeds your expectation.&nbsp;</p>
  870. <p>It&#8217;s time to start your new job.</p>
  871. <p>Are you ready?</p>
  872. <hr>
  873. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:&nbsp;</strong></span> If you&#8217;ve not yet retired, have you spent much time thinking about the non-financial aspects of retirement?&nbsp; If you&#8217;ve already retired, what other advice would you give to those following in your footsteps?</p>
  874. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-retire/">5 Things You Need To Know Before You Retire</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  875. ]]></content:encoded>
  876. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-things-you-need-to-know-before-you-retire/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  877. <slash:comments>108</slash:comments>
  878. </item>
  879. <item>
  880. <title>10 Ways To Find Joy In Life</title>
  881. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/10-ways-to-find-joy-in-life/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=10-ways-to-find-joy-in-life</link>
  882. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/10-ways-to-find-joy-in-life/#comments</comments>
  883. <dc:creator><![CDATA[fritz@theretirementmanifesto.com]]></dc:creator>
  884. <pubDate>Thu, 14 Dec 2023 09:27:44 +0000</pubDate>
  885. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  886. <category><![CDATA[contentment]]></category>
  887. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  888. <category><![CDATA[Just Do It]]></category>
  889. <category><![CDATA[legacy]]></category>
  890. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=14543</guid>
  891.  
  892. <description><![CDATA[<p>It was my turn to lead our monthly Retirement Mastermind meeting. I decided to challenge the members with a question. &#8220;How do you find joy in life?&#8221; The answers were [&#8230;]</p>
  893. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/10-ways-to-find-joy-in-life/">10 Ways To Find Joy In Life</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  894. ]]></description>
  895. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It was my turn to lead our monthly <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-ive-learned-from-my-retirement-mastermind-group/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Mastermind</strong></a> meeting.</p>
  896. <p>I decided to challenge the members with a question.</p>
  897. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>&#8220;How do you find joy in life?&#8221;</strong></span></em></p>
  898. <p>The answers were brilliant.&nbsp; So brilliant, in fact, that I couldn&#8217;t keep them to myself.</p>
  899. <p>So I decided (with the group&#8217;s permission) to share them here.</p>
  900. <hr /><p><em>10 Ways to Find Joy in Life (from those who have found it and given me permission to share their tips).</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2F10-ways-to-find-joy-in-life%2F&#038;text=10%20Ways%20to%20Find%20Joy%20in%20Life%20%28from%20those%20who%20have%20found%20it%20and%20given%20me%20permission%20to%20share%20their%20tips%29.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click To Tweet</a><br /><hr />
  901. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14552" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-18-2.55.59-PM.png" alt="looking for joy in my life" width="433" height="652" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-18-2.55.59-PM.png 433w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-18-2.55.59-PM-199x300.png 199w" sizes="(max-width: 433px) 100vw, 433px" /></p>
  902. <hr>
  903. <h1>10 Ways To Find Joy In Life</h1>
  904. <p>I love my<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-ive-learned-from-my-retirement-mastermind-group/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Retirement Mastermind group.</strong></a>&nbsp; We&#8217;ve been holding monthly meetings since January and I&#8217;ve never missed a meeting.&nbsp; I look forward to them, and the other members feel the same.&nbsp; We rotate the leadership for each meeting and it works well.&nbsp; Every leader has a different style, and the topic is 100% of their choosing.</p>
  905. <p>In November, it was my turn to lead.</p>
  906. <p>Given that our October meeting had a financial angle (an <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/option-trading-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Options Trading</strong></a> tutorial from our local expert, Ed), I decided to focus on a critical non-financial aspect of retirement.</p>
  907. <p><strong>How do you find joy in life?</strong></p>
  908. <p>The instructions were simple:&nbsp; each member had to provide two answers, and they couldn&#8217;t repeat an earlier answer from someone else.&nbsp; It turned into a fascinating 1-hour discussion. Figuring out how to find joy in life is a critical issue in living your best life, and I wish all of you could have heard the conversation. We&#8217;re growing closer as a group and the discussion was serious.</p>
  909. <p>For the benefit of those who weren&#8217;t there, I decided to share the 10 best answers to the question below.</p>
  910. <hr>
  911. <p><em><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>STOP:&nbsp;</strong></span> Before proceeding further, if you&#8217;d like to participate vicariously in the Retirement Mastermind meeting, come up with two answers to that question before proceeding.&nbsp; If your answers aren&#8217;t included in the list below, add them in the comments.&nbsp; Welcome the the first virtual meeting of the Retirement Mastermind group!</em></p>
  912. <hr>
  913. <h1><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>1) Choose To Be Joyful</strong></span></h1>
  914. <p>While it sounds simplistic, we all agreed on the importance of mindset (a topic <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/7-secrets-to-a-great-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>I&#8217;ve written about</strong></a> in the past).&nbsp; We also had an interesting discussion on the difference between Happiness versus Joy. A few of the quotes from our discussion are worth sharing:&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  915. <ul>
  916. <li>&#8220;If you want to be happy, be happy. Happiness and Joy are to some extent self-fulfilling prophesies.&#8221;</li>
  917. <li>&#8220;Joy is a state of mind, Happiness is determined by circumstances.&#8221;</li>
  918. <li>&#8220;You can&#8217;t make anyone else happy if you&#8217;re not happy yourself.&#8221;</li>
  919. <li>&#8220;Put your oxygen mask on first before helping others.&#8221;</li>
  920. </ul>
  921. <p>Focusing on mindset was the first comment made, and it generated a lot of great discussion.&nbsp; If you&#8217;re trying to find joy in life, I&#8217;d encourage you to start inside your head.&nbsp; I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s a coincidence that every member of our Mastermind group has a positive mindset.&nbsp;</p>
  922. <p>It matters.</p>
  923. <p>Ironically, my wife saw the following on Facebook as I was writing this post, and I decided to share it here (sorry I don&#8217;t have the original source, I tried).&nbsp; Note item #8&#8230;</p>
  924. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14580" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/8884293962343031291-e1702049526251.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="565"></p>
  925. <hr>
  926. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>2) Spend Your Money on Experiences, Not Things</strong></span></p>
  927. <p>During our discussion, someone cited the quote &#8220;You can have anything, but not everything.&#8221; (I believe<a href="https://www.youtube.com/affordanything" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Paula Pant</a> deserves credit for the original quote).&nbsp; Since we don&#8217;t have an unlimited amount of money to spend, <strong>how can we best utilize our money to find joy in life?</strong></p>
  928. <p>The University of Texas recently conducted <a href="https://news.utexas.edu/2020/03/09/spending-on-experiences-versus-possessions-advances-more-immediate-happiness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>research</strong></a> that &#8220;found that consumers are happier when they spend on experiential purchases versus material ones.&#8221;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  929. <p>I know it&#8217;s true in my life, and I suspect it&#8217;s true in yours.&nbsp; When I think about the joys I received while raising our daughter, my mind always drifts to the experiences we had together.&nbsp; That High School graduation trip we took to Hawaii.&nbsp; Those early mornings in the horse barn when she was preparing for a riding competition.&nbsp; Those father-daughter backpacking trips we took together.&nbsp; Strangely, the memories never focus on the material things we did for her.</p>
  930. <p>Now that we&#8217;re retired, we have more time to intentionally build experiences.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  931. <p>We&#8217;re taking advantage of it, and our lives are better as a result.</p>
  932. <p>I hope you&#8217;re doing the same.</p>
  933. <hr>
  934. <figure id="attachment_14575" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14575" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-14575" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20231206_141504-scaled-e1701959815538.jpg" alt="helping others brings joy in life" width="800" height="600"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14575" class="wp-caption-text"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">We completed our <strong>115th</strong> Fido fence build last week!</span></em></figcaption></figure>
  935. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>3) Find Ways To Give Back.&nbsp; Focus on Others</strong></span></p>
  936. <p>&#8220;Focus on others over self.&nbsp; Look for a need in your community and find a way to meet it.&#8221;</p>
  937. <p>That&#8217;s one of the top pieces of advice I give to people when they ask me about the keys to a happy retirement.&nbsp; It&#8217;s a mindset that my wife and I are putting into practice through her charity <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/freedom-for-fido-a-story-of-finding-purpose-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Freedom For Fido</strong></a> (where we build <strong>free</strong> dog fences for low-income families in need).&nbsp; The &#8220;Fido Family&#8221; continues to grow, and our members all give the same feedback &#8211; it feels great to be using our time to help others in need.&nbsp;</p>
  938. <p>In our working years, we were forced to focus primarily on ourselves.&nbsp; We had to sacrifice to earn that paycheck.&nbsp; Now that we&#8217;re financially independent, that formula has changed.&nbsp; We no longer need to focus on ourselves, and those who have learned the secret of focusing on others have learned a secret that helps them find joy in life.</p>
  939. <p>Take advantage of your freedom to find ways to give back.</p>
  940. <hr>
  941. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>4) Exercise</strong></span></p>
  942. <p>I write a lot about the benefits of exercise, but it was Mark who brought this one up.&nbsp; He&#8217;s our local Pickball &#8220;pro&#8221; and he&#8217;s always encouraging people to find something they enjoy that keeps them active.&nbsp; He recently started a weekly Pickleball game for the Fido Family, and we have a standing court time every Thursday.&nbsp; He helps coach the newbies, and everyone has fun being together and getting some exercise.</p>
  943. <p>I can&#8217;t state it strongly enough &#8211; if you&#8217;re not yet focused on your fitness, start now.&nbsp; With time, you&#8217;ll see the benefits for yourself, and you&#8217;ll find joy in life through your efforts.&nbsp; I like it mix it up and have found the variety of activities makes my life better.&nbsp; Following are some articles I&#8217;ve written on various activities I pursue:</p>
  944. <ul>
  945. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/accept-the-challenge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Swimming</strong></a></li>
  946. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/7-ways-hiking-is-like-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Hiking</strong></a></li>
  947. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-pursuit-of-childhood-joy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Mountain Biking</strong></a></li>
  948. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-get-in-shape-for-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Spinning and weights in my home gym</strong></a>&nbsp;</li>
  949. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/what-ive-learned-from-two-years-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Walking the dogs</strong></a> (2x/day, every day)</li>
  950. </ul>
  951. <p>If you&#8217;re looking for tips on how to get started, read <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-get-in-shape-for-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How To Get In Shape For Retirement.</strong></a> Set a personal goal to be <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/do-you-want-to-be-younger-next-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Younger Next Year</strong></a>. If you want to have some fun tracking your activities, check out <a href="https://www.strava.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Strava</strong></a>, where you&#8217;ll get free mapping and stats during your workouts (an example is my MTB ride from last week):</p>
  952. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14601" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-10-3.37.14-PM-e1702240703573.png" alt="tracking your exercise can help you find joy in life" width="600" height="454"></p>
  953. <p>If nothing else, go out for a walk today (like my friend, <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveOnSpeed" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Steve</strong></a>, who sent this Tweet as I was writing this post):</p>
  954. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14594" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-08-4.11.23-PM-e1702069975631.png" alt="the benefits of walking" width="400" height="327"></p>
  955. <p><em>&#8220;Impossible not to be deliriously happy when you walk outside every day.&#8221;&nbsp; Steve.</em></p>
  956. <p>Be like Steve &#8211; take a daily walk.</p>
  957. <p>Your future self will thank you.</p>
  958. <hr>
  959. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>5) Savor The Success of Your Children</strong></span></p>
  960. <p>Our 88-year-old member, Ed, stated that he&#8217;s become more thankful in his later years.&nbsp; One of his answers to what helped him find joy in life was savoring the success of his children.&nbsp; We spend decades nurturing our children through the child-rearing years, and watching that effort bear fruit as they mature into responsible adults brings joy as you reflect on the impact of your legacy.&nbsp;</p>
  961. <p>Find a way to foster relationships with your children and grandchildren.&nbsp; It was our primary motivation for <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/why-we-just-bought-a-second-home-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>buying a second home</strong> </a>near our daughter in Southern Alabama, where we spend a week every month.&nbsp; Relationships matter, and we&#8217;ve never regretted investing in our relationship with two very special ladies in our lives.&nbsp;</p>
  962. <hr>
  963. <p><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">6) Have a Sense of Gratitude</span></strong></p>
  964. <p><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-6554" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/10-commandments-of-retirement.jpg" alt="" width="634" height="444" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/10-commandments-of-retirement.jpg 809w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/10-commandments-of-retirement-300x210.jpg 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/10-commandments-of-retirement-768x538.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px" /></span></strong></p>
  965. <p>When I wrote my <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-ten-commandments-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Ten Commandments of Retirement</strong></a> back in 2018, <strong>my first commandment was to have an Attitude of Gratitude.</strong>&nbsp; In the 5 years since I wrote those words, I&#8217;ve come to appreciate the impact of that commandment on my life.&nbsp;</p>
  966. <p>I&#8217;m not alone.</p>
  967. <p>David was the one who added this item to the list, and everyone in the room agreed. We had a great discussion on the importance of gratitude, and how our perception of events is within our control.&nbsp; We can choose to view the glass as half empty or half full.&nbsp; The members of the Retirement Mastermind are &#8220;half full&#8221; people, and their attitude of gratitude is infectious.&nbsp; Surround yourself with people who appreciate life and are thankful for the blessings they&#8217;ve received.&nbsp;</p>
  968. <p>Someone cited Ben Franklin&#8217;s quote, &#8220;It&#8217;s better to be a pessimist than an optimist,&#8221; noting that surprises to the &#8220;good&#8221; for the pessimist are better than surprises to the &#8220;bad&#8221; for the optimist.&nbsp; An interesting take that generated some great discussion.&nbsp;</p>
  969. <p>Find a way to discuss the things that matter with people you love and respect.&nbsp;</p>
  970. <p>Then, take some time to be grateful that those folks are in your lives.</p>
  971. <hr>
  972. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>7) Forgive Often</strong></span></p>
  973. <p>The second item David added to the list was to forgive often, sharing an inspiring story of a Holocaust survivor who lost her family in the Nazi concentration camps but later forgave a Nazi doctor who &#8220;had put her through Hell&#8221; with medical &#8220;experiments&#8221; they conducted in the camp.</p>
  974. <p>Her name was Eva Kor, and I found her story on <a href="https://www.theforgivenessproject.com/stories-library/eva-kor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Forgiveness Project</strong></a>, where I read her words on the power of forgiveness. I also found this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1vHQKc_JiM" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>YouTube video</strong></a> and heard her tell the story (jump to the 5:00 mark and listen in awe&#8230;)</p>
  975. <p>&#8220;You can never change what happened in the past, all you can do is change how you react to it.&#8221;</p>
  976. <p>If a Holocaust survivor can find the freedom that comes from forgiveness, how can we not forgive those who offended us in a much smaller way?&nbsp; The burden of anger harms the one who carries it, not the one who committed the original offense.</p>
  977. <p>Find a way to forgive.</p>
  978. <hr>
  979. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>8) Marry Your Best Friend</strong></span></p>
  980. <p>Relationships matter, and none matters more than your spouse.</p>
  981. <p>Sure, we all face difficulties but find a way to work through them.&nbsp; Foster the relationships that matter most in your life.&nbsp; Life is better when shared with the one you love.</p>
  982. <p>Enough said.</p>
  983. <hr>
  984. <p><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">9) Choose To Do The Things You Love</span></strong></p>
  985. <p>Once you&#8217;ve achieved Financial Independence, your world changes.</p>
  986. <p>You&#8217;re no longer obligated to work for &#8220;The Man&#8221; just to earn that paycheck.&nbsp; The implications of that Freedom are far greater than they appear on the surface.&nbsp; The choice of what you do with your time is now yours.</p>
  987. <p>As I wrote in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/retirement-is-like-a-game-of-poker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Retirement Is Like A Game of Poker</strong></a>, seek to constantly improve your hand.&nbsp; Continually work to add cards that represent the things you love, and discard the ones you don&#8217;t.&nbsp; There&#8217;s no limit to the number of cards you hold, and nothing is stopping you from picking up and discarding cards at will.</p>
  988. <p>You&#8217;ve worked hard to gain your Freedom.</p>
  989. <p>Use it wisely to find joy in life.</p>
  990. <hr>
  991. <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>10) Have Faith in Something Greater Than Yourself</strong></span></p>
  992. <p>In my humble opinion, you can only find true joy in life by including a focus on the spiritual realm.&nbsp; As a Christian, I&#8217;ve come to understand &#8220;the peace that surpasses all understanding,&#8221; and it&#8217;s helped me find joy in life. While I never judge the spiritual aspects of other people&#8217;s lives, I encourage anyone who is struggling in life to spend some time thinking about their spiritual &#8220;health.&#8221;&nbsp;</p>
  993. <p>It was Rob who added this one to the list, and he commented on the value he finds in starting each day with quiet meditation.&nbsp; We had a robust discussion and agreed that spirituality is a true source of joy in life.</p>
  994. <p>Learn from Rob.</p>
  995. <p>Take some time alone in quiet solitude.</p>
  996. <p>Listen.&nbsp;</p>
  997. <hr>
  998. <h2>ChatGPT&#8217;s Answer On How To Find Joy In Life</h2>
  999. <p>I love to write and have avoided the &#8220;crutch&#8221; of using ChatGPT when I write on this blog.&nbsp; I intend to maintain that position despite all of the praise folks have for the amazing technology of AI.&nbsp; That said&#8230;</p>
  1000. <p>&#8230;<strong>After</strong> I had written this post, I decided to check in with ChatGPT to see how the answer compared to ours.&nbsp; After typing in &#8220;What are 10 things you can do to find joy in life&#8221;, I was pleased to see how closely the answers corresponded to the experience of our Retirement Mastermind Group.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1001. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14583" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-08-10.51.03-AM.png" alt="how to find joy in life according to ChatGPT" width="720" height="809" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-08-10.51.03-AM.png 720w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-08-10.51.03-AM-267x300.png 267w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></p>
  1002. <hr>
  1003. <h2>Why Is There Less Joy In The World Today?</h2>
  1004. <p>In closing, if you&#8217;d like to see a fascinating discussion on why happiness is declining in our society, I&#8217;d recommend this excellent interview by Peter Attia of Arthur Brooks titled<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_altIMFDpk0" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> &#8220;Why Happiness Seems To Be Declining.&#8221;&nbsp;</strong></a> If you do nothing else, <strong>jump to the 9:00-minute mark</strong> and listen to the 1-minute overview of the <strong>negative impact of social media</strong> &#8211; fascinating (and concerning). Thanks to reader Robert for your email mentioning the discussion &#8211; great timing!&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1005. <hr>
  1006. <h2>Conclusion</h2>
  1007. <p>I wish you could have been there when we talked about finding joy in our recent Mastermind meeting.&nbsp; Everyone said it was one of the best meetings we&#8217;ve had.&nbsp; The discussion was robust, genuine, and inspiring.</p>
  1008. <p>Retirement (and life) is about much, much more than money.</p>
  1009. <p>If you&#8217;re trying to find joy in your life, I hope these tips from my Mastermind group have been helpful.</p>
  1010. <p>In summary:</p>
  1011. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14587" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-08-3.53.23-PM.png" alt="how do I find joy in my life" width="440" height="659" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-08-3.53.23-PM.png 440w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-08-3.53.23-PM-200x300.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px" /></p>
  1012. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:</strong></span>&nbsp; What did we miss?&nbsp; What tips do you have for folks trying to find joy in their lives?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s chat in the comments&#8230;</p>
  1013. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/10-ways-to-find-joy-in-life/">10 Ways To Find Joy In Life</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1014. ]]></content:encoded>
  1015. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/10-ways-to-find-joy-in-life/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1016. <slash:comments>42</slash:comments>
  1017. </item>
  1018. <item>
  1019. <title>The 3-Legged Stool of Retirement</title>
  1020. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-3-legged-stool-of-retirement/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-3-legged-stool-of-retirement</link>
  1021. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-3-legged-stool-of-retirement/#comments</comments>
  1022. <dc:creator><![CDATA[fritz@theretirementmanifesto.com]]></dc:creator>
  1023. <pubDate>Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:02:43 +0000</pubDate>
  1024. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  1025. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  1026. <category><![CDATA[Just Do It]]></category>
  1027. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=14514</guid>
  1028.  
  1029. <description><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve got an uncharacteristically short post today. A few thoughts on the 3-legged stool.&#160;&#160; It&#8217;s a metaphor we&#8217;ve all heard many times.&#160; For example, I recall in my working days [&#8230;]</p>
  1030. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-3-legged-stool-of-retirement/">The 3-Legged Stool of Retirement</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1031. ]]></description>
  1032. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve got an uncharacteristically short post today.</p>
  1033. <p>A few thoughts on the 3-legged stool.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1034. <p>It&#8217;s a metaphor we&#8217;ve all heard many times.&nbsp;</p>
  1035. <p>For example, I recall in my working days when we were working on large capital projects.&nbsp; Our engineer would frequently use the 3-legged stool argument.&nbsp; The legs he would cite? Cost &#8211; Quality &#8211; Time.&nbsp; If we asked for it sooner, he&#8217;d respond &#8220;You&#8217;re breaking one of the legs!&#8221;&nbsp; As in&#8230;</p>
  1036. <ul>
  1037. <li>&#8220;You can have it faster, but it will cost more&#8221;</li>
  1038. <li>&#8220;You can have it cheaper, but you&#8217;ll get lower quality&#8221;</li>
  1039. </ul>
  1040. <p>It turns out there&#8217;s also a great 3-legged stool metaphor for retirement.</p>
  1041. <p>The legs (and, more importantly, the implications for your retirement)?</p>
  1042. <p>Read on&#8230;</p>
  1043. <hr /><p><em>The 3-legged stool is a great metaphor for retirement. What are the 3 legs? Read on...</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Fthe-3-legged-stool-of-retirement%2F&#038;text=The%203-legged%20stool%20is%20a%20great%20metaphor%20for%20retirement.%20What%20are%20the%203%20legs%3F%20Read%20on...&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click To Tweet</a><br /><hr />
  1044. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14516" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-11-10.39.30-AM.png" alt="how do I have a successful retirement" width="427" height="648" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-11-10.39.30-AM.png 427w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-11-10.39.30-AM-198x300.png 198w" sizes="(max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px" /></p>
  1045. <hr>
  1046. <h1>The 3-Legged Stool of Retirement</h1>
  1047. <p>Retirement is a game of tradeoffs.&nbsp;</p>
  1048. <p>If you work longer than you need to, you risk losing your health before you&#8217;re able to do the things you want to do.</p>
  1049. <p>If you retire too early, you risk running out of money before you die.</p>
  1050. <p>Finding the right balance is the key, and a helpful metaphor to think about those tradeoffs is the 3-legged stool.&nbsp; For retirement, I think of those three legs as:</p>
  1051. <ul>
  1052. <li>Time</li>
  1053. <li>Money</li>
  1054. <li>Health</li>
  1055. </ul>
  1056. <p>We will all lose our health and time. You can&#8217;t get out of here alive.</p>
  1057. <p>Therefore, I&#8217;ll be controversial and state my belief that Money is the least important of the three.&nbsp; Of course money matters, but chances are it will be the last remaining leg on your stool.&nbsp; You&#8217;ll lose the other legs first.</p>
  1058. <p>Recognize the value of Health and Time.</p>
  1059. <p>Unlike money, they are the real sand in your hourglass, and they&#8217;ll be gone before you know it.</p>
  1060. <p>So&#8230;</p>
  1061. <ul>
  1062. <li>Do what you want to do while you&#8217;re still able to do it.&nbsp;</li>
  1063. <li>Evaluate if &#8220;One More Year&#8221; of work is the best use of your limited remaining time.</li>
  1064. <li>Do all you can do to invest in your Health.</li>
  1065. <li>Prioritize your Time to avoid future regrets.</li>
  1066. <li>Pause to be thankful for the legs on your stool.</li>
  1067. </ul>
  1068. <p>We all focus on the money side of retirement.</p>
  1069. <p>Perhaps it&#8217;s time to focus as much, or more, on the two other legs.</p>
  1070. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Health and Time.</strong></span></em></p>
  1071. <p>Just like money, both health and time can be optimized by thoughtful investment.&nbsp; If you&#8217;re not exercising, start now.&nbsp; If you&#8217;re wasting your time doing things that don&#8217;t matter, rethink your priorities.</p>
  1072. <p>Ultimately, health and time are the scarcest resources in our lives.</p>
  1073. <p>It&#8217;s a shame more of us don&#8217;t act accordingly.</p>
  1074. <p>Focus on reinforcing all 3 legs of your stool.</p>
  1075. <p>While you still have time.</p>
  1076. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-3-legged-stool-of-retirement/">The 3-Legged Stool of Retirement</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1077. ]]></content:encoded>
  1078. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-3-legged-stool-of-retirement/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1079. <slash:comments>40</slash:comments>
  1080. </item>
  1081. <item>
  1082. <title>From Food Stamps to FIRE (A Case Study on Retirement Planning)</title>
  1083. <link>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/from-food-stamps-to-fire-a-case-study-on-retirement-planning/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=from-food-stamps-to-fire-a-case-study-on-retirement-planning</link>
  1084. <comments>https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/from-food-stamps-to-fire-a-case-study-on-retirement-planning/#comments</comments>
  1085. <dc:creator><![CDATA[fritz@theretirementmanifesto.com]]></dc:creator>
  1086. <pubDate>Thu, 16 Nov 2023 09:24:23 +0000</pubDate>
  1087. <category><![CDATA[Retirement]]></category>
  1088. <category><![CDATA[affiliate]]></category>
  1089. <category><![CDATA[asset allocation]]></category>
  1090. <category><![CDATA[early retirement]]></category>
  1091. <category><![CDATA[financial planning]]></category>
  1092. <category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
  1093. <category><![CDATA[Personal finance]]></category>
  1094. <category><![CDATA[retirement planning]]></category>
  1095. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/?p=14233</guid>
  1096.  
  1097. <description><![CDATA[<p>Note:&#160; This post includes Amazon Affiliate links, which will compensate me at no cost to you if you order through the links. Most of us enjoy hearing inspirational stories. It&#8217;s [&#8230;]</p>
  1098. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/from-food-stamps-to-fire-a-case-study-on-retirement-planning/">From Food Stamps to FIRE (A Case Study on Retirement Planning)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
  1099. ]]></description>
  1100. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Note:&nbsp; This post includes Amazon Affiliate links, which will compensate me at no cost to you if you order through the links.</span></em></p>
  1101. <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>Most of us enjoy hearing inspirational stories.</em></span></p>
  1102. <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>It&#8217;s even more rewarding when you get to play a small role.</em></span></p>
  1103. <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>Today&#8217;s article is a combination of both.</em></span></p>
  1104. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>This one is special.&nbsp; A real-life case study on retirement planning.</strong></span></p>
  1105. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I first heard Theresa&#8217;s story when Brad Barrett at <a href="https://www.choosefi.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>ChooseFI</strong></a> reached out and asked if I&#8217;d be willing</span> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">to help. In two sentences, here&#8217;s her &#8220;Rags To Riches&#8221; story:</span></span></p>
  1106. <hr>
  1107. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Theresa had two children and was a single Mom on food stamps at the age of 25.</strong></span></p>
  1108. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Today, at age 44, she&#8217;s married, financially independent (FI), and considering early retirement (RE).</strong></span></p>
  1109. <hr>
  1110. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">She told her amazing story of moving from &#8220;Food Stamps to Financial Independence&#8221; on <a href="https://www.choosefi.com/from-food-stamps-to-fi-theresa-ep-453/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>this episode</strong> </a>of ChooseFI.&nbsp; I encourage you to take the time to listen, it&#8217;s one of the more inspirational stories you&#8217;ll hear.</span></p>
  1111. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> At the 55-minute mark in the recording, you hear Theresa explain the struggles she&#8217;s having with figuring out her next steps, and Brad&#8217;s on-the-spot suggestion to reach out to a &#8220;retirement expert&#8221; in the community to help her sort out the &#8220;FI to RE&#8221; leg of her journey.&nbsp; In short, what would it take for her to transition to retirement?&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
  1112. <ul>
  1113. <li><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Brad followed up by sending me an email asking if I&#8217;d be willing to help.</span></li>
  1114. <li><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That email led to a series of Zoom calls with Theresa over the past month.</span></li>
  1115. <li><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Those calls have led to this article.</span></li>
  1116. </ul>
  1117. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>We&#8217;re helping her on the next steps of her incredible journey.</strong></span></p>
  1118. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Today, we&#8217;re sharing the strategy we&#8217;ve developed for her to move through the &#8220;FI to Retirement&#8221; phase, with a deep dive case study and detailed recommendations.&nbsp; We&#8217;re also recording a podcast episode on ChooseFI to discuss the strategy.</span></p>
  1119. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>If you&#8217;re within 5 years of retirement, </strong>this post is for you.&nbsp; Along the way, I think you&#8217;ll be inspired by Therea&#8217;s story.&nbsp; A real-life story of a woman&#8217;s journey from Food Stamps to FI to Retirement.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p>
  1120. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I invite you to come along for the ride&#8230;</span></p>
  1121. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><hr /><p><em>Theresa was a single mom with two kids at the age of 25. Today, at 44, she&#039;s FI and we&#039;re helping her figure out how to transition to retirement.</em><br /><a href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theretirementmanifesto.com%2Ffrom-food-stamps-to-fire-a-case-study-on-retirement-planning%2F&#038;text=Theresa%20was%20a%20single%20mom%20with%20two%20kids%20at%20the%20age%20of%2025.%20Today%2C%20at%2044%2C%20she%27s%20FI%20and%20we%27re%20helping%20her%20figure%20out%20how%20to%20transition%20to%20retirement.&#038;via=retiremanifesto&#038;related=retiremanifesto' target='_blank' rel="noopener noreferrer" >Click To Tweet</a><br /><hr /></span></p>
  1122. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14502" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-07-11.45.23-AM.png" alt="what do I need to do to retire" width="433" height="649" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-07-11.45.23-AM.png 433w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-07-11.45.23-AM-200x300.png 200w" sizes="(max-width: 433px) 100vw, 433px" /></p>
  1123. <hr>
  1124. <h1><span style="font-size: 18pt;">From Food Stamps To FIRE &#8211; A Case Study on Retirement Planning</span></h1>
  1125. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It all started with this email from Brad:</span></p>
  1126. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>Hey Fritz &#8212; hope all is well!!</em></span></p>
  1127. <div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>I had a guest on this past episode (453) named Theresa and she was hoping we could do a follow-up episode walking through her numbers and maybe helping her with a drawdown strategy plus thinking through Social Security.</em></span></div>
  1128. <div>&nbsp;</div>
  1129. <div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>Would you be interested in being the&nbsp;guest expert to help me with it?</em></span></div>
  1130. <div>
  1131. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>Brad</em></span></p>
  1132. <div>
  1133. <div dir="ltr">
  1134. <div dir="ltr">
  1135. <div dir="ltr">
  1136. <div dir="ltr">
  1137. <div dir="ltr">
  1138. <div dir="ltr">
  1139. <div dir="ltr">
  1140. <div dir="ltr">
  1141. <div dir="ltr">
  1142. <div dir="ltr">
  1143. <div dir="ltr">
  1144. <div dir="ltr">
  1145. <div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I love ChooseFI&#8217;s focus on &#8220;crowd-sourcing&#8221; solutions and immediately responded that I&#8217;d be happy to work with Theresa on the next phase of her journey.&nbsp; Brad put me in touch with Theresa and we had an introductory Zoom call which led to a fulfilling month of working through her details and providing a roadmap for her transition into retirement.</span></div>
  1146. <div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div>
  1147. <div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Below, we present the plan.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
  1148. </div>
  1149. </div>
  1150. </div>
  1151. <div dir="ltr">
  1152. <div dir="ltr">
  1153. <div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div>
  1154. <div dir="ltr">
  1155. <div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Before that, I&#8217;ll present a summary timeline of her story to date, which I created while listening to her original podcast.&nbsp; If you don&#8217;t have time to listen to the <a href="https://www.choosefi.com/from-food-stamps-to-fi-theresa-ep-453/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>episode</strong></a>, here&#8217;s a summary of her journey &#8220;From Food Stamps To FI&#8221;:</span></div>
  1156. <div dir="ltr">
  1157. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14343" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-27-12.33.38-PM-e1695832456161.png" alt="how to make a retirement plan" width="800" height="381"></p>
  1158. <hr>
  1159. <h2>Theresa&#8217;s Current Situation</h2>
  1160. <p>The ChooseFI episode did an excellent job of summarizing Theresa&#8217;s journey. Our strategy will provide a&nbsp; roadmap for the coming years, presented as a case study on retirement planning.&nbsp; Before we jump to that, it&#8217;s helpful to provide a snapshot of Theresa&#8217;s current situation:</p>
  1161. <ul>
  1162. <li>Theresa is 44, husband Paul is 56.</li>
  1163. <li>Paul retired earlier this year.</li>
  1164. <li>Two daughters, 19 and 24.</li>
  1165. <li>Savings Rate: 37%</li>
  1166. </ul>
  1167. <p><em>To protect Theresa&#8217;s privacy, we will not be disclosing specific net worth figures during this case study.</em></p>
  1168. <hr>
  1169. <h2>When Can Theresa Retire?</h2>
  1170. <p>The ultimate question on Theresa&#8217;s mind is when she&#8217;ll be able to join Paul in retirement.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1171. <p>We tackled that problem with two parallel exercises, each conducted independently to &#8220;test&#8221; the results against each other.&nbsp; The two approaches were:</p>
  1172. <ol>
  1173. <li><strong>Spreadsheet Based:</strong>&nbsp; When will a 3.5% Safe Withdrawal Rate cover their retirement expenses?</li>
  1174. <li><strong>New Retirement:</strong>&nbsp; <a href="https://www.newretirement.com/?nr_a=retirementmanifesto&amp;utm_source=retirementmanifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>New Retirement Planner</strong>&nbsp;</a>(with some bonuses thrown in by their CEO).</li>
  1175. </ol>
  1176. <p>Below, we&#8217;ll review the results of each approach.</p>
  1177. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Building The Baseline Data</strong></span></p>
  1178. <p>Both methods required a set of baseline data, so we started building spreadsheets as outlined in my series<span style="font-size: 12pt;">&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/25-when-can-i-retire-step-1-spending/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>When Can I Retire</strong></a>.</span></p>
  1179. <hr>
  1180. <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>In short, retirement is a math problem.</strong></p>
  1181. <p style="text-align: center;">Income &lt; Spending = Keep Working</p>
  1182. <p style="text-align: center;">Income &gt; Spending = Retire</p>
  1183. <hr>
  1184. <p style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately, figuring out those equations takes some work on the front end, and Theresa and I were diligent as we worked through her numbers.&nbsp; To be consistent, we used the same baseline data for both the spreadsheet and New Retirement Planner methodologies.</p>
  1185. <ul>
  1186. <li>How much will they spend in retirement (including healthcare)?</li>
  1187. <li>How much will she save between now and her retirement date?</li>
  1188. <li>What&#8217;s their Net Worth, and what are reasonable assumptions for market returns and inflation?&nbsp;</li>
  1189. <li>What steps should they take to prepare their portfolio for the transition to retirement?</li>
  1190. </ul>
  1191. <p>The more accurate the data, the more accurate the plan. As we worked together, we built a personalized spreadsheet to answer the critical questions outlined above.&nbsp; She took the exercise seriously and she put in some work to provide as much detail as possible.</p>
  1192. </div>
  1193. </div>
  1194. </div>
  1195. </div>
  1196. </div>
  1197. </div>
  1198. </div>
  1199. </div>
  1200. </div>
  1201. </div>
  1202. </div>
  1203. </div>
  1204. </div>
  1205. </div>
  1206. </div>
  1207. <hr>
  1208. <p><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">The Current Position</span></strong></p>
  1209. <p>Below is a snapshot of Theresa &amp; Paul&#8217;s opening position, which is based on the detailed Net Worth analysis she provided using my <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12lB6-hpIxvqMJOryQxm9wCV2An309J9KvPdcFrQQNhk/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>free Net Worth template</strong></a>:</p>
  1210. <p>&nbsp;</p>
  1211. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14347" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-28-1.14.20-PM.png" alt="when can I retire - the starting point" width="805" height="377" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-28-1.14.20-PM.png 805w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-28-1.14.20-PM-300x140.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-28-1.14.20-PM-768x360.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 805px) 100vw, 805px" /></p>
  1212. <p><em>Key takeaways from the charts:</em></p>
  1213. <ul>
  1214. <li><em>Aggressive asset allocation, with 93% in stocks.</em></li>
  1215. <li><em>63% pre-tax holdings will require a thoughtful Roth conversion strategy.</em></li>
  1216. </ul>
  1217. <hr>
  1218. <h2>Methodology #1:&nbsp; The Spreadsheet Model @ 3.5% SWR</h2>
  1219. <p>Given the &#8220;math equation&#8221; nature of the retirement question, we focused extensively on the &#8220;Income&#8221; and &#8220;Spending&#8221; elements of the equation as we filled out the spreadsheets from my <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/25-when-can-i-retire-step-1-spending/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>When Can I Retire Series</strong></a>.&nbsp; Since their income will come primarily from investment withdrawals, we calculated future income using a 3.5% &#8211; 4.0% Safe Withdrawal Rate against their projected &#8220;Retirement Assets&#8221; (Net Worth minus Non-Spendable Assets).&nbsp;</p>
  1220. <p>After completing their initial <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12lB6-hpIxvqMJOryQxm9wCV2An309J9KvPdcFrQQNhk/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Net Worth statement</strong></a>, we had a series of calls focused on how their net worth would change between now and the date she ultimately retired.&nbsp; We built a new tab in our worksheet detailing her savings by year and projected her future net worth based on various market returns and annual savings rates.&nbsp; We had a session analyzing her actual spending patterns and how they were likely to change in retirement.&nbsp;</p>
  1221. <p>By comparing how much income she could generate from her investments each year <em>(Net Assets &#8211; &#8220;Non-Spendable Assets&#8221; X Safe Withdrawal Rate)</em> vs. her projected retirement spending (inflated each year), we could quantify the &#8220;gap&#8221; between retirement income and expenses.&nbsp; For our base model, we came up with the following (Red = income doesn&#8217;t cover spending):</p>
  1222. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14490" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-06-1.35.12-PM.png" alt="" width="789" height="67" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-06-1.35.12-PM.png 789w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-06-1.35.12-PM-300x25.png 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-06-1.35.12-PM-768x65.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 789px) 100vw, 789px" /></p>
  1223. <p><em>* Numbers above represent (Spending Requirements &#8211; Other Income &#8211; Spendable Assets X SWR).&nbsp; Red means income is below spending, green means income exceeds spending. </em></p>
  1224. <p>In summary, if Theresa and Paul decide they&#8217;re comfortable with a 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate, &#8220;the numbers&#8221; say she could retire as early as 12/31/26.&nbsp; More conservatively, using a 3.5% SWR delays her retirement until 12/31/28.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1225. <p>At this point, Theresa is leaning toward <strong>early 2029 as a target retirement date (at age 50),</strong> with some flexibility to move it earlier based on how things transpire over the next few years. Based on our spreadsheet model, I agree this is a reasonable approach.&nbsp; We&#8217;ll see below if the date was verified using Methodology #2 (The New Retirement Planner).</p>
  1226. <hr>
  1227. <h2>Methodology #2: The New Retirement Planner</h2>
  1228. <hr>
  1229. <figure id="attachment_14480" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-14480" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-14480" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot_20231101-1407352-e1698862583556.png" alt="is New Retirement calculator good" width="800" height="327"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-14480" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>Theresa&#8217;s 2029 Retirement Model Output (Y-Axis deleted for the sake of privacy)</em></span></figcaption></figure>
  1230. <p><strong>I strongly encourage the use of the</strong> <a href="https://www.newretirement.com/?nr_a=retirementmanifesto&amp;utm_source=retirementmanifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>New Retirement Planner</strong></a> <em>(affiliate link)</em> for any DIY&#8217;er working their way to (or through) retirement.&nbsp; It&#8217;s a powerful tool that simplifies all of the steps we took with our spreadsheets, and it offers more comprehensive planning (Roth conversion, tax optimization, scenario planning, downsizing, etc) than can be done in a simple spreadsheet.&nbsp; If a reader only wanted to follow one methodology, I&#8217;d start with New Retirement vs. a spreadsheet.&nbsp; The user interface is well done, and the graphics help you &#8220;see&#8221; the results of your alternatives as you finalize your plan.&nbsp; For my full review on the New Retirement Planner, check out my article <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-retirement-calculator-worth-your-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&#8220;A Retirement Calculator Worth Your Time.&#8221;&nbsp;</strong></a></p>
  1231. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Knowing I wanted to use New Retirement for this case study, I took the &#8220;crowd-sourcing&#8221; approach a step further and contacted Stephen Chen, the CEO at New Retirement.&nbsp; Would he be interested in our project with Theresa and, if so, what could he offer?&nbsp; Since Theresa&#8217;s already a New Retirement Planner user, he agreed to provide two valuable add-on services (for free) to support this project:&nbsp;</span></p>
  1232. <ul>
  1233. <li>A coaching call with a Planning Tool specialist, to verify Theresa&#8217;s data and answer any questions.</li>
  1234. <li>A consultation with a CFP to review Theresa&#8217;s Planner output and provide guidance on the plan.&nbsp;</li>
  1235. </ul>
  1236. <p>I should state that this was a valuable offer, but readers shouldn&#8217;t feel the need to necessarily pay the extra cost to access them.&nbsp; The planner is very strong on its own, and I&#8217;d encourage you to spend some time in the planner before deciding whether or not to pay for the extra services offered.&nbsp;</p>
  1237. <p>Regardless, Theresa was thrilled with the offer and both calls were extremely helpful.&nbsp; For the record, Theresa and Paul are planning on continuing to use the New Retirement Planner as their primary tool to track their progress and modify their strategy as she approaches retirement.</p>
  1238. <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A special &#8220;Thank You!&#8221; to Stephen and the entire team at New Retirement for supporting Theresa and this case study.&nbsp;</span></p>
  1239. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Step 1:&nbsp; Confirming The Model&#8217;s Data</strong></span></p>
  1240. <p>Theresa and I had a coaching call with Nancy Gates in October as Theresa worked through building her strategy in the New Retirement Planner.&nbsp; I can&#8217;t say enough about Nancy &#8211; she&#8217;s an expert on the New Retirement Planner and an absolute joy to work with.&nbsp; Theresa had several questions about the way data is handled in the calculator (e.g., how to change default assumptions, what various withdrawal methodologies meant, how to change Social Security claiming strategy, etc) and Nancy was able to answer every single one of them.&nbsp;</p>
  1241. <p>After the call, Theresa took a few more days to finalize her inputs in the New Retirement model, then sent an email request to Nancy to look things over one last time before our consultation session with the CFP.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1242. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Step 2:&nbsp; When Can Theresa Retire?&nbsp; New Retirement says&#8230;</strong></span></p>
  1243. <p>Fortunately, the New Retirement output confirmed the conclusion we reached using Methodology #1, with early 2029 being a realistic retirement target for Theresa.&nbsp; The chart at the top of this section shows a 99% chance of success with the 2029 target date.&nbsp; For comparison, <strong>below is the output for a March 2028 retirement, which drops to a 93% success rate</strong> (still possible, depending on how things transpire over the next few years):</p>
  1244. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-14483" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/March-2028-e1699127516766.png" alt="how to use a retirement calculator" width="800" height="188"></p>
  1245. <p>For fun, we also ran a scenario with Theresa retiring yet another year earlier, in March 2027. The chance of success dropped to 86%, confirming that 2028 &#8211; 2029 is a more appropriate target date for Theresa.</p>
  1246. <p>I should mention there are a lot of interesting dashboard charts available with the New Retirement model, but we have chosen not to share them since they include specific dollar figures.&nbsp; <em>(To see some examples, check out <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-retirement-calculator-worth-your-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>my full review</strong></a> of New Retirement here.)</em></p>
  1247. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Step 3:&nbsp; Consultation With A New Retirement Certified Financial Planner</strong></span></p>
  1248. <p>On November 10th, Theresa, Paul, and I had a Zoom call with New Retirement&#8217;s CFP, Bruce Lorenz.&nbsp; It was a valuable part of the exercise and gave Theresa and Paul a good opportunity to ask questions as they finalized their base case model.&nbsp; <strong>Bruce confirmed they were on solid footing</strong> for their 2029 target retirement, and also mentioned that they don&#8217;t necessarily need to achieve a 99% chance of success in the model.&nbsp; The more flexible their spending plans, the lower that percentage can be.&nbsp; He encouraged them to not necessarily rule out a retirement in &#8217;27 or &#8217;28, depending on how things evolve between now and then.&nbsp; He then dove into some details on areas of particular interest.&nbsp; For the sake of brevity, a few highlights:</p>
  1249. <p><strong>Roth Conversion Modeling:&nbsp;</strong> Bruce walked through how to model Roth conversions in the NR planner, and we discussed the best timing for conversions.&nbsp; We considered doing conversions to the top of their marginal tax bracket in &#8217;24 and &#8217;25 (due to a <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-golden-age-of-roth-conversions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>potential change to tax law</strong> </a>in &#8217;26), but agreed it would be best to focus on building after-tax liquidity before retirement and wait until the &#8220;$0 income years&#8221; of early retirement to implement conversions (see &#8220;Retirement Strategy&#8221; below).</p>
  1250. <p><strong>Reducing Stock Exposure:</strong>&nbsp; As Theresa approaches retirement, both Bruce and I suggested they consider reducing their 93% stock allocation, with extensive discussion on the merits of <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-bond-ladder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Building A Bond Ladder</strong></a> to protect the first 3-5 years of retirement (see Item #4 below for the final recommendation).&nbsp; In addition to the Bond Ladder, we addressed Theresa&#8217;s question on the merits of annuities.&nbsp; Bruce suggested annuities could be a viable option given: 1) today&#8217;s higher interest rate environment makes them more attractive, 2) Theresa and Paul have no pensions, and 3) the reality that Paul is 11 years older than Theresa and annuities could offer some longevity protection for Theresa.&nbsp; We encouraged them to take some time to review and determine if they&#8217;d be more comfortable with a &#8220;floor&#8221; of guaranteed income covering, perhaps, ~20% of their annual spending needs.&nbsp; This will be a longer-term decision that they&#8217;ll incorporate into their final Retirement Drawdown Strategy.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
  1251. <p><strong>Umbrella Policy:</strong>&nbsp; Bruce suggested Theresa and Paul purchase an umbrella insurance policy to protect their net worth.&nbsp; Given the low cost (Bruce cited ~$200 for $1M of coverage), it&#8217;s a low-cost product that offers peace of mind.&nbsp; I supported the recommendation, and encourage any readers with a net worth over $1M to do the same.</p>
  1252. <p><strong>Encouragement To Spend:&nbsp;</strong> Bruce wrapped up the call by challenging Theresa&#8217;s assumption that spending would decline in retirement.&nbsp; He encouraged them to discuss their dream retirement and activities they&#8217;d like to do together in their younger retirement years.&nbsp; We discussed the book <a href="https://amzn.to/47sBlKC" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Die With Zero</strong></a> <em>(Amazon Affiliate link)</em> and its message of enjoying activities while you still have your health.&nbsp; Theresa and Paul will run some alternative New Retirement scenarios over the coming months with higher spending in their early years to determine the impact on their plan.</p>
  1253. <p>It was a valuable discussion, and Theresa and Paul both expressed sincere gratitude to Bruce and the entire New Retirement team for being a part of this case study.</p>
  1254. <hr>
  1255. <h1>Strategy Overview &#8211; The Final Working Years</h1>
  1256. <p>In this section, we&#8217;ll present the final strategy and tactical recommendations to better position Paul and Theresa for full retirement by 2028/29.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
  1257. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>1. Continue To Focus On Growing Investments</strong></span></p>
  1258. <p>Now that Paul&#8217;s retired, it will be more difficult to save on Theresa&#8217;s sole income.&nbsp; However, their current net worth is insufficient to cover their retirement spending, so Theresa will attempt to save 35 &#8211; 40% of her income.&nbsp; If they find they are unable to cover their current living expenses, they will reduce their savings rate to avoid withdrawing investments, realizing this may delay Theresa&#8217;s retirement date.&nbsp; In addition, Paul is considering part-time work while Theresa&#8217;s still working, and any &#8220;side hustle&#8221; income he earns will be used to build their nest egg and/or purchase &#8220;toys&#8221; for their retirement years.</p>
  1259. <hr>
  1260. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2. Focus on Building Retirement Liquidity </strong></span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">&nbsp;</span></p>
  1261. <p><span style="font-size: 1rem;">To have sufficient liquidity for retirement, Theresa will be redirecting her savings effective in 2024.&nbsp; While she&#8217;ll still save up to the level of her employer&#8217;s match in the 401K, she&#8217;ll&#8230;</span></p>
  1262. <ul>
  1263. <li>&#8230;Increase her savings in her <strong>after-tax Fidelity brokerage money market account.</strong>&nbsp; She&#8217;ll begin to build the cash buffer for their <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-retirement-paycheck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Bucket Strategy</strong></a>, recognizing it will take several years to build to their targeted cash level (~3 years of spending).&nbsp; She&#8217;ll also attempt to save 80% of her annual bonus in the Fidelity brokerage account.</li>
  1264. <li>&#8230;Increase her savings in a Roth IRA outside her 401k, which will provide funds she can also access without tax penalty post-retirement.&nbsp; These funds will continue to be invested in stocks to capture the longer-term growth necessary to offset inflation throughout retirement.</li>
  1265. </ul>
  1266. <hr>
  1267. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>3. Diversify Tax Location of Assets</strong></span></p>
  1268. <p>Theresa and Paul currently have <strong>63% of their assets in pre-tax</strong> accounts.&nbsp; With Paul&#8217;s retirement in 2023 (and the resulting lower combined income/tax bracket),&nbsp; <strong>Theresa will redirect her new 401k contributions from pre-tax to Roth accounts</strong>. In 2023, Theresa had 20% of her paycheck diverted to her pre-tax 401(k). In 2024, she&#8217;ll reduce her 401k contributions to 4% of her pay (she gets an 8% match on savings up to 4%, so she&#8217;s &#8220;getting the match&#8221;) and direct those savings to her 401k Roth.&nbsp; With their lower income starting in 2024, this action will allow them to avoid increasing the 63% of their assets already in pre-tax accounts while minimizing the tax impact of contributing to the Roth.</p>
  1269. <hr>
  1270. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>4. Consider Asset Allocation Adjustments to Mitigate Sequence of Return Risk</strong></span></p>
  1271. <p>To avoid <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sequence-risk.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Sequence of Return Risk</strong></a>, Theresa should reevaluate her Asset Allocation to determine if she should derisk her position.&nbsp; With <strong>92.7% of their assets allocated to stocks</strong>, they do have an increased risk of being forced to make withdrawals amid a bear market early in their retirement.</p>
  1272. <p>One recommendation, especially given the more favorable interest rate environment, would be to <strong>establish a Bond Ladder.</strong>&nbsp; This would avoid the risk of owning bond market mutual funds (which have been in a bear market with the interest rate increases) while also allowing Theresa to earn 5-6% on the money required to cover their spending over the first 3-5 years of their retirement.&nbsp; I started implementing a Bond Ladder in our portfolio earlier this year, and provided all of the details on the approach in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-bond-ladder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How To Build A Bond Ladder.</strong></a></p>
  1273. <p>Theresa and Paul will also do more homework on annuities and determine if they&#8217;d like to layer in several tranches of annuities over the coming years to build a guaranteed income floor.</p>
  1274. <hr>
  1275. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>5. Practice Living on a Retirement Budget While Still Working</strong></span></p>
  1276. <p>Ideally, Theresa and Paul will be able to live on their retirement budget in her final years of work, allowing her to save the difference.&nbsp; Her initial savings target of 37% will be a bit of a stretch goal, but she&#8217;d like to start with a more aggressive savings rate and only reduce it if they find they&#8217;re unable to live on the balance.&nbsp; It&#8217;s a reasonable way to easily &#8220;test&#8221; your budget by automating the process.&nbsp; Simply adjust your take-home pay by adjusting your savings, and you can easily determine a realistic spending budget without having to track all of the details.</p>
  1277. <hr>
  1278. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>6. Monitor Annually</strong></span></p>
  1279. <p>As each year comes to a close, Theresa will update their Net Worth spreadsheet and compare it to the baseline model we developed for this case study.&nbsp; She&#8217;ll immediately know if she&#8217;s on track and if adjustments are required for the following year.&nbsp; In addition, she&#8217;ll update the New Retirement Planner and continue to use that model as her DIY guide through her final years of working.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
  1280. <hr>
  1281. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>7. Other Non-Financial Recommendations</strong></span></p>
  1282. <p>While this case study has focused on the financial aspects of retirement planning, I&#8217;d be remiss if I didn&#8217;t touch on the non-financial preparations Theresa should take as she nears retirement.&nbsp; As I mentioned in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/shining-the-light-on-retirement-blind-spots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Shining The Light on Retirement Blind Spots,</strong></a> the majority of retirees don&#8217;t realize the importance of focusing on the non-financial aspects of the retirement transition, and <strong>have a more difficult transition into retirement as a result</strong>.&nbsp; I&#8217;ve written dozens of articles on this topic (as well as a book dedicated to the topic, <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/my-book/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Keys To A Successful Retirement</strong></a>), and encourage Theresa to carve out some time starting <strong>1-2 years before retirement</strong> to spend as much time as possible on the non-financial aspects.</p>
  1283. <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Further Reading on non-financial planning for retirement:</strong></span></p>
  1284. <ul>
  1285. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/20-steps-to-take-in-the-year-before-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>20 Steps To Take In The Year Before Retirement</strong></a></li>
  1286. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-ultimate-retirement-planning-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Ultimate Retirement Planning Guide</strong></a></li>
  1287. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/lessons-learned-on-the-path-to-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>11 Lessons Learned On The Path To Retirement</strong></a></li>
  1288. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/introducing-the-90-10-rule-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Introducing The 90/10 Rule of Retirement</strong></a></li>
  1289. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-dark-side-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Dark Side of Retirement</strong></a></li>
  1290. <li><a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-ultimate-pre-retirement-checklist/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The Ultimate Pre-Retirement Checklist</strong></a></li>
  1291. </ul>
  1292. <hr>
  1293. <p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-14498 size-full" src="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/road-908176_1280-e1699373324506.jpg" alt="what to do when you retire" width="800" height="306" srcset="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/road-908176_1280-e1699373324506.jpg 800w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/road-908176_1280-e1699373324506-300x115.jpg 300w, https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/road-908176_1280-e1699373324506-768x294.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></p>
  1294. <h1>Drawdown Strategy Overview &#8211; The Retirement Years</h1>
  1295. <p>As Theresa retires, they&#8217;ll experience the transition from the Accumulation Phase to the Withdrawal Phase.&nbsp; As I wrote in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/our-retirement-investment-drawdown-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Our Retirement Investment Drawdown Strategy</strong></a>, having a strategy that extends through the retirement years is a critical element of retirement planning.&nbsp; Below are some steps for her to consider as she approaches and crosses &#8220;The Starting Line&#8221; of retirement, all of which should be incorporated into a written Drawdown Strategy before retiring:</p>
  1296. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>1. Create A Retirement Paycheck</strong></span></p>
  1297. <p>The biggest financial impact of retirement is the elimination of the paycheck.&nbsp; As I wrote in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-build-a-retirement-paycheck/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How To Build A Retirement Paycheck,</strong></a> retirees need to develop a strategy that provides an inflow of cash to meet their spending needs while living within their Safe Withdrawal Rate.&nbsp; Theresa is well on her way to developing this strategy with the steps she&#8217;s taking in her final working years (increasing liquidity, redirecting pre-tax contributions to Roth, building a Bond Ladder, and evaluating annuities), but the execution of this strategy will extend well beyond her retirement date.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  1298. <hr>
  1299. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2. Roth Conversions Vs. Health Insurance</strong></span></p>
  1300. <p>With 63% of their portfolio in pre-tax accounts, Theresa and Paul would like to use the &#8220;low-income&#8221; years of her early retirement (and, before Social Security starts) to make <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/the-golden-age-of-roth-conversions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Roth Conversions</strong></a>.&nbsp; However, they were also planning on using ACA for health insurance, and the subsidies they are planning on could be eliminated by aggressive Roth conversions.&nbsp; To counter this risk, <strong>Theresa is considering using a Health Sharing plan for insurance</strong> but recognizes these also come with some risk. Before retirement, she and Paul will evaluate their options to finalize their approach for balancing low-cost health insurance and Roth conversions. As I wrote in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/health-insurance-in-retirement-unsolved/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Health Insurance in Retirement: Unsolved</strong></a>, I was in the same position as Theresa as I approached my retirement.&nbsp; I figured it out, and I&#8217;m sure she will as well.</p>
  1301. <p>New Retirement has an excellent <a href="https://www.newretirement.com/retirement/roth-conversion-calculator/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Roth Conversion Calculator</strong></a> (free for anyone) that Theresa plans to use after her retirement date. The goal will be to convert as much as they can annually while continuing to qualify for their ACA subsidies (or, alternatively, choose a Health Sharing plan) while also optimizing taxes and avoiding the IRMMA penalties.&nbsp; Also see: <a href="https://www.newretirement.com/retirement/how-to-model-roth-conversion-strategies-in-the-newretirement-planner/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How to Model Roth Conversion Strategies in the New Retirement Planner.</strong></a></p>
  1302. <hr>
  1303. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>3. Social Security Optimization:&nbsp;</strong></span> Theresa used the <a href="https://opensocialsecurity.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Open Social Security calculator</strong> </a>developed by Mike Piper, which I featured in my article <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-determine-when-to-claim-social-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>How To Determine When To Claim Social Security.</strong></a> Based on the model, Theresa and Paul are planning on implementing the model&#8217;s recommendation:</p>
  1304. <ul>
  1305. <li>Paul will delay his claim until age 70 (July 2037)</li>
  1306. <li>Theresa will file at age 62 (February 2041)</li>
  1307. </ul>
  1308. <p>Based on the model, this will maximize the net present value of their social security.&nbsp; For more details on the model, you can read all of the details in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/how-to-determine-when-to-claim-social-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>my article</strong></a> on the topic.&nbsp; As part of the &#8220;crowdsourcing&#8221; approach to this case study, I contacted Mike Piper regarding Theresa&#8217;s question about how to model retiring early and &#8220;having some $0 earning years.&#8221;&nbsp; She was concerned about retiring early and having her SS negatively impacted since she wouldn&#8217;t have a full 35 years of earnings in the SS benefit calculation.&nbsp; Mike provided <a href="https://ssa.tools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>this handy link</strong> </a>to SSA Tools. In full transparency, I&#8217;ve not reviewed the SSA tool calculator, but Theresa said it was able to answer her question to her satisfaction.&nbsp;</p>
  1309. <p>Further reading on Social Security from ChooseFI&#8217;s 10/17 FI Weekly e-mail:</p>
  1310. <ul>
  1311. <li>​<a href="https://click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5uxrmmo33t7hp5wdglt8h7p2mw22/n2hohvh3o6de7mb6/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc29jaWFsc2VjdXJpdHlpbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuY29tL2hvdy10by1jYWxjdWxhdGUteW91ci1zb2NpYWwtc2VjdXJpdHktYmVuZWZpdHMv" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5uxrmmo33t7hp5wdglt8h7p2mw22/n2hohvh3o6de7mb6/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc29jaWFsc2VjdXJpdHlpbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuY29tL2hvdy10by1jYWxjdWxhdGUteW91ci1zb2NpYWwtc2VjdXJpdHktYmVuZWZpdHMv&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1697635086405000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3XJnIxXf5qnvOlOSKeTb1y">&nbsp;How to Calculate Your Social Security Benefits</a>&nbsp;from Social Security Intelligence</li>
  1312. <li>​<a href="https://click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5uxrmmo33t7hp5wdglt8h7p2mw22/48hvhehr26okxlhx/aHR0cHM6Ly9maXRheGd1eS5jb20vZWFybHktcmV0aXJlbWVudC1hbmQtc29jaWFsLXNlY3VyaXR5Lw==" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5uxrmmo33t7hp5wdglt8h7p2mw22/48hvhehr26okxlhx/aHR0cHM6Ly9maXRheGd1eS5jb20vZWFybHktcmV0aXJlbWVudC1hbmQtc29jaWFsLXNlY3VyaXR5Lw%3D%3D&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1697635086405000&amp;usg=AOvVaw33MjsMMPWjYnHhoApDX-k9">Early Retirement and Social Security</a>&nbsp;from our friend Sean Mullaney the FI Tax Guy</li>
  1313. <li>​<a href="https://click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5uxrmmo33t7hp5wdglt8h7p2mw22/wnh2hghwoxz806s7/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc29jaWFsc2VjdXJpdHlpbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuY29tL3Nob3VsZC15b3UtdHJ1c3QteW91ci1zb2NpYWwtc2VjdXJpdHktYmVuZWZpdHMtZXN0aW1hdGUv" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.convertkit-mail2.com/e5uxrmmo33t7hp5wdglt8h7p2mw22/wnh2hghwoxz806s7/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc29jaWFsc2VjdXJpdHlpbnRlbGxpZ2VuY2UuY29tL3Nob3VsZC15b3UtdHJ1c3QteW91ci1zb2NpYWwtc2VjdXJpdHktYmVuZWZpdHMtZXN0aW1hdGUv&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1697635086405000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mlRHMr8ZPfspufo3IN0kN">&nbsp;Should You Trust Your Social Security Benefits Estimate</a> from Social Security Intelligence”</li>
  1314. </ul>
  1315. <hr>
  1316. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>4. Enjoy Life!</strong></span></p>
  1317. <p>I was pleased that Bruce encouraged Theresa and Paul to re-evaluate their plan to potentially spend more in their early years of retirement.&nbsp; It&#8217;s hard to change a lifetime habit of saving, but <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/5-steps-to-learn-to-spend-in-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>learning to spend</strong> </a>is an important skill to develop in retirement.&nbsp; We&#8217;ve worked hard to get here, and we should seek to fully enjoy our early years of retirement while we still have our health and can pursue our dreams.&nbsp; Of course, we need to balance that against financial responsibility, but the reality is that most &#8220;responsible&#8221; retirees spend less than they could.&nbsp; The value of learning to spend is becoming a more common topic in the FI community, as mentioned in ChooseFI&#8217;s recent podcast episode <a href="https://www.choosefi.com/spending-for-happiness-carl-jensen-doug-cunnington-ep-444/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Spending For Happiness</strong></a>, which I encourage folks to listen to.</p>
  1318. <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>5. Conduct An Annual Financial Review</strong></span></p>
  1319. <p>Despite the detailed plans Theresa has put together through this case study, life never plays out exactly as planned.&nbsp; Theresa and Paul will need a formal annual financial review process to manage their changing portfolio throughout retirement.&nbsp; As outlined in <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/a-step-by-step-guide-to-your-annual-financial-update/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>A Step-By-Step Guide For Your Annual Financial Update</strong></a>, this process allows a systemic approach to ensuring you don&#8217;t outlive your money and focuses on the critical steps necessary to optimize your portfolio (rebalancing your asset allocation, refilling your buckets, reviewing your spending, etc).</p>
  1320. <p>I know Theresa and Paul will be diligent in reviewing their finances.&nbsp; They&#8217;re on top of things, and their retirement looks bright.</p>
  1321. <p>I also suspect they&#8217;ll worry a lot less about money after retirement than they are in their final years of work.&nbsp; It&#8217;s a strange phenomenon, but <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/introducing-the-90-10-rule-of-retirement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>The 90/10 Rule</strong></a> happens to most of us.&nbsp; When it happens to you, Theresa, I&#8217;ll be the first to say &#8220;I told you so.&#8221;&nbsp; Wink.</p>
  1322. <hr>
  1323. <h1>Conclusion</h1>
  1324. <p>I&#8217;ve had dozens of readers ask me if I&#8217;d be willing to review their situation and provide advice on what steps they need to take to prepare for retirement.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
  1325. <p><strong>I always say no.</strong></p>
  1326. <p>It&#8217;s not that I&#8217;m rude.&nbsp; Rather, it&#8217;s a question of how to use my limited time to produce the most value for you, the reader. I seriously considered pursuing Retirement Coaching but decided against it.&nbsp; As you can see from this case study, providing individual advice is a lot of work. At this stage in my retirement, I feel my time is better spent writing articles that can help thousands of people vs. investing that same amount of time in individual coaching that would impact only one family.&nbsp; I trust you understand. &nbsp;</p>
  1327. <p><strong>Today, I made an exception.</strong></p>
  1328. <p>With her amazing story, I was honored to help Theresa and Paul figure out their next steps.&nbsp; It was also fun to participate in the &#8220;crowdsourcing&#8221; approach to help them finalize their retirement plans.</p>
  1329. <p>In the process, I hope I&#8217;ve also given you things to think about as you finalize yours.</p>
  1330. <hr>
  1331. <p><em>PS &#8211; If you&#8217;re not using the <a href="https://www.newretirement.com/?nr_a=retirementmanifesto&amp;utm_source=retirementmanifesto" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>New Retirement Planner</strong></a> (affiliate link) please take a look as our way of saying &#8220;Thank You!&#8221; to the New Retirement team for their support of this crowd-sourcing effort.&nbsp; If you&#8217;re a DIY&#8217;er, I believe you&#8217;ll find it of value.</em></p>
  1332. <hr>
  1333. <p><em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Your Turn:</strong></span></em>&nbsp; What advice would you give Theresa and Paul as they figure out their next steps?&nbsp; Let&#8217;s take the &#8220;crowd-sourcing&#8221; approach to the next level.&nbsp; See you in the comments&#8230;</p>
  1334. <p>The post <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/from-food-stamps-to-fire-a-case-study-on-retirement-planning/">From Food Stamps to FIRE (A Case Study on Retirement Planning)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com">The Retirement Manifesto</a>.</p>
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