Retirement Talk For Boomers, Seniors, And Retirees

Lists of new challenges at the beginning of each new year have always eluded me. They always seemed too important to be left to one special day each year. Here is the story of my kind of list.

Holidays are a time for celebration for many of us. But it doesn't happen that way without planning. Someone needs to look ahead. That seems to be necessary no matter. Some one needs to plan.

Getting around town or to wherever we want to go can become a major problem as we retire and get older. What to do? There is only one fix that comes to my mind: picking the location of our retirement residence carefully.

Be they good or bad retirement has a way of bringing some of our past actions to mind. We have the time and energy to reflect. We may be surprised at how what we did at one time can change with reflection seasoned by time, experience, and understanding.

Retirement can be a busy time. It can also be a time when we can choose just exactly what we want to do when we want to do it. We do have time for this or we have time for that. We make the choices one way or another.

Casinos have sprouted up like flowers or weeds, - blooming all along the roads. They can be dangerous places, especially for retired folks. But that doesn't seem to distract from their popularity.

Retirement and dogs seem to be a match made for all. The dog gets us out for air and exercise. The dog smothers us with affection. The dog loves us unconditionally. Yet there remains many of us who do not have a dog. Reasons do exist. Probably more than we can imagine.

How can we tell if the world is better off than it was when we were kids? Sometimes it seems like the country is in the worse shape ever. Only by looking a bit closer at the past can we tell if we are making any progress.

Social isolation can be a major problem for retired people: no more school or work friends. This is a new field of play. It takes initiative and effort to establish a new network of friends. It can be done.

The story we tell ourselves and others about our lives matters. Moments of when we perceive our life as hanging in the balance. We need the story. And so do those we know. Perhaps it is the thing that matters most; dramatic incidents or incidents that we see as dramatic.

Freedom has all sorts of limitations. Retirement does open up new doors that were always closed. We now gain an advantage in life we have never experienced. But we must be aware and willing to open those new doors.

We all know it is impossible to keep up with technological change in everything. We have to pick our battles. Or we could just hide and keep our head down. We can keep up with some areas of technology. And we will have to accept that it will be an everlasting challenge.

Worry seems to be part of what living is all about. Memory is steeped in it. From childhood to old age it seems to always be present. Sometime it might be nice to just stop and enjoy the moment, the day or even a week or two. Retirement may offer the last chance.

Health care expenses are a major problem for many of us. It is of particularly importance for those in the gap years before Medicare benefits apply. Here are some ideas for dealing with the issue that have come in from listeners to this podcast.

Sometimes families and friends disagree on how a funeral should be arranged. Planning our own funeral or at least laying out some parameters might save some of the grief associated with death for those that are left behind.

Keeping in mind what we really want to do in life is not easy. Retirement sometimes even makes it more difficult. We are free to choose and can no longer blame someone else or something else for our actions. It comes down to establishing priorities; keeping them in first position and staying with your own decisions.

Spend any time reading, watching or listening to the news or weather? Why? Retirement offers us time to really think about what we are doing with our life. Are we really doing what we want with our time? Or are we drifting along in our old ruts?

Sometimes good and bad come at the same time. We need to keep what is more important uppermost in our minds: our health or our money. That is an easy one for me.

Modern society has a way of tearing families apart. Jobs appear and then disappear. Many times a move is required to stay employed. Retired people many times find living close to children and grandchildren very desirable. What to do when a move is required?

It is so easy to follow the wrong road when we decide which way to go. Here is a story about listening and changing. We can still go down different roads. We still have choices to make. Perhaps we just need to listen.