Category: Downsizing
Our thanks to the NY TImes best-selling author HALLIE EPHRON for allowing us to reprint this amazing story from JungleRedWriters.com. Decluttering, ridding out, downsizing, whatever you want to call it, is hard. This is a wonderful and touching tribute, thank you! Note: Jerry, with whom I share a birthday, was one of the most interesting people I have ever met.
HALLIE EPHRON: My husband and I reached a detente early in our marriage. He could go to all the yard sales and buy whatever he wanted (mostly books), and I wouldn't nag him about it, as long as I didn't have to look at his piles of stuff.He celebrated this arrangement in one of the anniversary (our 30th) cards he drew for me.
When Jerry died, with my daughters' help I gave away his clothes. I enlisted a used book dealer (of Antiques Roadshow fame, Ken Gloss) to take his sizeable and variable book collection.
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Published on October 25, 2022
Comments 11
Category: Family and Retirement
September 28, 2022-- As a follow up to our recent article, "There Might Be More Than One Kind of Home for You in Retirement", this one concentrates on the latter stage of retirement. What you will do when you are a little less active, and your abilities are not quite what they were in the beginning and middle phases of retirement? The idea for this started when the eldest sister in our family, approaching her 79th birthday, asked our relatives what they were planning for their late retirement years. We agree this is an important conversation to have, particularly with one's children and other family members. We hope that you will add your thoughts in the Comments section below, so we capture a wide range of opinions and plans.
The conversation started with this question:
We have no plans to sell our houses or to move, but it is certainly time for us to think about the future. With our children spread out, we could go many places. Our policy up to now has been, when we need help we will pick up and move close to one of our children. But I wonder if that might be too late. It’s hard for an older couple to make a big move, particularly if one is needy. Since both of our parents lived to a ripe old age (92 and 102) with most mental faculties intact, our genetics make it seem like we should be planning for the long term.
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Published on September 28, 2022
Comments 11
Category: Retirement Planning
September 7, 2022 -- We are fortunate to be living in a time when retirement has so many possibilities. Not so long ago, our choices were to work until we dropped, move in with one of our children, or get shipped off to a nursing home. Now, the choices are endless - but which one is right for you?
Retirement is a continuum
For most people, there isn't just one phase of retirement - there are many. Let's say you retire in your early to mid 60's. The type of community you retire to might not be a lot different from where you lived before. Maybe you move to a new town or state, or stay in your current home. A new home might be smaller, bigger, or very different from your current one. You probably want to move to a community or an area that offers the kind of amenities and recreation that your new freedom opens up. Those might include golf, pickleball, hobbies, culture, hiking, biking, exercise, etc.
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Published on September 6, 2022
Comments 9
Category: Downsizing
October 20, 2022 -- Moving at any age is bad enough. But baby boomers have spent decades acquiring all kinds of stuff, adding to the challenges of age. Moving at our age usually means downsizing, when we realize we have 1,000 pounds of stuff (furniture, knicknacks, collections, etc.) that we can't possibly fit into the 600 pound bag our new home represents.
Enter the "senior move manager", a new job that can take so much of the pain out of downsizing and moving. This person can help with every aspect, from helping you sort what to keep, how to get rid of the rest, to planning what will fit in your new home - both size wise and stylistically. They can do it all, down to getting your kitchen equipment into the right cupboard in the new kitchen.
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Published on July 21, 2022
Comments 2
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
July 6, 2020 -- A new study focussed on the financial issues that retirees should really be concerned about, and then it measured what they actually worried about. The results are interesting - it seems like many people are downplaying the risks that should concern them, like how long they will live, and instead concentrating on issues that are less worrisome, such as market risk.
In "How Well Do Retirees Assess the Things They Should Worry About", the researchers used a host of data from various sources to measure 5 areas of concern for anyone in retirement. Then they ranked those risks in order:
Actual Financial Risks
Longevity. The worry should be that you will live longer than expected and run out of funds.
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Published on July 6, 2022
Comments 4
Category: Retirement Planning
June 4, 2022 – Five years ago we opined about the 10 things we think we learned after ten years of being retired. We took another look at that article, and it all still makes sense. But we couldn’t resist adding three more that hadn’t occurred the first time. Here…
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Published on June 3, 2022
Comments 0
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
April 27, 2022 -- Of all the current demographic generations, Gen X is the one most worried about its retirement, according to a research study from the SOA Research Institute. They are the folks born between 1965 and 1980, and are the next demographic group to start retiring. Gen X came immediately after baby boomers (1946-1964), but before Gen Y/Millennials (1981-1996), and then Gen Z. Gen Xers are currently between the ages of 42 and 57.
The SOA study researched a number of questions about their retirement preparation and feelings about financial security.
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Published on April 25, 2022
Comments 2
Category: Retirement Planning
November 9, 2021 -- A happy retirement is something people look forward to with great anticipation. But just what are the keys to a successful retirement; the things you can do to maximize your happiness and enjoy the fruits of all of those years working? In this article we will try to uncover the secrets that others have used to make their retirements live up to their expectations. We hope our readers will add more ideas from their own experience in the Comments section.
8 keys to retirement succes
Be prepared financially. In poll after poll, the number one fear retirees have is running out of money. So don't pull that retirement trigger until you have saved the number that will ensure a secure retirement. If that means lining up a part time job, downsizing, or moving to a more affordable home or location, take those steps before you turn in your notice. To help with that, make sure you have developed a realistic budget that balances income and expenses to backup your decision.
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Published on November 8, 2021
Comments 1
Category: Retirement Planning
October 6, 2021 -- The results of last week's survey on snowbirds are in. Many thanks to the community spirited folks that filled it out! While we can all speculate about snowbird behavior, it is satisfying and interesting to find out what people like you do in the real world. The results are roughly consistent with our 2018 survey on this topic, which had a much larger response rate. You can compare those results as well as find a link to Part 2 of that report, which lists ideal snowbird pairings and many comments from people who snowbird, here.
Overall
Most of the people who completed it are snowbirds, which reflects a natural interest in the topic. The results show a great variety of when people leave for the winter and how long they stay. Some of the most interesting results were comments about how people found their winter place, and how Covid has affected their plans. We have summarized the results for each question below, which we hope might be useful in your own snowbirding lives.
Will you go somewhere warm this winter (be a snowbird), and for how long.
Most of the people taking the survey were snowbirds. There were roughly equal numbers who will go away for periods from 1 to six month. One fourth plan on snowbirding for less than a month.
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Published on October 5, 2021
Comments 8
Category: Retirement Planning
September 28, 2021 — Among retirees a popular conversation starter is always – where, when, if, and how you are going somewhere warm for the winter season. We are curious about your plans for this winter, including if Covid has had any impact on your plans. Please take this very…
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Published on September 28, 2021
Comments 3
