Tag Archives: retirement

Building Soil, Building Families

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Much of the eastern United States has been cultivated or otherwise used in agriculture at one time or another. The land was used roughly by our ancestors, though they may not have known how to use it better. Soil conservation ramped up after 1930, but by then the eastern U.S. had endured up to 300 years of untutored soil use, causing great amounts of erosion. Creating new soil is an act of reparation, requiring dedicated work and patience.

Building soil may be like building families, especially for grandparents. Grandparents often work quietly, at odd moments, maybe in the background. Continue reading →

Breaking Away in Retirement

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Later Living: Breaking Away in Retirement

Later Living submitted a byline to the Athens Banner-Herald that was published online and in print this morning. The piece offers readers five paths to breaking away in retirement. 

Before retirement, most of us live in established routines. We rise early and head to work, where we perform familiar tasks; we come home to our families, have dinner, enjoy the evening, and go to bed. One day grows into the next.

Such patterned living is built on years of small adjustments to the demands of school, then work, family and community. It started in kindergarten — showing up, following instructions, adopting goals and meeting expectations. By the time of retirement, most of us live with a sort of automated proficiency.

At retirement, we chuck the job, but without a deliberate effort to break the routine, ingrained living patterns remain; retirement slides along with new responsibilities gradually filling the time spent at work. There is nothing wrong with that pattern, but it may amount to a missed opportunity.

Read more at Online Athens.

Two Important Benefits to Rebalancing Risk in Retirement Investments

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Investments can be complicated, but they don’t need to be. Investors just need to know their objectives and some intelligible ways to achieve them. Generally, investors want high returns and low risk. Once they achieve suitable exposure to both, rebalancing—maintaining balance among components—keeps investors on a steady course.

High returns usually come from owning stocks. History has shown that over long periods of time, stocks almost always out perform bonds, real estate, and many other investments. Alternatively, stocks are often risky.

Bonds usually produce lower returns, but they tend to be less risky. A portfolio that combines a diversity of stocks and a diversity of bonds is likely to generate good returns with only moderate risk. Continue reading →

Marking the Entrance to Retirement

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Retirement is a major life event that deserves to be marked and noticed. It compares to initiations into adulthood or marriage, both of which are actively celebrated. At work, we honor careers that are ending, but retirement should be inaugurated with its own special activity.

Whatever the chosen activities, a good retirement initiation involves reflecting backward to interpret what has gone before, looking inward to better understand yourself, and preparing for what might be ahead. Continue reading →

How to Discover Freedom

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The beginning of retirement, like the first day of kindergarten, is often abrupt.

Some years ago, my mother reminded me of waiting with her for the school bus on my first day. I clutched my lunchbox in a small fist as the huge yellow bus rolled to a stop at our driveway. The doors clattered open; I approached the steps, grabbed the handrail, turned and said, “Bye Mom,” then climbed aboard.

Retirement starts that way for many when they say goodbye on that last day and walk out the door. That is how I retired, and I now realize it helped me know a special kind of freedom.

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How to Make the 6-Step Investment Model Work Better

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Two weeks ago we wrote about a 6-step investment model for retirees, and two days ago we saw that the model worked. Now we can show how to make it work better. The key is to further diversify the stock investments. Originally we used a mutual fund that reflects returns to 500 leading U.S. companies, and today we use one that reflects returns to the entire U.S. stock market.

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How to Make Retirement Investments Last—and Find Peace

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Most people work 40 years or more to accumulate assets for retirement. Then, if they use the assets too fast, they may end in poverty. How fast is too fast? The answer must balance withdrawals and longevity against investment growth, yet it need not be overly complex. It is entirely possible for many retirees to self-manage their investments if they organize an initial approach into a few basic steps. Over time, retirees can learn to refine and augment the basic approach outlined here. Continue reading →

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

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The future looks a little less than bright for members of the younger generations. Research shows that the majority of Americans believe it is unlikely members of Generations X and Y will have a better life than their parents. At the same time, some members of these generations seem disillusioned with the current state of affairs and express pessimism that they will have a traditional retirement. Adding insult to injury are several popular myths that tend to blame these falling standard on the members of Generations X and Y.

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