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Podcast 2018
| 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 of 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. | |
| It cost a yearly fee to be a member of HomeExchange.com. but the benefits are well worth it. You exchange time in your place for time in someone else's. These exchanges are free. No money exchanges hands. The possibilities are endless. We have found it a great addition to our retirement years. | |
| As we get older we have stories to tell. Stories to pass on to the future generations. Stories of where we went wrong and where we went right. Our grandchildren need to learn to value our history and all history. We don't want to hold back when it comes to telling our stories to one and all. | |
| The con or scam is an ever present threat in life. It seems to be particularly pointed at the elderly and retired. Perhaps it is because they have the money accumulated during a life time and perhaps they are less resistance to mistrust. | |
| Scam is what they call it today. We use to call it a con. There is something about it that is insidious and yet something that makes it so intriguing. Retired people are at high risk. Some of us start to loose a bit of our analytical skills. We become easy marks. | |
| How do we determine if someone has lived to a ripe old age? That question has always interested me and does so even more as I move through the retirement years. I'd like to know when I can assume that I qualify and put my mind at rest. | |
| How valuable is it to be a good judge of character? How valuable is it to be able to distinguish between the important and the less important? It seems that we get better at these type of things as we age. We need to be aware and take advantage of our heightened abilities. | |
| Here are two examples of people we met who had moved to Mexico. They both chose to live off the beaten track. I'm sure you can find more standard stories of retiring to Mexico in many major sources. I tell of these because I have always been drawn to the unusual. | |
| Retirement means travel for lots of people. We want to take advantage of the off season and the time to visit someplace different. For many that includes Mexico and for many that means air travel. Is it worth the effort? Hummm... | |
| Death has a way of focusing one's mind. Retirement brings us just one more step to this required end. We maker lots of choices in retirement and throughout our life that look to the future. We have reasons that inform our choices. Death is always a factor. | |
| Death has a way of focusing one's mind. Retirement brings us just one more step to this required end. We maker lots of choices in retirement and throughout our life that look to the future. We have reasons that inform our choices. Death is always a factor. | |
| Many folks who retire feel a bit guilty about not having a job. Life can feel a bit empty and they cast about for meaningful activity. It is safe to say that guilt can sometimes become crippling. Sometimes we just need to rethink things. | |
| Getting a second opinion concerning medical problems is highly recommended. My experience tells me that even that may not be enough. Sometimes a third or fourth opinion might be even better. | |
| Retirement can complicate explaining our life activities. We exchange what was once a job description for a complexity of life experiences. Not easy to explain but wonderful to live. | |
| "The husband is now underfoot all the time". I've heard that before about retirement. It doesn't have to be - nor should it be. Quite the contraire. | |
| There is a way to relocate and stay in the same place after retirement. We accidentally discovered this alternative and practiced it for 14 years. It worked out better than we could have imagined. | |
| Retiring allows us to seriously consider where we want to live. We may wish to stay where we are and then again we may wish to fulfill some lifelong dream of living somewhere else. What to do? | |
| This episode is a continuation of 568. Here are a couple of examples of pursuing the Spinozian concept of happiness. They are not intended to be The ones to pursue. They are just examples. You must choose your own. | |
| Retirement can seem like a dream for many of us. Then the day comes and the following Monday we feel lost. Now what? That feeling can not only happen but it can drag on. Where we thought we would find happiness does not appear. Why not? | |
| When the opportunity to retire first comes to our minds we are most likely to assume we could not live without income from our job. It is then that we have to take a hard look at our life and decide what we really want out of it. More money or more time. It is a choice only we can make. We are the experts on this one. | |
| Since writing this podcast over 11 years ago I wanted to revisit it and see if my thoughts have evolved. It still stands but did need a little more consideration. (And the music is different) It never hurts to reconsider. | |
| Isolation is one of retirements major threats. We loose contact with our work friends. Sometimes we move and lose our neighbors we have known for years. No one wants to live a life of complete isolation. That's where ROMEO comes into play. | |
| Upkeep seems to be one of life's necessities. If it isn't our health it is our car or our house or our family and friends. The line from "Death of a Salesman" pops into my head, "Attention must be paid." | |
| Steve is planning on retiring in two years. He wrote me a letter about his career and his thinking concerning retirement. He is giving it serious thought at age 82. He will retire at 84. Here is some of his thinking. It is worth consideration. | |
| There is a good reason why so many retired people go south in the winter. It feels so good - so very, very good. Clear skies and warm sun for days, weeks or months have a way of relaxing and making life seem so comfortable. We might not want to wait to long to check it out. | |
| I never imagined that I would ever be a Snowbird - but here I am. Cold, wet, dark winters drove my wife to request a reprieve from the Pacific Northwest winter. A road trip was planned and now we are in 70 degree weather. Here is our story thus far. | |
| My friend just celebrated his ninety second birthday. How does one get to that point? Did he do something special? Does he and others like him have a secret that allows for such longevity? | |
| 559 Letter | A letter arrived recently from an active listener and and active retiree. Here is reading of her letter. She seems to have thought carefully about retirement and many of the listeners may find some of her ways of living a retired life to be invigorating. |
| It is always good to know what we are talking about and what someone else is talking about. We can often misinterpret what is being said. "Staying fit" caught me up short one day. Thinking about it made me feel much better about growing older and retirement. |
A resource from a listener: Best Free Online Degrees for Seniors guide is designed to assist seniors who aspire to enhance their intellect or consider starting a new career path. It features an overview of the top online degrees for seniors, emphasizing their numerous advantages, and a broad range of subjects to choose from. A friend's website: Terra Firma Designs: Fine Furniture, Stained Glass and woodworking workshops. Copyright 2010 RetirementTalk.org |
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