Retirement: A Full-Time Job

What I Did on My Summer Blogcation

If there were such a thing as an Internet postcard, the one I would have sent to you all would have read, “Having a great blogcation, wish you were here.”  Really.  I missed you.

I spent the first week of my blogcation agonizing about whether I wanted to blog anymore.  On the plane ride to Montreal, I got an idea for a blog post and wrote it.  But I held back from posting it in order force myself away from the blog.  I finally decided to stop thinking about it and just enjoy the time off.

So here’s how I spent my summer blogcation:

First we headed off to a home-exchange vacation to explore Montreal, Quebec City, and Mont Tremblant.  And I want to tell you all about it.

I also got inspired to get really fit.  I borrowed a set of P90X DVD’s from a friend.  I had never heard of P90X, but apparently only three other people on the entire planet haven’t heard of it.  I guess I’ve been living under a rock that blocks late-night infomercials.  Now I’m getting in great shape.  And I want to tell you all about it.

I also rode in a 30-mile community bike-ride/fund-raiser and am doing another, 45-mile one, next weekend.  I dabbled in a vegetarian diet.  I enjoyed tons of free music downtown—an amazing line-up that occurs almost every single night of the week in my community during the summer.  I hosted a bunch of dinner parties and I even cooked!  I want to tell you all about all that too.

There were also some rocky stock market gyrations while I was on blogcation.   So I rebalanced my portfolio.  And of course, I want to tell you about that too.

I also followed politics.  A lot.  But I am a recent convert to the philosophy that it’s not polite to discuss politics or religion with friends, so I’m not going to tell you about that.

That’s still a lot of stuff I want to tell you about.

When I write about retirement, I’m really just writing about getting the most out of life:  engaging in meaningful activities, doing all that I can to stay happy and healthy, and of course making sure that my financial house is in order.  So I’m going to try and organize my future posts around these themes:

            Money Mondays: I’ll discuss the primary concern for most retirees and soon-to-be retirees.

            Traveling Tuesdays:  I am not alone in my thirst for travel in retirement.  I share this passion with 61 percent of respondents in a recent AARP survey of boomers nearing retirement.  I stretch my travel dollars by swapping homes for my lodging; I’ll share what I’ve learned over the years.

            Wellness Wednesdays:  In the same AARP survey, 84 percent of respondents ranked “taking better care of my physical health” a high priority, which made it the top concern of those entering retirement.  Good health is one of the secrets to a happy retirement, and I’m working on that too.

            Photo Fridays:  What does retirement look like to you?  A picture is worth a thousand words.  On Fridays I’ll post my pictures of retirement and I’d love if you would share yours too.  (Just email me your photo and how you would like it credited.) 

Of course that may be a little ambitious for a blogger that never even posted 4 days a week in the first place, so I may supplement with some older posts that have since been buried in the bowels of my archives.  And if inspiration hits me on another day, of course I’ll post as the spirit moves me.  (And conversely if a break is what I need—I’ll just take it!)

Related Posts:

            Re-entering the Earth’s Atmosphere

            Why Vacation in Retirement?

            The Myth of the Skinny Retirement

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Going on Blogcation

Forgive me dear readers, for it has been three weeks since my last blog post.  And I neglected to post links to my most recent U.S. News articles:  Overcoming Overcommitment in Retirement and 6 Secrets to Filling Your Time in Retirement.  For those transgressions I feel some guilt.  And because I strive to banish guilt in retirement, I have decided to let you all know that I’m going to post even more infrequently or not at all for the next several weeks.  Guilt free.

We’re headed off soon to a home exchange to Montreal and then later this summer to another one in Australia.  And I think I’m going to use this time to see how it feels not to blog.

Writing about retirement.  The truth is I may be growing weary of writing about retirement.  I started this blog as a way to sort through my feelings about transitioning into retirement, and share some of the things I’ve learned, both on my own and from the great insights of commenters and fellow bloggers.  But now that I’m entering my fourth year of retirement, I have fewer and fewer “aha!” moments.  The training wheels are off and I’m pedaling pretty fast these days.

Reading about retirement.  With the blog always in the back of my mind, I have tended to analyze everything I’m doing and feeling in retirement so that I can write about it.  Instead of just sitting back and enjoying it.  And I spend an inordinate amount of time reading retirement blogs, articles and books so that I can share those insights as well.  I think I might be tired of that too.  I think I want to read more fiction, and in the form of actual books.

Living out loud.  To blog is to live more publicly than one does without a blog.  I think the most interesting posts I read or write are those that share personal stories.  Having said that, sometimes it’s a little overwhelming to live out loud.  The great part about blogging is connecting with people, but subjecting your thoughts and life choices to the public invites scrutiny that is sometimes unsettling.  For me it’s been way more positive than negative, but I am feeling a little tug toward anonymity. 

Self-conscious writing.   I took a fantastic writing class at the local community college for two years.  My teacher’s greatest gift was encouraging us to “go deeper.”  That’s where you get the best writing.  But because of the whole living-out-loud nature of blogging, I find myself a little bit guarded in my writing.  I am eager to do some writing just for myself, just to see what comes out when I’m not thinking about someone actually reading it.

So there is my full confession.  I’m not sure where this blogcation is going to lead.  Will it get the creative juices going again, luring me back into retirement blogging?  Or will it give me an idea of a new topic to blog about, perhaps a completely new direction?  Or will it be a welcome change to my retired life?  I don’t know yet, but I will be sure to report back with the answer.

Related Posts:

What’s the Difference Between Vacation and Retirement?

Adjusting to Retirement

Vacation from What?

Travel in Retirement:  Why Get Away When There’s Nothing to Get Away From?

 

How to Survive the First Year of Retirement

It seems like it should be easy to adjust to retirement, after all what’s so hard about not working?  For the most part it is pretty easy to acclimate.  My tips for navigating that first year are in my recent U.S. News post, 5 Tips for the First Year of Retirement.

For help handling the issue of guilt in retirement, read Doug’s post at Military Retirement & Financial Independence, Dealing with “retiree guilt.”

And for a really inspirational read about how volunteering can help you find the new you in retirement, read Bob’s post, Pushing Back Against the Box.

Over at Graceful Retirement there’s an interesting discussion about whether consumers’ “new frugality” spurred by the recession will stick.  I think we consumers have a short memory, a sentiment echoed by one commenter on Grace’s post Frugality:  Temporary, Tenuous, and Not Really our Style, with the idea that we have reached “frugality fatigue.”

On the subject of understanding your investments, read Charlie Farrell’s article, TIPS Aren’t Much Help for Retired Investors.   I have some Treasury Inflation Protected Bonds in my retirement portfolio and I must admit, they don’t work at all the way I thought they did.  Shame on me.

And finally, to combat memory loss in retirement, new research shows that getting out for a brisk walk, at least three times a week for 40 minutes a pop, will help.   A regimen that I admit is much easier to follow for those of us in the San Francisco Bay Area experiencing unseasonably warm weather.  A lot harder to manage if you're buried under several feet of snow right now! 

 

Gone Missing

I know, I know, I know.  It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted.  (Thanks to the three of you that noticed.  Even though one of you is relate to me, I still appreciate it.)  Good thing I didn't make "posting to my blog more regularly" a New Year's resolution.

This morning I started a new writing class which was so much fun and has really inspired me to get back to it.  I'll be back to my not-very-consistent posting schedule soon.  I've been so busy I haven't even had a moment to post links to my last two posts at U.S. News & World Report.  Ironically, one is about achieving the optimal balance in retirement, something which I haven't actually achieved over the last couple of weeks.

I used to think that the only thing preventing my life from having the ideal work/life balance was work.  I have learned over the last couple of years that simply removing work from the work/life balance equation does not guarantee the optimal balance.  For more on that, check out this week's post How to Find Balance in Retirement.

Today is January 15th, which means that so far, about 100,000 baby boomers have turned 65 this year.  An awful lot has been made about how these folks will change the very definition of retirement.  I'm not so sure I buy it.  When I read the details of the latest AARP study on the boomers that will be retiring this year, I don't quite see the retirement revolution that many have written about.  Decide for yourself, some of the statistics are in my post, Why Baby Boomers Won't Reinvent Retirement.

Now it's 66 degrees today, so I'm going to go strike the right balance by getting outside and enjoying this fabulous weather.

Related Posts:

    Retirement-Onset ADD

    Am I Still Retired?

    Does This Blog Make My Butt Look Big?

 

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Slow Down Everyone, You're Moving Too Fast

"Slow down everyone 
You're moving too fast, 
Frames can't catch you when 
You're moving like that." 

-Jack Johnson, "Inaudible Melodies"

I had the great pleasure of enjoying a Jack Johnson concert this beautiful Tuesday evening at Berkeley's Greek Theater.  We were joined by some wonderful friends, also U.C. Santa Barbara alums, though we all graduated several years before Jack Johnson graced the campus.  The music brought us back to our college days anyway.  Maybe it's just my imagination, but I remember those college days being a lot slower paced than those of the working world.

My post at U.S. News this week is about how to slow back down in retirement after years in the rat race.

Bob's post over at Satisfying Retirement also touches on slowing down and observing what's around you.  He shares a wonderful piece from his creative writing class.  It's amazing what you can overlook in your own life when you're moving so fast, not paying attention.  As you'll see, writing is a great way to get you to do that.

Writing can also be a great way to connect with others in your retirement.  Bill at Adventure Retirement shares his experience in, "Blogging for Retirees."  Starting your own blog is a great way to get your brain working in a new way.  If you're interested in starting your own blog, read Joan's Boomer Blog for tips on creating one.

I think Bob, Bill, and Joan would all agree the blogosphere could use a few more voices of retired folks sharing their wisdom with us.

Related Posts:

Living in the Moment in Retirement

What is Retirement Anyway?

Enjoying Retirement with Doggies

 

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Finally Some Good News About Retirement Planning

A couple of months ago, the Employee Benefits Research Institute released a somewhat depressing study about the state of boomers' retirement assets.  Maybe it's just my RSS feed, but I seem to be bombarded with article after article saying that after this Great Recession, no one will ever be able to retire again. Ever. Last week I received a copy of another recent study, this one conducted by Ameriprise Financial.   The actual data looks a little more encouraging to me, read my post over at U.S. News this week, "The Good News About Retirement," to get the skinny.

I'm pretty excited to be profiled along with two other early-retirees today, over at Canadian Business Online.  Check out Larry MacDonald's post, "Retiring Early."

It's no secret that the earlier you retire the less money you will have saved for it.  It's a trade-off.  If you want to retire early you will probably have to give up a few things.  When is the right time to retire?  When you feel like what you are giving up pales in comparison to what you are getting in return.  For more thoughts on when enough is enough, read this post at Being Retired.

A few months ago I wrote a post about why retirees shouldn't shun the stock market.  It seems people tend to think of bond investing as a risk-free proposition.  Not so.  For a great explanation of exactly what the risks are, especially in today's environment, read "Bond Risks and How to Beat Them"  And while you're at it "10 Investment Mistakes to Avoid."

 

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Blogging in the Real World

I have this one reader that is always telling me my life is miserable.  I write about how much fun I had at the Yankees game and she tells me that I couldn’t possibly be happy sitting in the cheap seats and eating hot dogs.  I write about my travel adventures swapping lovely homes with very nice people, and she tells me how I couldn’t possibly be happy sleeping in other people’s beds.  I write about how I am surprised to see how much less my retirement is costing me, and she tells me I couldn’t possibly be happy living on what I’m living on. 

The thing I love about blogging is the conversational aspect of it.  It feels great when I’ve connected with a reader that says, “Oh my gosh I experienced that exact same thing!”  I also enjoy when someone says, “I get what you’re saying, but have you considered this?”  I often get a new perspective on something based on what one of you has added to the conversation.  Or even “I could never do that, that wouldn’t make me happy.”  Each of us is different, I have come to appreciate that, in part from my experience blogging. 

Even some of the hard-to-take commenters, whom I’ve made angry because of something I’ve written, can be helpful.  Back during the presidential campaign season, I shared a number of my political observations.  One reader told me she didn’t come here to hear me spout my political opinions.  I initially thought, “my blog, my content”.  But she was right.  This is a blog about retirement and that’s what I want to keep it about.  Writing about my retirement experiences, both the joys and the struggles, that’s what I want to share, and that’s what I want others to share with me.

But I do find it frustrating when a reader tells me I feel something that I do not feel.  Not so much because I totally disagree, but because it makes me feel like my writing hasn’t been clear.  If someone tells me they can’t take “advice” from me because I won’t share my finances, I wonder why they even thought I was giving advice in the first place?  And when someone admonishes me by saying that there are no short-cuts, no get-rich-quick schemes, no easy ways out, I wonder what I wrote that makes them think I disagree? 

I was recently struck by a thought in this post, “What’s in a Nudge?”  In this post a man comes to realize the impact his “nudge” has had on the career of his secretary:

“Afterward, he wondered how often he nudged people for good things and worried about when he may have nudged them negatively. A remark here, a raised eyebrow there, and before you know it you may have affected someone’s life.”

I recently left a comment on a blog post about health savings accounts, not really a controversial subject.  After reading my comment again (after I hit the button), I realized my “nudge” was in a negative direction.  It may feel like an anonymous environment, this whole blogosphere, but I clearly offended the blogger with my tone.  I regret that.  I’m going to make sure my nudges are for good things in the future.

This is an article from Retirement:  A Full-Time Job

Blogging for U.S. News & World Report

I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be among the weekly contributors to a new blog, just launched by U.S. News & World Report, “On Retirement.”

Wander on over and read my first post, “Filling Up 8 Extra Hours in Retirement.”  (If it sounds a little less me than me, that’s because I have an editor over there.)

You’ll also find great posts by fellow bloggers, Money Ning, Go To Retirement, PT Money, Cash Money Life, Live and Invest Overseas, and 2 Million. 

   

Change Your Blog, Change Your Life

Thank you Penelope Trunk for the brutal honesty of your post:  Reality Check:  You're not going to make money from your blog.  Not so much because I actually thought I would make money from my blog, but because I thought I was sick of blogging until you helped me realize I blog for totally selfish reasons, none of which have anything to do with money.

A couple of weeks ago, I was seriously considering abandoning my blog, like so many others Grace had been wondering about.  I retired over a year ago.  I wrote about the adjustment:  I'm adjusted, it's fun, I'm happy.  Why would I want to write about it anymore?

My writing teacher keeps encouraging each of us to figure out what is "begging to be written."  She wants us to listen to what is compelling us to write, and then write about that.  What I yearn to write about isn't retirement, it's about losing my mom when I was 16.  So I've been thinking I should stop writing about retirement and start writing about my mom.

I had it in my mind that this could be a book.  I would write a book about losing my mom to cancer when I was 16.  So I went to a seminar on writing, publishing, and marketing a book.  And now I know with certainty I do not want to publish a book. (Thank you again Penelope for already telling me that writing a book is a stupid idea.) I need to write about my mom, but publishing it is way more trouble than it's worth, and totally unnecessary as far as fulfilling the need to write it.

So I did a lot of writing just for myself, and I wrote about how I didn't want to keep the blog anymore, and then I thought of a whole bunch of things I wanted to blog about.

A lot of bloggers say that they blog to help other people.  While I would love it if my blog actually helped anyone, that doesn't really have anything to do with why I blog.  I blog because I love to write.  And as far as helping people, my readers help me way more than I help them.  The comments I receive give me support, great ideas, and interesting questions that make me think.  So I get more out of blogging than I give.

Which begs the question, if I'm not going to make any money at the blog, and the reason I do it is to write and to read comments, why in the heck do I have these stupid ads on my site?  They clutter up the page and in a year and a half of blogging, I've made something like sixty bucks.

So instead of quitting blogging, I took off all the ads to remind myself that I'm blogging for selfish reasons, none of which include financial gain.

Related Posts:

Isn't Blogging Writing?

Blogging at the Library

That's the Way I See it, Maybe You See it Differently

Why Tweet?

It turns out I'm much more hip now that I'm retired.  Kind of flies in the face of the conventional stereotype, huh?

Proof:

1. Before I decided to retire, I didn't even know what a blog was, and now I've got my very own and am addicted to dozens of others,
2. After retiring I traded my Palm for an iPhone, and my PC for a MacBook,
3. After I retired, I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about and got some friends on Facebook, 
4. And if that's not proof enough, I'm now on Twitter!

I first heard of Twitter on Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist.  I didn't know what she was talking about so deleted that post from my reader. 

Ditto at Brip Blap.

Finally, last week, Copyblogger told me what it actually is.

What harm could it be to at least check it out?  I could always decide later whether I think it's worth the new tax on my surprisingly-scarce time.  

I "followed" some fellow bloggers, put a "tweet" out there in the blogosphere (or is it Twittersphere?) asking why the heck I need this?  Within minutes, Steve at BripBlap told me I don't, but predicted that I would get "sucked into the dark side."  Thanks for the warning.

Turns out it's a nice break from the traditional blog addiction.  Because they are so short, you can catch up quickly without really having to commit the time to read a whole blog post.  And it's more causual, you don't have to write a whole post on something you're thinking about, you just throw out the thought.  And it feels more intimate, like I'm peeking into the real, unedited world of my fellow bloggers.

Plus it makes me feel like one of the cool kids now.

Related Posts:

Why Risk Getting Murdered by Blogging?

It's Not Losing an Identity, It's Gaining a Chance to Create a New One

Isn't Blogging Writing?