The blog
So how does one who has rigorously saved money learn to spend it? It helps to remember the Bible has something to say to hoarders as well as spendthrifts (about building bigger barns to save more and then realizing life is too short to spend it—Luke 12). Our culture has similar stories. Ebenezer Scrooge was…
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). Wise King Solomon’s words are as profound as they are simple. When we put off dreams (by choice or not), we get, well, heartsick. And dreams coming true are the stuff of fairy tales. Seems simple enough, but, when…
Retirement Myth #5: You’re ready to retire when you know your number. Most of the retirement books I’ve read agree with this statement; however, they rarely agree with each other on just what that number is. One says, before you retire, you need 80% of your annual, preretirement income; another advocates 115% (all that traveling).…
I’m nowhere near stopping—these blogs I mean. I told you at the first I was going to take you along for the first 60 days or so of my retirement. That was (you guessed it) 60 days ago. I thought that was how long it would take to research the subject and come up with…
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Just got off the phone with a child who was trying to visit with his dad while driving in rush-hour traffic. In Houston. Yep, he had to drop the call. Some activities are mutually exclusive. To do one well you must stop doing the other. I’ve always had trouble with that—letting go of something (checking…
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Retirement Myth #4: Physical fitness is less helpful (and possible) as we age. While leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel, on March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by would-be-assassin John Hinckley Jr. Quick medical attention saved Reagan’s life. About eight months later, I watched on TV as he talked to reporters…
Retirement Myth #3: If you’re not healthy when you retire, there’s little you can do about it. “Nature is remarkably forgiving,” writes Dr. John Rowe (Successful Aging). “Research shows that it is almost never too late to begin healthy habits such as smoking cessation, sensible diet, exercise, and the like.” Rowe goes on to say…
Retirement Myth #2: Retirees won’t be as happy if they work. If you’d asked me 20 years ago, I would have agreed with this myth. Isn’t that what retirement is? Not working. But the statement defines work too narrowly. It doesn’t include regular chores (like housework or lawn care) which studies show nine of 10…
Chased a thunderstorm yesterday. If you don’t live in our part of Texas, you might not know we’ve had multiple triple-digit days with no relief in sight. So about 1:00 yesterday, Charlotte and I were walking out of a restaurant when we noticed a nice thunderhead in the east. “Too bad,” said my wife (our…
Retirement Myth #1: Most retirees eventually end up in nursing homes. Not so, says Dr. John Rowe, past president of Mt. Sinai NY Hospital and current professor at Columbia. “Only 5% of people over the age of 65 live in nursing homes, and that percentage has been falling for at least 10 years.” Rowe says…
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The sunrise this morning reminded me that—with all this change—there are still constants in my life. For instance, today, I’ll teach the Searchers Class at the Methodist church in Canyon, something I began 18 years ago—before teaching at AC. Afterwards, Charlotte and I will eat out—a Sunday tradition and another constant. Then, we’ll make a…
Retired Husband Syndrome—the term was coined in 1984 by Dr. Charles Clifford, who, writing in the Western Journal of Medicine, described wives of the newly retired who said things like “I’m going nuts” and “he’s under my feet all the time.” Clifford said these women reported “headaches, depression, agitation, palpitations and lack of sleep.” Evidently,…