Contemporary Retirement Coaching Blog

Blogging Boomers Carnival #196

Laura Lee Carter of The Midlife Crisis Queen is hosting the Blogging Boomers this week.  Here's the link.

50 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself BEFORE You Retire - #1

This is a taster of my brand new '50 Questions You Need to Ask Yourslf BEFORE You Retire' eCourse (more details below):

Here we go with question #1:

 

What would your ideal retirement look and feel like? 

 

Here are some additional questions to help you decide...

 

If you could imagine a typical day in your ideal retirement:

• Where would you be waking up?
• What would you do when you got out of bed?
• What would be the view when you looked out of your bedroom window?
• What could you smell?
• What could you hear?
• What kind of clothes would you put on?
• How would you spend your day?  Would you be working?  Volunteering?  Spending time with family or friends?
• Which companions would you like to have around you?
• Who would you be sharing your home with?
• Who would you be speaking to during the course of the day?
• What activities would you engage in?
• Which activities would you do with other people?
• Which activities would you do alone?
• How would you be feeling?
• What kind of food would you be eating and where would you be eating it?
• What would you be doing in the evening?

---

'50 Things for a Fiver' is a series of low-cost eCourses which deliver information or thought-provoking, self-coaching questions about retirement to your email inbox in 50 bite-sized chunks at 2-day intervals.

Please click here for details

How well do you maintain balance?

After a few months of retirement, many retirees say that they wonder how they ever found time to work.  However, if trying to maintain balance in your retirement life makes you feel like a tightrope walker, it may be time to pay more attention to your own personal care.  If you have so many demands on your time and energy that life can sometimes feel like a three-ring circus, take this quiz to see how well you are recognizing and fulfilling your personal needs and wants, as you go about meeting responsibilities.  

1. The only way I can successfully manage my life is to take care of myself physically and emotionally.    True/False   

2. Nurturing myself enlarges my capacity to help others.   True/False

3. I eat healthily and exercise regularly.    True/False  

4. I get check-ups, go to the dentist, and take preventative precautions. 
True/False 

5. I set aside personal, quiet time for myself, whether I’m meditating or simply letting my thoughts drift.    True/False 

6. I experience the gifts of each season: ice skating, sledging with the grandkids, bundled-up beach walks; gardening, hiking, more time outside; camping, swimming, barbeques; spending more time inside.  True/False

7. Creativity nurtures me, too. I do what I love, whether that’s cooking, drawing, painting, writing, dancing, singing or another creative pursuit.
True/False

8. Reaching out to others enriches my life. I spend quality time with family and friends.    True/False  

9. Contributing to the world provides connection and purpose, so I give my time, energy and experience where it is most useful.    True/False

10. I notice and heed the emotional signals that tell me I’m out of balance: irritability, overwhelm, resentment.    True/False  

11. If I feel that I’m catching a cold, I realize I may have stressed my immune system with over-activity, so I stop and take care of myself.  
True/False

12. When I need or want to, I say no to requests for my time.   True/False

13. I listen to and honor the requests my body makes for such things as a nap, a walk, green vegetables, hot soup.    True/False

14. I’m busy, but I find time to do the things I want to do.   True/False

15. I’m happy. I regularly experience well-being, contentment, even joy. 
True/False

If you answered false more often than true, you may want to take a look at the questions to which you answered false and see if you can incorporate something of their messages into your life. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like to explore this issue further. 

The ongoing care funding debate in the UK by Informed Choice

"The elderly must be forced to help pay for their care" reads one article.  

Another states that "baby boomer wealth must fund their old age care".

 

Lord Warner, who is a member of a commission drafting plans to reform provision for the elderly and disabled, believes that the post war baby boomer generation should fund their care by using the wealth they have accumulated in their properties.

 

The Health Secretary has already concluded that there is no simple answer to this problem.

 

Read more and comment on the Informed Choice blog.

Blogging Boomers Carnival #195

Andrea Stenburg of The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur is hosting the Blogging Boomers this week.  Here's the link.

What kind of retirement planner are you?

When it comes to retirement planning, are you a Snoozer, a Wood-knocker, a Plan B-er or a Stewer and Brewer?

Find out in Pre-emptive Retirement Planning from Bankrate.com.

50 Things I learned about retirement - #5

This is a taster of my brand new '50 Things I Learned About Retirement' eCourse (more details below):

Even the closest of workmates can disappear from your life once you are out of the workplace and not seeing each other on a daily basis.

If you tend to socialise mainly with people that you work with, start thinking about the people you want to continue to have a relationship with and think about the ways in which you could do that.  

I think it's worth pointing out that, if you want to remain in contact with colleagues and friends from work, you need to be prepared to do most of the work involved in staying in touch yourself - even if it feels like you're the only one making the phone calls and suggesting the meet-ups.  Life moves on and, even though people start off with the best intentions of keeping in touch, it doesn't always work out that way.

Tip:  If you would like to read all the blog posts in this series that have been published to date, scroll down to the 'Categories' section in the left hand column and click on the 50 things I learned about retirement category.

---

'50 Things for a Fiver' is a series of low-cost eCourses which deliver information or thought-provoking, self-coaching questions about retirement to your email inbox in 50 bite-sized chunks at 2-day intervals.

Please click here for details

50 Things I learned about retirement - #4

This is a taster of my brand new '50 Things I Learned About Retirement' eCourse (more details below):

Research by Phyllis Moen of the University of Minnesota indicates that the most stressful situation for retiring heterosexual couples is when the man retires first and the woman continues to work.

Tip:  If you would like to read all the blog posts in this series that have been published to date, scroll down to the 'Categories' section in the left hand column and click on the 50 things I learned about retirement category.

---

'50 Things for a Fiver' is a series of low-cost eCourses which deliver information or thought-provoking, self-coaching questions about retirement to your email inbox in 50 bite-sized chunks at 2-day intervals.

Please click here for details

Blogging Boomers Carnival #194

Happy Valentine's Day from the Blogging Boomers!  It's my turn to host today - see the lovely, valentine-y, word mosaic I made for you on the left there?  Don't say I don't show you any love!  As for the rest of my blogging boomer colleagues - they love you too and this is how they're showing it this week...

SoBabyBoomer tells us that Valentine's Day is for the young at heart.   A recent poll indicates that 72% of Boomer respondents are interested in finding a date for this year's romantic holiday.
 
Pink Himalayan salt blocks to cook on, have you ever tried it? Follow the Accidental Locavore as she learns how to cook with them at a class at the Meadow in New York. 

Vaboomer looks at some "hidden history" of America.

Let’s face it.  Being eternally angry at your ex is the great American pastime. Have you ever considered all of the angry, ugly feelings we are surrounded by constantly as half of all American adults decide to end their marriages?  How do we move on after that?  The Midlife Crisis Queen has a few suggestions.

The Boomer Chronicles loves iPhone apps. Here are the Top 15 on her list.

Andrea Stenberg at the Baby Boomer Entrepreneur talks about Three Myths Business Owners Have About Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

And, finally, there's my own offering... last Wednesday I started a 50-part series entitled: 50 Things I learned about retirement.  Here's #1.

50 Things I learned about retirement - #3

This is a taster of my brand new '50 Things I Learned About Retirement' eCourse (more details below):

Couples don't always talk to each other about retirement.  For example, a survey of 502 married couples approaching retirement uncovered the fact that wives and husbands often had different understandings of their plans and preparations for life after retirement and found that:

• 61% disagreed on which income source (savings, pensions, Social Security, etc.) would be their primary source of funds in retirement
• 58% disagreed about whom their spouse would turn to for financial guidance in the event of the other spouse's death
• 41% disagreed about whether at least one partner would work in retirement
• 39% differed on the amount of their life insurance/assurance coverage

(Source: Fidelity Investments)

---

'50 Things for a Fiver' is a series of low-cost eCourses which deliver information or thought-provoking, self-coaching questions about retirement to your email inbox in 50 bite-sized chunks at 2-day intervals.

Please click here for details