Retirement – Page 3 – Retirement Media: Active Adult Living

During my first years living in an Active Adult Community, I have been focusing on enjoying the wonderful activities being offered, taking in as much as I can. I have found the answer to the question many people have a problem with “What is there to do in retirement?”.

Besides enjoying the activities, I was recently reminded that puttering around is part of retirement that people really like. During the virus lock down, many more have discovered this.

Definition of “Puttering Around”. to do little things of little consequence. to do small tasks in a random sequence in a casual manner at your will. Aimless behavior.

Before the virus, I asked a new friend at our active adult community, what activities do you do? I am used to hearing at least two or three activities mentioned when I ask that question, but my new friend had a different reply.

He said I get up when I feel like it, maybe check the news, eat some breakfast, check on the stock market, that sort of thing. Pretty soon it is lunch time. In afternoon I “putter around” the house and like to do some things in the yard to get outside. About 3:30pm each afternoon I put 3 beers in the fridge and about 4pm I start on the first one. By 6pm I am finished for the day.

You know I am always spotlighting the benefits and ways activities can help you, but I can’t fault a guy for doing what he wants in retirement. People at work are not saying “Yeah!”

Why Puttering Around Is So Rewarding

We never got to “putter around” too much at work did we. We had to remind ourselves to quit puttering around to get stuff done or the boss would notice or our jobs wouldn’t get completed.

Puttering around can be rewarding, pleasurable and even Zen like. You live in the moment and lose your thinking mind for a while, enjoying your observations and activities. Kind of nice for a change!

I suspect with the virus stay at home we have gone through, as much as we have complained about having to stay home, we have developed some puttering around routines that will stay with us.

No Rushing Our Morning Routine

After having to go to work at 8am every day, rain or shine, whether you felt like it or not, we retirees like to take our time, taking on the day. There is nothing like getting up without an alarm clock, having a cup of coffee, checking the TV news or Internet, having some breakfast, going to the bathroom, checking your calendar, and finally think about getting ready.

Speaking of getting ready, the bathroom routine is reportedly taking longer for both women and now men, who now take their time to groom, put on lotion and are just taking longer in the bathroom getting ready.

The key to all the above is not being rushed. Retirees don’t particularly like to be anywhere before, say, 10:30am. We want to take our time getting ready and the last thing we want to do is get stuck in traffic!

Other Ways to Puttering Around

Puttering around the patio. In the mornings, I like to go out on my patio, sometimes with a cup of coffee, and admire the morning sky, see the clouds and what the weather is like. Then see how my flowers are doing and give them a drink of water. Herb gardens are a great way to putter around with too.

Talking a morning walk is a routine my wife and I have enjoyed during the virus stay at home. We walk around our neighborhood and stop and talk with neighbors.

Car maintenance, DIY projects around the house, shopping trips, flea markets and yard maintenance are more examples. Puttering around Main Street of nearby small towns, visiting some stores and maybe having lunch is fun thing to do.

Surfacing the Internet or TV Channels is not puttering around because you are not moving. A key difference.

Puttering Around Good For Your Health

There is an article that actually says there are health benefits to puttering around. The study quoted found that independent of “formal” exercise, such as gym-based workouts, people who had an active daily life — including such non-exercise physical activities as gardening, car maintenance, blackberry picking or DIY projects — had a 30 percent lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke than people who were sedentary.

When you get up and do something, anything, you are moving which is the key. Add in some walking around our beautiful community and there’s a plan.

Puttering around and some walking is much better than sitting in front of the TV or Internet all day.

So now in retirement, you may allow yourself the luxury of just puttering around once in a while. You are the captain of your ship now.

There are too many great things to do at our Active 55+ Community to spend all our time puttering around, but some puttering around is good for you.

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Retirement 101

From time to time our Community Homeowner Association has a speaker come in to give a seminar or workshop on various subjects. Today I attended a two hour workshop by a Financial Planner called “Retirement 101“.

Honestly I was afraid it was going to be one of those annuity sales jobs like you get when you take up those offers to get a free meal at the local steakhouse, for sitting through a sales pitch.

This speaker was really good at not making it feel like it was, but he was laying out the case for using a “fee only” financial planner, like himself. You couldn’t blame him for that. As with any presentation, you always get some good ideas and reminded on some things that maybe you forgot. If you need a financial planner, the speaker did seem to be a good choice to consult with.

Have A Financial Plan

The speaker started off with the point that most people don’t have a financial plan and you really need one. Here we are sitting in a Del Webb community where the average age is over 70 and I am thinking if you don’t have one by now, you probably never will!

He makes a good point that having a financial plan gives you “piece of mind”. Even if part of your portfolio is not doing well, it may serve it’s purpose in your overall plan.

I read somewhere and it makes sense to me, that the reason most people fall short is that they don’t stay with their plan. They jump around. Having a financial plan and sticking with it, would payoff.

Fear Of Running Out of Money

The financial industry really plays on our fear that we are going to run out of money. We want to maintain our lifestyle to the end of our lives. It’s a real fear most people have. Securing our financial well being is important. We know this by now, that no matter if you use a financial advisor or not, you need to educate yourself about financial matters. If you are married, keeping your spouse informed is a must.

As we get older, most of us become more conservative with our investments, maybe allocating more to fixed income and bonds which we can have mature when we need the money. Fixed income is less volatile also. A bond ladder works for me and others as well.

Create a Reliable Stream of Income

The goal is to create a reliable stream of income that would fulfill our needs when we need the money, with as little risk as possible. Whether it’s from stocks, bonds, REITs, annuities, social security, pensions, real estate, or a combination of these, it’s up to each person to decide what is best for them and their risk tolerance.

AARP says Social Security benefits provides 39% of people’s retirement income on average.

The speaker points out as we start taking on more risk than we are comfortable with, that is a source of stress, something we don’t need in our retirement years.

Who Can You Trust With Your Retirement Investments

It was pointed out that a fee-only financial advising firm work as independent fiduciaries. This type of arrangement seems to be structured so that the advisor works in the best interest of the client and fully disclose conflicts of interest that could bias their recommendations.

He laid out a pretty impressive list of services advisors provide like portfolio construction, tax planning with the new tax reform changes, estate planning including what legal document you should have, when to take social security, understanding fees, and providing for long term care.

Executing a financial plan can be overwhelming and having someone on your side may help. This did appeal to many in the audience including those needing help because they have lost a spouse who took care of the finances. There were also people who were very knowledgeable about self managing their financial matters in the audience.

Whether you go with a Financial Advisor or go it alone, monitoring and staying on top of your investments in retirement is a time consuming job. But it’s one job you can’t retire from, if you want your retirement savings to last.

No one can guarantee that you’ll make money from

investments you make. But if you get the facts about saving and investing and follow through with an intelligent plan, you should be able to gain financial security over the years and enjoy the benefits of managing your money. – U.S. Security and Exchange Commission

As with any seminar I always learn something or at least get reinforced on principals that I don’t need to forget. Having outside speakers come to talk with us on relevant subjects is another benefit of living in an 55+ Retirement Community.

Thanks to Brad Malia, Malia Financial Group for today’s workshop.

Robert Fowler