Monday, November 28, 2005

Life after work not what it used to be.

In the ol' days, retirement meant slowing down, doing nothing, retiring from life, so to speak. Today people are retiring younger than ever. They look forward with great anticipation to the next phase of their life. What's the difference between then and now? In a word, options.


Todays boomers are traveling the world, building new homes, volunteering in unusual and unique ways, enjoying their freedom and expressing themselves creatively.


Boomers have benefited from the tremendous boom in property values. Now they are looking at different lifestyles that are opening up to them. Seeing a bigger picture, they are devising game plans that will meet their needs and goals.


Making decisions about retirement planning is an interesting experience. Choices on how and where to live, what to do, and what's important can be challenging.


Clarifying values is always helpful. Living life in a meaningful and progressive way is what planning is all about. How will you make it happen?

Friday, November 18, 2005

Cooking Smaller Meals

As time moves on and people eat differently, it's interesting to experiment with different foods, unusual ingredients and ways of cooking.

I know lots of people who find it just as cheap to eat out in small ethnic restaurants as to cook.

Many people - generally women, but not always, are simply tired of cooking. They have been doing it for thirty or forty years. It seems that just when couples get their trophy kitchen, they often stop cooking as much at home.

One thing I tend to forget and yet find useful is to cook double portions and freeze the rest. It's the same amount of work at the time, but half the work later. Good planning can help to give us more time.

M.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Volunteering

A lot of people who volunteer while working have a great focus that they can extend forward to their life after work. Besides giving them a network of people with similar interests and motivations, it can add a lot to life.



You might consider what you want your volunteer life to look like. Do you want to do a couple of hours a week? Or, do you want most of your time free and then work on a few big projects for a few weeks a year?



For example, you might work on a fund-raising event that requires a great deal of management skills and much commitment as the event approaches. The satisfaction from this work is something that money cannot buy. However, this event only happens once a year, and for the balance of the year you aren't actively involved with the organization.



Others take a less high profile approach. They might volunteer two hours a week at a bird santuary. The assume one small job and do it well. They help keep that volunteer organization running. The small job adds some structure to life but is not a huge commitment of energy.



Either way, making a difference in areas that you feel are vital to a good society or way of life adds to your life.



M.