We, Baby Boomers, have heard it said “Money isn’t everything.
A lot of us will agree to this, although Money is necessary for survival in the real world. Living a Good and Healthy Life Beyond Retiring is very important as well. In many cases more important than having a lot of money. If you are unhealthy, money doesn’t mean much, aside from being able to take care of your daily living expenses. Money does not bring you true “HAPPINESS”.
Living the Good Life entails a Healthy Life, and a Financially Secure Life as well. Keeping in mind, however, that many retirees are living with some type of disabling condition, but still manage to live a meaningful and joyful Retirement Life. There are many accommodations for persons with disabilities in many sectors of our society.
Living the “Good Life” doesn’t mean always living like the “Rich and Famous”, It means living a life with a reasonable measure of peace of mind, embracing your situation; being thankful for the things with which you have been blessed, and relieving the worry, using your Faith to sustain you spiritually and emotionally.
For us, it is and has been our unceasing Faith in God Almighty, and listening to that “INNER -VOICE.” We must find ways to enjoy ourselves, and take time out to relax, unwind, and relieve the pressures of daily living. Surround yourself with well-meaning and like-minded people.
You must Avoid isolation after Retiring, keep your mind, body, and spirit active. Volunteer activities in the community might be within your view. Financial doors have been known to open by merely doing volunteer work, and networking with others. Church activities are often rewarding in various ways. That said, we have to come back and address the issues of careful planning for Life Beyond Retiring. Involvement of certain trusted family members, such as spouses, children, grandchildren or other close relatives, who can assist in your decision making, regarding retiring. Too often, the family is left out of the decisions retirees make, with regrets later.
No one can predict the future, however, we can plan as carefully as humanly possible; to sustain ourselves during our retirement years. You can avoid being a financial statistic of losing and/or running out of your hard earned money Beyond Retiring. You can accomplish this by careful, thoughtful, and practical planning before Retiring. If you fall short on the pre-planning, you will need to play catch up, which is always difficult, but not impossible, regardless of your circumstances.
Life Beyond Retiring can be a rewarding one, but you must plan for it; have a vision of how you want it to be, and never give in to Depression, loneliness, despair, or all those chains that tend to bind you. We heard a sermon one Sunday, from a pastor preaching our Church Revival recently, entitled “Shake the Devil Off”. Shake off all those negative things/and or people that are holding you down. The suicide rate among Retirees, particularly the Baby Boomer population, is astounding according to recent studies. The reasons are varied. More about this in the future. STAY TUNED.