Have you ever built a fence? Last weekend I helped a friend build a fence to replace one that a tree had taken out. Up until then, I've propped up fences and had others build fences for me, but I'd never actually built a fence from scratch.

 

It seemed rather daunting...in this pile were 2x4's, and over here new weather-treated posts. The old fence was still up with the broken cross-bars and old leaning fence posts.

 

Because I was a neophyte in the fence building world, I chose the role of willing worker, doing what was assigned and giving advice when asked, but keeping to my place of taking direction.

 

That wasn't always the case for me. There was a time in my life when it was painful for me to admit I didn't know something, so I'd try to act as though I did. I've even given advice when I didn't really know what I was talking about. (I've always hoped that all the people of those early days have forgiven me for my prideful ways.)

 

It's much more comfortable for me these days. If I don't know something I admit it and ask for direction. I help where I can and ask when I don't know what the next step is. I try to be the right-hand assistant for those that know what they're doing.

 

The fence is built and looks lovely. I primed the boards, held boards while others screwed them in, held fence posts erect while measurements were taken and re-taken, and took many trips to the hardware stores.

 

The reason I'm talking about this experience is that there are areas in our financial lives that may be new to us. We may know something about them but not enough to get the results that we want. The area of retirement planning is one of those arenas where we may not have enough information but still don't get direction.

 

I have my own financial planner who takes the money I've saved and manages the investment choices and amounts for me, while offering advice and guidance. I don't have the time or specialized information to do that for myself, because the world of investing is a complex arena within the financial world. I stick with what I know, which is cash flow.

 

I bring this up because I wonder how many of you have gotten the guidance you need to have strategic planning around retirement. Retirement is more than just the money, but also the other intangibles that work has attached to it: scheduling of your day, community of co-workers to interact with, exchange of esteem and regard, feeling of connection and giving back, reward for effort and skills, and sense of identity.

 

We're living longer and living healthier lives, so the substance of our retirement years may be very different from what we've experienced from previous generations.

 

The article this month is a beginning of a discussion on retirement. If you want more information or would like me to continue this discussion, let me know. The

more planning we do, the less fearful the outcome. All of our clocks are ticking, and I want the best life possible for all of you no matter what your age.

 

 

sb  

How to Think About Retirement 

by Susan Bross, Financial Counselor and Money Coach 

  

About ten years ago, I attended a conference of Life Planners that took place in Canada. The participants were financial people who had realized and put into action the wisdom that retirement is more than how much money you've saved.

 

I was intrigued by the concept because I'd just seen a statistic that if even if otherwise healthy people had enough money saved for retirement they were often dead within 18 months. This is a puzzling statistic, and I wanted to learn more about what could cause this. I'll talk more about what I learned from this conference a little later on in this article.

 

Recently I put a request out to former clients of mine to tell me what issues they would be interested in knowing more about, and the majority of answers came back as more information about retirement: how to save for it, how to think about it, and when to start.

 

I'm not the kind of financial person that manages people's investments so I didn't think that I had much to offer in this arena. I was surprised to find out over the years that what my clients wanted to know was more in my expertise than I first guessed.

 

So I'm going to give you in this article the answers I've gleaned from my studies and shared with my clients over the years, along with some "popular" comments I've heard.

 

"I don't worry about retirement because I'm going to work until I die." I usually hear this from people who like their work, and don't see any reason to anticipate a time when they aren't working. My experience is that life is more creative than we might want, and can throw us a curve ball that we didn't see coming. A former neighbor was a high powered executive who in her fifties caught something on a trip that began a chain-reaction in her body which in turn caused her never to work again. I think it is wise to think that you'll need some savings to replace earnings if you were physically unable to work any longer.

 

"How do I know how much money I'll need in retirement?"  This is a challenging question because none of us have a crystal ball to consult. One of the things I learned from the Life Planners conference is that retirement years are often in three segments: the first years may be even more expensive than when you're working because you're still active, traveling and enjoying yourself; the second period is where you're slowing down and doing less so the expenses are likely less than when you were working; and the final phase are when the expenses can elevate again due to health issues and final care strategies. Using this information, it would make sense to continue working at least part-time when you're still active to defer the costs of your travel and enjoyment.

 

"Will I have to move in retirement?"  Because housing costs are at least 33% of retiree's income nationally, finding reasonable housing costs makes sense. If the numbers that you're working with indicate that you can't live as you are now, then there are several strategies: sharing housing with others (could be in your current home) to share costs, staying in the same area in less expensive housing, or moving to another area entirely. I think that shared housing makes sense on several levels because you also have someone there in case you need help or support. Less expensive housing could keep you in the familiarity of your current location. Moving to another area requires you to think through how you're going to connect to that new area (church, community organizations, clubs, volunteering, recreation, etc.) and the Life Planners point out that this strategy is most successful if you start those connections before you retire there.

 

"If I haven't saved enough money up to now, will it make a difference if I start now?"  One word: yes. There are many "late savers" so you're not alone. One reason to start now is that you'll learn great strategies for spending less in order to find that money to save. Being able to adjust your spending at any time is a terrific set of skills to perfect. Another reason is that you're starting the savings habit, which takes on a life of its own and you can save more than you can imagine because it becomes an exciting goal. A third reason is that having savings gives you more peace of mind than not having savings. The trick to remember: the savings are taken out first, because there are always great reasons to spend if you see money in your account.

 

I know that this is just a small start on a very big subject that is looming for many Americans. If you have any other questions or just want help in getting started with a more complete mind map about strategic retirement thinking, give me a call or shoot me an email and we'll put our heads together to help you reach your goal. I can't give you investment advice, but I can help you get a plan in mind for approaching the issue.