As I approach 62 years old, I think about the fact my body is starting to slow down. My joints are stiff and I no longer spring out of bed. It's a pretty slow process some days.
I also think of friends who have passed on so early. Some dying before retirement and others only spending a few years enjoying life after work and spending their pensions.
It gives me pause in these declining years about how to spend my time and what all my money now means.
What I Miss as I Age
- my 20/20 eyesight. Can no longer read without glasses
- hearing loss is worsening, large crowd noise makes me ignore most conversations
- my granddaughters, living so far away visiting is restricted
- family gatherings becoming less frequent
- friends who've passed on
- my work mates
I don't mean to whine, just realizing that some adjustments have to be made so as not to end up like some of my former co-workers who I read about in the last post section of an alumni website I belong to.
Misconceptions on Aging
- I've got bad genes so it doesn't matter what I do. Ya maybe, but you can only control what you can control
- George Burns smoked cigars every day and lived to 100. It must be good for me too
- all my family members checked out early in their 70's so it's probably going to happen to me
- exercise is just too hard on my body and hurts
- these are your golden years, not so golden for some
- more time for travel anytime I want
- going back to work will give your life purpose
The Reality
The toughest part of aging and living in retirement also includes spending a lot more time with your SO.
If you are not used to adjusting your daily schedule to fit his or hers then you will be in for a shock. My daily timings are way different now then when working. More time is allocated and plans revolve around a totally different schedule. Some other things I ponder about;
- putting our investments on auto pilot
- my wife doesn't understand any of this, so setting up the portfolio should something happen to me so that she can is vital now
- keeping it simple is just overused jargon. Can your SO take it all over
- you won't be as energetic to see the world as you age
- my sister-in-law contracted Parkinson's at 63
- money is important but not everything
As far as having good genes, mine should be pretty good, as my Dad turns 88 in July. All his brothers lived to 90. I am also planning to live that long too. No reason to think I won't as I exercise every day and watch what I eat and drink.
Only booze I have is once a week (sometimes not even) with some of my ex-army buddies. We don't keep alcohol at home ever. I will buy some for company in advance and then it's gone when they are.
Investing and Health
I mean why go through the exercise of DIY investing if you lead a destructive lifestyle? I'm not talking about not having a life, I just mean why not do all that you can to take care of yourself?
We all know what to do and what is bad for us but few want to make those types of sacrifices. Well, that's my observation in my world of family and friends.
We should all strive to live long enough to enjoy all that saving and investing so our retirement years will be filled with health and as much success as our working years.
What I Need To Do
- put my portfolio on auto-pilot
- show my wife everything that is happening with our portfolios
- read 500 pages a day
- make a plan for travel at least 3 X trips a year
- at least 2 X trips a year to see my granddaughters
- make up an estate plan that includes all account numbers and where they are for my spouse
- stop worrying about cash flow, there are much more important non monetary things in life
My Final Take
It is going to happen to all of us in different ways and we will all do different things because well, we're all different. Sorry Capt. Obvious.
Where you are on your investing journey? and what are your future plans for your retirement as you age? It's never to late to put a plan in place.
Plans change, just beware of some of those risks along the way. Your health, wealth and happiness depends on it.
- get out of working life as soon as you can afford to
- they say turning 70 is the toughest. My Dad said that too.
- I took my CPP at 60 because I wanted to collect my money and I have seen too many friends not make it to 65 or 70
I really enjoy my retirement life so far but I always feel I need to get busier.
"Get busy living or get busy dying" - Andy Dufresne
I plan to do more living with our money and in retirement, before I slow down so much I can't.
How has aging affected your life so far?
How has aging affected your life so far?
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I’m only 38 at the moment so aging didn’t have that much impact on me so far. But my main goal is to achieve monetary independance as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteGreat sentence by Andy Dufresne.
Those are great goals Penetrator and thanks for the compliment. Shawshank Redemption - one of my all time fave movies!
DeleteAwe this is great, thanks for sharing. My mother in law turns 70 this year. I have a friend who is in his 50's and also worries about what will happen to his investments when he passes on because his wife is not interested in it, one bit.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gen. I really struggle with that one too. That is why I am adjusting my wife's investments so she can take over and not worry about it.
DeleteShe could care less about this stuff and leaves me to it. Thanks for dropping by.
We are in our mid 70's and have always lived life as best we can. My wife was the one always getting us to do things, go places and keeping the family together. I liked work and tried to keep the $$ coming in, though my wife worked with me often.
ReplyDeleteEveryones situation is different as are their likes and needs. But what we found is later in life money became more important as we did not have any company pensions. Luckily we found Connolly and an investment strategy which worked for us and is still working. We have more than enough to live on and don't worry that we will be leaving a pile when we're gone. Not having it made us realize it's better to have it. I still want it to keep growing even though we don't need more and with it allows us to do more if we wish or know it will be there if/when we need it.
That's a great way to look at growth and money cannew. Better to have it than not. We are all different and need to do what's comfortable in our own situation.
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