WordSisters

Tag: retirement planning

  • Why I Need a Retirement Mentor

    Three-plus decades ago, friend and fellow writer Cathy Madison told me something that has stuck with me ever since: that when you’re self-employed, which I have been since my mid-20s, you never really retire, you just wake up one day and realize all of your clients are gone.

    That day hasn’t yet come, but I can see it beginning to dawn. Fewer clients, smaller projects. But I’m not complaining. In fact, I’m largely to blame as I now only say yes to projects I can do from anywhere at any time, without having to schedule calls, log on to online meetings or drive across town for in-person ones. 

    Several years back, on the advice of a few older colleagues , I decided to test drive my retirement. I spent one Minnesota winter in Panama. I lived with my sister Diane and her family another winter. And one spring I enjoyed six weeks in Paris courtesy of a friend who loaned me her Latin Quarter apartment.

    I also found a few retirement mentors. They, of course, include my fellow Word Sisters, all of whom were a bit ahead of me in embracing retirement. They also include Joe Casey, host of the Retirement Wisdom podcast. Not only did I learn a lot from him and his guests, he hired me to write for his blog, giving me the motivation (and a bit of income) to learn more about retirement—the pros and cons, the ups and downs—than I might have had my own.  

    Here are a handful of things I’ve learned that might be helpful to you:

    • Retirement is not a one-size-fits-all journey. Some want relaxed days without a schedule while others are actively working through a bucket list.
    • Money matters, but not always as much as you might think. How much money you have can bolster or constrain the size of that journey. What matters more are your own personal tastes, hopes and dreams.
    • Accountability counts. One of the biggest challenges I and many of my fellow retirees face is staying disciplined. Why do today what we can put off until tomorrow? But I’ve learned the hard way that while leaving things until tomorrow may feel good today, there will eventually be a price to pay. Checking in regularly with friends and family can help. So can having a mentor or goal buddy.
    • Your health: here today, gone tomorrow. Although both my parents died when they were 70—my dad a year after a lung cancer diagnosis, my mom in an instant due to a heart attack—I always thought I’d grow old like my grandmother and die in my sleep some years after celebrating my 90th  birthday. However, since turning 65, I’ve experienced a number of health issues, all minor thankfully, but they’ve made me realize I’m just a diagnosis away from something more serious. So now is the time to make the most of my time.   
    • Staying socially active really does matter. After being unplugged since the start of COVID, I have begun reconnecting with friends in person. A visit with a friend at her house two months ago led to having dinner in a restaurant with another friend, and this eve I’m meeting a third friend for a work-related reception followed by a movie.

    Retirement is a significant life transition that requires careful planning and consideration. While it can be tempting to go it alone, having a retirement mentor (or several!) can provide numerous benefits. From personalized guidance and experience-based insights to accountability, emotional support and help avoiding common pitfalls, my mentors have become trusted companions on my retirement journey, one my future self will thank me for.

  • Money Matters

    As anyone who knows me will tell you, I listen to a lot of podcasts. A few weeks ago, I discovered a new one: small change—Money Stories from the Neighborhood.

    Hosted by entrepreneur Twila Dang and Minnesota Public Radio economics reporter Chris Farrell, the podcast disrupts the notion that people with low or unstable incomes don’t know how to manage money. To the contrary, they are often the most creative and collaborative when it comes to doing so.

    I’ve listened to all seven episodes that have been released so far, but one in particular got me thinking about the smart money lessons I learned from my parents, both of whom were born into the Great Depression and grew up on modest family farms, my dad in western Minnesota and my mom near St. Cloud.

    My parents, Vi and Jim Bachel

    Their philosophy was “live off what you have.” This, combined with the fact that my dad supported our family of seven on not much more than $20,000 a year, led me to learn important money lessons that have made a huge difference in my financial wellbeing. Here are a few:

    Lesson No. 1: If you don’t have the money, don’t buy it. I never saw my parents use a credit card. Other than the utility bills my dad paid by check every month, my parents paid cash for everything from groceries to Catholic school tuition to an occasional new car. They kept meticulous track of how much money they had via their Midwest Federal Savings Passbook.

    Lesson No. 2: If you want more money, ask for it. I learned and was reminded of this lesson just about every week when my stay-at-home mom asked my dad for money for groceries. No matter how much he gave her, she always asked—and often lobbied vigorously—for more. Sometimes she got it, sometimes she didn’t. So, midcareer, when I was offered a job with a consulting firm, I took a deep breath and asked for—and eventually received—a pay increase, a signing bonus and an additional week of vacation.

    Lesson No. 3: Don’t be afraid to haggle. I can’t recall the exact amount the seller of my house was asking, but I was do know I was prepared to pay that amount. That is, until I talked to my dad. He advised me to offer considerably less, so I did. The realtor told me the buyer would be insulted by such a low offer. He was. But he eventually agreed to sell me the house for considerably less than his original asking price and only $3,000 more than my original offer.  

    Lesson No. 4: Always get three estimates. Now that the pandemic has me hunkered down at home, I’ve been getting estimates for long overdue home chores, including painting the exterior of my home as well as the upstairs. In soliciting the estimates, I’m doing just what my parents taught me to do: calling three contractors. Their estimates range from roughly $5,000 to $20,000+, reminding me once again of the value of my parents’ advice.

    Lesson No. 5: Save for retirement. Thanks to my parents’ urging, I started saving for retirement in my early 20s, when I got my first full-time job. It was at Honeywell. While I’m unsure how much I saved in the two years I worked there, I still have a 1984 Retirement Savings Plan statement showing that I contributed $55.94 in the fourth quarter of that year and had a yearend balance of $233.48. While that doesn’t seem like much to me now, I’m certain it did at the time.

    I’m also certain that these and other money lessons I learned—from my parents, as well as friends, colleagues and podcasts such as small change—have made a huge difference in my financial wellbeing.

    How about you? What money lessons did you learn…and from whom? And how have those lessons impacted your own financial wellbeing?