Unretirement Project

Retirement Redefined

What We Are UP To in March 2019

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March, Unretirement, retirement, travel, fun
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Disclosure: Occasionally we receive free products for review or include advertising links in posts, but no one impacts the honesty of our opinions. 

This March, I rearranged our “What we’re up to …” list to reflect what’s going on right now. Read on and you’ll see why.

Geeking| Groove Bands

> I like backing Kickstarter campaigns. As a small business owner, it’s a way to pay it forward. And I like the cool items that I get to try out. We just backed a campaign for Groove Life, which makes silicone rings. They’re introducing watch bands that complement their ring designs. Besides the technology itself, one of my favorite Apple Watch features is the changeable band. I’m hoping this will be a nice one. 

Loving| Smith Teas

> I gave up coffee years ago and now I love a nice cuppa tea. A couple of my favorite tea companies have gone out of business. During a trip to Portland, Oregon, I discovered Smith Teas. They are absolutely wonderful. A bit pricey, so I don’t drink them every day but a delicious splurge. If you have a favorite tea company, I’d love to hear about them!

Planning| Vacation!

> For our anniversary this year we’re crossing something off our bucket list. We’ve always wanted to take a repositioning cruise, so this year we’re going from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale through the Panama Canal. Very exciting! We’re looking forward to some relaxation and education along the way.

Remembering| Disney

>I grew up on Disney. My father worked on the construction crew for Walk Disney World (he built Cinderella’s Castle) and my mother worked there for over 30 years. That being said, I’ve never been to Disneyland in California. So, prior to our cruise, we’re going. To quote a very old expression, I feel like a kid in a candy store.

Reading| Dune

> My cruise reading includes the Frank Herbert classic “Dune”. Keith loves this book. I’ve never read it and was able to get it quickly on Paperback Swap. I know there’s a Dune movie remake in the works, so we’ll see if I become a Dune fan. Stay tuned.

Working On| Our Annual Strategy Meeting

> Businesses carve out time to do strategic planning and budgeting. When we started our consulting firm, we decided that it was important to set aside time to do the same. We feel better when we do it and our company is better because of it. Part of the conversation is focused on retirement – what do we want ours to look like? 

Feeling| Surprisingly relaxed

> You would think with all of my business travel and an upcoming vacation that I would be a stressed-out mess. But surprisingly, I’m not. I think we’ve planned everything well. We’ll see once we start our trip, but I’m delighted that this is one of those moments where my obsessive planning might pay off. LOL!

Watching| Captain Marvel

> Like there was any doubt that we were going to see this movie! I’m not going to give away any spoilers except to say, “Goose!” If you’ve seen the movie you know exactly what I’m talking about. Now that we’ve seen Captain Marvel in March, we’re looking forward to Avengers: Endgame when we return from vacation.

What’s UP with you in March? You might notice that we’re posting less frequently for the next couple of weeks, but don’t worry, we’ll be back on track soon.

6 Ways to Get Better with Technology and Cybersecurity

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I met someone the other day who said they didn’t have time for technology. Whether we like it or not, technology is a big part of our personal and professional lives. We can buy things, make appointments, and manage information using technology. And I don’t anticipate that changing anytime in the near future. 

But with technology comes risk. I’m sure that’s one of the reasons that people say they don’t want to use technology. They figure if they don’t use it, then no one can hack their accounts or get their private information. Unfortunately, just because we don’t use technology doesn’t mean that everyone arounds us doesn’t put our names in a computer database that can be hacked. The answer is to be responsible technology users. 

TechCrunch recently published five “how-to” guides focused on covering cybersecurity basics. If you’re not familiar with TechCrunch, they are a U.S. based publisher of technology industry news, owned by Verizon Media. The site has about 17M monthly readers worldwide. While I wouldn’t say this is everything that you need to know about cybersecurity, it’s an excellent start.

  1. Why you need to use a password manager – Are you looking for a way to keep track of all your passwords? Or do you use the same password for everything because you don’t want to remember multiple passwords? It might be time to consider a password manager.
  2. Two-factor authentication can save you from hackers– Many sites already use two-step authentication or verification. And while we know it’s to help us be safe on the web, it’s still a major pain in the you know what. Maybe if we learn more about how two-step authentication works, we won’t get quite as frustrated. And we’ll opt-in to use it.
  3. How to protect your cell phone number and why you should care– According to Pew Research, ninety-five percent (95%) of Americans own a cell phone of some kind. This places a huge importance on a single device and protecting it from hackers is important.
  4. How to browse the web securely and privately– Personally, I’ve become much more interested in learning about virtual private networks (VPNs) and HTTPS lately. Specifically, what they can and cannot do. Not because I’ve got some big, dark secret to hide. But if I’m traveling then I want to know I’m using the right technology the right way.
  5. How to get started with encrypted messaging apps– Finally, short messaging service (aka SMS) has become a primary means of communication for some. I receive SMS messages to confirm appointments and get messages from family and friends. I want to know those messages are secure. 

Number six on this list comes from Google. It’s about phishing, which is defined as an attempt (usually via email) to trick you into giving away personal information. Google has published a “phishing quiz” which allows you to guess which emails are legit and which are fake. It’s not as easy as you might think. If you decide to take the quiz, one quick heads up – the quiz asks you to provide a name and email address at the beginning. You can totally make one up. They’re not collecting information. But as you know, some phishing scams look pretty legit because they include your name. 

I thought these articles were a great primer about cybersecurity regardless of where you are in your unretirement journey. They could benefit you at work or at home. They might also be something you’d like to share with friends and family. 

Helping people become better with technology benefits everyone. I hope you’ll take a moment to check out these TechCrunch and Google resources. And a huge thanks to TechCrunch and Google for publishing them. 

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Reykjavik, Iceland

3 Ways You May Contribute to Your Own Ageism

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I mentioned a few weeks ago that I listened to a LinkedIn Learning program on encore careers. One of the topics discussed during the program was ageism. It totally makes sense. Age does play a factor into our career decisions. 

I’m starting to see an interesting trend where the discussion about ageism is concerned. And that’s ageism might not be totally “somebody else’s fault”. Yes, I will admit that ageism does exist. It’s sad to say but it’s true. However, are all instances of ageism somebody else’s fault or is it possible that we are creating our own self-fulfilling prophecy?

Shortly after completing the LinkedIn Learning program, I ran across an article from a colleague of mine on the site Fistful of Talent titled, “Ageism is Real – And It’s Your Fault”. The article talks about the things that we do as individuals that contribute to the “old person” perception. You know, like “I don’t have time for that technology stuff.” Or “Oh, those Millennials….” My takeaway from this article was regardless of your physical age, if you act like the stereotype then people will assume you are one. 

Then, Next Avenue published an interview titled, “Are Concerns About Age Discrimination by Employers Overblown?”where the conversation focused around whether ageism is real. The idea being with an employment market where there are more openings than candidates, at some point, organizations have to realize that older workers are valuable. Again, my takeaway from the article was it’s important to keep current.

Seeing these conversations so close in time took me back to the discussion in the LinkedIn Learning program about ageism. As we age, there are three things about aging we need to consider to ensure we’re not contributing to our own ageism. 

Believing your own negative self-talk. Self-talk is those messages we tell ourselves. Think of them as those little voices inside our head. Sometimes we say them out loud, but often not. Bottom-line: Our self-talk is incredibly powerful. Especially when we say things like, “I can’t do this because I’m old.” Granted there might be things that we can’t do anymore, but that’s not the case for everything. 

And let me add one more thought. There’s a big difference in deciding you don’t want to do something because you’re older and you can’t do it. Keith and I have said to ourselves plenty of times, “been there, done that, and we don’t need to do it anymore”. 

Stopping your own learning. This is a big one. You don’t have to earn a college degree to learn. Just because you turn 40, 50, 60, or 70 doesn’t mean you can’t take a class, listen to a podcast, watch a TED Talk, or read a book. If there’s something you want to learn, do it. Especially, if you’re thinking about switching careers as you get older. 

If you haven’t checked it out, sites like Coursera and edX offer massive open online courses (MOOCs). Most of them are free and have a wide variety of topics. If you have a budget, MasterClass offers programs from some very famous people. Whatever you decide is fine. Just keep learning.

Not networking across generations. I believe this last one is harder than it looks. If you have younger family members, then you might be able to chat with them. But if you don’t (or you would prefer not to network with family), think about how you can gain exposure to different points of view. Regardless of who you speak with, it’s important to interact with a diverse group of people. 

Maybe think about mentoring as a way to share your expertise and learn at the same time. There are lots of organizations that are regularly looking for mentors. It’s also possible that your current employer might have a mentoring program that you can sign up for. 

We have some decisions to make as we age. And one of the biggest is deciding how we will accept aging. If we want others to see us as contributors, then we need to act like it. Please notice I didn’t say we need to act “young”. People need to accept our age for what it is. But that doesn’t mean we’re not able to bring value. We need to send the message and demonstrate that we can.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Las Vegas, NV

Make a Checklist of Your Wishes For Your Family

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For the last decade of my father-in-law’s life, every time we visited him, he would find an hour to chat with us about his final wishes. It was never on the first day or the last. It was never over dinner. But at some point, he would find a few moments to talk about what he wanted his final days to be like and how he wanted his matters handled by family when he was gone. 

Keith and I came to expect these little chats every time we visited him. 

Now that we’re getting older, we’re trying to figure out when we should start having those chats with people. First of all, it’s a great reminder that if you haven’t already thought about the executor of your estate…now’s a good time. And don’t let that term intimidate you. Whether you have $1 or $1M, somebody is going to have to handle your final affairs. 

AARP Publishing has a book out titled, “Checklist for My Family” by Sally Balch Hurme, J.D.. This 250-page book outlines ten areas of our life that we might want to consider documenting. Some of them are very predictable like life insurance, investments, and real estate. Others are more surprising such as items to destroy, rewards programs, and pet care. 

I’m sure for many, the task of handling a person’s final affairs is given to a child. Keith and I have an interesting dynamic to consider because we don’t have children. I found this book to be something that we could complete and leave it in a place for the executor of our estate to review. I love that everything is in a single book, so our executor only has to find one thing – the book. And we can keep the book in a safe place or mail it to our executor.

The book has two parts. The first part is my “to-do” list. This is where I need to review items, make decisions about how I would like things handled by family, etc. The second part is where I document those decisions. Looking back, my father-in-law was quite the planner and there were plenty of things he forgot to tell us. This book reminds me that while there are several major decisions to make, there are lots of smaller decisions to consider as well. 

If I have one criticism about the book, it’s that the author doesn’t put enough emphasis on technology. The book does reference digital assets, but most of us have multiple social media accounts, emails, etc. and at some point, somebody will be given the task of deleting my digital life. In future editions, I could see technology being a separate chapter versus just a few pages.

At some point in time, we have to start making plans for our final days. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I don’t want to rush those decisions. Having a checklist for family that I can pick up and put down at my leisure makes me feel in control. And isn’t that want we’re trying to do – be in control of how our affairs are handled. 

What We Are UP To – February 2019

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Watching | Chuck

> Or should I say rewatching. The TV series Chuck, starring Zachary Levi, is one of my favorites. In honor of DC’s Shazam (starring Zachary Levi) coming out in April, we decided to rewatch Chuck. Still excellent after all this time. 

Reading | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

> I’ve heard for years that the Harry Potter series is reading for all ages. So, I finally broke down a picked-up Harry Potter book number one. I must admit it grabbed me immediately! I can see this being a series that both Keith and I will enjoy and want to chat about. 

Remembering | Fort Lauderdale

>We were in our old stomping grounds early in February for client meetings. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed visiting some of our favorite places. But OMGosh, the traffic! We actually we’re held up in traffic one afternoon because nine police cars apprehended someone (guns drawn) on the I95 highway. I love you Fort Lauderdale, but I don’t miss that.

Working On | Travel

> I’ve been home for a couple of months and, while I love being home, I’m looking forward to spring travel season. I have trips planned to some places I haven’t been to lately – like Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, and St. Louis. It should be great fun to get out and explore. 

Feeling | Ready to move!

> While moving your household is never fun, can I tell ya that I’m ready to move! We’re still a few months away but becoming incredibly conscious that a move date will be soon. In February, we drove by the construction site recently and saw a pile of baseboards in the house. Stuff is happening!

Planning | Ace Your Retirement

> Keith and I ran across a billboard on the Florida Turnpike promoting AceYourRetirement.org. It’s a (chatbot) digital retirement coach sponsored by AARP and the Ad Council. Takes less than 5 minutes to answer some questions about where you are in your retirement planning and offers some suggestions. No registration required. 

Loving | Girl Scout Cookies

> I was a Girl Scout so I appreciate the frenzy that is “cookie season” in February. Typically, we just pick up our Girl Scout cookies in front of the grocery store. But no one was selling! I couldn’t believe it. But good news! The Girl Scouts have gotten smarter and allow people to set up small storefronts to sell cookies online. I was able to support my friend’s children, no matter where they live. 

Geeking | MasterClass

> I’m sure you’ve heard of MasterClass. It’s an online education portal with programs from famous people. Like Annie Leibovitz teaches photography. And Gordon Ramsay teaches cooking. We decided to sign up for a year and test it out. I’m currently listening to Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman talk about economics. Absolutely fascinating. 

What’s UP with you?

Decision Making: What Underthinking Looks Like

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If you spend time on social channels, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the meme GIF about “what overthinking looks like”. It shows a young child crying in a pool, appearing to desperately cling to a lane marker rope to keep his head above the water. The mother rushes in to help him stand up in water that only barely comes up to his knees. The somewhat humorous intent, of course, is don’t overthink things – deal with the reality of a situation and you will be fine.

It’s a cute little message. But it made me wonder – where is the cute GIF about underthinking? There really isn’t one. Nor should there be. Because the result of underthinking is just bad decision making. And there’s nothing humorous or cute about that. 

The business world has always placed emphasis on decision making and its importance in organizational success. In fact, our consulting firm worked with a number of companies, teaching an adaptation of the Blake Mouton Managerial Grid – a way of evaluating decisions relative to the task that needed to be performed and the people that are impacted. I won’t go into the details here. The point is, business success often depends on a systematic approach to decision making. We should carry that forward into our personal decisions.

A simplified version of systematic decision making is a 5-step process:

Step 1: Identify the Goal. This may be the most important step since it is the basis for all the rest. For this exercise, let’s say your goal is to retire comfortably as early as possible. There are some parameters here (“comfortably” and “early as possible”) that can help us identify the best options.

Step 2: Weigh Your Options. For this, you will need information. Given the goal, some of the options may be drawing Social Security as soon as possible. Or maybe tapping into your 401(k) at first and waiting a few years so you can draw a larger check from Social Security. This is the time to talk with friends and experts to learn all opportunities.

Step 3: Consider Consequences. The previous step is so important because it will help us consider the consequences of each option. Will we deplete our nest egg too soon if we wait too long to file for Social Security? What will be our tax burden, and will that eat away at our savings? This step may even help to identify other options like part-time work during retirement.

Step 4: Make Your Decision. Remember the “overthinking meme”? At some point, you have to be satisfied that you’ve collected all the options you need and evaluated the consequences of each. That should lead you to the best decision that fulfills as many parameters as possible and gives you the best outcome.

Step 5: Evaluate Your Decision. Sadly, this is often the step that gets overlooked. But, even if you did a great job with the first four steps, you may be surprised with part of the results. The worst thing you can do is cling blindly to a decision just because of the effort you put into it. Evaluate your decision and make adjustments as needed.

One other thing to remember along the way is you don’t have to do this all by yourself. Of course you will have many conversations with family and friends. And AARP is full of planning resources. You can also check out The FIRE movement (financial independence, retire early) – a group that appears to be setting new standards in financial planning for retirement. Again, do your research!

We know that life is full of important decisions and retirement is one of the most critical. Unlike the “overthinking meme”, we can’t count on someone to rush in and rescue us when we make bad decisions. Fortunately, using a good system can go a long way toward helping us make good decisions.

How To Help Your Parents Downsize Their Home

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Thanks to Marie Kondo, downsizing is now a thing. If you haven’t heard of her, she’s a Japanese organizing consultant and author of the best-selling book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”. Her method, called KonMari, focuses on only keeping possessions that bring you joy. While the book has been out for a few years, Kondo recently starred in a Netflix series, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” reminding all of us to organize and downsize our stuff.

While I still need to read Kondo’s book, I do find the whole idea of decluttering fascinating. Neither Keith or I are big collectors of stuff, but last year when we were getting ready for our move to North Florida, we realized that we had accumulated a lot of stuff. It’s easy to do and we wrote about our experience in the post “6 Lessons Learned from Decluttering”. 

To learn more about downsizing, I recently picked up a copy of the book “Downsizing The Family Home” by Marni Jameson (published by AARP). This book takes a very different (and practical) approach to downsizing in that it views it from the standpoint of a person having to downsize their parent’s (or loved one’s) home, which may or may not be your childhood home. Here are a few of my takeaways from the book:

It’s possible that we will have to ask our parents or loved ones to downsize. While some adults might decide that it’s time to downsize the house for a condo, it’s also very possible that our parents have a very comfortable lifestyle and don’t want to downsize. It won’t be until their health or age start to prompt the conversation. That means an adult child or close family member might be the person who initiates the “we need to get rid of a few things” discussion. 

Getting rid of our stuff is both physical and emotional. Jameson’s book deals with both the physical and emotional aspects of downsizing. Let’s face it – all of our possessions have stories attached to them – how we got them, who gave them to us, etc. Getting rid of items that have long-term or significant memories is more than simply disposing of stuff. It’s an emotional message tied to our mortality. 

Consider phases. You cannot organize and declutter your home in a day. When Keith and I were moving, we did a room every week and it took about three months. So, put together a plan. If you’re helping your parents or a loved one and don’t live close by, it might take even longer. It could also be helpful to space it out, so it isn’t a big shock when larger items (like furniture) leave the house. 

Make downsizing a regular event. It could be possible that your loved ones don’t need to move or downsize into a smaller home today, but you’re thinking someday they might. If someone is apprehensive about moving to a smaller home, moving in with children, or into assisted living, it could be helpful to start downsizing early. That way someone doesn’t associate downsizing with moving away from their long-time home. 

Figure out your disposal strategy. Okay, you have a big pile of stuff to get rid of. Now what? It’s time to figure out whether to sell it, donate it, or junk it. Jameson’s book devotes quite a few pages toward estate and rummage sales – how to figure out whether older items have value and disposing of them. She also spends some time talking about the difference between what parents might think is collectable and what actual collectors think. 

Make a plan. One of the things I like about this book is that there’s a companion workbook (Yes, you have to purchase it extra). Instead of calling it a workbook, I’d actually characterize it as more of a downsizing journal, with prompts that allow the user to document their downsizing goals, how they feel about letting go of items, and planning for the sale of items. 

It’s one thing for us to decide to get rid of our stuff. It’s another to have to help our parents part with their stuff. Especially when it’s our childhood home. We’re dealing with both our emotions and theirs. Books about downsizing, like Jameson’s, can help us bring some structure to the process.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of New Orleans, LA