Beyond Retirement

Most of us have heard about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, running from the very basic needs - food, water, shelter - to the pinnacle of self-actualization. In her interview last week, Kim Curtis talked about the pyramid her company creates with their clients, starting with MONEY MANAGEMENT at the base, followed by financial planning (or GOAL SETTING). These two levels are the basis for preparing for retirement life. The next level is LIFESTYLE - where you finally get to live the life you've been dreaming of and creating for all those years. And the pinnacle of their pyramid is IMPACT - what we're all striving for. A way to leave a mark, change things a bit, so that we feel we've had a purpose in our life.

I'd like to think that there's really no big secret to having a successful retirement. It's all a matter of going into this stage of life with your eyes open, knowing what you're expecting, and being prepared to change course if it's not what you thought it was.

There is a lot of mystery around retirement: what should you do, where should you do it, what plans are right for you?

Kim Curtis outlines questions to a bunch of these questions in her book Retirement Secrets, which you can get from Amazon.

You can also get the workbook that goes along with it here: https://financialliteracypress.com/retirement-secrets/

Kim Curtis is the bestselling author of Money Secrets and Retirement Secrets. She's also a nationally recognized wealth management advisor and speaker. She has been profiled in several publications, including the Wall Street Journal.

Kim shares with us many of the secrets found in her book, about how to have a happy, successful retirement. She believes that the biggest reason that retirement generally fails is that people are not preparing emotionally for this stage of life. It's important to know who you are and that's often overlooked.

Couples are very likely to run into problems if they don't discuss their individual plans and hopes for retirement. In her book, Kim has checklists for couples to help them gauge their readiness.

We also discuss the "5 D's and 1 big B" of retirement:

• depression
• dependence
• divorce
• disability
• drunkenness
• BOREDOM

You will find the Retirement Secrets workbook Kim mentioned on this site:

https://financialliteracypress.com/retirement-secrets/

Please reach out to Kim with questions or comments:

https://www.facebook.com/WealthLegacyInstitute

https://www.instagram.com/happinessdoesntretire/

www.facebook.com/curtisgehl

www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlylcurtis

www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYVRFXtjFYN-AoRuKt0mYw

https://twitter.com/WLILegacy

https://twitter.com/KimCurtisLegacy

How we live our life isn't often judged till the end of our life, when others talk about us. We don't get to hear those conversations. But that doesn't mean we can't affect them.

The Dash Poem, by Linda Ellis, really stuck with me and it flavours a lot of my actions.

The conversations we have with our loved ones about end-of-life decisions aren't easy, but they're necessary. And how we carry out those conversations has a lot to do with how we live our "dash".

Mentioned in this episode:

Alumnor

Alumnor Ltd is a community based website speaking to like-minded women who understand the unique challenges of aging.

Alumnor

Kim Medici Shelquist is one of the people working at the Love Always Project, whose mission is to encourage people to think more positively and proactively about end-of-life issues and funeral prearrangement. The Love Always team works with individuals and professionals to encourage normalizing tough conversations and emphasizes the importance of sharing stories and experiences now, while there is still time.

The basis of the Project is the idea that people are hesitant to talk about all the issues surrounding the end of one's life - and Kim is quick to emphasize that this isn't just about the last hours or the last days of life; it's about the last STAGE of life. The sooner we can bring the conversation out in the open and start to share things, the easier that last stage becomes.

With information about all aspects of life - healthcare, finances, memories, basic communication - the Project website has resources to support people as they traverse this road.

Open to all, because we find ourselves in need at different stages of our life.

https://lovealwaysproject.org

We touched on lots of things last week, but the big takeaway for me is the idea that you have to give yourself some grace and take the time to do something a few times before you decide you're "no good" at it.

We don't become world famous musicians or athletes after trying something once; neither do we become great painters, writers, hula hoopers, or parents by just doing the activity once.

Retirement is the same - it takes practice, and it takes perseverance, to get it right. Be kind to yourself and try again if something doesn't go as you planned it the first time!