Rock Your Retirement Show

Let's talk about SCORE with Sally Broff. You can listen to the show at the bottom of this page or on your smartphone.

Raised in the Pittsburgh area, she left for college in 1967 attending Brandeis University. She followed that with a master’s degree at Boston University. Sally lived in Boston until 1993, working for some very small manufacturing companies.

In 1986, she and her partner founded a manufacturer's representative company specializing in selling power sources to manufacturers.

Then in 1993 she sold her portion of the business to her partner and moved to Southern California where she and her life partner founded a company. They ran that company for 10 years and sold it in 2007.  This is where her retirement began.  After that, Sally joined SCORE, a national organization that serves small businesses.

Score San Diego: SOCIAL AND FAMILY

* Sally and her partner Bob have a 12-year age difference and age has not been an issue for them.

* Sally does a variety of activities with friends in the community she lives in.

ADVENTURE AND TRAVEL

* Sally likes to take one big trip each year and has been to some fascinating places such as; a trip to the Middle East last year, a cruise around South America, a land tour in China, and the Greek Islands.

VOLUNTEER AND PHILANTHROPY: SCORE San Diego

* She is the very first female president of the SCORE San Diego chapter. Learn what SCORE is and how she helps people through her volunteer work.

* Once she steps down from SCORE as president in October 2016, she is not settling down! Sally plans to look into more volunteering opportunities including American Association of University Women (AAUW) and she would like to work with kids who are aging out of the foster care program.

SCORE San Diego: HEALTH

Sally and Bob, along with two other couples in their community, exercise every other day. Their ages range from 60 to 80 years old. Exercising helps keep her healthy, helps with balance and her core strength.

She wishes she knew that in retirement she could stay so busy. Sally was worried she would end up being a couch potato with nothing to do.  She recommends that you find something that gives you the feeling that you are still making a contribution to society.  This can be a hobby, volunteer work, or even a new business venture.

If you would like to contact the San Diego SCORE chapter you can go to www.sandiego.score.org and the National SCORE website is: www.score.org

http://traffic.libsyn.com/rockyourretirement/011_R_Sally_Broff_160315_IFinalcs2.mp3

This article on Retirement Lifestyle first appeared on http://RockYourRetirement.com. ©2016-2017SCORE San Diego

Downsizing may be hard for some people and in this episode, Susi Vine will give us tips on how to downsize and de-clutter. You can listen to the show at by clicking the link at the bottom of this page or by subscribing on your smartphone.

Susi Vine began helping others downsize in November 2010

Since then, she has led crews as Team Leader, and she provides consultations for new clients who are considering their move.

Her crews pack and unpack and help people downsize.

Susi earned a BFA and studied Residential Design.  The company looks for people with her experience in design space planning and universal accessibility.  That experience supports the needs of their clients looking to de-clutter, downsize, and relocate to a new home or age in place.

They not only help people with downsizing and moves, but they also build lasting bonds with them.

Did you know that this kind of service existed to help others downsize?   Neither did I. Senior Move Masters helps their clients go from a 3000 square foot house into a 1200 square foot senior living facility.  It almost seems like magic.

In the episode:

*

* Tips to downsize and de-clutter.

* What services are offered by these types of agencies.

* How Senior Move Masters provides as much or as little support you may need for your move.

* Family members can provide stress free help with a move.

* How to Find resources for the extra pieces of a move.

This is an exciting time because there are many more choices than we ever had before!  These include co-housing, aging in place modifications, and retirement communities.  Active Living Communities can remove all the obligations and details and make life as carefree and active as you want it to be!

Don’t be afraid to try new things and take advantage of all the resources that are available.  As our population redefines aging, senior service businesses are growing at a rapid-fire rate. Decide what you enjoy doing for yourself and look into outsourcing the rest.

Contact information: Phone: 800-545-4775 Email: [email protected] Website: http://SeniorMoveMasters.com

http://traffic.libsyn.com/rockyourretirement/012_V_Susi_Vine_160215_IFinalc2.mp3

This article on Retirement Lifestyle first appeared on http://RockYourRetirement.com. ©2016-2017Downsize

Want to retire at 40? Find out how Wendy Holt did it. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/wendy-holt

Do you want to retire at Age Forty?  Wendy Holt did it!

Wendy Holt picked up everything and was able to retire at age 40. She downsized, moved to Costa Rica and is enjoying the retirement of her dreams.

So I guess that you could say that she is completely rocking it in the adventure area of retirement!

Wendy is from Los Angeles, CA, and she went from the hustle and bustle of the big city life, working over 2000 hours a year in a

high-stress job to living in a 500 square foot home in the rural jungles of Costa Rica.

Wendy and her husband at the time, always wanted to retire early, but didn’t know that they could retire at age 40. They had traveled a lot over the years, but they really loved Costa Rica. They decided to visit Costa Rica to just do research on the housing market with no intention of buying a home. During that trip, they ended up finding their perfect home and bought it. They went back to Los Angeles, sold their house, sold their cars, quit their jobs, and left to retire at age 40!

What’s happening now?  How is she Rocking her Retirement other than the fact that she lives a less stressful life?

Social and Family

* Wendy created a social club when she first moved to Costa Rica to meet new people and make friends.

* The marriage, however, didn’t work out. Wendy says that there is a high divorce rate among expatriates, usually because one of the two likes the lifestyle more than the other.

* Selling Real Estate in a small town helps her meet new people.

* Running a vacation rental on her property. http://www.thevillahermosa.com/home.html helps her keep connected with visitors and also gives her the opportunity to show them the sites and charitable activities when they desire. She lets the guests decide what kind of interactivity they want with her.  Some want her to show them around, and some want privacy.  Wendy is ok with it either way.

Adventure and Travel

* Wendy is obviously adventurous or she wouldn’t have picked up and left the work world and the home she knew to retire at age 40!

* She can’t travel as much as she used to, because of course she doesn’t make the same amount of money she used to make, but she plans on taking some trips to South Africa, Madagascar, and California to visit family and friends.

Volunteer and Philanthropy

* Her love for nature and animals drew her to Costa Rica, and she wanted to help people and animals.  Now she does!

* She does charity work at a wild animal rescue and has gotten to hold animals that you and I would never dream of holding!

* She is designing and donating a website to an orphanage. http://www.lafortunaorphanage.com/

* This orphanage needs your help!  If you ever go to Costa Rica, see what supplies they need and stuff a few into your suitcase!

Wendy is full of energy, full of life, and keeping her mind and body healthy. She is making the least amount of money she has ever made in her life but is the happiest she has ever been.

Like Wendy says, if there’s a will, there’s a way and she has definitely mastered finding a way.  If you want to retire at age 40, you can do it too, but you may have to be willing to give some other things in your life up. Tim Ferris actually discussed how this in his book

Brenda Geiger talks about things we didn't know about estate planning. You can listen to the show by subscribing on your iPhone or Android or scrolling to the bottom of this page and hitting the little arrow play button.

Brenda Geiger helps save headaches and money problems for her clients and their families!

She wanted to be a figure skater when she was little, but instead she grew up to be an estate planning attorney. Brenda has been helping her clients for over 12 years.

In California, if you have done no planning, your family could wind up paying up to 8% of your gross estate! The GROSS estate is the value of your property, without subtracting what you owe on it.  This causes headaches and money problems for your family!

Brenda’s practice focuses on trusts, estate planning, trust administration, business, and Elder Law.

Brenda Teaches us how to save headaches and money by explaining:

• The difference between a Trust and Probate, and how choosing the wrong one can cost your family thousands of dollars.

• Why leaving children or grandchildren large sums of money is not a good idea.

• What is Protective Planning?

• Share of Cost in California and what it means for Medi-Cal purposes.

Brenda is also an accomplished author and has also written several books which can save headaches and money problems for your family:

* Secrets of Great Estate Planning

* Safeguarding The Nest 2nd Edition (Pb)

* The Smart Family's Guide to Protecting An Aging Parent from a Long Term Care Financial Crisis In California

* How to Avoid the Catastrophic Costs and Effects of Long Term Care: A California Elder Law Guide

* Protecting You and Your Business: A Practical Guide for California Business Owners

* Protect Your Children’s IRA Inheritance: with a Retirement Protector Trust

As a special offer to our listeners, Brenda has graciously offered to give a FREE copy of her newest book.

Estate Planning Secrets of the Affluent: Protecting Your Family and Preserving Your Wealth but ONLY when you call her office and use a special code mentioned in the podcast. Listen to the show to get it and receive your free book!

Brenda can be reached at 760-448-2220

http://Geigerlawoffice.com

What to do after retirement? Teri Lippert gives advice on what to do after retirement based on her experience. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/get-out-and-do-something-episode-007

Get out and Do Something!

Why is Teri's advice to get out and do something?  Before Teri Lippert retired always had a volunteer spirit.  She worked for the Girl Scouts program and had planned on working for a few more years before retirement.  However, after working 14

hour days and dealing with some difficult work situations, she decided to retire early while she was still young enough to travel and do other things that she wanted to do.

Luckily, she had planned well financially and was able to do this.  But what was she going to do with her time?  When she was working, she had NO HOBBIES.  Her work was her entire life.  After a year, she started feeling depressed and figured that she’d better figure it out, so used her work skills to find out how to Rock her Retirement.   She knew that she had to get out and do something.  So she did.  She is now Rocking her Retirement in the following areas:

Social and Family:

* Teri did some research and joined the Riverside Women’s Club. The Riverside Women’s Club is celebrating their 128th The group is under the California Federation of Women's Clubs, which is under the General Federation of Women's Clubs.  There are Women’s Clubs all over the United States, and you do not have to be retired to join.

* The Riverside Women’s club was formed in 1896 and now has about 62 members. Terri will find out if she gets elected as president of the club in April 2016.

* Teri was elected to the to serve as membership chair with the club which was honored by earning the coveted SHOE award and is currently serving as the first Vice President or Dean.

* The club serves over a hundred charities in the Riverside area.

* Teri mentioned that she cannot have the club be her entire social life because she doesn’t feel that this is healthy so has outside activities that she does as well

* Teri realizes that she needs to balance the time she spends with her social activities, hobbies, and still have time for her family. She schedules time in her calendar so that she makes time for everything and everyone in her life, including her sister, Barbara Lippert.

Adventure and Travel:

* Teri and her partner travel extensively, mostly throughout the USA since they have a time share. They normally take one big trip a year and 3 smaller trips.  This definitely helps her get out and do something!

* Since they have a time share, there are over 300 properties where they can stay, and they enjoy finding new places to visit.

* Her favorite trip so far was New Orleans. They loved it because of the jazz music, the above-ground cemeteries, and of course the food.  Not only do they travel by land, but they are also planning a cruise for September 2016.

Volunteer and Philanthropy:

* Teri found the Women’s Club by going to VolunteerMatch.com

* Many times you can also find ways to volunteer by going to your city’s website.

* Teri’s social life is tied to her volunteer work...

Did you know that technology is not just for young people? Toby Cohantz developed a technology that can help us take care of our parents. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/technology-can-help-your-parents-stay-in-their-home

Technology can help your parents stay in their home.

Toby Cohantz's technology can help your parents stay in their home longer.  How does he do this?  He works with several organizations that work with seniors, particularly, Fall Prevention.  These organizations include:

* Life Support Medical, a research and development company where he is the director of the Mobile Fall Risk Assessment Lab

* San Diego Fall Prevention Task Force

* Aging and Independent Services

* Electronic Caregiver Company

All of these companies can help your parents stay in their home longer than if they were trying to do everything on their own. The reason why many people need to leave their home is because it is no longer safe to live there.

Toby runs the first mobile gait lab in the country, run in conjunction with the New Mexico State University.  The lab collects data on how seniors walk.  They generate a report on the spot that gives a risk assessment for falls.  That data is now being used to create products and services for seniors, and will launch in the 3rd quarter of 2016.

These will include smart phone and tablet apps that can help your parents stay in their home.

For example, the app will monitor your loved one's gait, and if it changes, an alert will be generated.

It will also work as a medical alert system that will alert you (or someone else) if there is a fall. Because their current in home systems have alerts that go out in case the battery begins to die, Toby expects that the apps will have similar features.  Systems like this are called PERS, or Personal Emergency Response Systems.

Toby's company has backup systems that catch additional activity, such as when someone cannot push a button because they've had a stroke or have fallen out of bed.  They've also considered the fact that many people will remove their devices so can install buttons in areas of the house such as near the bed, in the shower, and in the kitchen.  These are the places where most falls happen.

Virtual Care Givers (remember the Jetson's TV show?) are coming out at the end of the year.  Stay tuned in to his website to hear more about that as the technology develops.

This is a much-needed service, and if you'd like to contact Toby, you can reach him at http://www.ElectronicCaregiver.com or [email protected]

http://traffic.libsyn.com/rockyourretirement/006_V_Toby_Cohantz_160217_IFinal.mp3

This article on Retirement Lifestyle first appeared on http://RockYourRetirement.com. ©2016-2017

Keeping physically active is a great foundation in aging well. Let's take a look at how Ed Elliott discovered that playing softball can not only keep you young, but can also help you meet and make a lot of friends. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/playing-softball-to-keep-young-episode-005

Today I spoke with Ed Elliott, who wanted to be a singing cowboy when he grew up, changed his mind to become a “cementing cowboy”, and then became a teacher.  He is now retired and is playing softball to keep young.

Ed retired from teaching severely handicapped children and then became a principal, hearing officer, and director of Special Education Programs. He worked in the industry after 40 years.

He and I have something in common as I worked for Harborview Developmental Center in Valdez Alaska right after high school, which was an institution for severely mentally disabled adults.  Harborview has since closed, and there are no more institutions such as that in the United States.

He planned for retiring when he was sixty-two until he went to a faculty meeting and found out that he should look carefully at the retirement chart and not to forget that he could retire at age sixty-one and a half, so he didn't wait.

Ed retired without a plan, except he needed to wrap up some loose ends, which he is still in the process of doing (aren't we all!).

Ed is Rocking his Retirement by playing softball to keep young.

He found the softball league in the newspaper.  He and a friend scoped it out first to make sure that there were no former star baseball players in the league!  It seemed fine, so they went to a batting cage to assess their skills.   They could both still hit a ball (after fifty years) so decided to purchase the equipment needed to play the game.

The average age of the players (which includes women) in his league is seventy-one.  The majority of the team-mates who are playing softball to stay young are from sixty-five to seventy-five years old, but they do have some fifty-five and fifty-six-year-old players who are the stars of the game.  Most of the young ones are still working in their business.  They even have a player who is ninety!

Ed said that the main benefit of joining the league, in addition to the health benefits, is the advantage of spending time with friends every week.  He also gets to find out about new activities when members invite each other to activities that they might not have known about.

They are all playing softball on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and so they know where they are going to be on those two days.  Otherwise, they might not know what day it is!

Another way Ed Rocks his Retirement is by volunteering to spend time doing things for others, such as walking his wife's dogs, spending time with grandchildren, and generally helping people who are still working.   Ed can now do what he wants to do.

That's not all that Ed does.  He's considering becoming an Ombudsman for people who live in Senior Communities.   He also is trained in a type of dyslexia called Irlen syndrome, which is a reading problem (words swimming, words curling up, etc.,) that can be easily remedied by using colored transparencies.  He is considering helping others who have this syndrome, which is so easy to correct.

Listen to Ed's story on today's episode of Rock Your Retirement.

This article on Retirement Lifestyle first appeared on

What are the things we need to consider in finding a safe place for our parents to live? Mitch Au will be talking about this in today's podcast. You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/help-your-parents-find-a-safe-place-to-live-episode-004

Mitch Au is very close to his family.  His own grandmother had Alzheimer's disease, and he watched her suffer for 20 years.  His family is most important to him, so when his aunt and uncle needed a break, additional family intervention was needed.  Because of this, he moved to help with the caregiving and to give his aunt and uncle some respite care when they needed a break.  During this time he learned a great deal about caring for the elderly.  His aunt had a 24 hour care giver and was able to stay in her own home.

This was when he first learned about how to help your parents find a safe place to live (or grandparents as the case was here).

Mitch and I discussed the differences between having a 24 hour caregiver and having more social interaction through senior living or adult day care facilities.  Your parent's own home may be safe, but it might not provide the social interaction that a loved one needs.

Due to the experience with his grandmother, he realized that he really liked the senior care industry.  Mitch went into business for himself and opened a couple of board and care homes.  Highly regulated, these homes must be certified with an RCFE (residential care facility for the elderly) and licensed.

During the day he had two caregivers and a cook in each facility.  There was also “awake” staff 24 hours a day in each business.  Both of the homes were in Arizona, and they found out that moving from San Diego to Arizona was too much of a culture shock, so they moved back to San Diego.   It's tough to move from perfect weather to anywhere other than San Diego!

He moved back to San Diego for the perfect weather, and normally works with the adult children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or friends of elderly adults who are no longer safe to live at home.  He helps you help your parents find a safe place to live.  The organization that he works for is called “A Place for Mom,” which is a national placement agency that can help your parents find a safe place to live.

Many people call when they are in crisis, but you don't have to wait until they are a crisis to start speaking with them about their living situation.

One benefit of working with Mitch is that he can help your parents find a home even if they do not live in the same state you live in.

Listen to today's episode to find out more about your options for Senior Living Communities and also Home Care.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/rockyourretirement/004_V_Mitchell_Au_160210_IFinal.mp3

This article on Retirement Lifestyle first appeared on http://RockYourRetirement.com. ©2016-2017Help Your Parents Find a Safe Place to Live

Dealing with pain is one of the toughest thing to do. But did you know that you can make it easier to deal with pain through hugs and laughter? You can listen to the show at http://rockyourretirement.libsyn.com/deal-with-pain-through-hugs-and-laughter-episode-003

Joyce Leverich was working as a Legal Secretary for the corporate department of a large law firm.  Her friends were met at work.  Gradually she found that her back problems caused her to retire in her early 60s.   The pain was so great that she found it difficult to do anything.  Because of the pain she became depressed and wasn't sure what she was going to do to get out of her slump.  Not only that, but all of her friends were working, and she was home alone.  She went through a pain management clinic who taught her how to cope with the pain and how “getting out” is the most important thing to deal with depression.  She still deals with chronic pain, but she learned how to deal with pain through hugs and laughter.

Socializing is a great way, according to Joyce, to deal with depression.

After she moved to San Diego with her husband, she searched the Internet for social groups.  She found some couples groups, but also found a group that was specifically for women.  An opportunity arose that allowed her to take over that Meetup group that was floundering.  After taking over the group, she decided that she would have activities, and if even ONE other woman decided to join her in an event, she would get together and spend time with that woman.

The group started off slow, and the first woman she met for coffee never came back.  Joyce was afraid that the group would end because of that, but she didn't despair.  She kept posting events, and the group flourished.

She took that group and turned it into a massively successful, and very active woman's group that meets weekly.  Not everyone attends weekly, but all the members are active in the group.

And they all deal with pain through hugs and laughter.

Some of the pain is physical, and some of it is emotional.  Really, the group is about having friends and having fun!

The group volunteers, has line danced, gone bowling, and do all kinds of things.  There are 20 or 30 women who help post activities.   A lot of women in the group deal with pain through using hugs and laughter.

Learn how she grew the group in today's episode of Rock Your Retirement.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/rockyourretirement/003_R_Joyce_Leverich_060212_IFinal.mp3

This article on Retirement Lifestyle first appeared on http://RockYourRetirement.com. ©2016-2017Deal with Pain through Hugs and Laughter

Do you care about your parents' safety? Of course we all do. Let's take a look at how one family managed to get their dad a stair lift.

The family was very nervous and wanted to make sure he wasn't going to fall down the stairs.  They wanted him to be safe at home.  Dad was stubborn and didn't want to admit that he was getting older, and they were nervous knowing that he could fall down the stairs at any moment.

How did they do it?

What did they say to him to get him to ride the stair-lift to find out that it was safe for him and his beloved dog?  How were they able to make him safe at home?  You'll have to listen to the podcast to find out.

Kindra at 101 mobility makes it easy for her clients to keep their parents' homes safe.  101 Mobility is a national franchise that assists elders in the area of:

* Aging Safe at home

* Stair lifts

* Ramps

* Auto Lifts

* Platform Lifts

* Everything but Face Lifts!

Her company does a free home assessment to let you know where the dangers lie in your parent's home.  In my own case, I knew that the throw rugs in my father's home was dangerous, and it would have been nice to have a professional tell that to my father.

You can help free your parents from their home. It happens to elders as they become less and less mobile.  Kindra tells us how we can help.  She knows how because she is a certified aging in place specialist.

They can widen doorways, add grab bars, and complete other work that will make your parent's home safe to live in.  After all, we all want to live in our own homes, right?  We all want to be safe at home.

Hear about how you might be able to get your own reluctant family member into 101 Mobility or another organization that can help.  It can be done.

You will have peace of mind and will be able to Rock Your Retirement when you know that your parents are safe at home.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/rockyourretirement/Kindra_French_160213_Final_with_intro.mp3

This article on Retirement Lifestyle first appeared on http://RockYourRetirement.com. ©2016-2017