Spring Break

The kids have been off of school all week for spring break. Next week they’ll go back to school for a couple of months and then they’re off for the summer. This got me thinking…aren’t you and I adults? If so, then why are we not setting up this kind of system for ourselves? After all, aren’t we in charge? Instead, we try our best to get two weeks off per year from our jobs, while tethered to our cell phones and laptops the entire time. Seems a little off, right?

I suppose this scheduling injustice is what gets us so excited about retirement. It’s the ultimate summer break, only this time, summer lasts for decades. Having had decades of non-stop working to think about, dream about, and prepare for this ultimate vacation, I sometimes wonder if retirees have actually planned enough. Has there been adequate thought put to the question, “What will we do with the 2,500 hours once dedicated each year to work that we’re freeing up, for the rest of our lives?”

Since I haven’t done this retirement thing yet for myself, I’d like your help. If you’re retired and reading this, would you be willing to hit reply to this email and share your thoughts with me about how you planned (or didn’t plan) for the time of your life in retirement? Specifically:

• What activities are you doing now that you’d planned to do before retirement became a reality?
• What activities are you doing now that you never imagined you’d be doing in retirement?
• How can someone plan effectively for their life after work ends?
• What regrets do you have about retiring when or how you did?
• If you could go back in time to before you retired, what would you do differently, in light of what you know now?

As I see it, we have families that we serve that know a LOT about building a successful retirement. If I don’t tap into that collective wisdom, I’m missing an opportunity to share that with others who may not have arrived yet at their moment of financial independence. Will you please help me help others in this noble pursuit of this potentially very exciting chapter in their lives?

Your input is appreciated. Again, please reply to this message with some thoughts regarding the questions above or anything else you may care to share. Your response comes to me and not to other readers, so please don’t be concerned with perfect grammar or saying something silly. It’s just me, and I’m listening in earnest to what you have to share.

Since the kids seem to have a pretty good deal when it comes to spring and summer breaks, we can at least spend some time thinking about what we’d do if and when we have as fun a schedule. Endless kickball and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches await you, if you plan ahead.

All the best,

Adam Cufr, RICP®