We are bombarded with horror stories from the financial press
warning us that to avoid having to eat dog food in our retirement
years we need to be stocking away huge amounts in our IRA
accounts.
We are bombarded with horror stories from the financial press warning us that to avoid having to eat dog food in our retirement years we need to be stocking away huge amounts in our IRA accounts. And we should have started years ago.
Ralph Warner, founder of Nolo Press, has a different take. In “Get a Life…You Don’t Need a Million to Retire Well,” he points out that the financial press is has an agenda – they’re trying to sell us products and services such as mutual funds and financial planning. And fear sells.
He has written a very comforting book in which he claims you don’t need a large amount of money and, in fact, if you devote your life to amassing one, you will probably be unhappy in retirement.
Instead, he advises that we should cultivate friends, family, interests which will serve us better.
In researching his book, Mr. Warner took the novel approach of interviewing actual retired people. He asked questions such as what is your typical day like? What things have been truly important to you during your retirement?
How do you explain the fact that some older people enjoy energized and interesting lives while so many others are depressed, angry and misanthropic?
How much money do you spend in a year? Is it more or less than you anticipated when you were younger? If you could tell a middle-aged person just one thing about how to prepare for retirement, what would it be?
His conclusions resonate with my life experience. My grandfather died with a substantial sum of money which he left to my uncle. My father had died, and my mother and I got very little.
Soon after, my uncle retired from his business, bought a fishing boat and devoted his life to fishing for marlin. Fifteen years later, my uncle was seriously depressed. I didn’t know him well, but he seemed to be a dynamic person with a good sense of humor.
I think he had been some kind of an entertainer. He spent the rest of his life terribly depressed – a shell of his former self.
His experience taught me that money, while important, is not the answer to a happy life.
And when I was training to become an accountant, I remember one instructor commenting that people in wealthy families tend to have terrible relationships because of the money.
The greatest risk of aging is not necessarily disease. It’s loss of social connectivity. Without satisfactory friendships, you become isolated and lonely. This is especially true for men.
Old friends know you from way back and therefore know you better than anyone else.
But it is important to acquire new friends as well because they allow you to start with a clean slate so that you are free to grow.
Studies show that people who are isolated and lonely are more prone to illness and early death. Making friends who are older is desirable because these people have experience and wisdom of how to live a fulfilling life.
You should also have younger friends. They have energy and fresh ideas, and they’re statistically more likely to live longer.
Joining a service organization such as Kiwanis or Rotary is one opportunity to meet people. You’ll meet a variety of people who will enrich your life.
Paul Alpert is a CPA in Morgan Hill and a Certified QuickBooks Advisor. He can be reached at 778-9477 or al****@****ic.com.
