Boomers Aging in Place and the Beacon Hill Village

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A Village Aging in Place

There are currently about 35 million people age 65 or older living in the United States. Last year, the leading edge of the population tsunami that is the Baby Boomer generation turned 65. By 2030, the nation’s population of 65 or older will more than double (PDF), reaching 72.1 million people according to the federal Administration on Aging.

The increasing number of elderly Americans means an increasing demand for services, which will strain public resources at all levels. The demand will be great, but it is nothing preparation can’t take care of, and the time to prepare is now. Unfortunately, the economic recovery underway in the U.S. is slow and halting. The consequent lack of tax money means governments will likely be unable to handle the wave of elderly citizens that will soon engulf many communities. Continue reading →

Connect With Your Community at the Farmer’s Market

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Later Living: Early customers at the Athens Farmer's Market

Good food is an important part of a good life. The food movement, as it is sometimes called, emphasizes alternatives to the abundance of prepackaged, additive-ladened food in modern supermarkets. It seeks to induce shoppers to consider a wide range of food attributes instead of just price and convenience. Continue reading →

Lessons for Later Life from Madame Bovary

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Courtesy of Jerry Murbach, doctormacro.com

Good literature draws us near and shines imagined light on hidden corners of our common nature. In retirement we have time to occasionally relax with a good book and examine some of our own unlighted places.

One appealing aspect of course is that most dedicated reading occurs in a favorite chair, and who is to know if a reader sometimes dozes off? That’s part of retirement too.

I recently read Madame Bovary, written by Gustave Flaubert and published in mid-nineteenth century France. The book is often on lists of great novels, and it concerns a theme that is always in fashion—adultery in marriage. At the same time, it goes deeper than adultery and treats aspects of human nature that bear heavily on today’s world. Continue reading →

What Do You Do When You’re Ready to Retire, but She’s Not?

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What Do You Do When You’re Ready to Retire, but She’s Not?

Some of you may have seen the Wall Street Journal special report on retirement earlier this week. Several topics were covered, and while we definitely plan to discuss a few of them, one article in particular grabbed my attention. A lot is written about where and how to retire, but this piece talked about a decision many of us take for granted… when to retire.  Continue reading →

Building Soil, Building Families

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Much of the eastern United States has been cultivated or otherwise used in agriculture at one time or another. The land was used roughly by our ancestors, though they may not have known how to use it better. Soil conservation ramped up after 1930, but by then the eastern U.S. had endured up to 300 years of untutored soil use, causing great amounts of erosion. Creating new soil is an act of reparation, requiring dedicated work and patience.

Building soil may be like building families, especially for grandparents. Grandparents often work quietly, at odd moments, maybe in the background. Continue reading →

Breaking Away in Retirement

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Later Living: Breaking Away in Retirement

Later Living submitted a byline to the Athens Banner-Herald that was published online and in print this morning. The piece offers readers five paths to breaking away in retirement. 

Before retirement, most of us live in established routines. We rise early and head to work, where we perform familiar tasks; we come home to our families, have dinner, enjoy the evening, and go to bed. One day grows into the next.

Such patterned living is built on years of small adjustments to the demands of school, then work, family and community. It started in kindergarten — showing up, following instructions, adopting goals and meeting expectations. By the time of retirement, most of us live with a sort of automated proficiency.

At retirement, we chuck the job, but without a deliberate effort to break the routine, ingrained living patterns remain; retirement slides along with new responsibilities gradually filling the time spent at work. There is nothing wrong with that pattern, but it may amount to a missed opportunity.

Read more at Online Athens.

Two Important Benefits to Rebalancing Risk in Retirement Investments

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Investments can be complicated, but they don’t need to be. Investors just need to know their objectives and some intelligible ways to achieve them. Generally, investors want high returns and low risk. Once they achieve suitable exposure to both, rebalancing—maintaining balance among components—keeps investors on a steady course.

High returns usually come from owning stocks. History has shown that over long periods of time, stocks almost always out perform bonds, real estate, and many other investments. Alternatively, stocks are often risky.

Bonds usually produce lower returns, but they tend to be less risky. A portfolio that combines a diversity of stocks and a diversity of bonds is likely to generate good returns with only moderate risk. Continue reading →