Showing posts with label retirement. Show all posts

WHEN SENSIBLE, SAFE, STABLE, AND SECURE NEED TO BE RE-THOUGHT

The second half of life can bring a new found freedom from always making the most frugal of choices. It can be the time to spoil yourself a little.

THAT OLDEST DAUGHTER MINDSET

As I've mentioned many times here, I'm an oldest daughter - I'm super responsible, super conservative, super practical, and basically super boring. When it comes to life choices, I will always play safe - I'm not a risk taker and I don't handle change well.

That mindset can work really well when there's the need to have your nose to the grindstone to get established in life and to build a secure foundation for the family. But it also makes me feel like the killjoy and the person who rains on the parade when my husband (a youngest child) gets one of his great ideas and I'm shooting it down for all the risks, rather than letting him run with the rewards.
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HOW DO WE DEFINE OURSELVES WITHOUT A JOB TITLE?

One of the hurdles that came with leaving work and settling into an early retirement was the issue of who I was if I wasn't defined by my job or by what I was doing each week.

DON'T LET YOUR TITLE DEFINE YOU

One of the hurdles that came with leaving work and settling into an early retirement was the issue of who I was if I wasn't defined by my job or by what I was doing each week. It was a strange feeling to go from having a defined job title and a weekly schedule to being completely untethered and free to do whatever I chose. The responsible oldest child inside me felt like I needed to keep justifying those choices to myself and to others. 

Basically I was defining my self worth on a title, or a job....how ridiculous that seems now, but it was very real when this retirement journey began so unexpectedly.
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TO RETIRE OR NOT TO RETIRE? THAT IS THE QUESTION...

Why do some people retire as soon as they can, and others continue to work for years longer than they need to?

THE KEY TO A CONTENTED RETIREMENT

I've often wondered why some people enjoy retirement more than others. And I've also wondered why some people can't wait to retire, while others work well past the official retirement age. There's a lot of different reasons that come into play - probably as many reasons as there are retirees, but I've finally figured some of it out - and I think a large part of it is to do with whether you have a job you love and want to keep doing it, or whether you really don't enjoy working and can't wait to stop...
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RE-SHAPING ASAP (AS SOON AS POSSIBLE) INTO A NEW AND BETTER FIT

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SOMETHING OLD BECOMES SOMETHING NEW

We all know that ASAP normally stands for As Soon As Possible - but a little while ago I came across a new set of descriptors for the abreviation that I felt fitted my age and stage so much better. I no longer have to be running around getting everything done right now and right away, my life flows more calmly and these new ideas fit me so much better....
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ARE YOU MAKING THE MOST OF THE SUMMERS YOU HAVE LEFT TO ENJOY?

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COUNTING MY SUMMERS...

I read a poem by my favourite poet, Ullie-Kaye, the other day that was titled "80 Summers" and it reminded me of an article I saw a little while ago while I was cruising around online.  It asked the question "How Many Summers Do I Have Left?" and it made me pause for a moment to count them - it doesn't feel like the number was anywhere near as high as I'd expected it to be.

So, I've been asking myself what happened to the summers that have gone, and what I can do with the summers that I have left?

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SHOULD YOU SELL YOUR CAR WHEN YOU RETIRE IN AUSTRALIA?

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INTRO

Over the last year or so my husband and I have been chatting about when it'll be time to downsize from two cars to one. Neither of us are driving to work anymore and most of the time at least one car is sitting idle in the garage....when do we sell one and save on some of the costs vs keeping both and having a car each that suits us? (I like small cars, he prefers a bigger engine and more space).

Today on the blog I have a collaboration that covers this topic in more detail and I found it to be really helpful with the list of pros and cons that come with making the decision of whether to sell, or to keep what you have...
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INTENTIONAL LIVING - CREATING A LIFE ON PURPOSE

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE ON PURPOSE?

I read a sentence a while ago that resonated with me, it said:

I focus on living 'on purpose' vs finding my purpose

I liked it because it took the pressure off trying to find some grand life purpose for living, and allowed for the idea that I could live my life intentionally, on my own terms. 
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HOW UPSKILLING EARLY CAN PUSH YOU TOWARDS EARLY RETIREMENT

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INTRO

One of the best things that ever happened to me was being able to retire early. Not having to wait until I was 67 before leaving work has been an unexpected joy. I'm so glad that we made good decisions leading into our 50's that paved the way for an early retirement, I know others are wanting to head in that direction but need a little boost to get there.

Today on the blog I have a great collaboration that gives some excellent suggestions that might help to give you that little push you need to get there sooner than you expected....
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FINANCIAL FREEDOM AFTER 50: PRACTICAL TIPS FOR WOMEN TO BUILD A SECURE RETIREMENT

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INTRO

Today on the blog I have a really interesting collaborative article on how to begin preparing for a financially secure retirement. I remember that finances were my biggest concern when I decided to leave my job, and knowing that we had sufficient funds to get us through the years ahead was the deciding factor on permanently retiring and getting to enjoy this new lifestyle.

So without further ado, let's launch into some interesting tips that I hope you find helpful and encouraging....

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THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO A WHOLE NEW LIFE

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THE SECOND HALF OF LIFE GIVES US SO MUCH

Last year I wrote about Ullie-Kaye, a poet whose work resonated with me on many levels. There were so many of her poems that spoke to my heart, I follow her Facebook page and her poems regularly appear in my feed. Recently a new one called "Wonder Road" popped up that was all about what life gifts us, but for me it perfectly described what the second half of life (especially retirement) has brought into my world. 

I just had to share it here today with a few words of my own....
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WHAT IS SOFT LIVING? AND HOW IT FITS AN UNBUSY RETIREMENT

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WHAT'S THE SOFT GIRL LIFE?

I saw a quote on Facebook recently that referred to moving into "my soft girl era" and something about the term resonated with me and my choice to live an Unbusy life. For so long we've had the "Girl Boss"/Fierce Fifty hustle culture sold to us as the lifestyle of choice, but when we all re-surfaced after the covid lockdowns, a new way of living slowly emerged where women were rejecting stress and choosing a more gentle way of living.

After some research, I thought I'd share what "soft living" looks like in Midlife....
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IS CHOOSING A SLOW RETIREMENT COUNTER-CULTURAL?

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CHOOSING TO LIVE SLOWLY

I love it when I receive comments on my blog posts, and I love it even more when someone takes the time to send me an email to share their journey and to let me know that what I write about encourages them to live life more slowly or more intentionally.

Recently an email arrived in my inbox from Michelle to tell me she was about to retire, and that after working so hard, she was going to choose a slower pace and find her identity in something other than working and being busy all the time. Her words made me pause for a moment and think how our society worships "doing" over "being" and how it's almost counter-cultural to want a gentler way of life when we stop working.

Today I thought I'd share three ways to counter our culture of busy-ness.....

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THE FERTILE VOID AND HOW IT RELATES TO TRANSITIONS

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THE FERTILE VOID

As I've moved into retirement and this next phase of life, I've been struggling with the "what's next?" question, and with how to move forward in a meaningful way. It's a time of transition and I recognize that, but what I've had difficulty with is resting in this new space and waiting for things to unfold. 

Recently I read about the "Fertile Void" and it resonated with me. I'd never heard of the term up until now, but there were a lot of correlations with what I'm experiencing. Today on the blog I'm diving into what the Fertile Void is and how all of us can embrace it....
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FINDING DELIGHT IN DABBLING - IT'S ALL ABOUT ENJOYING SMALL PLEASURES

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BECOMING A DABBLER

It took me a while to realize that retirement doesn't have to be a competition, or about getting a big "bang for your buck". For some of us it can be all about the little things....dabbling in this and that, and exploring small interests that catch our eye. Today I'm sharing a few of the little delights I've been dabbling in now I have more time to invest in what brings me joy....
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WHAT I'M LEARNING IN MY SIMPLE AND UNBUSY RETIREMENT

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RETIREMENT IS NOT A COMPETITION

I wrote a post a while back about not competing, or comparing your life with other people's highlight reels on social media. There will always be someone living a bigger and better retirement life. My Facebook feed is full of people I know who are super busy chasing their dreams and ticking things off their bucket lists. Sometimes I feel exhausted just reading what they're up to lately, and I wonder if I should be doing more now I have the extra free time?
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LIVING WELL IN THIS CURRENT SEASON OF LIFE

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DO WE ALWAYS NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S NEXT?

I have a confession to make....I like to have a plan (I like to have lots of plans), I like to know what lies ahead and to be ready for it. That's been my modus operandi all my life. 

But, now I find myself at a crossroads in the journey of life, where I don't know what's next, I have no plans! Normally this would be doing my head in, but this time around I'm approaching it from a different perspective.....
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INTENTIONAL RETIREMENT - ORGANICALLY GROWING INTO A NEW PHASE OF LIFE

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CHOOSING TO GROW ORGANICALLY

I mentioned in my July post about finding my self-worth in something other than productivity and busyness, that, as I venture into being fully retired this time around,  I won't be beating myself up and desperately looking for a "Grand Passion", or for an "Ultimate Purpose" -  instead, I'm hoping to replace that driven approach with something more fluid, more organic....
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FINDING MY SELF-WORTH IN SOMETHING OTHER THAN PRODUCTIVITY

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CHANGING MY PERCEPTION OF MY WORTH

In my half-year review of my Word(s) of the Year - Living Lightly, I mentioned that I had been shedding some weight......not physical weight (although a few kilos in that area would be nice...) The weight I was referring to was mental, emotional and spiritual; and a lot of it was from burdens I tended to lay on my own shoulders.

I've come to see that for all of my life, I've tied my self-worth very tightly to being productive. The busier I was, and the more commitments I juggled, the more 'worthy' I felt. 

It's taken me until the grand old age of 60 to realize that busyness is a pointless measuring stick and it's time to replace it with something more meaningful.....
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GIVING UP WHAT WEIGHS ME DOWN

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LIVING LIGHTLY - THE HALFWAY MARK

I can't believe that we're already more than halfway through the year! Back at the beginning of January I chose "Live Lightly" as my Word(s) of the Year, and it's time to check in on how that's going. At the end of each month I've shared how life is going, but today I thought I'd do an update on something I've discovered I needed to do to truly begin living a lighter life.....
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EARLY RETIREMENT, UN-RETIREMENT.... NOW IT'S TIME FOR RE-RETIREMENT

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RETIRING, UN-RETIRING, AND RE-RETIRING

A few weeks ago Lydia, a fellow blogger, left a comment on my monthly wrap-up post that said "Winds of change? Do I detect a restlessness - or something else?" and it was very insightful because (although I didn't realize it at the time) there was definitely change in the air and a sense of being ready to move onto the next phase in my life.

I'm not sure if it was restlessness, but I was feeling weary and I had a need to prioritise my freedom and flexibility again - my two top core values. I was ready for change and a few weeks ago this is what I decided to do......
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