On the house...

Veterans Day this year is Sunday, November 11^th. Many businesses across America offer veterans special deals and some freebies on or around Veterans Day as a salute to their service. A comprehensive list of what offers has been made public at http://www.vetsfirst.org/veterans-day-discounts/ . Here are the free meal highlights for those of you who served:

Applebee’s Restaurant

  Free dinners from a new Veterans Day menu.

Outback Steakhouse

  Free Blooming Onion and beverage.

Golden Corral

  Free buffet dinner from 5-9 PM (usually the Monday night after: call your local location)

Subway

  Free six inch subs.

Krispy Kreme

  One free doughnut of any variety

Coushatta Casino Resort

  The Louisiana casino and resort is offering a free seven-clans lunch or dinner buffet.

MarketPlace Grill & Express

  Free entrees

Masala Wok

  The Northern Virginian restaurant is offering a free entree.

Hy-Vee supermarkets

  The mid-western supermarket chain is offering a free breakfast.

Abuelo’s Mexican Food Restaurants

  All veterans and active-duty military receive a free entree

Entertainment freebies like free admission to all national parks and retail offers can be found at the site as well. Thank you for your service and take of advantage of the honors coming your way! I might see you there...

Full circle

1907

The William McKinley Monument, burial site of the President, First Lady Ida and their two daughters, was dedicated in Canton, Ohio on September 30, 1907. Pictured here is the dedication ceremony that was attended by Theodore Roosevelt, who is standing on the left in the front row. My grandmother, Esther Zerbe Walther was 10 years old when she attended the ceremony that day. Prior to McKinley's election, she had been a next door neighbor to them on Canton's Lincoln Street which today is called Fulton Road.

When I was a girl, she told me the story of collecting pennies at school to help finance the building of this structure and how proud the town was to have it. I'm sharing this remembrance with you in celebration of all our family stories and as a reminder to share them with your young even if you have to pull out that old “chocolate cake incentive” to capture their attention. After I post this little piece, I will share the story with my 12 year old and send it into the next century as he shares it once again in a future distant. Its lovely to know that Esther and I and he will all share this memory, despite the gulf of time and place, together and with forthcoming generations.  

Photo of the Monument today taken by my son on July 4th, 2012.

(special thanks to Don and Bud)

Toward a greater good...

How to invest one's time during retirement is a key consideration for many. Some build their entire retirement experience around how they will use their time. Relocating to a lake house in a moderate climate to pursue a passion for spending time at bass fishing has no doubt fueled more than one angler's retirement path.

Others, who do want to take leave of a full time career quest, seek to focus some of their time and labor into effort that, while not necessarily commercial, still offers value toward a greater good. These folks often seek to volunteer for a cause or organization whose mission speaks to them. Volunteering used to mean just that...providing skill and service without compensation toward a mission. 21^st century volunteering is that and more. There are still thousands of organizations and good works initiatives that count on the gift of unpaid service. Many, however; employ volunteer coordinators who work hard not only recruiting helping hands, but developing plans for rewarding service with incentives like gift cards, banquets

and other spiffs. Others have linked to the Corporation for National and Community Service to access the commitment of seniors who volunteer with more traditional work-similar benefits.

Persons over 55 years of age can commit to public service through the Corporation by joining the Senior Corps. “Senior Corps connects today’s 55+ with the people and organizations that need them most. We help them become mentors, coaches or companions to people in need, or contribute their job skills and expertise to community projects and organizations,” according to their website at http://www.seniorcorps.gov/about/sc/index.asp . Whether they act as foster grandparents, peer companions for other seniors or non-profit team members at food banks, housing renewal sites, grade schools or other agencies, these Senior Corps members can receive an hourly stipend, transportation funding or both along with other incentives like accident insurance. These volunteer opportunities are not jobs, any stipend is not an earned wage so does not count as such against pension work restrictions and can offer those who serve worthwhile experiences, new faces and places and a modest boost to the budget during their service year.

Learn more by accessing http://www.seniorcorps.gov/about/sc/index.asp 

If a cat is a requirement of retirement...

better read this!  Thanks to FB buddy, G for sharing.

"Most diets fail because we are still thinking and eating like people.
For those us who have never had any success dieting. Well now there is
the new Miracle Cat Diet! This diet will also work on humans! Except for
cats that eat like people -- such as getting lots of table scraps --
most cats are long and lean (or tiny and petite). the Cat Miracle Diet
will help you achieve the same lean, svelte figure. Just follow this
diet for one week and you'll find that you not only look and feel
better, but you will have a whole new outlook on what constitutes food.
Good Luck!

DAY ONE

Breakfast: Open can of expensive gourmet cat food. Any flavor as long
as it cost more the .75 per can -- and place 1/4 cup on your plate. Eat
1 bite of food; look around room disdainfully. Knock the rest on the
floor. Stare at the wall for awhile before stalking off into the other
room.

Lunch: Four blades of grass and one lizard tail. Throw it back up on
the cleanest carpet in your house.

Dinner: Catch a moth and play with it until it is almost dead. Eat one
wing. Leave the rest to die.

Bedtime snack: Steal one green bean from your spouse's or partner's
plate. Bat it around the floor until it goes under the refrigerator.
Steal one small piece of chicken and eat half of it. Leave the other
half on the sofa. Throw out the remaining gourmet cat food from the can
you opened this morning.

DAY TWO

Breakfast: Picking up the remaining chicken bite from the sofa. Knock
it onto the carpet and bat it under the television set. Chew on the
corner of the newspaper as your spouse/partner tries to read it.

Lunch: Break into the fresh French bread that you bought as your part
of the dinner party on Saturday. Lick the top of it all over. Take one
bite out of the middle of the loaf.

Afternoon snack: Catch a large beetle and bring it into the house. Play
toss and catch with it until it is mushy and half dead. Allow it to
escape under the bed.

Dinner: Open a fresh can of dark-colored gourmet cat food -- tuna or
beef works well. Eat it voraciously. Walk from your kitchen to the edge
of the living room rug. Promptly throw up on the rug. Step into it as
you leave. Track footprints across the entire room.

DAY THREE

Breakfast: Drink part of the milk from your spouse's or partner's
cereal bowl when no one is looking. Splatter part of it on the closest
polished aluminum appliance you can find.

Lunch: Catch a small bird and bring it into the house. Play with on top
of your down filled comforter. Make sure the bird is seriously injured
but not dead before you abandon it for someone else to have to deal
with.

Dinner: Beg and cry until you are given some ice cream or milk in a
bowl of your own. Take three licks/laps and then turn the bowl over on
the floor.

FINAL DAY

Breakfast: Eat 6 bugs, any type, being sure to leave a collection of
legs, wings, antennae on the bathroom floor. Drink lots of water. Throw
the bugs and all of the water up on your spouse's or partner's pillow.

Lunch: Remove the chicken skin from last night's chicken-to-go
leftovers your spouse or partner placed in the trash can. Drag the skin
across the floor several times. Chew it in a corner and then abandon.

Dinner: Open another can of expensive gourmet cat food. Select a flavor
that is especially runny, like Chicken and Giblets in Gravy. Lick off
all the gravy and leave the actual meat to dry and get hard."

If you picture that future, be advised: above represents your new truth!

Rethinking work...

Changing what it means to “work” is a significant part of the transition to retirement for many. 21^st century retirees report that they are not about ejecting work from their lifestyles all together, but often are more interested in changing industries or work roles within a framework of their new retirement lives. That being said, some shun the idea of long term re-training that besides being time consuming can be expensive. Yet after trying to reclaim a work life on their own, they just can not find a fit. In her article,“8 Best Job Ideas for Retirees & Seniors,:” by Kira Botkin at www.moneycrashers.com writes, “The Department of Labor’s Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) provides retraining and job opportunities for people 55 or older if they do not work and have had difficulty finding a job. Through SCSEP, you can learn new skills while working an SCSEP job at a nonprofit organization, such as a daycare center, hospital, library, and recreation center. They also offer seminars and classes, and partner with community colleges. Participants earn minimum wage and must work about 20 hours a week. But once you complete the program, you receive job search assistance in order to obtain a higher-paying position.”

Where I live the program is called the Senior Employment Program and is operated under a countywide umbrella agency called Mature Services. Senior participants there work about 17 hours a week, must attend a day long training session about once a month and can be enrolled in the program for up to 24 months. The program provides participants with insight into what new vocations and positions might be a good fit, a peer group to explore and experience with and a paycheck, that although small, does not count as wages earned against certain pension programs because of its training allowance status. Often agencies where these “trainees” are placed hire them on after their program is completed. Call your local state employment office to get the facts on how this federal program operates where you live.

Anticipating Relocating

Most of us know that many people embark upon some kind of relocation in anticipation of or during retirement.  Some folks make the decision to drastically relocate in order to experience another climate or living culture.  Some move far away to be closer to people important to them.  Others stay close to where they live already but choose to resize from a single family home to a smaller dwelling making life easier and less homestead-centric.  For some the idea of settling in a living community focused on senior comfort as needs may change during an anticipated long residency has merit.

I’ve moved several times in my adult life and know that relocating across the street or across the country requires a great deal of “groundwork.” It encompasses organization, logistical preparation, the ability to handle many tasks all at once and often large commitments of cash and other resources. In other words, it’s complicated, stressful and daunting to think about, set in motion and accomplish.

What I didn’t know, however; was that relocating “senior citizens” is now big business. An article on line about the topic caught my eye and before I knew it I had entered a web world full of articles, ads and associations dedicated to the topic. Just like other topics on the web, there is almost too much to handle. So, after perusing what’s out there, I’m ready to provide my Top Five Web Resources on the subject. (I’ll do this “Top Five” list on other topics here to help readers collect resources as we proceed.)

Here we go:

1.  “When Seniors Relocate” (authored by Lynda K. Fowler, Ohio State University Extension, Crawford County and revised in 2004 by Christine A. Price, Ph.D., Extension State Gerontology Specialist, The Ohio State University as part of the Ohio Department of Aging’s “Senior Series,”) is an easy to access discussion about reasons for moving, moving’s impacts and some things to consider about where one might live.  You can find it at:

   http://ohioline.osu.edu/ss-fact/0143.html

2.   “Moving to a New Home? Make the Transition Easier” gives a helpful checklist for thinking about the why, when and where’s surrounding senior relocation.  Check it out at:

http://seniorliving.about.com/od/housingoptions/a/moving_easier.htm

3.  “Specialists in late-life downsizing on the rise” by Leanne Italie of the Associated Press takes a look at the thriving industry that relocating retirees has become. Go to:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/story/2011- 12-07/Specialists-in-late-life-downsizing-on-the-rise/51696336/1

4.   The website for The National Association of Senior Move Managers at http://nasmm.org/index.cfm treats a variety of relocation topics, provides downloads for use in planning and, of course, explains why hiring a professional move manager is a good idea. 

 

5.   “Moving Tips for Seniors” by Diane Schmidt is a master portal in About.com that offers access to other articles on this topic worth reading ranging from how to decide to make a move to hands-on tips about resizing the home.  Find it at:

http://moving.about.com/od/movingseniors/tp/seniors_moving.htm

I’d love to hear your take on this topic…react and interact…its always free here at Retooling Retirements.

Income and Encore.org

In the past, life spans were shorter and some of those lives were plagued with medical concerns that are less burdensome today than they may have been two decades ago, but even those who had the best of health then well into their elder years were hard pressed to find something personally, financially or socially significant to do with their lives. As Boomers began to seek what was next, however; their generational spirit of adventure, social responsibility and personal engagement brought them to an idea that work at "retirement" didn't end but just changed to meet the new needs it was to satisfy.   

One organization taking on the challenge of helping folks refocus and renew their post retirement ideas about and ways of accomplishing work is San Francisco based Encore.org. Here's how they describe themselves on their Facebook page...

"What kind of work will 78 million boomers do in their 50s, 60s and beyond? Tens of millions say they are interested in encore careers with purpose, passion and a paycheck. Get started at http://www.encore.org/

Mission

To engage millions of boomers in encore careers that provide continued income doing work that is personally fulfilling and helps address some of society’s biggest challenges.

Company Overview

Encore careers combine purpose, passion and a paycheck for those who want to use their experience to make a difference in the lives of others. In a recent survey of adults age 44 to 70, half said they wanted encore careers that improve their communities."

Take the time to visit their site, be informed more completely about this important piece of the retooling retirement thought and be inspired by the stories of real people doing real things in real time in their real retirements.

Moving forward...

In the opening post, I listed some of the facets of constructing a retirement that folks consider and implement.  Although these facets can be as numerous and individual as each person considering them, major decisions about different income strategies,  new living places and spaces, changes in what it means now to work and to play, diverse approaches to health and longevity, and shifting family and social roles need to dovetail together both in planning and doing to create what is hoped to be a bright future.

I want to set right to the task of considering these things in this forum. The next several posts will begin to share what I've recently seen, heard, thought and learned about each of those major decisions. I want to be clear that these topics will never be handled here (or anywhere else) once and for all, there probably will not be a time when everything about every one of them has been explored or will there not be room for what you want to share about what you've seen, heard, thought or learned about them.

Consider what I post as a launching pad for further discovery and please, don't hesitate to participate...more heads are better than one, ya know?

First, lets nose around ideas about different income strategies.

WHAT NEXT?

"What next?" As retirement draws near, many Baby Boomer folks are asking themselves and those close to them just that question.  There is so much to think about:  different income strategies,  new living places and spaces, changes in what it means now to work and to play, diverse approaches to health and longevity, shifting family and social roles and as much more as the humans doing the thinking can, well, think about.    

Retooling Retirements is a place for readers to discover what others are thinking and saying about 21st century retirement, to share what others are doing in those retirements, and to think about and to set about doing a retirement that makes sense to them, all in one easy to access Internet space.

Visit here often, share your perspectives and information and feel free to harvest what is offered here as well. At Retooling Retirements, a bridge from the rocking chair of the past to the adventure of today and the promise of tomorrow is built one post at a time. Join us and enjoy!