Weekend Reading: Best New Ideas In Retirement Edition

The financial news outlet MarketWatch has been collecting ideas for a feature it calls the best new ideas in retirement. The goal is to explore the most innovative thinking on the subject, from how we save for it, to how we spend it, to what it all means.

“Preparing mentally for retirement may be as important as preparing financially, given the deep psychological and emotional dimensions of the transition.”

I enjoy reading about new ideas that challenge conventional wisdom. Then leverage technology and it starts to become easy to see how and why we don’t have to do things the way they’ve always been done.

One interesting idea mentioned was how to solve the issue of not being physically able to stay in your home as you age. More than three-quarters of adults over 50 would like to stay in their current homes as they age. However, less than half believe they will be able to do so.

As technology and AI evolve beyond simply connecting your smart phone, thermostat, and home security system to more complex on-demand problems, like detecting leaks and reporting them to a plumber, or health-related smart technology that allow family members to remotely monitor meds and set health reminders.

Soon technology will be able to turn your home into a “smart retirement home” and allow aging seniors to remain in their homes with dignity while easing the anxiety of worried family members.

Another article looked at reimagining retirement, from the anticipation three or so years away from retirement, to the reality check when you’re one year out, to the liberation felt in the first year, to the reorientation three years post retirement:

“As the reorientation stage unfolds over a decade or two, people start paying attention to their legacy, which ushers in the reconciliation stage. Your legacy is not the material wealth you leave in a will; it’s how you will be remembered. This is a literal opportunity of a lifetime — the chance to distribute the wealth of knowledge, depth and wisdom you’ve acquired just by being alive.”

Finally, we couldn’t talk about retirement today without mentioning the Financial Independent Retire Early (F.I.R.E.) movement. While I’m not a huge proponent of F.I.R.E., I’m all for achieving financial independence early so you can work on your own terms, whether that’s for yourself or someone else, for as long as you want.

If by pursuing F.I.R.E. we really mean ditching the 60 hour work week and bringing more balance into our lives then I’m all for that as well.

Read all eight of the best new ideas in retirement over on MarketWatch and see if you can reimagine what retirement means to you.

This Week’s Recap:

I had time for one post here on Boomer & Echo where I looked at investing a lump sum at once or dollar cost averaging over time.

Over on Rewards Cards Canada I shared how we plan to handle our money situation while travelling in Europe for a month.

Promo of the Week:

One of those methods of payment I’ll be using overseas is the STACK prepaid MasterCard. It works much like KOHO in that you preload it with money and then use it like a credit card wherever MasterCard is accepted or withdraw cash at ATMs while travelling.

STACK doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees when you make an ATM withdrawal, whereas the no-fee version of KOHO charges 1.5 percent (banks charge 3.5 percent).

The best part is you can get $25 free when you download and activate your STACK card through my referral link. As I explain in the Rewards Cards Canada post, I like the prepaid credit card option for miscellaneous spending without going into debt, and also to get easy access to cash from ATMs overseas.

Speaking of foreign exchange, here’s travel expert Barry Choi to explain how to get the best rate when exchanging your money:

Weekend Reading:

Let’s continue with the retirement theme and look at John Heinzl’s piece riffing on RRIF withdrawal strategies.

Jamie Golombek says to think again if you think the CRA will turn a blind eye to TFSA, RRSP over-contributions.

Here’s Dale Roberts on why you should protect your retirement portfolio assets long before your actual retirement date.

Finally, we have retirement expert Fred Vettese with how to think outside the box and avoid the great annuity paradox:

“A better explanation for the paradox is that we don’t know what we don’t know and this inhibits us from doing anything dramatic with our precious retirement monies.”

Experts say the cult of home ownership – especially in big cities – tortures millennials unnecessarily.

Even the most rational index investors might catch themselves wondering if they should sell some of their equities, or delay investing new cash, because of expected market volatility, or reports of record high stock prices. Here’s Ben Felix on whether market timing ever works:

The Millionaire Teacher Andrew Hallam explains why investors should still buy bonds even when they pay such paltry interest.

Frugal Trader of Million Dollar Journey looks at the real MER on ETFs – including foreign withholding taxes.

Finally, an older post but one that is relevant again today has University of Calgary assistant professor Trevor Tombe why a tax on sugar is not logical policy.

Have a great weekend, everyone!