Stop making a living and start making a life with The New Retirementality™
In 2000, when top financial philosopher and bestselling author Mitch Anthony first presented a new way of thinking about retirement, it was novel, and many critics didn't buy into it. Originally written to get the attention of baby boomers, Mitch ended up starting a revolution by showing us that everything we had read about retirement was wrong - we needed a "new retirementality." Fast-forward to today, when most of us are facing a very different retirement: fewer pensions, escalating healthcare costs, and inadequate savings. For many of us, retirement may never happen, or it will take place much later than we expected.
Far from being full of doom and gloom, The New Retirementality, Fifth Edition, offers a message of hope, along with a roadmap for navigating the choppy waters of retirement planning. While most books focus on Return on Investment, Mitch shows us that Return on Life™ - living the best life possible with the resources we have - is a more fulfilling and achievable approach. New to this edition:
- The latest research and studies, as well as a discussion of Life-Centered Planning™ - a unique approach to financial and retirement planning, focused on individual goals and needs instead of the outmoded one-size-fits-all approach.
- Explores the role of purpose in retirement planning, including the expanding role of work in retirement, and why it can take three or four tries to get retirement right.
- Features the New Retirementality Profile, the ROL Index for helping you analyze and reflect on how you are using your money toward improving your life, and worksheets to help you get organized.
Filled with engaging anecdotes, practical advice, and inspirational suggestions, this book will motivate you to rethink what retirement means - and put you in a better position to enjoy the new retirementality you deserve.
Table of Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Chapter 1 A Short History of Retirement 1
Crossing the Bridge 8
Chapter 2 Removing Artificial Finish Lines 9
Dates of Extraction 11
What Made Jack Dull? 13
Motivated by Autonomy 14
Illusions, Delusions, and Hype 16
Chapter 3 No Longer One and Done 19
Stages of Grief? 20
The Four Stages of LEAN 21
The Balance Sheet 28
Forced or Phased? 28
Advocates Needed 30
Chapter 4 The New IRA: Individual Retirement Attitude 33
Assume You Will Work Longer 36
Assume You Will Live Longer 37
Assume That There Will Be Improvisational Challenges 39
Chapter 5 Boredom Isn’t on Anyone’s Bucket List 43
Monotone Living 44
How You’re Wired 45
When Frustration Replaces Fascination 45
Realistic Expectations 46
For Better or Worse but Not for Lunch 49
Losing Your Identity 49
The Rearview Mirror 50
Chapter 6 A New Mind-Set: Retire on Purpose 53
”I’m Done” 55
”I Have To” 55
”I’m Inspired” 56
Meaningful Pursuits: A Midlife Crisis Gone Horribly Right 58
Enduring Attitudes 63
Chapter 7 Money is Only Part of the Equation: Investing Yourself, Then Your Money 67
A Very Long Trip 69
Where from Here? 71
Chapter 8 The Retirement That Works 79
Redefining Work 80
Longevity Works 83
Ready, Set, Engage 84
Retirement Planning That Works 86
Chapter 9 Extending Your Stay by Staying on the Edge 89
Staying in Your Zone 90
Yes Sir, Kiddo 91
Ageism on the Radar 93
The Teaching Bridge 94
Advantages of Underemployment 95
EntreMature 96
Chapter 10 Super-Septs: How 70 Became the New 50 101
Feeling as Fact 102
Your View of You 103
Turning the Corner 107
A New Season 108
Chapter 11 Redefining You: What’s Your Retirementality? 109
New Spin on Re-tiring 110
Chapter 12 Redefining Rich: Bridging the Gap between Means and Meaning 121
The Seven Meaningful Intangibles 124
The Stewardship of Money 130
Chapter 13 Maslow Meets Retirement 133
More Than Just Money 134
Our Hierarchy of Financial Needs 136
Paying the Bills 140
Chapter 14 Advice from Retirementors 143
The Realities of Retirement 143
Retiremyths 146
Vacation: Balancing Work and Play 151
The Best (and Worst) Experiences 153
Allocation 154
Chapter 15 From Aging to S-Aging 157
A Sense of Mastery 158
The Vitamin Cs of Successful Aging 160
Challenge Your Body, Mind, and Spirit 166
Chapter 16 Don’t Go It Alone 169
We Don’t Always Know What We Don’t Know 170
We are Tempted to Follow the Crowd 171
Individual Investors Historically Underperform the Indexes because They React Emotionally to Market Events 172
It is Time-Consuming and Stressful to Manage Money on a Day-to-Day or Week-to-Week Basis 172
Holding Your Ground 174
Finding a Wealth-Building Partner 175
A Personal Safety Net 177
Notes 179
About the Author 187
Index 189
