FREE NEWSLETTER
“Does any part of your busy schedule stem from a feeling that you need to be busy?”
That sentence is part of a question posed by Edmund Marsh to Dr. Lefty. It ties in with an article I began to formulate a while back.
Should I Start a New Business?
The obvious answer is a resounding NO. Still, there’s a little gremlin inside me who sometimes shows his ugly little gremlin head; you should buy that building, you should start this business? Then I beat that little monster over his head until he goes away.
I’m 73 and comfortably retired, still, sometimes, I feel like I should be doing something constructive. Then good sense reminds me that committing myself to a new venture would require me to show up someplace. Oh the humanity.
Are you at all haunted by some need to be productive?
I’d love to donate more of my time, but I don’t want anything close to a mandated schedule or a place I need to be on time. The non-profits in my area mostly don’t impress me. I keep looking around, but I’m not going to jump into something unless I deeply feel the merit.
Martin, that about sums it up for me as well. I do find preparing taxes for AARP to be deserving of my time. Chrissy volunteers at a cat rescue, which helps in getting cats spayed or neutered, and off the streets.
I’m sure I could find other worthy assignments, but I’m pretty happy with my level of involvement.
I loved this short, but thought-provoking article. I am 2.5 years into retirement. During my first year (2024), my wife and I traveled to 5 states, doing the Airbnb thing, driving. Flying is too stressful and BS-laden for me today. We visited our two kids (one in TX and one in MD) and flew them and their spouses to us in NC. No grandkids, unfortunately.
I did fly to a couple of events in 2024… the NRA Coinvention and the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder’s Meeting. I have been to several NRA conventions, but it was my first & only time attending the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. It was an event unlike any other I have attended.
The odd thing I am experiencing is the overwhelming desire to consider “opportunities.” Examples are college teaching opportunities, professional training positions, and even chaplaincy opportunities in Hospitals, workplaces, and Hospices. I need to slap myself and remind myself that just because I can doesn’t mean I should. I think it is the result of being a lifetime of overachievement, overambition, and success orientation, with a strong desire to serve.
In 2025, I focused on earning my chaplaincy credentials and pursuing and completing seminary studies, culminating in my Doctor of Ministry Degree. Because of my age (I am 75), I wasn’t eligible to become a permanent deacon in my church or a military chaplain, so I pursued the D. Min. as an alternative route to service. My dissertation was focused on Strengthening Christian Marriages, and today I am involved in premarital counseling within my parish.
I am certified as a PREPARE/ENRICH facilitator and a Ramset Financial Master Coach. I will be putting on my first Online “Financial Peace University” for my parish later this fall. In addition, I am completing coursework to facilitate the “Faith & Money Matters” and “God, Marriage and Money” courses for Compass Catholic. Marriage. These are all part of the ministry and are all offered pro bono.
I found my way to use my 58 years of financial services education and experience, along with my ministry education and over 35 years of serving various parishes in 9 different states throughout my working lifetime.
My wife and I are blessed financially, and it is a wonderful feeling to be able to help people without needing to generate income to provide that help. I hope all HD readers are able to “matter” in their retirement, and feel they still have “purpose!”
Mike I commend you for your service to others. I think the people you help are lucky to have you. Your quandary isn’t so much as should you do something constructive or productive, but rather how much is right for you. The great thing about being retired with ample good health and money is being able to say yes, or no, as your heart desires.