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In the 80’s when I started to learn about investing and mutual funds I would devour magazines and books on the subject. I even fell for some goofy newsletter that claimed to have market timing figured out. Now at age 72, with investments in index funds I’ve lost my passion for ways to get rich quick. I’m content with my investment mix, just doing the minimum to manage allocations.
I used to stay on top of changes to tax law each year and did my best to convey pertinent information to my friends and clients. Then I sold my tax practice the year I turned 70. Now I’m mostly happy to let the tax software fill in the blanks when I do my and the family’s simple tax returns.
In the past century when I was a union guy and beer truck driver I constantly put myself out there to advise my guys about how take full advantage of the 401K match. But the fellas that needed advice wouldn’t listen and the guys that did listen were the ones that were already doing the right things. I’m still happy to talk to anyone who seeks me out, but I’ve lost all interest in trying to help people extract their heads from where the sun don’t shine.
How about work? I was one of those irritating people who liked their jobs. I liked my job in the beer business when I was both a driver and a salesman. I did not care for the work after the company took away the sales part of the job. So instead of being miserable for another 15 years I quit and ended up preparing taxes, which I also enjoyed and was not so different from the beer job when looking at it from the customer/client service aspect. Now retired I have zero interest to committing myself to show up someplace every day at the same time, all year long. What a drag.
On working, I actually did just commit to be a volunteer tax preparer for the AARP TaxAid program. It’s Wednesday and Thursday in February and March, noon to 5. So not such a major commitment.
I’ve lived in a dozen houses not counting the one I grew up in, trying to make money with each move, but really just spinning my wheels. Had a few rental properties too; not my thing, lost interest. We recently moved into what we intend to be our last home and I have no interest in moving again. I want to expire here while listening to my cherished record collection in my vinyl resting place.
How about you? Are there things no longer of interest to you?
Gigging. I have received a lot of invitations over the course of my career to travel around California, the West Coast, and the U.S.—and occasionally abroad—to give workshops, papers, or keynote presentations. A lot of this derives from my books, which make people aware of me, or when someone sees me give a conference presentation (I’m no Barack Obama, let alone Michelle, but for an academic, I’m a pretty good speaker.)
I started pulling back on such travel in 2018 when I became chair of my department and it was harder to get away, and the whole “industry,” such as it was, has really dialed back since COVID. I have given a few Zoom keynotes over the past few years; don’t love it.
Anyway, I never did it for the money or even for book sales. I enjoyed seeing new places, meeting teachers, and hearing about what they were thinking. I’m extroverted and can handle myself with strangers. I also felt somewhat professionally obligated to share my expertise with other teachers if I could.
But I spent a lot of time over the years making inconvenient trips to stay at a Holiday Inn or Hampton by an expressway, and it took a lot out of me. It just doesn’t sound appealing to me at all anymore, and I now wonder why I ever did it. If I do any more of it, it will only be because it’s to some cool place that I really do want to visit. For example, I was invited to speak at an academic conference outside of Barcelona in April 2023, and I happened to be on sabbatical, and Spain was at the top of our list of places we wanted to visit, so off we went. I’ve also twice happily accepted invitations to speak at conferences in Auckland, New Zealand, and I’m eyeing a January 2026 conference in Sydney now.
Glad to see you are volunteering for AARP TaxAid. With your experience, you can be a big help. I’m in my third year.
Things I once cared about but have lost interest in:
ROFL…several relatives! 🤣
Good list! I still got a thing for #7, though my acid reflux wishes I’d lose interest in that too.
I used to be very into being active in managing my investments, but when I hit 50 and knew it was time to start reallocating more money to bonds as I got closer to retirement I lost interest. My solution was to sell all my funds in my IRA and switched to a target date fund to let them do the work. Now that I’m retired and have more free time I have switched back to managing my funds but following an appropriate target date fund’s diversification so when I need to sell to generate income I can do so from appreciated assets via rebalancing.
“I’ve lived in a dozen houses not counting the one I grew up in, trying to make money with each move, but really just spinning my wheels”
This I’m sure was the result of paying realtor commissions.
5 to 7% takes a bite out of the profit. Then there’s the cumulative cost of interest and property tax.
More likely the result of just bad luck.
Through sheer good fortune, I’ve made 125%, 85% and 40% on the last three homes I owned. And I was happy to pay realtor commissions when selling time arrived, because I didn’t want to do the selling, staging and photography myself. (Plus I’ve always had realtors I trusted — more good fortune.)
Like you, Dan, I enjoyed most of my jobs and would quit if it wasn’t to my liking. As a nurse, I never had trouble finding a new job. The most enjoyable were the jobs where I visited newborns and their mothers. I’ve kept my license but I have no interest in even volunteering my nursing skills. I’m heavily involved with the board of a local nonprofit daycare center but the thought of going to the infant room to hold or change a baby kind of terrifies me. I love kids, but the room with 20 rambunctious pre-schoolers sends me right back to the office to tend to board business. I now enjoy admiring infants from a few feet away but mostly I like hanging with my homegirls, all of us in our 70’s and 80’s. Speaking of concerts, I’m sure I’ve mentioned here that I got to see Jeff Beck shortly before his death when he had Johnny Depp as a guest guitar player. $80 bucks each for two tickets at the small theater in Kingston NY. What a night! 😊
Had to be awesome to see Beck in a small venue! I had to google to see when he died. I either didn’t know or didn’t remember that he was in the Yardbirds. I wonder what happened to my For Your Love album; probably lent it to someone and never got it back.
In 1989 I walked into a bar in Chicago, thinking the Ferrari parked illegally out front belonged to Michael Jordan… it didn’t. The bar was Legends, owned by Buddy Guy, who at the time and according to Eric Clapton, was the best guitar player in the world. I sat at the bar, about 20 feet from the stage while Guy tore it up. What a surprise that was.
I used to travel frequently for work. There were years when I drove from Philadelphia suburbs to northern Virgina 40 times per year. I didn’t mind so much because that’s where I needed to be. I can’t imagine doing that now.
Rick, after leaving the beer business, and in the early days of my tax practice, I made use of my commercial drivers license in order to make the ends meet. I took a job with a trucking company that hauled mail coast to coast for the Post Office. Driving an 18 wheeler on I-80 from NW Ohio to Jersey City can get hairy during winter. There’s a reason why Snowshoe PA got its name.
This week, seeing the storm pictures from east of Cleveland through PA and New York, I can’t imagine doing those trips ever again.
Driving back from Toronto to home/Cleveland last Friday, I spent 6 hours at a standstill on I-90, right at the PA/NY border, after a semi slid off the road. A 4.5 hour trip took 14 hours. Worst storm I’ve ever driven in, and I Canadian !
I also drove an 18 wheeler during my college days on weekends. It taught me a lot about disrespect from drivers in smaller vehicles as they don’t understand a truck can’t brake or change lanes quickly to avoid an accident. However, now days I see many semi truck drivers doing a lot of tailgating. There is almost daily news about highway traffic accidents where a semi truck was involved, but not always the cause.
You see tailgating, I see 18-wheelers blocking traffic in the fast lane of the highway.
Things have definitely changed over the years. When I see someone in car or 18-wheeler use turn signals to indicate a lane change, I still flash my headlights lights to let someone know they can do so. I’ll bet half the folks don’t even know to do that anymore.
I do the same when it comes to flashing my lights to let an 18-wheeler know they have clearance to move back over.
I’m never in the fast lane(s). Too much rage.
I drove a gas truck in Colorado for 7 years. Once a week I drove into the Rocky Mountains. While it was beautiful, I don’t miss THAT winter driving!
Dan, I’m amazed by people who drive 18-wheelers. My father-in-law drove for nearly 50 years. Once he showed us some of the streets where he delivered in lower Manhattan. I’d be challenged to drive an SUV in some of those streets. He did a lot of deliveries in Jersey City and Hoboken. Have you been back to Jersey City? Long after he retired we took him to visit his grandson in gentrified Hoboken. He couldn’t believe it was the same place.
I have not been back to Jersey City, probably at least 10 years now. I’m sure there are some changes. There are some hideously tight spots in Jersey and NYC. I was a decent driver but never would have won one of those trucker rodeo competitions. Those guys like you father in law are amazing drivers.
And very difficult to find parking in the chi-chi restaurant/bar area of Hoboken, even with a little Chevy Cobalt. 😂
Interesting question. One thing that falls into this category for me is working out. I still go to the gym as I know regular exercise is good for me, but I’m not interested in the latest workouts or pushing too hard. At this point (age 71), I’m kind of going through the motions. I want to work out hard enough to get a reasonable health response, but I’m not really interested in going to the max or the latest and greatest workout routines. The only real exception for me is if I have a specific health concern, then I’ll focus in trying to see if there’s something that can help. But other than that, I’m just not interested in the latest and greatest.
A piece of advice from a retired orthopedic Physical Therapist. As you get older focus more on weights that result in fatigue after 12-15 repetitions, rather than the 8-12 repetitions with heavier weights. It’s still important to go to fatigue to get some benefit, but you’ll find it less taxing, and thus more enjoyable. Also focus on balancing.
I recently added to my regular YMCA routine a wobble board “test” as well as 1-minute-long balancing on each leg.
I get to Planet Fitness 3 times a week. It’s nice that my Plan G Silver Sneakers picks up the tab now. I have no interest in looking like Arnold; just trying to maintain myself as much as possible.
Twice a week for me, Dan. Love Planet Fitness. And the free membership thanks to Medicare. Maybe I’ll see you there.
I love music. Back when I was in college I’d go to one or two gigs a week. Often big acts of the time. Nowadays really can’t be bothered with the whole circus of getting tickets when they drop, the usury of ticketmaster fees (why oh why do you get caught in that trap even for minor league hockey games etc) and of course late night travel back
I still go to shows, but it is usually in smaller venues. But even there I have to deal with TicketB*stard fees. I have a group of friends that sometimes accompany me, but I’m willing to go solo for a band or musician I really like.
I have adopted Jonathan’s approach for long-distance shows. In the “old days” I would drive from Raleigh to DC for a show, then drive home. A while back, after a show like that I drove south for about an hour then stopped in a hotel.
Yes sir, that’s another example. I’ve given up on big act concerts and Ticketmaster. The cost and crowds are no longer for me.
I’d agree, but…. In August, we went to see Hootie and the Blowfish perform in Camden, NJ, across the river from Philly. I was having chemo that day and knew I might be feeling a little rough, but I didn’t want to scrap our plans. So, for $200, I got a hotel room that was maybe 15 minutes’ walk from the concert arena. We had a fun night, were in bed soon after the concert ended and had a lovely breakfast the next morning. That’s $200 I don’t regret spending.
I always liked H&BF’s sense of humor, I mean, who wouldn’t like Dijon ketchup? I like Darius Rucker’s country songs as well.
As I mentioned above I used to travel to the DC are frequently. I often stayed in the Greenbelt, MD. Marriott. That hotels was close to a couple of arenas, and many pro and college basketball and hockey teams stayed there. Also bands. One morning I got in the elevator with Darius Rucker (Hootie). I recall that he was pleasant but surprisingly short.
We stayed in Greenbelt a few times as well since both our sons went to the University of Maryland. And just this morning I tried to buy tickets to Steve Hackett (ex-Genesis) only to find there were maybe 10 left after all the pre-sales, and of course those were too expensive.