About Me

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Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Retirement is now called "LifeShift"

With retirement on my horizon, lately I've noticed much more information on the topic in magazines and newspapers. In the Vancouver Sun dated Saturday, April 22, 2006 there is an article entitled "It's not retirement any more, it's now called "LifeShift."

This article got me thinking about my own retirement. I've been telling everyone I know that I'm not ending my teaching career to sit in a rocking chair and knit bootees, but rather I'm excited about a new beginning for me. Now I'll be able to do all the things I've always wanted to do but couldn't because I had to make a living and raise my daughters.

I think that most single women fear poverty. Without a man in our lives to help out financially, we can be driven to work and save for our old age. We give up a lot of fun traveling, going out to the theatre, dining out at elegant restaurants, buying gorgeous clothes, etc. Our first priorities are our children and our pensions. We worry that we won't have enough money to live comfortably when we have to retire.

Some articles state that you need 70% of your gross income to retire. But by planning carefully, that is not the case. If you are debt-free, it is possible to live on 35 to 40% of your gross income. We are no longer like our fathers. We are healthier, more fit, and our life expectancy is greater. We also desire to stay active as long as our health lasts. Also, we are probably the first generation of women that are retiring. Let's face it, most of our mothers stayed at home and looked after the house and our fathers.

The future will be very interesting for us as more and more women retire and set out on their own to live the last third of their lives to the fullest. Whatever our dreams, may we all reach for the stars!