“Unlikely late life hobby”

appalachian trail
Sue Hollinger and Elrose Couriac

I love hiking but these two fabulous young ladies know how to do it right!  They had more than a little adventure while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

80-Year old twins complete Appalachian Trail

by Karen Chavez, Citizen-Times

December 28, 2016

“Hiking the entire 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail, one of the longest footpaths in the world, is an exercise in the outer limits of human will and strength. And usually, left to the youth of the world.

But 80-year-old identical twin sisters Elrose Couric and Sue Hollinger completed the trail this summer, finding the secret to completing the brutal journey – setting a goal and having a glass of red wine every night on the trail.

Having wine with cold pizza, even better.

‘We’re very goal-oriented. We always need a goal,’ said Hollinger of the massive hike. ‘We wished we were daring enough or young enough to do a thru-hike. It would have saved lots of time, but we couldn’t.’

It took the twins 14 years to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, which they completed July 7. They hiked it in sections, rather than in one shot, which takes the average hiker about six months.

According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the nonprofit that manages the footpath, some 3 million people hike the trail each year. About 3,000 attempt a thru-hike and 1 in 4 complete it.

The section-hiked journey was no less difficult. Besides sore muscles, bruises and broken bones, the sisters had bear encounters, a near-drowning experience, yellow jacket attacks and a near brush with a murderer.

But overall, they said in unison, ‘It was such a fun time.'”

Read more

Have you made any new year’s resolutions?

I try to make goals every year which typically include getting more exercise and learning something new.  Below is an article I came across about leading a “purposeful life after retirement.”  I think we could look at the list below as a list of possible resolutions.  Which one could you add to your list this year to lead a more “purposeful life?”

new year's resolutionsHow to Live a Purposeful Life After Retirement

Look at retirement as a time to do what you love and to try new things.

“Having a sense of purpose could add years to your life, according to a study published in 2014 in Psychological Science. Researchers from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and the University of Rochester in New York, tracked the physical and mental health of more than 7,000 American adults ages 20 to 75 for 14 years, and found that those who felt they had a purpose or direction in life outlived those who did not.

Once you retire and your children have left home, it’s easy to feel as though you have nothing left to accomplish. But older adults can still have career goals and direction, just in a different way, says E. Christine Moll, PhD, a professor in the department of counseling and human services at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, and member of the American Counseling Association.

The key, she says with a nod to Jimmy Buffett, is having an attitude of gratitude: Be grateful for what you’ve done and where you’ve been, and look forward to more of the same. ‘Keep doing,’ Dr. Moll advises, perhaps by following one of these 10 ways to live a more purposeful life:

  1. Join a gym
  2. Continue your hobbies
  3. Become politically active
  4. Try something new
  5. Go back to school
  6. Volunteer
  7. Immerse yourself in culture
  8. Get into games
  9. Become an emeritus
  10. Babysit”

Read more details and suggestions on how to live a more purposeful life

Happy New Year!

I want to take a moment to thank the 300+ visitors to Living Life Retired (LLR) who keep me writing. I appreciate you and wish you all a very Happy New Year!

happy new year
321happynewyear.com

This site was launched on August 22, 2016, and through the end of 2016 it has received visitors from the following countries:

  • United States
  • Austria
  • Italy
  • Germany
  • UK
  • Netherlands
  • Russia
  • India
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Kazakhstan
  • Philippines
  • Australia

I appreciate those of you who have joined the LLR community by subscribing or by commenting on various posts.  I would love to hear from all of you during 2017.  Please let me know what topics you are interested in or any concerns you may have as a fellow solo retiree.  Just fill out the comment section below and I will consider your concerns and ideas for future posts.

Let’s get this community going and start talking to each other!  We all know it gets lonely out here at times.  I’ll start by wishing you all a very healthy, productive, joyous, and activity-rich new year!  May God bless you all in this new year!

Billy Graham, 98, offers hope to the grieving and lonely

lonliness
pinterest.com

Are you experiencing grief or loneliness during this holiday season?  The article below and Billy Graham’s advice may offer some hope.  Click on the Bowling Green Daily News link to see the original column and Graham’s three suggestions for dealing with the “overwhelmed with sorrow” feeling during the holidays.

Billy Graham says death is not the end for terminally ill Christians

by Jardine Malado, The Christian Times

December 28, 2016

“Famed evangelist Billy Graham encouraged terminally ill Christians not to give up on life and look at their situation from God’s point of view so that they may realize that death is not the end for them.

In his advice column in the Bowling Green Daily News on Dec. 20, a terminally-ill woman told Graham that the doctors have predicted that this year’s Christmas might be her last due to an inoperable tumor. She said that she is having a hard time trying to pretend like she’s enjoying the holidays.

‘How can anyone in my situation be cheerful at Christmas?’ the woman who is known only as Mrs. L.L asked.

Graham encouraged the woman to try to change her attitude and look at her own life from God’s point of view.

‘How does God see you? He sees you first of all as someone He deeply loves. You are not insignificant; you aren’t something for whom death is the end,’ the evangelist wrote.

‘Listen: God loves you! He loves you so much that 2,000 years ago He came into this world in the person of His Son, so you could have your sins forgiven and go to be with Him in Heaven forever,’ he continued.”

Read more

Is retiring abroad right for you?

retiring abroad
Joseph Roginski via AP

Growing Number of Americans are Retiring Outside the US

Maria Zamudio, For The Associated Press

December 29, 2016

“Newly widowed, Kay McCowen quit her job, sold her house, applied for Social Security and retired to Mexico. It was a move she and her husband, Mel, had discussed before he passed away in 2012.

‘I wanted to find a place where I could afford to live off my Social Security,’ she said. ‘The weather here is so perfect, and it’s a beautiful place.’

She is among a growing number of Americans who are retiring outside the United States. The number grew 17 percent between 2010 and 2015 and is expected to increase over the next 10 years as more baby boomers retire.”

Japan experienced the biggest growth of American retirees — at 42 percent

“Just under 400,000 American retirees are now living abroad, according to the Social Security Administration. The countries they have chosen most often: Canada, Japan, Mexico, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Retirees most often cite the cost of living as the reason for moving elsewhere, said Olivia S. Mitchell, director of the Pension Research Council at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

‘I think that many people retire when they are in good health and they are interested in stretching their dollars and seeing the world,’ Mitchell said.”

Read more about retiring abroad

 

Is the financial advice you receive in your best interest?

financial advice
BOBAA22/DREAMSTIME

Money Management

Keep these things in mind when you’re looking for a financial adviser

by Alina Tugend

October 8, 2016

“When my family moved to New York from London in 2000, we had two small children and were buying a house in the U.S. for the first time. We needed some financial advice.

A friend recommended her investment adviser, who at the time worked at a big bank. We hit it off, and we soon decided to put him in charge of managing our retirement savings.

I’ve been mostly satisfied with our choice, but now I realize it was more luck than skill. At the time, I had no idea what questions to ask to make sure this adviser would really handle our money responsibly.

So if you’re thinking about hiring someone to help you plan your retirement or improve your personal finances, here’s what I’ve learned in the past 16 years.

First, some definitions of what can be overwhelming jargon: Financial adviser and financial planner are generic terms, often used interchangeably. But certified financial planner (CFP) refers to someone who has passed exams on topics like taxes and retirement planning and is required to adhere to an ethical code. Meanwhile, a registered investment adviser (RIA) describes someone (or a firm) regulated by government securities agencies who gives advice about stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Many such consultants are both RIAs and CFPs.

Second, the most important word you need to know when looking for financial help is fiduciary. That means the person you hire must put your interests before her own, instead of recommending investments that might increase her fees at your expense.”

Read more

On April 10, (2017), the Department of Labor, the federal agency that oversees retirement plans, will put into effect its fiduciary regulation.

Starting on that date, broker dealers and financial advisers will be required to provide advice that is in their clients’ best interest.

Studies show an increase in senior drug use

senior drug use
news.ufl.edu

Aging baby boomers increasingly embrace marijuana, heavy alcohol use

By Christopher Ingraham, The Washington Post

December 18, 2016

“…two recent studies suggest there’s another high-risk population we should be worried about: our kids’ grandparents.

The first study found that, since 2006, marijuana use has increased significantly among adults age 50 and up. A decade ago, roughly 4.5 percent of people ages 50 to 64, and 0.4 percent of seniors age 65 and up, had used marijuana in the past year. By 2013, those numbers had increased to 7.1 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

In percentage terms, marijuana use among 50- to 64-year-olds increased by 57.8 percent, while among seniors ages 65 and up, it ballooned by a whopping 250 percent.

The study, based on over 45,000 responses to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, isn’t the first to note that marijuana use is increasing rapidly among older adults. But it digs more deeply into the demographics of older Americans’ marijuana use, uncovering some interesting findings.

Among the 50 and older set, white (5.1 percent) and black (5.1 percent) Americans are more likely to smoke pot than Hispanics (2.6 percent). Older adults with less than a high school education (5.1 percent) or with less than $20,000 in income (5.4 percent) use marijuana more than average (4.8 percent).

Older folks who are married (4.0 percent) are much more likely to indulge in the occasional toke than those who are divorced or separated (1.6 percent). But those who are single (8.1 percent) or widowed (8.5 percent) outsmoke all the others.

One area of potential concern is the correlation between marijuana use and mental health issues among older adults. Among those 50 and older, people who have had depression (11.4 percent) or anxiety in the past year (9.0 percent) are much more likely to smoke marijuana than average. A number of studies have shown a link between marijuana use and mental disorders.”

Read more