Information and Inspiration for the Solo Retirement Community
Sherry Fidelity UK
“Retirement creeps up on us before we know, as the so-called Baby Boomer generation, will testify. See how the generation born between the end of the second world war and the radical sixties are adjusting to the new realities of retirement.”
“The Search for Significance
We have found in our research that all individuals feel the most satisfied with their life when they are on a search for significance, whether they acknowledge it or not. Americans need to know that their lives have meaning and purpose: we are not just passing time and taking up space. The success of Pastor Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life (it has sold 25 million copies and is the best-selling hardcover book in American history), speaks to our hunger for significance. The most mentally healthy retirees are those who have found ways to satisfy their search for significance.
In seeking to understand and flesh out this important concept, we developed a comparison we call adventure vs. quest. As adventure is an activity that benefits the person, such as playing tennis or traveling. Adventures are an important part of health living and are what most individuals look forward to when they think about retirement. However, an adventure has no sustainable significance.
In contrast, a quest involves one or more participants lending themselves to a greater cause. A quest transforms a poor or average retirement into a mind-blowing, all-fulfilling, energized retirement journey. The possibilities are endless and only limited by our unwillingness to expand our horizons. Examples of possible quests include:
Feds fine reverse mortgage lenders for false advertising
“In past columns I have written that reverse mortgages have become more advantageous for consumers aged 62 and older. That’s because of recent HUD regulatory changes and because some lenders have reduced the initial costs of obtaining these mortgages.
Still, consumers must beware. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has identified three lenders who have engaged in deceptive and illegal advertising practices: American Advisors Group, Reverse Mortgage Solutions and Aegean Financial.
Together, these companies have incurred civil penalties totaling $790,000 and will have to modify their advertising policies so that consumers will not be deceived.
Some of the illegal advertisements in question stated that borrowers could not lose their homes, cannot be forced to leave and/or that always retain ownership. In reality, reverse mortgage contracts specify that borrowers must pay homeowner insurance and real estate taxes, maintain the property and comply with other requirements. If the borrower does not do all of these things, the lender can foreclose on the home. If the borrower faces foreclosure, he will lose his home, will be forced to leave and will no longer retain ownership.
In the future, the lenders will have to modify their advertising so that borrowers know that unless they continue to pay all related homeowner insurance and real estate taxes and maintain their property, they can lose their property through foreclosure.”
Liz Weston is a NerdWallet Columnist whose goal is to help you get smarter about money so you can get on with your life. She’s the author of five books about money, including the best-selling Your Credit Score.
5 Tricks for Getting Enough Fruit and Veggies: Fruit and vegetables are particularly important for older adults, but incorporating them into your diet can be difficult.
“Seniors are better than younger people at making their servings of fruits and vegetables part of their diet, but that’s still not saying much. According to a review published in August 2013 in the journal Maturitas, only 21 to 37 percent of men and 29 to 45 percent of women ages 65 and older eat five or more daily servings of fruits and vegetables, which is the minimum amount recommended for good nutrition.
Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is especially important as you get older, because the nutrients and fiber in these foods can help reduce high blood pressure, lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers, stave off eye and digestive problems — and simply satisfy your hunger.
How Big Is One Serving of Fruit or Vegetables?
Before you try to eat an entire bunch of bananas or a bushel of apples, know this: One serving of fruit or vegetables equals half a cup, or about the amount you could hold in a cupped hand. Nutrition experts used to recommend five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, but that’s probably not enough, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Individual needs are different, so depending on age, gender, and level of physical activity, you’ll require between 5 and 13 servings of fruit and vegetables each day.”
Get simple tips for increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables you eat each day
If you haven’t checked your credit reports for a while or ever, you may want to do so this month. It’s easy and it’s free. By reviewing your reports you might even detect identity theft early and stop it.
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three major credit report firms and you can go to AnnualCreditReport.com to receive free copies of your credit reports. You can choose to get a copy of all three reports now or stagger them throughout the year to monitor your credit.
“A credit report is an organized list of the information related to your credit activity. Credit reports may include:
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.'”