Retirement and personal finance

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, June 2016; written by Tammy Dinsmore

I was fortunate to have time off from work this past week so I grabbed a couple of interesting looking books on my way out the door.

Although I have a few years before retirement, I have been thinking about I want to do with my time once I am retired. At first, I was thinking I'll retire and just go with the flow. Maybe that isn't such a good plan. I'll need to know what to do with myself on a daily or weekly basis since I'll no longer be required to be at a specific place at a specific time every week.

The book, "Happy Retirement: the Psychology of Reinvention" by Professor Kenneth S. Schultz, PhD caught my eye.

The book starts while a person is still working and progresses through late retirement, say from your 50s or 60s through your 80s and beyond. Dr. Schultz stresses how important it is to plan for this major life event by thinking about how you feel about it to begin with. Will you be happy to leave the job you've known for a great number of years, or will you be anxious? What is it that we will expect from the free time we will suddenly have?

Dr. Schultz has provided a number of answers to those questions. Maybe a person would like to phase in to retirement over a period of time. Cut back on working hours while spending more time doing what you like, whether it's outdoor activities, spending time with family or just having more down time for yourself. He also takes into account whether you are single or have a partner who will be sharing your time.

The following is a great quote by Clinical Psychologists Judith Malette and Louis Oliver: "Retirement has the potential to be less of a 'withdrawal from' than a 'release to'. I like that thinking.

Another book I checked out is called "The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't have to be Complicated" by Helaine Olen and Harold Pollack.

Throughout this book, the authors explain that everything you need to know about personal finances can fit onto a few 3 x 5 index cards.

The 10 rules they stress are: Saving a percentage of your income; paying off your credit card every month; put as much money as you can into a "tax advantaged" account; Don't buy individual stocks--buy index mutual funds or exchange traded funds instead; advice about your financial advisor; buying insurance; Social safety nets; And lastly, don't forget the rules you just made for yourself!

These two books are just a drop in the bucket of what we have on the shelves to help you plan your life path. The Library is frequently getting new materials in so come on in and peruse the collection.