Retire by Degrees

Withdrawal symptoms are more often associated with the aftereffects of quitting smoking or after a long period of substance abuse. But more generally withdrawal symptoms can occur after any period of prolonged dependence.  And if you’ve been depending on your career for many decades – for your financial support, your social outlet, and providing you…

This summer I’m reading The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder. One endorsement touts the book as “…a towering achievement in American fiction and a novel read throughout the world!”  So, I figured I can self-label my blog post the “best ever.” If you’ve traditionally made resolutions and set goals on January 1st, then the…

My past posts have focused on a typical approach to phased retirement.  It seems funny to even write “typical” since the phased approach is certainly less practiced than retirement-as-we-know-it. But a lunch conversation with a friend this week made me think about alternative approaches and how they have value and deserve to be considered as…

This week’s post was originally published on the HumbleDollar blog yesterday:

Today’s times are uncertain.  Pick up the paper, or glance at the news online on your laptop or phone. Inflation, war in Ukraine, falling stock market, and Covid cases rising again.  It’s mostly scary news with unknown outcomes. But here’s the thing. The times are always uncertain for the people living through them (that’s us).…

The more I read and learn and write about the process of retirement, the more intrigued I’ve become in discovering differing perspectives.  It’s pretty clear that there is not “one single way” to navigate retirement. One of the resources I’ve enjoyed and taken many nuggets from is a book by Bob Buford titled, Halftime: Moving…

For anyone starting a new role and going through a career transition, Michael Watkin’s 2003 book, The First 90 Days, is an excellent guide.  The subtitle is, “Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels.”  The book provides insights and specific steps to help job-changers navigate the unfamiliar surroundings of a new role –…