The name My Life’s Encore comes from one of the definitions of the word encore, which is “a second achievement that especially surpasses the first.” (Merriam Webster). Our encore is the time during retirement to do what we want to, to do something different, adventurous, life-changing, helping others, give of our time, knowledge and experiences.
Retirement is our life’s encore- your time to shine and to achieve something greater and more meaningful than we may have had the opportunity or time to do earlier in our lives. Think of a concert that you have been to. They save their best for the encore- to end the concert with their most memorable and enduring songs. It is the finale to what has been anticipated for the whole concert.
While My Life’s Encore will be a work in progress to provide better and more valuable content to its readers, the initial focus of the site is to get people thinking about retirement- what they want their retirement to look like and to begin to think about the non-financial issues that come with retirement as well as the financial aspects.
The typical current thinking is that we work for 35-45 years and then we retire. While that was the thinking, and it often worked, for previous generations who held one job for their entire careers, the “New Retirement” for those in their 20, 30, and 40s will likely look much different. People are living longer, changing jobs and careers are often and deciding to create more of a work-life balance. As a result, retirement will need to change to accommodate these factors.
Although My Life’s Encore is targeted at individuals and couples nearing retirement or currently retired, much of the discussion and topics is also relevant to younger individuals- really anyone planning for “retirement”.
The questions My Life’s Encore will hopefully help people ponder and answer are the following:
- What do I want to do when I retire? What does retirement look like for my spouse and I (or me if single)? How will I spend my time? How do I want to spend my time?
- Do I have enough saved to fund how long I am likely to live? Or, am I saving enough to retire when I want to? Do I have enough saved to retire earlier than I had planned?
- If currently retired, am I drawing too much or too little to live on?
- How long am I likely to live given my family history and current health?
- Will I need to work part-time to fund or supplement retirement? Do I want to work only to occupy my time and have interaction with others?
- Do I want to change careers or do something different- perhaps a passion that has never been fulfilled?
These are only a few of the questions to consider around your money and your time when planning for your retirement. If you do not plan for your future, your future will make a plan for you!
Once you know what your retirement will look like and what you want to do and how you want to spend your time, the next part is working on the financial part of the planning. Work with your financial advisor to map out a plan. Let your advisor know what your vision of retirement looks like so they can help you develop and map out the plan. These two things, knowing what you want and developing a plan for reaching your goal are the main two items that have to be covered to reach a successful retirement.
To help people plan what they want their retirement to look like, My Life’s Encore focuses on five areas of ideas and motivation:
Money & Freedom– How will I reach my financial goals for retirement? Has my money been used to provide me the freedom to do what I want in my life?
Livelihood & Meaning– What do you want to do during this time to make money and give of your talents? What gives meaning to what you do for your livelihood?
Health & Connection– Are you doing what you need to do to take care of your health and working with doctors and other health professionals to make sure you are healthy?
Fitness & Activity– If we are going to live longer during retirement, let’s stay active!
Travel & Leisure– Many people enjoy travelling and other activities during retirement. We’ve got you covered with ideas to make the most of your adventures.
The articles that comprise the content of My Life’s Encore are curated from some of the best articles from the best publications on these topics. We look for the best content and present it to the reader so they don’t have to read or research dozens of sites. With so much bad, false or made-up content now floating around the web, you need to make sure the advice you are reading is good advice. Each of the articles has been selected and read to make sure it is adding value to your retirement planning. We only suggest articles that fit in one of the five categories above and that help you reach a successful and rewarding Encore in your life.
In addition to the articles we curate from trusted publications, we will also seek out and invite some of the best experts on these topics to write articles for our blog. I will also write articles for the blog, on a variety of the five topics above.
Other areas of the site to be added soon under RESOURCES include:
About– similar to this blog post, readers can learn about My Life’s Encore.
Coaching– retirement coaching services from MLE to help you plan for the many non-financial aspects of retirement. (COMING SOON)
Books– a list of the best books on retirement planning- both the financial and non-financial areas to consider.
Tools & Calculators– to help you run some numbers to help you get an idea if you are on track for retirement and when, as well as how much you can safely withdraw during retirement.
I hope you enjoy the site and that it inspires you to think about what you want your retirement to look like.
Please pass along the site to other who would benefit from the articles. As valued readers, if you have any suggestions or comments, please send them to reid@mylifesencore.com
Reid Stone
Founder
My Life’s Encore
