Retirement Tips

Retirement Investing - Retirement Jobs & Retirement Fantasies

November 3rd, 2006 by Papabear

When we think about retirement investing, many of us initially dream of having enough money to spend the rest of our lives in a retirement lifestyle straight out of Fantasy Island. I went to high school with someone whose ultimate goal was to be a millionaire by the time he was 40, then retire and cruise the Caribbean on his own yacht. I ran into him at our 25th reunion and, you know what? He’d done it. And 2 years later, he had become so bored he couldn’t stand it…so he is working again. So much for the fantasy retirement lifestyle.

Now, granted, 42 is pretty young to be looking for a retirement job. But his situation does point out something many of us are going to be facing one of these days…when we retire, what are we going to do with all that free time?

I know, I know. You’re thinking you have all kinds of things to keep you busy. But do you truly have enough to last for 15 years? Or more?

If you’re one of the lucky ones, you have a passion that will, indeed, keep you busy. Something you’ve always loved to do which now fills up your time.

But the rest of us, unless we’ve always been couch potatoes, are going to need to do something or go stir crazy. Or, worse, die younger than we have to.

(And, yes, there are always going to be people who need to work after they retire because they need the money, but that’s an entirely different issue.)

The great thing about looking for a retirement job if you don’t need the money is…you don’t need the job because you need the money!

That opens up all kinds of possibilities. Oh, sure, you could volunteer somewhere. Volunteer opportunities are everywhere, but lots of us already do that. I’m talking about doing something new in our lives that we get paid for because what we do is worth getting paid for. After all, money has been a measure of how good we are or how much of a contribution we are making for most of our working lives, so it’s nice to know that we’re still worth something. Plus, working for free isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.

But there are lots of jobs out there that could be just perfect for those of us who are retired from our previous jobs, but not retired from life. Even the Social Security laws are made so that we can continue to work and make a certain amount of money without affecting our benefits.

For example, seasonal jobs like park rangers are a great opportunity for retirees who don’t want to work all year round but love the outdoors. Or consider becoming a temp…taking work only when you feel like you want to work doing what you feel like doing. How about becoming a substitute teacher? You don’t need a degree in education to be a substitute teacher and to make a difference in young people’s lives.

Retirement doesn’t mean you have to putter around the house. Getting a new job can be a great way to spend your retirement!