The Platinum Living Network

Even though I am a financial planner by trade, I don’t expect that this blog or the Platinum Years Network will spend that much time discussing financial topics. There just isn’t that much of a correlation between wealth and “authentic happiness.” And I’ll give you the stats on that some day. All in due time… But this recent news item just begs to be commented on: “At an event hosted by Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, the nation's first Baby Boomer, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, today filed for her Social Security retirement benefits online at www.socialsecurity.gov . Ms. Casey-Kirschling, who was born one second after midnight on January 1, 1946, will be eligible for benefits beginning January 2008.” Commissioner Astrue went on to gush about Kathy’s “personal milestone – she has made the transition from the workforce to retirement.” Now I know a social security commissioner has to say such things as a matter of public relations, but if at the end of my life, I...

Today seems like a good day to officially begin, although I’ve been at it off and on for a couple of years now. I turn 61 today. Over the past two years, I have greatly simplified my life. I sold off some property I had been managing, and transitioned my stock brokerage and financial planning practice so that I am now an independent contractor without the complications and regulations of running a corporate broker/dealer. A generation ago, I would now be telling you that I’m looking forward to “retirement,” perhaps moving to Florida, where you could find me on the nearest golf course. But that does not have any particular appeal to me. Nor does it have any appeal to about 80% of my “baby boomer” brethren, who have no intention of retiring in the same “drop out of life” fashion that our parents did. There’s just too much to do! I have a million ideas, and lots of potential adventures on my “Things To Do Before I Die” list (Do you have one of those?) One of those ideas is to create this ...

In my "book in process," Platinum Living , I make several recommendations as to how our government could reform the social security system, but they boil down to this. Only 20% or so of all "baby boomers" are planning a traditional sort of retirement. This represents a great opportunity for our government to "save" the social security system. And boomers, for our part, must be open to such changes, getting past the usual "How does this affect ME right now," analysis and looking at the effect on our country and our children. In other words, boomers must take the lead in eliminating the idea that social security reform is the "third rail of American Politics." Meanwhile, I came across these interesting, if more traditional, proposals from Kiplinger at http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/summary/archive/2007/10_retirement_steps_NCPA.html

... so does financial planner Jeff Bogue , in Maine Today , and he makes some good points, at: http://business.mainetoday.com/financialsense/011437.html

Whether you're the manager or the "managee," if you're still in the corporate environment, here are some good tips on the care and treatment of older workers: http://wimvdd.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-manage-older-workers.html

New Book Review: I hate to give bad reviews to a book, but you need to be warned. I added this, my first "one star" rating, to www.platinumyears.net today: Leap!: What Will We Do with the Rest of Our Lives? , by Sara Davidson - When I first envisioned a book review section for this site, I thought it would be cool to give ratings from one to five, and use platinum bars rather than the usual stars. But then I started arguing with myself (don't you ever do that?), reasoning that I'd never use the "one bar" rating because I wouldn't waste the time reading such drivel. Well I was wrong. Leap earns my very first, and I hope last, one bar rating. Do not waste time or money on this book. Where do I begin to tell you why? Well, for starters, the title itself is false advertising, for it doesn't even attempt to answer the question of "what will we do with the rest of our lives," which is what duped me into attempting to read it in the first place...

I am adding a new "Platinum Link" to www.platinumyears.com today. It's called "The Boomer Blog," the combined effort of four women. Lots of good stuff, mostly for the ladies, but much applicable to everyone. Check it out at http://www.theboomerblog.com/

Taxes are done! In the past year, I have liquidated two businesses, so this year's filing was a major bookkeeping project, to say the least. But it's all part of the long term plan. It's a practice called "downshifting," something many of us 50 and 60-somethings are involved in. And as we do it, we are freeing up time to probe a little on what we want to do with the rest of our lives. In my case, one of the things I'm probing is this blog and my web site, www.platinumyears.net . My current plan is to blog here and organize these random thoughts on the site. Not every blog entry will be posted (this one won't), but when I see something worthy of the site, a new article, book recommendation, a link, a quotable quote, reader comments, etc., I'll let you know where on the site they'll be posted. We'll see how that works out in the long run. Seems logical for now. Rob

The other night I had a dream. It was one of those "falling" dreams, you know the ones that they say that if you don't wake up before hitting the bottom, you're dead. But don't worry, it wasn't scary. And that, ironically, was the scary part. Let me explain. The whole dream probably lasted just a few seconds. In the dream, I was in a nondescript, dark place. The only sound that could be heard was a kind of moaning chant. Over and over, I heard voices chanting, "Old... old ... ooold." The next thing I knew, I was falling. I don't remember jumping or being pushed, but I was falling... and someone, or something, was holding me. Now here's the strange ironic part. I expected to be scared, but I wasn't. I remember thinking, "this isn't so bad." It was very restful, peaceful even. Nothing required of me, no obligations... Just listen to the chant and fall ... "Old... old... ooold" But wait! This isn'...

Welcome to the Platinum Years Network! I'm Bob McDonald. I was born in 1946. Last year, George W. Bush, Willian Jefferson Clinton and I all turned 60, along with several million more of you who are in the advance guard of what was once known as the "Post War Baby Boom." Now, we are simply known as "boomers," and we are well known as a generational group. Our generation, in fact, has influenced many cultural changes as we progressed through our school and work years, and there is no doubt in my mind that we will also revolutionize the stage of life that has heretofore been known as "retirement." A few years ago, in conversations with family and friends, I began to notice something about my contemporaries as they looked ahead toward their so called "golden years" of retirement. It sure didn't seem like many of us were looking at the good ol' do nothing, golf playing, "drop out of society" retirement that was once the norm. Lat...