#coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #retirement #EarlyRretirement #lockdown
So, you were locked down in your homes for weeks.
Perhaps you worked from home, or still are.
Having nowhere to go gives one a lot of time to think.
Perhaps you thought about retiring early, since you may have gotten a small taste of what it might be like to be retired.
Wes Moss, who writes the “Money Matters” column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and has a similar radio show on WSB, News Talk 750 in Atlanta, discussed this in a June 7, 2020, column.
Moss asks, “Has the lockdown experience affected your vision of retirement? Maybe you always anticipated a staycation retirement,” the article says.
Moss advises asking yourself these questions:
1. What will you do in retirement? Travel? Buy a lake house? Soil the grandkids, he writes.
2. How important is routine to you? Getting out of the house to go to work every day provides such a routine, he writes
3. Who are you? Many people, especially men, define themselves by their jobs.
4. How will you spend your days in retirement?
5. How will you get your human fix?, he asks. Social isolation during the pandemic has driven some folks nuts, which may explain the video and photos we see of crowded gatherings, with no social distancing, as some places ease lockdown rules.
6. (Perhaps the biggest question might be) How about the money? Moss has always said that many people discover they need less money to live on than they thought they would. Certainly, the lockdown has put money back in some people’s pockets because they weren’t traveling, eating out, driving etc., as they normally would.
7. Will you keep working in retirement?

Since Moss’ first five questions focus on personality, let’s focus on the last two practical matters.
If you have saved well, and invested well, during your working years, you are a big step ahead of most. Many people have not. If you are among those who have not, there are several ways that, with a little effort and determination, can help you build a nest egg relatively quickly.
Question 7 applies here. Though these programs involve effort, they do not require you to get another traditional job. In fact, working these programs may help you not only enhance your income, but also may help you grow as a person.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
Moss recently surveyed more than 300 families, age 55 and older, about happiness and retirement during the lockdown.
Many say the lockdown gave them a chance to “test drive” retirement, and they loved it, he writes.
Some 26 percent would adjust their post-lockdown life permanently after the pandemic, keeping it much the same as it was during the lockdown, he writes.
For some, though, the pre-lockdown activities, such as gatherings, eating out, traveling etc., will be too much of a temptation to resist.
So what’s it been like for you? Regardless about how eager you are to return to “normal,” that “normal” will change. We don’t know exactly to what extent it will change, but it will change. As we wait for those changes, we must take whatever precautions necessary to stay healthy, safe and still enjoy life.
Peter

#coronavirus #COVID19 #FlattenTheCurve #adaptation #NewNormal
What will the “new normal” look like after the coronavirus pandemic?
Georgia State University researchers conclude that as some companies retool how they do things, the future of many of the lost jobs is questionable.
Christopher Quinn, a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, discussed the report in a May 2, 2020, article.
“Artificial intelligence and automation have been eating away for years at jobs such as those in food and hotel services, retail trade, manufacturing and sales,” Quinn writes. The shutdown caused by the pandemic could hasten and expand that process, as the shutdown forces companies into new ways of doing things, he adds.
Concerns and mitigation tactics to slow the spread of the virus have inspired – forced – creative use of digital technologies in education, business, medicine and other industries, Quinn quotes from the GSU research.
To put it bluntly, some of the jobs lost because of the pandemic may not come back. Or, if they do, they may come back in different forms.
Though some restaurants, for example, allow customers to place their orders as they walk in, what if many, if not all, restaurants, allowed you to walk in, tap your order onto a screen, sit down and your order is brought to you.
To go even further, what if your order came to you via robot or drone?
There may be a person who greets you at the door as you punch in your order. But that person’s other job may be to disinfect the screen after each order is placed.
We’ve also discussed here before the idea of calling in your order from home, and it will be ready by the time you arrive. When you order, you can decide whether to eat it in or take it out.
Other industries, too, will rethink how they do things. For example, if you are in sales, and part of your job is to regularly visit clients in person, whether the clients want you there or not, you may find yourself doing more by phone or e-mail. That may certainly cut down the number of salespeople needed.
So, let’s evaluate your situation: can you see ways your employer could eliminate or lessen your job, while accomplishing the work you were doing?
If so, whether your employer sees it yet or not, it may be time for you to explore a different ways to make money.
How? Fortunately, there are a number of programs out there that can allow you to earn a potentially lucrative income without having a traditional W-2 job.
They can also allow you to work from home, or in person, depending on the situation.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
The coronavirus is still with us, despite the relaxation of many of the life and work restrictions. The question becomes, what happens to you now? Will you have, or do you even want, the job you had prior to the pandemic? Or, will you take the opportunity to reassess how you want to spend the rest of your life?
No one wants to see pandemics, and certainly no one wants to get seriously ill. But they could offer a time for thought about where your life is, and where you want it to be.
To paraphrase an old adage, when a door closes, a window often opens. We, as people, have to notice the open window, and go through it to perhaps make our lives so much better.
Peter