#happiness #meaning #purpose #trascendence #storytelling
“There’s more to life than being happy.”
So begins the “Money Matters” column by Wes Moss, published in the July 3, 2022 edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Moss, who writes about happy retirees, says crafting a life that matters may be more important than happiness.
Moss cites the book “The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters,” by Emily Esfahani Smith, who, Moss writes, has made it her mission to show how people eschew happiness for meaning.
Her four pillars are belonging, purpose, transcendence and storytelling, Moss writes.
Belonging involves having a relationship with a person who values who you are, not for how you look or what you are willing to do for them, Moss writes.
Purpose involves the reason a person gets out of bed in the morning. It may not be what others may consider a grand purpose, but if your job was your purpose, and now you are retired, you may need to find a new purpose, Moss writes.
Transcendence is the ability to be awed by something sacred. That something may not be sacred in the religious sense, but it may give you a sense of amazement, peace or stillness, Moss quotes the author.
Storytelling is the narrative you would write about you – what makes, or made, you the person you are today.
If your life has meaning, as you see it, you are not necessarily unhappy. Your purpose may indeed make you happy.
One who does little or nothing with his or her life may be content in their relaxation, but it may be debatable whether they are actually happy. Contentedness and happiness are not the same.
Most people have meaning in their lives. As Moss writes, that meaning may be different for everyone.
Most retirees have things they can do when they no longer work. Others may keep working well beyond their retirement age.
Whatever you find meaningful, chances are it will make you happy. Meaning and happiness may go together like hand and glove.
Just as most everyone has some meaning in their lives, everyone has a story. One’s story may not be as compelling as someone else’s, but his or her story has meaning not just to themselves, but others close to him or her.
In short, meaning and happiness can be dual goals. If one finds one, the other may soon follow.
Go for both.
Peter
Tag Archives: WSB radio
THE GREAT WEALTH TRANSFER: ARE YOU PREPARED?
#GreatWealthTransfer #BabyBoomers #wealth #inheritances #EstatePlanning
A few generations back, the parents of Baby Boomers turned, or were about to turn, huge amounts in inheritance to their children or other heirs.
Those parents had built usually modest homes for relatively modest prices, though they didn’t think so at the time. Much of that homebuilding was thanks in large part to the federal GI bill that was passed as veterans came home from World War II to start families and new lives.
Those modest homes increased in value many times over during that generation’s lifetime.
That gave the children of that generation a big chunk of wealth to inherit.
And, many of them did – big time.
Now, the Baby Boom generation has a bunch of wealth to pass on to its children – the GenXers and Millennials.
Wes Moss, who writes a Money Matters column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has a similar weekly program on WSB radio in Atlanta, calls this “The Great Wealth Transfer.”
He discussed it in his column published April 24. 2022.
Moss writes that between $30 trillion and $68 trillion in wealth will be passed down from Baby Boomers.
To put that in perspective, the U.S. GDP (gross domestic product) for 2021 was $22 trillion, Moss writes.
When you take the 136 million people who are GenXers or Millennials, and you use the $30 trillion figure, that would mean each of those folks – statistically speaking — would get $220,000, Moss writes. We know that not everyone will inherit that much individually, and some will inherit much more.
Think you don’t have that kind of money in your family? Moss sites a person with a great aunt who died. The great nephew didn’t realize how much money she had. She was able to give all her great nephews and great nieces a nice chunk of change.
In other words, there could be that kind of money somewhere in your family, and you may not know it until a death occurs.
For Baby Boomers, this lesson brings about the need for proper estate planning. Yes, you may have more than what you think you have. How it gets distributed upon your death, or even before, should not be left to chance – or probate court. It would be worth the investment to draw out an estate plan, such as a will or living trust, to make sure the money goes where, or to whom, you want, when you want.
If you are a GenXer or Millennial, talk to your parents and other family members about how THEY want their estates distributed. Make sure that, if you believe you may have something coming to you, that your interest is protected.
Of course, if there are no heirs or your family members have not shown themselves worthy of inheritance, having an estate plan is even more crucial, so that your money goes where you want.
If you are transferring your wealth, get an adviser you trust to tell you how, when and to whom to give your assets – according to your wishes. Keep in mind that you should do all YOU want to do while alive with your assets. Don’t think about your heirs first. Think of you first.
Remember, too, that how, when and to whom you give will likely have tax consequences. Know those consequences, and what could happen if a mistake is made, well ahead of time.
It’s certainly great to reward loyal, loving family members or other heirs with your wealth. But if you think about you first, and plan carefully, all concerned should be, if not happy, assured that the distribution was done as you wanted it to be done.
Peter
ADJUSTING YOUR FINANCES IN YOUR 50s
#aging #AdjustingFinances #retirement #investments
Are you in your 50s?
Do you have enough saved, or are you on track to have enough saved, for retirement?
Wes Moss, who writes the Money Matters column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, took on this subject in his March 17, 2019, column. He also is chief investment strategist for Capital Investment Advisors, and has a Money Matters radio show that airs Sunday mornings on WSB radio in Atlanta.
First, Moss talks about the TSL strategy. That stands for taxes, savings and life. He says that for a younger person, 30 percent of your income should go to taxes, 20 percent to savings and the remaining 50 percent for life expenses.
But, when you reach 50, he says, you may want to adjust those percentages to put a bigger percentage into savings.
He also says many people save for their children’s college expenses. But college tuition can be covered through loans, scholarships (and having the child work through college), among other things. But there are no loans to cover your retirement, unless you take out a reverse mortgage on your house.
In short, Moss advises to make saving for a child’s education secondary to saving for your own retirement.
Moss also suggests playing catch-up with your retirement contributions, which the law allows you to do at that age. As for paying off one’s mortgage, as Moss advises, give it some thought before you dump cash into your house. If your interest rate is low, say, 5 percent or less, and you have an investment adviser who routinely can make you a lot more than that every year, it may be wiser to put your cash into other investments rather than your house. The aforementioned reverse mortgage, or a home equity line of credit, may be the only ways to get that cash back out of your house.
That brings us to Moss’ other point: stick with stocks. If you have your retirement nest egg invested in stocks or their derivatives, don’t panic at every downturn and don’t be overly cautious, and grab profits, on every upturn. If you have a good investment adviser, he or she will guide you to investments that are suited to your situation. Adjust as needed, but don’t dump stocks wholesale based on the news.
You may say this is all well and good if you have lots of money. If you can barely cover your taxes and life expenses, how in the world can you save, with your current income? That could be discussed in detail in a different setting, but it boils down to spending less on things that aren’t necessities, and saving more.
There is also another way to add to your income: check out one of the many vehicles out there that allow you to leverage your non-work time, perhaps just a few hours a week. You could potentially dwarf the income from your job eventually. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Meanwhile, in this day and age, your 50s could be a scary time. You’re at the age when your employer may yearn for someone younger , and cheaper, to do your job. Company reorganizations happen frequently, and many people find themselves unexpectedly out of work.
In past generations, people didn’t really start saving for retirement until their 50s. Decades ago, companies cherished their experienced employees. Now, they are seen as a mere cost, in most cases.
You can certainly make adjustments to your retirement plan in your 50s, but it’s better to start a retirement plan much earlier in life. Today, you don’t know when, or at what age, your retirement will come. And, in most cases, it will come, whether you’d planned for it or not.
Peter