Recently I wanted to take our Shark Steam Mop (strong recommend incidentally) to the rubbish dump. My wife instead insisted that we take it to our local Repair Café. I wasn’t convinced that it was even fixable but was willing to give it a go as Repair Café contains the word ‘Café’.
When we got there, I was impressed by the sheer range of expertise on offer. All bar one of the volunteers were retired (the IT repair guy), and each had a particular set of expertise. There were retired seamstresses, engineers, metal workers, wood workers and they all came to volunteer with the tools of their ex-trade. In the end, our volunteer actually took the Shark home and repaired it in his workshop for free.
Talking to a lot of the volunteers, what kept them young was the sense that they were needed and valued by the ‘customers’ (largely time poor, slightly harassed looking parents) they served. They had a community of fellow volunteers to chat to and a regular reason to be somewhere at a set time, giving them structure to their weeks.
Equally many of the retired clients that I work with and don’t look their age, are still working in some capacity or other (paid and unpaid).
Staying active and helpful seems to stave away the gradual drawing inwards that leaves some retirees closed off to the world and unhappy.
What does this have to do with financial planning?
Well, the key to having a happy retirement is how you spend your time, and money can help with giving you, if not more time, certainly more options.
If you want to discuss your retirement planning, speak to one of our advisers. They are currently helping people to navigate this throughout the UK, using the latest cashflow planning technology and tax planning techniques. Or visit our office in Hook, Hampshire for a face-to-face chat with one of the team.