Fun Retirement Facts – It’s Not All Bad News!

I know that my posts here on Affiliate Marketing for Grandparents have been kind of doomy-gloomy because I’ve been telling you to get your finances in order and scaring you to death about health care costs. But retirement won’t be all doom and gloom. It could very well be the happiest time of your life. I’m here to give you some fun retirement facts and tell you that it’s not all bad news!

The Happiness Study

A study from Merrill Lynch, finds that you are very likely to have a happy retirement. First of all, the study found that people between the ages of 65 and 74 are the happiest of the age groups. Incidentally the study showed that Millenials, ages 25 to 34 were the most unhappy. Here’s a list of statistics from the study:

• Only 51% of 25-34 year olds say that they often feel happy.
• 76% of people ages 65-74 say they often feel happy.
• Only 47% of Millenials say that they often feel content.
• 71% of those retired report contentment.
• Only 41% of those 25-34 say they feel relaxed.
• 71% of 65-74 year olds feel relaxed.
• 37% of 25-34 year olds feel anxious
• Only 12% of 65-74 year olds say that they often feel anxiety.

So older people are happier, more content, more relaxed, and less anxious.

Why Are Retirees So Happy?

• Retirement is a new beginning. Those of us who have worked for the last 50 years, feel like we are set free when we retire. Some of us may not know what to do with ourselves, but others have their plans all lined up. Either way, whether you feel foot loose and fancy-free, or you feel like NOW we can do some stuff, we are entering into a whole new life. It’s the time to try new things, take classes, visit new places, and enjoy new hobbies.
• Leisure time is different than before. When we worked, we had our nose to the grind stone, and were only able to have leisure time on week ends and occasional vacations. After retirement, we have no such commitments and can take our time. It can be nothing but leisure time. Before, when we worked, leisure time was about relaxing. After retirement, leisure time can be more structured because we join clubs, take classes, volunteer, or do other activities in blocks of time.
• We have time. We are rich in time, if nothing else. When we were working, there was never enough time to just enjoy being around friends and family. In retirement, we have plenty of time to pay attention to the grand kids, help out our family and friends, and just be with those we love more often and for longer periods of time.
• Your self-identity changes once you retire. For those 50-some years, you were defined by your work and what you did. Once you retire, you identify more with your leisure activities, and what you’ve become since you left work. You get to be a person now, rather than the factory drone adhering to company policy.
• We have the time to cultivate relationships with other humans. We spend time with family, and the grandchildren in particular. We find new friends, or reconnect with old ones. We get to know our neighbors and the people who provide services for us. We take time to help the sick, the down-trodden, and disheartened. It becomes a matter of WHO becomes important to us, rather than WHAT.

Aspects of Retirement and How They Relate to Each Other

1. Family: Family is the greatest source of satisfaction for retirees. We want to be there for our family members and help out if need be, especially our grandchildren. We want to enrich our relationships and enjoy being with our people.
2. Home: Home is where the heart is, and often where the assets are! Retirement gives us the opportunity to change our home environment. We may want to downsize, move closer to family, or renovate to accommodate our new lifestyle. We may even want to ditch the home and go out RV-ing or Workamping.
3. Giving: Retirees get a lot of satisfaction from giving of their time and money. Giving allows us to think of the other person and walk a mile in their shoes. It gives us an understanding and perspective on what we have to be thankful for. And it helps us feel good about ourselves and gets us up off the couch to support causes we feel strongly about.
4. Leisure: We want to enrich our lives with learning experiences, and to take our time to “smell the roses” now that we are rich in time. We want to travel to places we’ve never been, and try things we’ve never tried. Retirement is the time to do all of these things, now that we are no longer committed to work.
5. Work: Some retirees might want to work. Some retirees might have to work. Work adds purpose, helps maintain social connections, and allows us to contribute to causes we feel passionate about
6. Health: Health is the wildcard for retirees. It is probably the biggest expense we face. There’s a cost of maintaining good health, and paying for health issues as they occur. Health can be great for retirees, or it can cause serious issues. We won’t know what these are until they occur. Therefore, it’s hard not to include health care and health issues within our aspects of retirement.
7. Finances: Finances are our biggest worry in retirement. Our finances hold all the aspects of retirement together. Finances determine to what degree we get to experience all the aspects. Finances can help us or hinder us, depending on what occurs with our savings, our equity in our homes, our Social Security, and even factors such as the economy and the stock market. And of course, if we decide to work (or are forced to work), it is a deciding factor in our finances as well.

How to Alleviate Our Biggest Worry

If you are forced to work, like I will be, perhaps the easiest and best way of making money is to become an affiliate marketer.

Affiliate marketing provides:

• First and foremost INCOME.
• Passive income, where you can leave your work for a period, and your efforts will still make money for you, even though you aren’t actively working on it.
• Flexible Schedule
• Work anywhere you can have a laptop hooked to a WiFi signal.
• Being your own boss
• Writing about your passions, what you love

And perhaps the best platform for affiliate marketing is Wealthy Affiliate. Click here for a review of the Wealthy Affiliate platform.  Wealthy Affiliate provides everything you need to start your affiliate marketing business, including hosting, search engines, training, and a community of like-minded folks who are doing the same as you, building their own businesses and enjoying the freedom of affiliate marketing.

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