Most Americans who are thinking about retirement spend a significant amount of time preparing their finances for life after work. But many neglect to plan emotionally for their golden years.
If you have no idea what you’re going to do with the rest of your life, you’re likely to end up bored and unhappy, say Wicke Chambers and Cheryl Stephenson, co-authors of “Celebrate Retirement, the Freedom and the Frustrations” (Winslow Press, 152 pages, $19.95).
Chambers and Stephenson waited until after they retired to realize they needed something to do besides sleeping late, traveling and watching television. So they began teaching a class called “Reinventing Retirement” at Emory University’s Academy for Retired Professionals.
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A growing number of retirees, like Chambers and Stephenson, decide to go back into the work force either part time or full time. According to a 2002 AARP survey, the typical Boomer expects to work until 66. And 80 percent plan to work at least part time in retirement.
The key, says Chambers and Stephenson, is to have a plan before you retire.
Burgess “Buz” Stone, 62, is one of the lucky ones who knew what his passion was before he retired. Years before quitting his corporate law practice in Atlanta, Stone began crafting garden structures and furniture out of vines and logs as a hobby.
“One day a lady saw a bed I had made and said, ‘You ought to do that for a living.’ I said, ‘Maybe I should.'”
In 1996, he walked out of his law practice and never looked back. But it wasn’t easy.
“My income in 1997 was zero. I owed a lot of people, too, on a line of credit. But my wife was in real estate and I don’t think I could have done this without her. If you don’t have a spouse who can adjust to the lower cash flow, it’s a hard transition to make.”
Today, Stone spends much of his time working in his shop or wandering the woods looking for materials. His business, The Rustic Garden, has grown, mostly due to word of mouth, and his creations are much in demand. One of his garden gates, for example, can sell for $500 or more, and a pergola can go for $2,000.
He’s also doing better physically as well as fiscally.
“I don’t pant when I walk up a hill now,” he says.
Dickie Champion, 60, also turned his hobby into a second career after he retired eight years ago.
Champion started making turkey calls when he couldn’t find what he wanted in stores. Now he sells his turkey calls at shows all over the country. They are works of art that can sell for hundreds of dollars to collectors.
“It’s something I enjoyed doing when I was working full time,” he says. “Now that I’m retired that’s all I do.”