We want you to thrive in retirement, and one way you can do that is through providing volunteer service for other people.
Ron Dickinson has often written about two rules regarding our approach to planning for your retirement:
- Don’t run out of money.
- After you have solved Rule #1, don’t forget to enjoy your young retirement years.
Choices in Retirement
Most people throughout the bulk of their working years sacrifice extensively for their families. They end up delaying gratification for many of the things they enjoy until the time when they can quit working.
But once they do actually retire, they have some key decisions to make. Will they just stay at home most of the time? Will they basically retreat and hibernate? Will they focus mostly on leisure, travel, and play?
God created us to be relational beings. So, will they also invest in other people during their young retirement years?
Personally, my goal for my life in retirement down the road is not to just “quit and sit.” I enjoy biking. I want to keep moving as long as I possibly can. And I certainly want to continue to be involved in serving other people.
As a team our job is to provide you with financial planning, tax planning, and investment management so as to free up your time. Why? So you can invest your prime time and energy in relationships and activities that you really enjoy.
Ways You Can Be a Volunteer
Here are just a few examples of ways you can invest in volunteer positions in serving other people: (The first three are part of the RSVP volunteer program through Connections Area Agency on Aging.)
- Meals on Wheels: delivering hot meals to homebound residents.
- Nursing Home Opportunities: being a friendly visitor with residents who need social contact or someone to read to them.
- Reading Buddies: pairing up with elementary school students for one-to-one reading.
- Teaching a class for children or teenagers at your church.
- Participating in missions trips through your church or through parachurch organizations.
- Being a Senior Companion through the Senior Corps.
- Being a Foster Grandparent through the Senior Corps.
- Volunteering at The Center.
- Serving at missions such as Heartland Hope Mission (faith-based food pantry), New Visions Homeless Services (MOHMS Place), and Open Door Mission.
- Volunteering at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum.
- Serving as a counselor at a local SHIIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program) office.
- Working with Habitat for Humanity.
- Being part of the TeamMates Mentoring Program.
You can find many other volunteer opportunities at volunteermatch.org.
When you serve others as a volunteer, now that’s a life well lived. That’s a legacy that endures.
[Financial Planning and Investment Management Services offered through Dickinson Investment Advisors, Registered Investment Advisor. Statistics and market information provided by Litman Gregory Advisor Intelligence.]
