Retirement Defined: Giving Back

By Wendy Fisher, Retirement-Online.com

I retired in 2010, at age 55, but wondered how I would transition from a busy-busy employment mode to nothingness when I retired.

Honestly, I could not fathom nothingness.

Being in the retirement field for over twenty-five years with County Government, I enjoyed helping new retirees make life-changing retirement decisions.

The shift from employment to retirement is not always easy — it’s not all about freedom. You might think it’s about being free not to work. But — this thought process happens when you are 30–40 and exhausted: household chores, kids to raise, employment, partner issues, and you are near burned out. Oh, the thoughts of retirement freedom!

Fast forward to age 50, 60, or later… the kids have left home, friends (and family) have moved away or died, co-workers are retiring all around you, new technology changes and worst yet, new (and often, younger) management comes into the workforce and wants to change how business is done.

The problem is: You aren’t ready to retire — what will you DO, all day, every day?

Enter Solo BuildIt! (my choice of website builders)

In 2004, years before retirement, I realized the power of SBI with a website. I was having fun online with a hobby site. A few years later, I started Retirement-Online.com as a brain dump of all I knew. I wanted to share my retirement knowledge with new retirees who needed a few answers.

“When you learn, teach; when you get, give.” Maya Angelou

I needed SBI as a means to keep myself challenged and focused in life. For me, this was not about income as I am financially secure. Instead, SBI was about keeping my mind sharp while helping others through the ups and downs of retirement.

When I say I needed SBI, I seriously mean I NEEDED SBI. I have seen many retirees go from anxiety to depression when they retire… and that could easily have happened to me.

My husband, family, and even friends remained employed. I was alone in retirement with the question: NOW What?

Relax and do nothing all day? Like many others, ongoing stimulation from the world is a necessary part of life (even for introverts). We need to be connected somehow, not discarded, sitting alone at home with little to do.

I have attended many SBI conferences (years ago) and taken online classes to further my education into the aging mindset so I can, once again, help retirees. My travel and classes have all been paid by website earnings. I am a lifelong learner and very happy to continue my education from site earnings instead of relying on my retirement savings.

You begin a website to help people with whatever you know — and suddenly, you can’t resist the income too! So I will leave a legacy with my SBI earnings: as a Retirement Coach helping retirees — to leaving my family an online business and income derived from the same!

This is how I give back to the world. What will YOU do?

Solo BuildIt! Rocks!