'boondoggling'. Dictionary.com defines it as "work of little or no value done merely to keep or look busy

Porfirio Rubirosa11-09-2009, 02:04 PM
How To Retire - must read. Golfers included

4 Pre-Conditions for Retirement
I retired in year 2000 at age 52. I am now 61, thus I can claim that I got more
experience at retirement than most!
I thought I should share my experience with mariners because I have seen too many
friends and neighbours
who became so bored that they have become a nuisance to their spouse and children and to
others!
A few of them have solved the problem by going back to work.
They were able to do so because they have a skill/expertise that is still in demand.
The rest (and many are my neighbours) live aimlessly or are waiting to die - a very sad
situation, indeed.

You can retire only when you fulfil these 4 pre-conditions:
1.Your children are financially independent (e.g. they got jobs)
2.You have zero liability (all your borrowings are paid up)
3.You have enough savings to support your lifestyle for the rest of your life, AND most
importantly,
4.You know what you would be doing during your retirement.

DO NOT retire till you meet ALL 4 Pre-Conditions. And of course you should not retire if
you enjoy working and are getting paid for it!
The problem cases I know of are those who failed to meet Pre-Condition #4.

When asked, "What would you be doing during your retirement?" Some replied, "I will
travel/cruise and see the World".
They did that, some for 3 months and then ran out of ideas.
The golfers replied, "I can golf every day." Most could not because they are no longer
fit to play well enough to enjoy the game.
Those who could, need to overcome another hurdle - they need to the find the "kakis" to
play with them.
It's the same with mahjong, bridge, badminton, trekking and karaoke - you need "kakis"!
Most could not find others who share their favourite game and playing/singing alone is
no fun.
AND when they do find them, a few of them found that they are NOT welcomed like my
obnoxious neighbour whom everyone avoids..

Thus if you are into group sports or games, you must form your groups BEFORE you retire.

You need to identify your "kakis", play with them and discover whether they "click" with
you.
The less sporty "can read all the books bought over the years".
I know of one guy who fell asleep after a few pages and ended up napping most of the
time!
He discovered that he did not like to read after all. We do change and we may not enjoy
the hobbies we had..

Routine Activities To Fill Your Week

For most people, your routine work activities are planned for you or dictated by others
and circumstances.
When you retire, you wake up to a new routine - one that you yourself have to establish
as nobody else would do it for you!
The routine to establish should keep your body, mind and spirit "sharpened". A good
routine would comprise:
a) One weekly physical sport - you need to keep fit to enjoy your retirement.
If you are the non-sporty type, you should fire your maid and clean your home without
mechanical aids.
Dancing and baby-sitting are good alternatives.
b) One weekly mind stimulating activity - e.g. writing, studying for a degree, acquiring
a new skill, solving problems or puzzles, learn or teach something.
You need to stimulate your mind to stay alive because the day you stop using your brain
is the day you start to die.

c) One weekly social activity - choose one involving lots of friends/neighbours.
Get yourself accepted as a member to at least 3 interests groups.
Unless you prefer to be alone, you do need friends more than ever as you get older and
less fit to pursue your sport.

d) One weekly community service activity - you need to give to appreciate what you have
taken in this life.
It's good to leave some kind of legacy.

With 4 weekly activities, you got 4 days out of 7 covered.

The remaining 3 days should be devoted to family related activities. In this way, you
maintain a balance between amusing yourself and your family members.
Any spare time should remain "spare" so that you can capitalise on opportunities that
come your way like responding to an unexpected request to do a job or to take advantage
of cheap fares to see places or to visit an exhibition.

Mind stimulating activities
Most judges live to a ripe old age. They use their brains a lot to decide on cases. I am
sure MM Lee's brain works overtime.
He's 80+ and still going strong. In "Today" you would have read of 2 inspiring oldies.
One is a granny who learned to play the guitar at age 60 to entertain his grandchildren.

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Porfirio Rubirosa11-09-2009, 02:05 PM
She's 70+ today and those grandchildren have grown to play with her.
Another is an Indian radiologist who on retirement, qualified as an acupuncturist.
He's age 77 and still offers his services (by appointment only) including free ones to
those who have no income.
I guaranteeyou that they are happy people who discovered a "2nd wind" to take them to
the sunset with a smile on their faces.
Mind stimulating activities are hard to identify.
They require your will to do something useful with the rest of your life, a mindset
change and the discipline to carry it through.
Your Bucket List

Despite your busy routine, you will at times be bored. Then it's time to turn to your
Bucket List.
Your bucket list contains a list of things to do before you kick the bucket. They are
not routine and are usually one off activities.
You need them to have something to look forward to.
These include anniversaries, trips (and pilgrimages), visits to friends and relations
abroad, re-doing your home, tending conferences (related to your hobbies), acquiring a
new set of expertise. 4 such activities that are spaced our quarterly would be ideal.

Retirement Is A Serious Business

If you can afford to retire and want to, do prepare to live to your fullest.
You need to be fit to enjoy it - therefore get into shape now.
You do not want to get up on a Monday and wonder what to do each week, therefore
identify your set of weekly routine activities now and try them out to confirm that they
are the activities that you will be looking forward to doing each week, week after week.

You bucket list of "rewards" or "projects" or"challenges" is needed to help you break
away from the routine thereby make live worth living.
Start listing what you fancy and refine it as you chug along in your retirement.
You will have so much fun, you would wish you were retired since your turned 21!

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Jabba11-09-2009, 02:51 PM
The retirees i frequently met are happily shouting "Picture!" on leisure world...and they dun seem to be short of kakis...

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SamuelStalin12-09-2009, 01:19 AM
Oh Portfolio Robinrose I LOVE GOLF!!!! ;);););););)

And for watching I smile when the greats strut the greens with their caddies while the multitudes of losers and journeymen just watch and follow from behind the approved lines.

Anyway I'm glad I'm not born too early. Those fuddie duddies, of course old people should be somewhat respected, but I'm also glad I'm not them living their kind of life. They are older and old, they feel unwanted by society, and, they seem to be quite clueless about how to live their lives upon getting older and retiring ie they don't really know what to do afterwards. Mid-life crisis. Really sad.

To be born later, the better.

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scroobal12-09-2009, 01:40 AM
Assuming you are financially secure, keep to this routine and you will be fine. Get in touch with old school mates (your age group), long lost friends and acquaintences etc. You are bound to find some that are in retirement as well.

Just pick a nice kopi tiam and meet on a regular basis. Get at least 4 kakis or more to cover absences by individuals attending family commitments, medical and other errands.

Don't plan too much, just start talking about politics, the Chua sisters, Chee, Old man, 9/11 etc. Cover local RC members who strut around like peacoks. etc.

When you work, you plan, you organise, you think ahead. In retirement, just get up, do the morning constitution and head to meet the khakis. Shoot the breeze. Every now and then, some will have bright ideas such as attending Photography courses, fishing, going to musuem and trying out Pure Blonde beer at the cafe, Lor 1, geylang for Briyani, Redhill for chicken rice.

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lifeafter4112-09-2009, 02:18 AM
Health, more than anything else is the most important.
Great piece of advice. Thanks!!!

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kingrant12-09-2009, 03:02 AM
All pretty good tips! Tks for the threads.

Agree with Porto mostly. However, finding something mentally challenging to do on a regular basis is not so easy. Even tuition or teaching - it gets boring after a while, esp. when the subject matter is kacang. Some people do sudoku, or play online word games.

Maybe can also extend that tip by scroobal - instead of just coffeeshop talk, which can degenerate to just empty gossip, I guess one can start some chess games with the kakis. Even with giant chess pieces on giant chessboards. That way, the rest can watch with ease. Of course, it is not de rigeur. Do as you please, at yr own time own target...

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Porfirio Rubirosa14-09-2009, 06:29 AM
just a quick add on...

nothing beats building strong long term meaningful relationships...better still to be loved and to have loved back...:)

All pretty good tips! Tks for the threads.

Agree with Porto mostly. However, finding something mentally challenging to do on a regular basis is not so easy. Even tuition or teaching - it gets boring after a while, esp. when the subject matter is kacang. Some people do sudoku, or play online word games.

Maybe can also extend that tip by scroobal - instead of just coffeeshop talk, which can degenerate to just empty gossip, I guess one can start some chess games with the kakis. Even with giant chess pieces on giant chessboards. That way, the rest can watch with ease. Of course, it is not de rigeur. Do as you please, at yr own time own target...

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SamuelStalin14-09-2009, 07:27 AM
just a quick add on...

nothing beats building strong long term meaningful relationships...better still to be loved and to have loved back...:)

Oh yes I do have a strong long term meaningful relationship with my gramophone. Dad left it for me and we are together to this day. And whenever I need a tune from the old, peaceful days it never lets me down. You don't know how lovingly I clean it fortnightly as well.

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LonewolfAlfa14-09-2009, 09:09 AM
just beware. when getting in touch with long lost friends and making new acquaintences, u will definitely come across a few whom will ask u for a loan.
u are better off avoiding them.

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SamuelStalin14-09-2009, 11:43 AM
just beware. when getting in touch with long lost friends and making new acquaintences, u will definitely come across a few whom will ask u for a loan.
u are better off avoiding them.

Quite true actually. Most people are fucks most of the time.

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1sickpuppy II14-09-2009, 02:41 PM
Well I think I can retire in 4 years time then.
1. Both my housing loans are fully paid
2. All my children are working overseas and I don't think any of them will be coming back.
3. Will be getting my pension + rental from 1 of my houses and my savings.
4. Continus with my hobby of plastic modeling, gardening and taking care of my 2 dogs.

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scroobal14-09-2009, 11:16 PM
What you need to do immediately is to start networking to assemble a core group of likeminded people. Best of old schoolmates and ex-colleagues of your age group. Also need to create 2 groups (one with wife and one with the boys)

Don't do it when you retire or about to retire. The links tend to evaporate rapidly.

Enjoy.

Well I think I can retire in 4 years time then.
1. Both my housing loans are fully paid
2. All my children are working overseas and I don't think any of them will be coming back.
3. Will be getting my pension + rental from 1 of my houses and my savings.
4. Continus with my hobby of plastic modeling, gardening and taking care of my 2 dogs.