WS Chronicle

By Dr. James B. Ewers Jr.

Being able to retire has always been a part of the American dream. This long-held belief was passed on to me in my early years of growing up in North Carolina. I saw happy retired senior citizens who once worked for a living. I thought to myself, this must be a good life. They would share stories with us as children about the good old days. I found them to be both funny and interesting.

During the early years of my working life, I never really thought about retirement. I was too busy providing for myself and later, my family. One of the old school talks that I listened to intently was that it was important to save some money. Plainly said, you shouldn’t spend more than you make. That message resonated with me, so I began a conservative spending lifestyle. I was fortunate to have had some role models in my life who taught me about savings, stocks and retirement accounts.

It also helped that I had parents who gave me the foundation about spending and saving. That foundation was layered with a neighborhood who had people in it who practiced those habits.

Upon reflection, I cannot really say when I initially thought about retirement. What I did begin to realize was that I was getting older and I didn’t want to work forever.

So gradually, I started planning for retirement. I didn’t have a retirement specialist like many people do today. I reviewed my debts and projected retirement funds and decided to retire.

As I neared retirement, I wanted to do it on my terms. As the song lyrics go, I wanted to do it my way. I didn’t want anyone to tell me when to go or how to go. Humbly I say that when I did retire, that I still had a high degree of competence, compassion and commitment. It was simply time to close one chapter and to begin another while I was still in my right mind and physically able to do so. 

You may have similar sentiments if you are in a certain age group.

An important part of my retirement planning was to think about what I wanted to do when I retired. I knew I couldn’t sit at home and have nothing to do. If there is one piece of advice that I can give anyone considering retirement, it is to find something else to do. Something else doesn’t necessarily mean being paid for it. Whatever you choose to do, let it be non-stressful. Remember, you had enough stress while you were working. 

When we were in the hustle and bustle of work, we had schedules to keep and appointments to make. Now we don’t.

As I am approaching overtime in my life, I realize that having a certain quality of life is important, both physically and mentally.

Another piece of wisdom that I picked up was that there will always be another dollar to chase and another job that you think you can do.

Every day, we hear about Social Security not being as strong as it once was. If we believe the economists, it will not be the staple that it was back in the day. If you have been around for a while, you do have some empathy for those just starting their careers. Being financially literate and watching the economic trends should be on their to-do list.

Retirement is not what it was as it has become a tricky business. It is a good idea to think about developing a retirement plan because of this ever-changing economic climate. 

Be prepared and plan early. Find some friends who have similar goals and dreams. You can help each other.

James B. Ewers Jr., Ed.D., is a former tennis champion at Atkins High School in Winston-Salem and played college tennis at Johnson C. Smith University, where he was all-conference for four years. He is a retired college administrator. He can be reached at overtimefergie.2020@yahoo.com.