#219 - Retirement Plan Live, Flying Solo Edition: 5 Ways to Retire Solo

Can you be single and still rock retirement? This Retirement Plan Live series focuses on a single person. Over the next four weeks, I’ll help Sam make up her personalized retirement roadmap based on her individual needs. Being single in retirement is a topic that isn’t covered by me or by other retirement resources nearly enough, so I’m glad to be investigating retirement as a single person over the next four episodes. If you are flying solo and ready to rock retirement, you won’t want to miss this episode or the ones to come.

There are few retirement resources geared toward singles

You can look high and low, but there isn’t much out there to help single people plan for retirement. Just about everything is geared toward married couples. Single people have different concerns than married couples when planning their retirement. Listen to the Hot Topic segment to meet Sam, the subject of this Retirement Plan Live and then stick around for the Practical Planning segment as I interview several other singles that are embarking on their retirement planning journey.

Meet Sam, the next subject of Retirement Plan Live

We don’t talk about single people enough in the retirement planning industry. That is why I decided to focus this series on a single retiree. Sam is the subject of this month’s Retirement Plan Live. Sam is 59 and lives in Arizona. She is trying to figure out what kind of lifestyle she can afford in retirement with the amount of money that she has. Her goal for this series is to find out how she can balance lifestyle, money, and longevity. If you are single and thinking about retirement you won’t want to miss this series, so listen to episode 219 to begin.

What are the biggest worries as a single retiree?

In the Practical Planning segment, I chat with several different singles to get a feel for what their concerns are as they plan for retirement. The biggest worry for each of them seems to be when they reach old age. As a single person, this brings on different types of worries than a married couple. It may be advantageous to start planning for old age while you are still relatively young and have all of your faculties. You’ll want to hear how these people are planning to handle old age in different ways. Use this episode as a starting point for your retirement plan as a single retiree.

Planning for retirement as a single person doesn’t have to be scary, it can be quite exciting

Planning for retirement isn’t all gloom and doom. Think about it: what are you excited about when you think about retiring as a single retiree? I ask several different people this question. The answers range from freedom, to travel, to giving back to the community. This episode of Retirement Answer Man is all about planning your retirement as a single person. Get started planning now by listening to the Retirement Plan Live series so that you can enjoy all the freedoms that retirement brings just as soon as you are ready.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

• [1:22] Retirement Plan Live is back!

HOT TOPIC SEGMENT

• [5:05] Let’s meet Sam and hear why she chose to do this
• [6:59] What are we trying to figure out?

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT

• [11:27] What are Elizabeth’s biggest worries as a single person?
• [20:29] How is Lisa planning her retirement?
• [27:18] Kirbie would like to hear more about possible paths forward for single people
• [32:54] Jen lives in a high cost of living area and wants to connect in her community
• [39:44] What does Twila think is different between retirement planning when you are single vs. when you’re married?

THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT

• [46:14] Don’t mislabel things, they can be pretty cool if you make them your own

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT

• [47:49] Sign up for 6-Shot Saturday

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

BOOK - The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

BOOK - AARP Guide: The Single Woman’s Guide to Retirement by Jan Cullinane

Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That

BOOK - Rock Retirement by Roger Whitney

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Intro music by bensound.com