Yearly Archives: 2023

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Your 401(k) Isn’t Enough: To Invest for Retirement, Build Friendships and Hobbies

Five takeaways:

  1. This piece is a valuable reminder that retirement planning is far more than 401k contributions. We must consciously cultivate habits, hobbies, and relationships that will make retirement rewarding.
  2. A long running Harvard Study of Adult Development, which has tracked Harvard grads in adulthood since 1938, surprised researchers by showing that the greatest predictor of happiness in retirement is not to be found in health measurements like cholesterol or financial metrics like financial savings. It is in the presence of meaningful lifelong relationships.
  3. There is every reason in the world to neglect friendships during middle age: the demands of raising children or caring for aging parents while navigating careers, and so much more. But it is this period where concerted effort to maintain friendships is the most important.
  4. Tergesen says that making lists of what gives one meaning can unearth hobbies and areas of development to focus on as we approach retirement.
  5. When viewed together, friendships and hobbies give life purpose, especially in retirement’s newfound absence of time spent developing one’s career.

From Anne Tergesen at The Wall Street Journal:

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Note: At the time of this posting The Wall Street Journal requires a subscription to read this article.

This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

How We Learned to Be Lonely

Five takeaways:

  1. Brooks argues that the pandemic has resulted in a major collective trauma: one of loneliness. He worries that relationships severed during lockdown are not being reestablished, and that we must fight to overcome this.
  2. A March 2022 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that 59 percent of respondents said they had not fully returned to their pre-pandemic activities.
  3. The rise of remote work has been socially devastating, Brooks argues. Work was once a source of social interaction, but as a large swath of the workforce continues to work from home, those connections are not being made or strengthened. 60% of workers said they feel less connected to their coworkers than we were before the pandemic.
  4. People are prioritizing socializing for fun, as well direct extended family interaction, way less than they did before the pandemic. There is data that suggests that when people “get out of the habit,” of prioritizing this time, it is difficult to resume.
  5. Growing habitual loneliness is a public-health crisis. Research has consistently shown that isolation is linked to depression and anxiety, and has been shown to lead to premature mortality, worsen cardiovascular health, increase inflammation, and more.

From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.

This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

Don’t Just Spend Your Time- Invest It

Five takeaways:

  1. Thinking of time as something to be invested in, rather than spent, can help people think more long-term. It can help them reevaluate their priorities, making them happier and more satisfied with their lives.
  2. Rewarding investments of time might include deepening social connections, exercising, and engaging in meaningful work. Each has a range of benefits that can be wildly unexpected!
  3. To determine your own best time investments, you can perform a time audit, where you record how you spend your time and how happy it makes you feel on a scale of 1 to 10.
  4. To invest your time more effectively, you can be proactive and block off time on your calendar for activities that are important to you, rather than trying to fit them in around other commitments.
  5. Viewing things like deepening social connections or volunteer work as “wastes of time” because they provide no financial reward can make you feel guilty. Viewing these things as investments reframes them as a part of a lifelong journey of meaning and human value.

From Joe Pinsker at The Wall Street Journal:

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Note: At the time of this posting The Wall Street Journal requires a subscription to read this article.

This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.
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