8 Goals for Retirement

Ted. I have been looking forward to retirement for several months but the arrival has been a bit anticlimactic. I still get up at 5:30 and want to fill each day productively. Sure, there are still logistical details to work out for the trips we plan but how will I live each day, whether I’m in Georgia or New South Wales? Since I am a big list maker (it’s actually genetic), the first step is obvious. So here are my goals for my first year of retirement:

1.     Drink more water

2.     Eat more healthy food

3.     Exercise more

4.     Learn more about my electronic devices

5.     Learn more Spanish

6.     See more live music and theatre

7.     Volunteer more

8.     Listen more

Next Step

Judy. Said goodbye to my sweet Lucy—my little red Acura RSX. We’ve been together for 11 years, and, if ever I’ve loved a thing, I loved Miss Lucy. But it’s time to move on, she’s in good hands (a lovely 30-year-old), and I’m not as pained as I thought I might be. It was remarkably easy to walk away

Also had my hair cut from the old standby to a short ‘do that’s easy to maintain on our travels, but pleasing to my agents, who are still trying to get me work.

And I sold my favorite painting. I sold several folk art pieces when we left the house, but this one really attracted me when I first saw it in a gallery.  I remember going back several times to see it, drawn by the women at the end of a dark hallway—I wanted to walk down the hallway and meet them.  So in the end, I brought them to my home, where they’ve been for years. A friend has always loved it, and accepted the price I put on my ladies, so they’re gone, too.

Bit by bit, we whittle further. Last week we walked around the apartment and decided what furniture will go in storage and what will go away, to the kids or a thrift store. Six bags of an assortment of things headed to the FODAC Thrift Store sit on my bedroom floor.

All this while I acting in my last play for awhile: a one-woman show.

It’s getting real, y’all. And I’m so ready!

Travel Insurance 101

Ted.  My goodness! I spent nearly as much time researching this subject as I did the RTW plane ticket. The options for travel insurance seem infinite and the cost can run to several thousand dollars. What does one really need and what does one already have? I thought I’d share a bit of my findings for those who are curious.  

Medical Insurance

I checked with my HMO, Kaiser-Permanente and they cover medical care outside of the US. Judy’s Medicare doesn’t cover her but her Medigap does so we’re set.

Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance

We aren’t taking and planned tours or cruises so we don’t really need this. However, should we ever do that (for a trip lasting less than 60 days) we can pay with one of our credit cards (United MileagePlus Explorer Card Visa Signature) and we’re covered for up to $10,000 ea. So, nothing to do here.

Rental Car Insurance

While we will no longer own a car, we will want to rent one from time to time. Using our United Visa (described above) we get free auto rental CDW (collision damage waiver) – PRIMARY coverage. It’s good in most other countries and saves us the $15-$25,day we would otherwise need when we rent a car. Note most cards have secondary coverage, which only backs up the coverage from your normal car insurance. So, we can waive the rental car companies’ offers. This doesn’t give us liability protection though, so we are getting a “non-owner auto policy” from our State Farm agent which will give us that protection in the US and Canada. It’s around $900/yr but that beats paying the car rental folks $15/day. In other countries, we’ll get it from the car rental company.

Evacuation Protection

We plan to visit some pretty exotic places and are a bit concerned about how we will get to a safe place should we have a medical or non-medical emergency. So, we decided to enroll for a year in a program called Medjet Horizon (see MedJetAssist.com). It is not an insurance company but they will pay for the transportation if a member becomes hospitalized more than 150 miles from home and they wish to be transferred to another hospital for treatment (even within the US). Similarly, they will pay for your evacuation in the event of a crisis such as a natural disaster or political instability.  Various plans run from $200-$800/year and AARP members get a discount!

Just do your research before you take your trips so you will be prepared.  The bottom line is that insurance is all about peace of mind but we are all different!

Quote du Jour

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine