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Good Neighbor Podcast North Atlanta
Bringing Together Local Businesses & Neighbors of North Atlanta
Good Neighbor Podcast North Atlanta
EP #113: Retire Wise - What Makes Up a Happy Retirement? with Shawn Maloney
Ever wondered what truly makes for a happy retirement? Join us as we welcome back Shawn Maloney, the visionary behind Retire Wise, who shares insights from the Retire Happy Framework. This insightful episode offers more than just financial advice, diving deep into the core elements that shape a fulfilled retirement. From ensuring financial security—or the "happy factor"—to emphasizing the essence of health, both physical and mental.
We also venture into the realms of purpose, passion, and generosity as indispensable facets of a rewarding retirement. Discover how pursuing activities that spark joy and bringing meaning to your life, whether through travel, family bonds, or community service, can dramatically enhance overall well-being. We delve into the profound psychological benefits of giving back, illustrating how fulfillment often stems more from giving than receiving. Tune in for a comprehensive exploration of how to craft a retirement that's not only financially secure but also full of purpose and joy.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Speaker 2:North Atlanta, where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, stacey Risley. Hello friends and neighbors, welcome to North Atlanta's Good Neighbor Podcast. Today we have Sean Maloney here with us. He is the owner and founder of RetireWise, he is our expert contributor to North Buckhead Neighbors Magazine and he is here today. He's back with us today to discuss his most recent article in our October issues, which is in the title of that is what Makes Up a Happy Retirement. So welcome, sean, so happy to have you back.
Speaker 1:Thanks, stacey, glad to be back.
Speaker 2:And what an important topic. You know all of us want to retire happy. You know I love that. That is kind of your business's tagline. You know retire happy. So, what does that look like? What makes up a happy retirement? And you know, we'll go ahead and do a little intro on the article.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I appreciate that we have a we, you know, back when we first started this whole thing. We've kind of morphed this into. We built what's called what we call the retire happy framework, because there's a lot of different components that go into, you know, your retirement. It's there's financial aspects, there's non-financial aspects, and everybody's plan and everybody's you know what their definition of happy is or what their definition of retirement is is different. So what makes one person happy or fulfilled is different from another person, and so we just put together this framework that helps us plan out, you know, with people and really get to know them and hone in on what that fulfilling retirement looks like.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, and the first thing of that, I think, is probably the most thought of you know, the first thing that you mentioned in your article, which is just financial security and the foundation of the peace of mind that you know that that provides you having that financial security. So go ahead and touch on that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, that's the first cornerstone. I mean, when everybody thinks about retirement outside of thinking of, hey, I don't have to work anymore, but really what you're doing and retirement plan is you're replacing your paycheck. How's your nest egg going to generate your paycheck? And I call this the happy factor. Really it's the foundation. You have these needs, wants and wishes. And the needs part is the core foundation. Right, how am I going to pay my bills, my daily, month to month, I mean my month to month expenses, all that kind of stuff. And if you can cover that portion of it, then you have that peace of mind and you can relax. And unfortunately, there's just too many people, even though we're one of the wealthiest countries in the world, there's too many people that retire without a plan or without enough money to even know how they're paying their bills. So we're going to tackle that first. That's the cornerstone, that's your happy factor is to get that monthly needs.
Speaker 2:Then once that's covered, then you move on to some of the other areas to fill out the plan. Yeah, and that is first and foremost that you can't retire happy if you can't pay your bills, so you have to have have that, that plan in in place. Um, the next thing that you talked about, and this is, I think, so important for all of us to remember, um is is help. You know you call that the true wealth and gosh, that really resonates with me, um. So so talk about that, because we, we can't predict what our health is going to be, you know, so it's yeah.
Speaker 1:No, there's a couple of things to that right. I mean the health side of it is the whole mind, it's a mindset thing, so it's both physical and mental right. So the physical side of being healthy, being, you know staying active, so your body's healthy and you know nutrition and all that side of it, the physical side, the nutrition side, keeping your body young, that enables you to continue to enjoy the things you enjoy doing. And then there's the mental aspects of it of keeping your mind sharp, you know staying active, keep your mind sharp. Whether that's doing, I don't know, it could be doing different events, doing sporting things or something simple as sitting down and doing puzzles and those kind of things, but keeping your mind sharp, you know. And playing all those things together.
Speaker 1:Because there is a factor when people retire, like they get excited for the first year and then they don't. What am I going to do now? What am I going to do to occupy my time? And unfortunately that sometimes causes people to get a little depressed and they just don't do much. And so be active physically, mentally, and that can turn into some of the things we're going to talk about next is on the social side of things that can all interact together.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we always ask people what do you want to do in retirement? What's your why, you know? Just don't sit around.
Speaker 2:You mentioned. You know that sometimes people tend to get a little depressed, they don't kind of know what to do with themselves. And that really resonated with me because my dad was, you know he was a workaholic. I mean, he was very, very driven, worked very, very hard and due to health reasons he had to take early retirement. You know he had a pretty major stroke. I had totally unexpected. Thank goodness he had been prepared, you know, for the financial aspect of it. You know for the most part and, but but he was not mentally prepared for it at all. You know he was not. He thought he was working another 10 years. You know he had no idea that he was about to stop and and he did get depressed, you know, and and and it's just you know and it did. I think. You know he fortunately was an avid reader and was able, you know, to do that and to keep his mind sharp, and he's still super sharp today.
Speaker 2:But yeah, definitely need to continue to key, especially if you do have a, you know, a cognitively demanding job, you know if you're if you're having to solve problems all day, every day, and then you go to doing nothing, that isn't going to make for a good, healthy life.
Speaker 1:We spend so much of our life working. We wake up, we go to work that's what defines your day and then, all of a sudden, you have all this time on your hands. You're like what am?
Speaker 2:I going to do now.
Speaker 1:There's a wealth of opportunities to you know, to do different things Go. I mean, it doesn't have to cost money necessarily, either, right, just stuff that occupies your time, that makes you happy, or you know, whatever that may look like.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, and the next thing you talked about and this is crucial, I know is meaningful relationships. You know you talked about that. You know relationships being the cornerstone of happiness, and get into a psychological debate on this? I agree, not a debate, it wouldn't be a discussion. But, yeah, the people in your lives, the relationships you have in your life, are the cornerstone of happiness. But I don't think a lot of people associate that with retirement per se.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I mean there, there again, you know you go to work and you have quote relationships at work and these people that you know. You may or may not know them outside of work, but you know family and friends and you know there's been a whole bunch of even studies done that show the importance of relationships, not just in retirement but throughout your life. But then, when you factor on the fact that you've got this major milestone change and the way you're living your life has now changed in retirement figuring out what that looks like, where you want to spend your time, who you want to spend your time with, what does that look like when you retire? Now you have more time on your hands. Who are you going to spend it with, and whether that's friends or loved ones or grandbabies or whatever that may be.
Speaker 1:But there's a clear, proven link between people's joy and fulfillment tied to relationships and that also helps the depression side of things as well. If you're, if you have relationships and you don't feel like you're alone, even if you have a spouse, you can still feel that way, right, right, so it's very important. So the cool thing is all that can kind of play together, right the health, the meaningful relationships and all that can tie together, because you can do activities that combine those two things Right. Yeah, that can tie together, because you can do activities that combine those two things Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely For sure, especially if you, if you do have a spouse and you've spent all that time together and now it's a great opportunity for you to be able to do some of the things that you've always wanted to do. And again, like you said, it doesn't have to be things that are expensive or really eat into your retirement funds, you know, but doesn't have to be things that are expensive or really eat into your retirement funds, you know. But we're talking about what makes you, what makes up a happy retirement, and these are definitely elements to that. So the next thing was was, you know, purpose and passion, the key to fulfillment. Goodness, I'm going to stumble over that word. Purpose and passion, the key to fulfillment. This is big to me. If I'm not feeling fulfilled and I don't feel like I'm making a difference, you know, even I'm not in retirement, but it definitely affects me Like I. You know I've changed careers due to this. You know a key part you know, have changed careers due to this, you know I mean, that's a key part, you know so.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean you look at your work and you're like to your point. You have people that will change careers because it's it doesn't make them happy or they're not fulfilled in what they're doing. And then you go to hit retirement. Okay, now you don't. You don't have your working years, but now you have like we mentioned earlier, you have time.
Speaker 1:So one thing we always ask people, before you ever even get to the financial stuff and all this other topics, we ask them what do you want to do? What's your retirement? Why? What do you want to do? What's going to be your purpose? What have you always wanted to do?
Speaker 1:Whether that's some people, we get answers all over the place. It could be whether you want to travel, whether you want to spend time with your family, whether you want to volunteer in the community, serve on a charity, go on a mission trip, whatever that may be, you know, but just whatever brings you joy and a sense of purpose. And of course, that ties right back into the way I love all the way this works is it? Again? That part ties back into the other pieces the health, the mental stability, the mental you know thing, the relationships tie all into that. You know, defining what you're going to get fulfillment from and really thinking about it, and people oftentimes have to stop and think. You know really what that really means for them and it gives you that sense of purpose. That's how we're wired Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And I love the last one that you talked about and what a, what a an appropriate time of of of year for for this piece is. You know, generosity and the joy of giving back. You know, and that's kind of ties with that purpose and fulfill. You know, you know purpose and passion and fulfillment, but let's talk about that and this, and there really is a psychological component to this, like it is data to to back this up the joy of giving back and giving does bring you joy.
Speaker 1:You know, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So, like when people say the old, of course, the old saying, you know it's better to give than receive, but there's, like you said, there's definitely, there's definitely, you know, mental factors that go into that. That's that's kind of proven it. It's most people get when they really truly ask themselves and answer it. You know, you get more fulfillment out of giving versus receiving. You know, and being able to now whether it's your time. It doesn't necessarily have to be money either, right, it can be all kinds of things. Yes, money's one aspect, but it could be volunteering somewhere. We had all these natural disasters happen. It could be going out to one of those communities and helping clean up or help rebuild. It could be volunteering somewhere.
Speaker 1:But that's an act of generosity as well. Your time, talents and treasures, right, absolutely All things that you're generous with, and that goes back into the fulfillment as well, right's? I think we are truly designed by God to be generous people, right, and, and that's wired in our nature Some people, you know, some of us, will disguise that a little bit, but when you actually do give, it feels really good. Yeah, you made an impact on someone else's life, brought a smile or joy to someone else's life, and that just makes you feel good, not that you do it for selfish reasons, but 360, right, absolutely, and I have to clarify earlier I said I changed careers because I wasn't feeling fulfilled.
Speaker 2:I had been a teacher for nearly 20 years, felt very fulfilled in that role and then went into medical sales briefly before COVID hit and the medical sales was financially rewarding but the fulfillment piece was not there. But you know that's as a teacher and I taught the students who were really needy. You know they needed me a lot and the joy I got out of that you know. Just knowing that I was helping people, I was molding lives every single day, you know. And then to go into selling, you know, non-essential medical equipment, it was a big change and it was like I couldn't believe how much it affected. You know the other aspects of my life. You know the money was nice and the financial security you know that that provided was nice but it wasn't enough, you know. So all and I pass off to you, sean, for for you know, I think most people when they're thinking about a financial advisor, you know, retirement counselor I'm not using the right word Retirement wealth advisor whatever.
Speaker 2:But I think that most people like a lot they're they're so money, they only are seeing the numbers, they are only seeing the dollar signs and I really appreciate and applaud you for for writing an article that does talk about things that aren't money specific, and I think that that should for listeners. You guys. Sean is not someone who's going to be pressuring you into what you need to do with your money when he's writing expert articles. That four of the five keys that he's talking about are are all really just uplifting positive things that are important in life and it doesn't all revolve around those dollar signs.
Speaker 2:So just want to throw that in there, sean, seriously and well, and it makes you, you would be super approachable. You know, as far as talking, when people know that that's not all, that you're driven by, you know, and that you're not only going to be, you know, talking, looking at the, the, the balance on their accounts and want to know exactly what money they have, and you know it's less intimidating. I think some of us who may quite be where we want to be for retirement, are hesitant to to seek that guidance.
Speaker 1:you know, and you're a great one to get that from, because you do have such an obviously huge heart to go along, along, appreciate that and it's one of those things people have a fear of talking about it, or, and you know, whether some people feel embarrassed or they're not ready or whatever it is, and it doesn't matter, I think. You know, I tell everybody it doesn't matter how much money you have or how much money you don't have, or how old you are. Everybody needs a plan. Right and the start just get to a starting point and go from there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. Well, is there anything else that you would like to touch on before we wrap this up?
Speaker 1:No, I really appreciate the kind words. I appreciate you having me on. Hopefully this is beneficial to people. We love providing for lack of better terms holistic planning for everybody, like you said. It's just not finances, that's a part of it, but there's so much more too that goes into the planning and, uh, we like to kind of do those holistic plans and make sure that you know you have, you've thought of all those things. Not that we're necessarily going to execute all that stuff with you, because that's your personal life, but we want to get people thinking about all those different things, uh, and then we're there alongside to help make sure that they can actually perform those things and have the ability, you know, from a financial standpoint to do it. But we love, love getting people aligned for their future.
Speaker 2:I love that terminology because yours really is a holistic approach, you know, to to retirement and to retiring happy, you know, and and there's a lot more to happiness than just money, you know, and you clearly, and you clearly get that and that's rare, I think, for someone in your field. Is where I was stumbling on my words earlier. Maybe it's not so rare, but I don't see it much.
Speaker 1:Right, well, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2:Well, sean, it's been great having you on again. Sean is with retire wise. Um, I encourage you to reach out. If you don't have a plan for your retirement, you know Sean is with RetireWise. I encourage you to reach out. If you don't have a plan for your retirement, you know Sean is there and ready to help. So thanks again for being on, sean.
Speaker 1:Thanks, Stacey. Y'all have a great day.
Speaker 2:You too. Well, that's all for today's episode, Atlanta. I'm Stacey Risley with the Good Neighbor Podcast. Thanks for listening and for supporting the local businesses and nonprofits of our great community.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast North Atlanta. To nominate your favorite local businesses, visit gnpnorthatlantacom. That's gnpnorthatlantacom.
