Don’t Spend Another Year Lonely! 5 WAYS TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS IN RETIREMENT
VolunteerMatch.org to find opportunities in your area sorted by organization type.
dog park or obedience classes. If nothing else, you’ll have your dogs in common!
Friendship just might be the fourth secret to longevity, right behind eating well, exercising, and getting plenty of sleep. According to the Mayo Clinic, making friends can reduce stress, improve your self-confidence, and give you purpose in life! People with good friends are also more likely to exercise and less likely to drink to excess. But making friends is tough, especially in your golden years. To finally kick loneliness to the curb in 2022, try these five tips. you truly want one) will incentivize you to leave the house for walks, vet visits, and more. You’ll likely attract new friends in the neighborhood when they stop to pet your pup, and you can also meet people at the 1. Get a dog. Adopting a dog (assuming
4. Move to a 55-plus community. Also
2. Join a hobby group. The easiest way to find friends with similar interests is to pursue those interests. If you like to quilt, join a quilting group, and if you kayak, look for an outdoors club near you. Facebook is a great resource for finding online hobby groups, too! Just type your interest into the search bar and select “Groups” on the left-hand side of the screen. 3. Volunteer. Volunteering has similar benefits to joining a hobby group with the added benefit of giving back to the community! There’s likely a cause for whatever you’re interested in, whether that’s food, animals, or sports. Visit
called retirement communities or active adult communities, these neighborhoods are known for their low-maintenance housing, amenities, and group activity options — and they’re all over the U.S. If you want to find friends in your age group to swim and play tennis with, a local real estate agent can help you find them.
5. Become a mentor. Mentorship is a valuable way to form friendships across
generations. You can sign up for an existing program in the field you retired from or reach out to a local college or high school career center and offer your services. They’ll likely have graduates who’d love to meet you!
The end of the year or beginning of a new one is always a good time to look over your estate plan as well as other documents to make sure that everything is up to date and accurate. Now that the federal estate tax exemption is $11.7 million, it is essential that you take a look at your plans to make sure they still make sense. As tax thresholds are so high right now, it may make more sense to update any tax strategies you already had in place. If your family has undergone any changes in dynamics such as a marriage, death, birth, or divorce, give your will or living trust a once-over to check the distribution scheme. Are the listed beneficiaries still who you would like to leave assets to? Also, are the individuals selected to serve as your fiduciaries such as your trust protector and successor trustee still able to act on your behalf if need be? Was your estate plan put in place before 2003? If so, your estate plan will need to be updated with the new health care directives that comply with HIPAA, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, as HIPAA’s rules became effective in 2003, despite its creation in 1996. Examining Your Estate Plan in January
While you’re at it, review any beneficiary designations on plans such as your 401(k), IRA, and health savings accounts to be sure that everything is current and accurate. Are your car and homeowners insurance policies providing proper coverage to best suit your needs?
Lastly, gather all of your documents for your 2021 taxes. This way, when tax season rolls around, you are organized and prepared!
If there are any questions or areas in which we can assist, give us a call at 517.548.7400 today! We are here to help.
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