I’ve now been retired for four years, equal to the length of a political mandate in many countries. My inclination to stocktaking was reinforced by a recent article in the New York Times by Ron Lieber, who writes about personal finance. Lieber, still in his early fifties, develops his own mission statement for retirement, which happens to resonate with me. It combines the existential question of retirement – how should I spend my greatly increased unstructured time? – with the financial issues of affordability and legacy. I will go through Lieber’s five-point mission statement applied to myself. I have rearranged his five points in order of their significance to me.

Give time to others, to see how much good I can do even as my energy decreases

As one’s energy decreases, it is normal to have less ambition for yourself and a greater desire to support the ambitions of other individuals and to invest in causes you think are important. Several causes are dear to my heart, and I use this blog to advocate for them. I believe the Province of Ontario deserves better than the Ford Government and I am actively engaged with the Ontario Liberal Party, which I think is the opposition party most likely to defeat it. I have several objectives for the City of Toronto: enhancing its waterfront as a widely accessible recreational space, reducing traffic congestion by expanding public transit, and preserving heritage buildings. My efforts align with organizations such as Ontario Place for All, Save Ontario’s Science Centre, and Parks not Planes.

Another form of support for causes is philanthropy. Since the October 7 terrorist attacks, I have concentrated my donations on Jewish organizations, especially Hillel. Jewish students have found university campuses to be hotbeds of antisemitism and Hillel is the organization that advocates for them. I’m donating to Hillel Ontario and, at my alma mater, Harvard Hillel.

I recognize that there are people who disagree with some or even all of my causes and think that I’m doing evil, not good. I hope we can disagree democratically.

Seek joy by doing things, not having things

There are lots of things I do that given my days structure, including some residual academic work, writing this blog, an age-appropriate daily exercise routine (walking, jogging, or using an exercise bike), and learning Spanish. I think of the blog as academics-lite, in the sense that the posts always require some research but are much less taxing than journal articles. Spanish is a great form of mental gymnastics that includes Duolingo exercises, reading articles in The New York Times Spanish edition, and streaming, mainly on Netflix. I have another form of mental gymnastics that I do first thing in the morning: the New York Times word puzzles Connections, Wordle, and Spelling Bee, the latter two of which I’ve written about. Connections is the newest, and an excellent way to test whether my cultural lexicon is still au courant.

My wife and I are not only trying not to acquire new things, but we are working hard to declutter by getting rid of unwanted books, artwork, housewares, and clothing.

Live in a comfortable home with minimal maintenance and maximum protection from climate change

We are protected from climate change to some extent because we don’t live on an eroding coastline, on a floodplain, at the edge of a hot desert, or near a forest prone to wildfires. Our home is comfortable and reasonably easy to maintain. It’s also large enough to accommodate two children who are students at the University of Toronto and prefer not to participate in downtown Toronto’s overpriced rental real estate market.

Our carbon footprint could be smaller, for example if we installed solar panels and substituted a heat pump for our high-efficiency furnace and A/C. Unfortunately, our neighbourhood is undergoing redevelopment, as I discussed in a previous post. It is very likely that when we downsize our house will sell as a tear-down. Given that we are likely to be empty nesters within five years, this isn’t a long enough payback period to justify these investments.

Of course, there are other ways we reduce our carbon footprint, such as always taking public transit downtown, driving a Corolla that gets good mileage (8.5 litres/100 km.) and that we will eventually replace with a hybrid, recycling as much as possible, and eating relatively little animal protein.

Be generous with myself – occasionally and responsibility – by splurging on once-in-a lifetime experiences with the people I love most

This objective speaks more broadly to the question of leisure in retirement. When referring to “once-in-a-lifetime experiences,” I suppose Lieber means those that are so expensive it is unlikely you will do them more than once, for example two weeks in New Zealand or two minutes at zero gravity.  These are not on my bucket list.

You realize in retirement that you can enjoy the party as much as you want, but sooner or later you will be tapped on the shoulder and told to leave. For my leisure experiences, I want to choose the “best” books, movies, concerts, restaurants, and holidays. This requires self-knowledge about your preferences, attention to your budget, and ruthlessness in avoiding the second-rate.

Have money left over so I’m not a burden to any of [the people I love most]

Here the financial planner becomes a key voice in the conversation. I think we would all like to stay physically and mentally healthy and independent to the end and succumb to a heart attack or die in our sleep. That often doesn’t happen, and many people experience declining health and require the support of caregiving institutions and individuals. This eventuality can be expensive, and we should budget for it.

Thank you, Ron Lieber, for the thought-provoking mission statement. I’ll check back in a few years.