Alan Page is about as unretired as you can get.  He’s retired twice.  

Once from professional football in 1981 and in again in 2015 when he turned 70 and hit the mandatory retirement age for Minnesota Supreme Court Justices.

Justice Alan Page isn’t looking back on his career, living a life of nostalgia. No, he’s figuring out what he wants to do next.  He knows he wants to be involved with kids and education, especially with young African-Americans.  He talks with Chris Farrell about what it’s like to navigate his current unretirement.  We learn about his maple syrup and sausage making hobbies; his opinions on golfing in retirement; and the importance of mentoring young people.

We also hear from Marc Freedman, the founder of Encore.Org.  Chris and Marc talk about the important role that mentoring can have on both kids and adults lives.

In this episode, we’ll learn:

• How mentoring can change kids’ lives and affect older adults for the good.
• What makes a good mentor?  Hint: It may involve fast food.
• How to find a good mentorship program.

Our listener question comes from our Facebook page.

Rosemarie asks Chris about pursuing her dream of starting a therapeutic horse riding center for kids with Autism.

Explore additional resources from this episode:

Alan and his Perfectly Pointy Impossibly Perpendicular Pinky by Alan Page and Kamie Page, with David Geister (illustrator).

All Rise: The Remarkable Journey of Alan Page by Bill McGrane

Alan Page’s enshrinement speech during the 1988 Hall of Fame ceremony.  Willarene Beasley, principal of North Community High School, introduces Alan Page. His talk is truly inspiring.

“Alan Page on justice, his career and retirement,” a Minnesota Public Radio interview with host Tom Weber

The websites we’re highlighting are all helpful resources for anyone interested in becoming a mentor.

www.Encore.org offers a wealth of information for addressing social problems in the second half of life

Mentor.org for connections to successful mentoring programs

institute.org/">The Search Institute for research on mentorship.

America’s Promise is the organization started by former General and Secretary of State Colin Powell. America’s Promise promotes constructive support for young people.

Experience Corps places volunteers 50 and older in schools as reading tutors for children in grades K-3

Senior Corps connects 55-plus with the people and organizations that need mentors, coaches and companions

These articles offer insights into mentorship.

“to-find-a-mentor.html">How to Find a Mentor” by Kerry Hannon

“Make Your Retirement a Time to Give Back” by Chris Farrell

“How to Make the Most of Longer Lives” by Marc Freedman

“How Boomers Can Help Close the Mentoring Gap” by Liza Kaufman Hogan

“Generational Warfare Is a Media Myth: Seniors and Kids Need Each Other” by Michael Eisner and Marc Freedman

“The Rewards of Mentoring” by Larry Carlat

We liked this list from Liza Kaufman Hogan Next Avenue article on how boomers can help close the mentor gap. Seven questions to ask before signing up as a mentor:

1.  What is the time commitment?
2. How flexible is the program if I work full-time or travel a lot?
3. How will I be matched with the person I am mentoring and what happens if it is not a good fit?
4. What type of training and support does the program offer?
5. Will I be working on my own or are there opportunities to work with, or meet, other mentors for support and social events?
6. Is the program a good match for my health?
7. What is the process for vetting mentors?

Ask Chris your unretirement question or share your story:

If you have an unretirement question or a story for Chris, get in touch.  We are always looking for inspiring stories and try to answer as many listener questions as possible.

Join the conversation:

We love the conversations that our listeners are having about unretirement on Facebook.

This week we want to know:

What do you think makes a good mentor?

Share the love:

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review it on iTunes.  It helps us improve the show and get the word out to new listeners.

Need extra cash?  Want to be your own boss and enjoy flexible hours?

Sounds like an ad for a get-rich-quick scheme, doesn’t it? Not this time. Think the gig economy.

More people–especially Millennials–are joining the gig economy, also known as the on-demand or freelance economy. They’re working for outfits like Uber, Lyft, Fiverr, TaskRabbit and Airbnb.

These businesses cater to Millennials, but Boomers may be in a better position to take advantage of gig work.

In this episode of Unretirement, we hear from Sue Johnson.  Sue has been an entrepreneur and a real estate agent.  At 72, she didn’t want to stop working but she also didn’t want to be tied down by a job with a set schedule.  That’s why she drives for Uber, picking up customers who need a ride, usually an airport run.  She’s not making much money driving for Uber, but at this point in her life that’s isn’t the goal.  She makes enough to pay for traveling with friends or to visit grandchildren across the country. She likes talking with her customers.

Chris also talks with journalist Mark Miller about the problems and benefits of working in the gig economy.

We’ll learn:

• Why it is that for a young person who needs health benefits, is trying to raise a family, save for retirement and make a living wage, the gig economy may not work so well.  But older boomers with Social Security and Medicare can take advantage of the flexibility.
• Why online and mobile gig services can be a good entry point if you’re considering entrepreneurship.
• How to know if joining the gig economy is right for you.
• Why we need to revamp the country’s social safety net if we are going to expand flexible work.

Explore additional resources from this episode:

The gig economy is controversial and it’s still evolving, especially on the regulatory side.

What we’ve done is collect a variety of articles. Some are focused on the gig economy and older Americans. Other articles address important worker and regulatory questions that have accompanied the rise of the gig economy.

Articles looking at the gig economy and seniors:

seniors-are-creatively-growing-their-retirement-incomes-in-the-gig-economy.html">How Seniors Are Creatively Growing Their Retirement Incomes in the Gig Economy by Robert McGarvey

Your Next Uber Driver May Be a Retiree: Contrary to stereotypes, seniors are a natural fit for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft by Henry Graham

Seniors Gear Up for the Sharing Economy by Mark Miller

economy-opportunities.html">Share the Wealth: People Over 50 are profiting from a boom in the sharing economy by Kimberly Palmer

sharing-economy-attracts-older-adults.html">The Sharing Economy Attracts Older Adults by Amy Zepkin

Gigs With Benefits by James Surowiecki

The Low-Risk Way to Start a Business in Retirement: How to bring in part-time income without tapping your savings by Chris Farrell  

Articles on the advantages and disadvantages of the gig economy overall:

Gig Economy Is Piecework. But This Isn’t Dickens. Megan McArdle

The “Gig Economy” Is Mostly Just Silicon Valley Hype by Kevin Drum

Are Uber, Airbnb And Other Sharing Economy Businesses Good For America? By Jacob Morgan and Eric Severson

As the Gig Economy Changes Work, So Should Rules: Workplace rules need to evolve for the sharing economy to grow while protecting workers by Greg Ip

of-Gig-Economy-Spurs-Calls-for-New-Workers-Protection.html">Rise of Gig Economy Spurs Calls for New Workers’ Protection by Carolyn Said at

syndicate.org/commentary/employee-protection-gig-economy-by-laura-tyson-and-lenny-mendonca-2015-11">Worker Protection in the Gig Economy by Laura Tyson and Lenny Mendonca

How the sharing economy can make its case by Mckinsey & Co.

Ask Chris your unretirement question or share your story:

If you have an unretirement question or a story for Chris, get in touch.  We are always looking for inspiring stories and try to answer as many listener questions as possible.

Join the conversation:

We love the conversations that our listeners are having about unretirement on Facebook.

This week we want to know:

Would you consider working in the gig economy during unretirement?

Share the love:

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review it on iTunes.  It helps us improve the show and get the word out to new listeners.

Grieving after the death of her husband many years ago, Sandra Kollath’s sister finally told her she had to get out of the house and start doing something to help deal with her unhappiness. She signed Sandra up for a quilt making class.  A lifelong passion was ignited for Sandra.

For the past 15 years, Sandra has been a professional nanny. But at age 58, she’s gone back to school to change careers.  She’s getting certified to become a professional quilting instructor. Surprised? Turns out more and more people want to learn a craft, a desire that is creating teaching opportunities for skilled practitioners, from wood work to quilting.

We’ll hear from Sandra about why she to get this certification and how her family helped her figure whether the certificate was worth the cost. Among her savvy moves was to create a business plan. She expects her certificate will pay off in 18 months. We’ll offer up other tips for anyone considering a professional certification degree.

Chris also talks with Barbara Vacarr, Director of Encore.org’s Higher Education Initiative. They discuss the best education options for Unretirement age people and speculate on the impact of an aging population on higher education.

In this episode, we’ll learn:

• How to know if going back to school or getting a certification is right for you.
• A simple test to determine whether a program is worth the cost.
• What types programs are available to older working adults and how to evaluate if they are worth your time and money.

Our listener question comes from Susan.  She asks for Chris’ advice on giving herself permission to leave her demanding and in-demand nursing job.

Explore additional resources from this episode:

There are number of good resources to learn more about and to investigate education options for those 50 and over. Two useful scholarly surveys are:

improving-education-training-older-workers-AARP-ppi.pdf">Improving Education and Training for Older Workers from the AARP Public Policy Institute. It’s a useful survey.

Certificates: Gateway to Gainful Employment and College Degrees from Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University

This international study by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development is interesting.  “How many students graduate outside the normal age?” in Highlights from Education at a Glance 2010, OECD.

The higher education initiative led by Encore.org. The portal offers both insight into the initiative led by Babara Vacarr and useful resources about encore in higher education in general.

To research possible programs, you could start looking at these websites:

The Plus 50 Initiative is a project to showcase programs at community colleges for learners age 50 and over.

The Lumina Foundation has a report on the Plus 50 project.

A state by state rundown of education opportunities for seniors can be found here.

Here are some articles on higher education and older workers.

50-and-back-in-college-preparing-for-a-new-career.html?_r=0">Over 50 and Back in College, Preparing for a New Career by Kerry Hannon

The 40-Year-Old Graduates: While the United States struggles to encourage older Americans to enroll in college, Sweden has made adult learning a popular choice for citizens by Jon Marcus

4 Ways Older Students Can Avoid Student Debt: Older students can learn for free with tuition waivers, course auditing and MOOCs by Susannah Snider

How to Make the Most of Longer Lives: Scientists are pushing to extend our lifespans. But are we ready to fill all those added days? is an inspiring article from Marc Freedman.

On the craft economy, we thought you might find this study intriguing.

“Craft Artists, Income, and the U.S. Economy” is a 2011 study of the trend at

On quilting:

“Quilting in America 2014 survey indicates market is worth $3.76 billion annually” according to a trade survey trying to get at the size of the quilting economy.

Quiltworx is the company from which Sandra is getting her certification.

Ask Chris your unretirement question or share your story:

If you have an unretirement question or a story for Chris, get in touch.  We are always looking for inspiring stories and try to answer as many listener questions as possible.

Join the conversation:

We love the conversations that our listeners are having about unretirement on Facebook.

This week we want to know:

Have you considered going back to school?  What would you study and why?

Share the love:

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review it on iTunes.  It helps us improve the show and get the word out to new listeners.

Iris Shiraishi, took up Japanese Taiko drumming in her forties.  Now, in her early sixties, she’s taking artistic, creative and career risks she says she couldn’t have taken earlier in life.  

In this episode on Unretirement, we look at how creativity can be shaped by the expertise and skills that take a lifetime to develop.

Chris also talks with Richard Leider, an executive coach, best-selling author and founder of Inventure—the Purpose Company. Leider is the author or co-author of numerous books and the leading thinker behind Life Reimagined.

We’ll learn:

• Why you may be more creative after fifty.
• The shortcut to finding your purpose in life.
• Why you don’t want to be a “former” anything in retirement.
• The greatest regrets people have in life and how to act now so you can have fewer regrets.

Our listener question comes from Marcy.  She asks Chris:

“How can self-employed workers best save for retirement?”

Explore additional resources from this episode:

Richard Leider had written several bestselling books, among them:

The Power of Purpose: Find Meaning, Live Longer, Better by Richard Leider

Life Reimagined: Discovering Your New Life Possibilities by Richard Leider and Alan Webber

Work Reimagined: Uncover Your Calling Richard Leider and David Shapiro

Repacking Your Bags: Lighten Your Load for the Good Life by Richard Leider and David Shapiro

Claiming Your Place at the Fire: Living the Second Half of Your Life on Purpose by Richard Leider and David Shapiro

During our interview, Iris Shiraishi mentioned a few books that influenced her:  

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown

The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk, and Adventure in the 25 Years After 50 by Sarah Lawrence Lightfoot

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp

There are a number of terrific books on aging and creativity. Among them:

The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life by Gene D. Cohen

The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain by Gene D. Cohen

Old Masters and Young Geniuses: The Two Life Cycles of Artistic Creativity by David W. Galenson

Art Before Breakfast:  A Zillion Ways to be More Creative No Matter How Busy You Are, Danny Gregory

Websites that will spark a journey into creativity and aging:

Life Reimagined is a holistic approach to rethinking the opportunities in the second half of life. Richard Leider is the leading thinker behind this initiative.

Check out Iris Shiraishi’s website for videos of her performing and teaching taiko-based music.

Watch this fun three-minute video created by Aroha Philanthropies with a goal of inspiring us to think differently about aging.

Articles you might enjoy:

How Older Performers Are Helping Us Rethink Aging: If Rod Stewart and Keith Richards can, why not me? By Chris Farrell

Who Says Creativity Peters Out As You Age? Some artists reach their peak in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s by Chris Farrell

success-well-past-the-age-of-wunderkind.html">Finding Success, Well Past the Age of Wunderkind by Abby Ellin

digital.com/healthyaging/summer_2014#pg48">Find Your Inner Artist, Healthy Aging

‘You Become Better with Age’ by Hilarie Sheets

Ask Chris your unretirement question or share your story:

If you have an unretirement question or a story for Chris, get in touch.  We are always looking for inspiring stories and try to answer as many listener questions as possible.

Join the conversation:

We love the conversations that our listeners are having about unretirement on Facebook.

This week we want to know:

How has your creativity changed as you’ve gotten older?  

Share the love:

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review it on iTunes.  It helps us improve the show and get the word out to new listeners.

“Are you sure you want to live with your mother-in-law?”

That was the question that Saundra Plett asked her son-in-law a few years ago.

Saundra and her husband, Dwight Miyake, were teachers in Fresno, California.  Their daughter, Emily and her husband Aric lived in Washington D.C.  When Emily and Aric started a family some four years ago, Saundra and Dwight decided to leave their hometown, a lifetime of friends and their careers in California behind to move to D.C. Three generations moved into a home and began living together under one roof.

In this episode of Unretirement, we hear how the finances and the relationships of a multigenerational home work.  The benefits are significant:  Grandparents get to age in place; working adult children have trusted help with childcare; and grandchildren build close relationships with their grandparents.

Chris also talks with environmental gerontologist, Esther Greenhouse, an expert on the connection between our homes and our well-being as we age.

We’ll learn:

• What’s behind the trend in multigenerational housing?
• What families need to have in place to make sharing a home work for everyone?
• The benefits and challenges of a multigenerational home.
• How to plan ahead for a smooth transition to a multigenerational home.

Our listener question comes from Elizabeth in St. Paul, MN.  She asks about the finances of buying a home with her parents and how to make sure that her brother is treated fairly if their parents’ estate is still tied up in their shared home.

Explore additional resources from this episode:

A source for basic data on multigenerational family homes is Pew Research Center’s report, 2014-07-17-multigen-households-report.pdf">In Post-Recession Era, Young Adults Drive Continuing Rise in Multi-Generational Living by Richard Fry and Jeffrey Passel.

Generations United is a Washington D.C.-based organization that promotes common interests among different age groups

The website of environmental gerontologist Esther Greenhouse is www.esthergreenhouse.com

Books on generations living under one roof:

All in the Family: A Practical Guide to Successful Multigenerational Living, by Sharon Graham Niederhaus and John L. Graham.

Under One Roof Again: All Grown Up and (Re)learning to Live Together Happily by Susan Newman

With the multigenerational trend gathering momentum, articles are a rich resource to tap for insight and information. Here are some suggested articles:

Running a Second-Act Business With Your Kid: Combining complementary skills of two generations can be a recipe for success by Chris Farrell

When the Best Place to Retire Is Near Your Kid: The move can bring you joy, but first run the numbers by Chris Farrell

The Sensible Resurgence of the Multigenerational Home by Chris Farrell

Full House: A Guide to Surviving Multigenerational Living Three generations under one roof brings more of everything: bodies, stress—but also love by Robyn Griggs Lawrence

How to Make Multi-Generational Housing Work for Your Family by Beth Braverman

Demand rises for properties that can house more than one generation by Michele Lerner

Making Room for Mom and Dad by Anne Tergesen  

The state of multi-generational living. A discussion and calls on Minnesota Public Radio

Ask Chris your unretirement question or share your story:

If you have an unretirement question or a story for Chris, get in touch.  We are always looking for inspiring stories and try to answer as many listener questions as possible.

Join the conversation:

We love the conversations that our listeners are having about unretirement on Facebook.

This week we want to know:

Have you ever considered a multigenerational household? What’s stopping you from trying it out?  

Share the love:

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review it on iTunes.  It helps us improve the show and get the word out to new listeners.

Joe Anania was an airline mechanic who had a passion for motorcycles.  

In 2005, Joe Northwest Airlines mechanic colleagues went on strike.  To bring in some money while waiting out the strike, he looked to his motorcycle hobby and started repairing motorcycles.

When the strike ended, Joe decided he didn’t want to go back to the airline.  He retired and started his own business, repairing and restoring vintage motorcycles.  He sees this business something he can do until his working days are done.

Chris talks with Elizabeth Isele, founder and president of Senior Entrepreneurship Works about turning a passion into a business and about entrepreneurship in later life. We’ll learn:

• Is it a good idea to make your passion or hobby into a business?
• Why you don’t need a board of directors and what you do need instead.
• What are the benefits of starting a business later in life?
• What steps to take first if you’re thinking about starting a business.
• How to learn about entrepreneurship at any age.

Our listener question comes from Deb.  She asks “How can a 60 year old continue to find work in a field that is dominated by young people?”  

Explore additional resources from this episode:

Entrepreneurship and youth seem synonymous. Think Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Jack Dorsey of Twitter.

Yet if you peek beneath the headlines, the 55 to 64 year age group is remarkably active starting new businesses, accounting for 25.8 percent of new entrepreneurs last year, up from 14.8 percent in 1997, according to the Kauffman Foundation.

Here are a number of online resources for fledgling entrepreneurs that I like. Each of these websites has plenty of links to additional information.

Organizations that support Entrepreneurs:

Kauffman Foundation  The foundation offers a rich array of information for the small business entrepreneur.

Senior Entrepreneurship Works The brainchild of our guest in this episode–Elizabeth Isele. Its incubators are “part collaborative community, tech incubator, and training/inspiration platform.”

Small Business Administration The SBA is a portal into a wealth of information and links.

SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) Volunteers with the nonprofit association act as mentors and counselors to new small business owners.

National Association of Business Incubators A resource for finding and learning about business incubators, which bring together entrepreneurs with experienced teachers and mentors

Small Business Development Centers There are about 1,000 of these small business clearing houses housed in colleges across the country.

The AARP is putting more emphasis on starting a small business. This section of the AARP’s website gathers insights for those age 50 and over, thinking about their own entrepreneurial venture.

Entrepreneurship Publications:

Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Fortune and other major business press publications write about small business and pass on stories and experiences of veteran entrepreneurs.

A couple of publications are especially worth a look. Among them is Entrepreneur, Inc. Magazine, Fast Company and Next Avenue.

You can see more pictures of Joe’s work (and ginger riding the motorcycle) on the Unretirement Facebook page and at Joe’s website.

Ask Chris your unretirement question or share your story:

If you have an unretirement question or a story for Chris, get in touch.  We are always looking for inspiring stories and try to answer as many listener questions as possible.

Join the conversation:

We love the conversations that our listeners are having about unretirement on Facebook.

This week we want to know:

Have you thought about starting a business in your retirement?  

Share the love:

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review it on iTunes.  It helps us improve the show and get the word out to new listeners.

Do you have a dream job, something you’ve always wanted to do but weren’t able to take the risk?

Sylvia Burgos Toftness was commuting 65 miles each way from her home in Wisconsin, to her public relations job in Minneapolis.

During those long drives, she thought about what she and her husband Dave could do in their unretirement.

She wanted to be a farmer.

Raised in the Bronx, Sylvia didn’t know how to farm. She took classes and learned from her neighbors.  After a lot of planning, saving, and conversations—including making sure the finances worked– Dave and Sylvia took a leap to follow their dream.  They bought a herd of cattle and unretired into raising grass-fed beef. She also taught baking classes in her kitchen.

After hearing Sylvia’s story, Chris talks with Ross Levin, a certified financial planner and co-founder of Accredited investors about the financial considerations of following your dreams in your unretirement. We’ll learn:

• How to determine what values should guide your retirement or unretirement decisions.
• What financial steps you need to take before you pursue your dream
• What to do if you can’t afford to pursue your dreams.
• Why experiences matter more at the end of life than money.

Our listener question comes from Paul.  He asks “How can people who have focused on their careers their whole lives can discover meaningful alternatives in their unretirement years.”

Explore additional resources from this episode:

Want to see pictures of our visit to Sylvia’s Farm, The Bull Brook Keep?  Visit our Facebook page.

If you are considering farming, or simply curious, here are some good resources:

A place to start is Sylvia’s website, From the Bronx to the Barn: Bronx Latina trades subways for grass-fed cattle.

Cornell University’s Northeast Beginning Farmers Project is a rich resource for first time famers.

The University of California Cooperative Extension Small Farm Program and Beginning Farmer is an online resource for farmers, researchers and policymakers.

The United State Department of Agriculture runs a  program to help beginning farmers and ranchers get started.

You can find your local Cooperative Extension System office, a nationwide agricultural education network to learn about additional resources.

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute is geared toward sustainable farming.

Here are a number of articles and radio interviews on the topic.

Becoming A Farmer in Retirement by Chris Farrell

retirement-second-career-on-the-farm.html">A Second Career On The Farm by Dilane Mitchell

Retiring To The Farm Anything But Quiet by Abbie Fentress Swanson is on the public radio program, Here & Now.

retirees-find-a-new-field-in-farming.ece">Retirees find a new field in farming from the Dallas Morning News.

Career Shift: Goodbye, Law; Hello, 3 New Pursuits Dan Berger quit his law practice at 55 and is now loving life as a maple syrup farmer, caterer and musician by Julie Shifman

Here are Chris Farell’s recommendations for the financial planning part of the equation.

The free online planning calculators are fine for the quick check-in, a fast answer to the “how am I doing” question. Firms like Vanguard, Fidelity, Morningstar, and T. Rowe Price offer good online tools for ballpark estimates. But that’s all these calculators are good for.

For a DIY detailed analysis, check out ESPlanner. The programs were developed by economist Laurence Kotlikoff of Boston University. The defining approach of ESPlanner is putting spending at the core of financial planning. The two centerpiece programs for households—ESPlanner and ESPlanner Plus—are time consuming to fill out. The return is detailed recommendations, including taxes and Social Security.

Also, spend time with the menu of programs offered at Analyzenow.com, the brainchild of Henry “Bud” Hebeler. His focus is on the conservative side, a planning emphasis that focuses on putting a floor on downside risk.

The underlying philosophies behind these two websites is very different with Kotlikoff emphasizing spending and Hebeler savings.  Yet both are comprehensive and useful, offering a number of free and fee-based options.

Here are a handful of useful personal finance books, especially when the unretirement years loom.

The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security: Practical Strategies for Money, Work, and Living, by Mark Miller.

Retirement and retirement isn’t the same thing. Syndicated columnist Miller deals with getting finances in order before the retirement years, but then he looks into the many trade-offs and considerations of retirement itself, from part-time work to the nuances of Social Security.

Get a Life: You Don’t Need a Million to Retire Well by Ralph Warner.

Too much of the advice in the personal finance industry seems to feeds off the fear we all share of not having enough money. Warner, the founder of the self-help legal organization Nolo.com, offers a healthy antidote to fear mongering and at the same time, practical financial tips for constructing a meaningful life.

The New Frugality by Chris Farrell. (Yes, our host!)

Frugality doesn’t mean fashioned penny-pinching—far from it. I recommend merging money management with a sustainability sensibility for a lifestyle of less waste, lower environmental impact, lower financial stress, more career opportunities and in the long run, deeper satisfaction.

Spend Your Life Wisely: The Deeper Meaning of Money by Ross Levin.

A wise, knowledgeable book that is about so much more than money and personal finances. Memorable anecdotes. Wonderful stories. Pages wisdom. Ross Levin weave together money and values so that your financial decisions will support your deeply held values.

Ask Chris your unretirement question or share your story:

If you have an unretirement question or a story for Chris, get in touch.  We are always looking for inspiring stories and try to answer as many listener questions as possible.

Join the conversation:

We love the conversations that our listeners are having about unretirement on Facebook.

This week we want to know:

What’s your Unretirement dream job?

Share the love:

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review it on iTunes.  It helps us improve the show and get the word out to new listeners.

Handed a pink slip in your 50’s? Looking for purpose and a paycheck in your 60’s?

Follow the story of Tene Wells in It Takes a Village: Recovering from Job Loss after 50.

Wells abruptly lost her job at age 56. Inspired by a trip to Africa, the social entrepreneur is building a business aimed at helping low-income families with their finances.

Later in the episode, Chris talks with Marci Alboher from Encore.org and author of The Encore Career Handbook. Marci offers up savvy advice for anyone thinking about embarking on a similar transition in the second half of life (hopefully without getting fired first).

In this episode you’ll discover:

• What to do first when you lose a job to keep financially stable.
• How to find meaningful work thorough volunteering.
• Why it’s okay to not know what you want to do with the rest of your life—even if you’re over 50.
• How to use your network, your village, your community to support you in your job transition.
• How to use your previous life experiences to find purpose, passion and a paycheck.

In every episode, Chris answers a listener’s question.  In this episode Jane asks:

Should I sell my home and move into a smaller house or apartment that costs less and is lower-manintainace so that I can travel, spend less time on maintenance and have more money set aside when I stop working?

Explore additional resources from this episode:

These books focus on (like Marci Alboher’s book) or touch on (such as Kerry Hannon’s book) making the transition into the nonprofit sector and social entrepreneurship.

The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and Difference in the Second Half of Life by today’s guest, Marci Alboher

Unretirement: How Baby Boomers Are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community, and the Good Life by host, Chris Farrell

The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife by Marc Freedman

Great Jobs for Everyone 50+: Finding Work That Keeps You Happy and Healthy … And Pays the Bills by Kerry Hannon

Life Reimagined: Discovering Your New Life Possibilities by Richard Leider

These articles focus on encore careers:

Next Avenue is a rich resource for ideas and insight on change in the second half of life. Chris writes a bi-weekly column on unretirement for Next Avenue.

Make Your Retirement a Time to Give Back

Making the Tricky Switch to Nonprofit Work

To find an Encore Career job, try a Matchmaker

These websites offer additional career resources for anyone interested in social entrepreneurship and non-profits:

www.encore.org

www.bridgespan.org

www.lifereimagined.aarp.org

www.idealist.org

Ask Chris your unretirement question or share your story:

If you have an unretirement question or a story for Chris, get in touch.  We are always looking for inspiring stories and try to answer as many listener questions as possible.

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How have you have found purpose and a paycheck after a job loss?

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