I'm Taking My Own Retirement Advice

Life Goes By Faster Than You Think

I will be 63 in April, and I have decided to step back from work a bit. Starting in January I will work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. To put it another way, I am going to have 52 four-day weekends to enjoy the beach with my husband Tom. We also want to enjoy and be present with our grandchildren. (We are expecting another granddaughter in February!) This aligns with another of my beliefs: gradual retirement is better. I do not want to go from working 50 hours a week to zero. Practicing a lifestyle change is a good idea before changing everything about your life.

What this means for you

While my availability will be limited to Tuesday through Thursday, Bleckley, Megan and any future Watercolor team members will be available Monday through Friday. We have consistently worked to improve our service to our clients each year, and that will continue.

I haven't changed. I have been preparing for my retirement since I was 16

On my first day of work in 1979 at Burger King in Grand Island Nebraska, I made $2.65 an hour. I stood by the cash register and thought, “Is this what life is really about? Working?!” I was outraged, and then my mom told me I needed to buy my own school clothes with the money I made. I told her I’d have to work 12 hours for a pair of corduroy pants, and it wasn’t worth it to me to work 12 hours for pants. I’d wear my old pants. And that was the beginning of my journey with earning and saving money, and defining my relationship with it.

Since then, I have always been clear that I am trading my life’s energy for money and I need to be careful about that. Tom and I want to maximize travel and fun while we both have the good health spans to enjoy our lives.

Retirement planning is hard when it is your own life!

I so appreciate the support and help of my two partners on my retirement journey. I was so surprised, after 30 years in this business of retirement planning, at how tentative I was at looking at my own life, and at my own issues. More money doesn’t make that much of a difference after you've met your goals, and my colleagues have helped me see that we’ve reached that point. So what are we working for? It is important to be clear on that point.

Staying Relevant

The first question at a cocktail party is “What do you do?” I think a better one is, “What brings you joy?” What brings me joy is helping others meet their goals and connecting with people. That isn’t going to change. Providing exceptional service and care to our clients brings me joy, and that will be the case at Watercolor Financial.

I look forward to 2026 and appreciate the opportunity to put my life’s work to good use in my own journey and to help others with theirs.

Happy holidays from Watercolor Financial!