February 3, 2016

Coming Soon:  “Mr. Free Spirit”

Who is Mr. Free Spirit?

Mr. Free Spirit is a baby boomer columnist who spent the last two years defining and researching retirement for African Americans.  He refers to himself as a Retirement Research Specialist or (RRS) who writes about retirement, travel, fine living and everything in-between.

Let’s start with a brief working definition.  According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, “retirement,” is defined as the point where a person stops employment completely.  A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours. An increasing number of individuals are choosing to put off this point of total retirement, by selecting to exist in the emerging state of pre-retirement.

Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions no longer allow the person to work any longer (by illness or accident) or as a result of legislation concerning their position.  In most countries, the idea of retirement is of recent origin, being introduced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Urban Dictionary defines a “Free Spirit” as, “One who is not restrained, as by convention or obligation; a nonconformist.

Mr. Free Spirit defines retirement as:  “The next phase of living. When a person decides to start the next chapter of their life, based on the completion of the current phase. Retirement is no longer determined by age.  People, including African Americans, are retiring earlier in life based on work, and/or lifestyle. Many years ago the thought pattern was save for a rainy day.  The current thinking is:  Where should I live and how should I live?  And we also start to look at various states, cities and towns that will accommodate their new lifestyle of “easy and fine living.”

Mr. Free Spirit will update you on the four quadrants of retirement for African Americans in his next posting.  You can return to this page if you miss a column.  We will archive all of his postings.  You can also communicate with Mr. Free Spirit by simply leaving a comment at the end of his articles.

A. Retirement Living for African American Baby Boomers

B. Leisure Entertainment during Retirement (I.E. From Boating to Broadway)

C. Wines, Art and Wisdom

D. Planning to Live and Enjoy vs. Planning to Die

Mr. Free Spirit’s column will be located here: http://wp.me/P5xRSX-2jF.  Check back soon to learn more.