Two
Johnnies are an Irish comedy duo. They do a regular podcast.
https://www.the2johnnies.ie/podcast.
The
podcast which is geared to the say 20 – 40 age group is by times
risque going towards crude. But at the same time always interesting –
and funny!
Both
men are clearly proud and passionate members of the Cahir GAA club.
The club and their activities with the club are referred to
frequently in all podcasts.
Anyway
the Johnnies asked for feedback from people retired or soon to be
retired. Retirement is one of my favorite topics these days, as
Irish Stew for the Soul regulars – all 1 million of you – give or
take 999,903, will know!
So
I wrote the letter to the Johnnies. My letter was not read out. The
letter that was read out opined that The Two Johnnies set up a
retirement home themselves. I do concede that that letter was imaginative - and funny. The letter deserved to be read out.
See my letter below... the one that was n´t read out. : - (
Dear
Two Johnnies,
You
do a great show every Monday night; it is full of nonsense, common
sense and by times an awful lot of good sense. All that with a laugh
- I mean ´what is not to love here!` As my Jewish Mama
might have said.
I
have no idea how I discovered you lads as I live in Germany, but your
Monday podcast is my method of choice against insomnia: When himself
is fast asleep and I am not, rather than read, I listen to your
Monday night podcasts on Spotify. (I am not going to pay for your
Thursday show, I suspect it might be a tad too blue for my delicate
sensibilities)
The
Two Johnnies Podcast is better than a sleeping pill – I am always
asleep before the end of the show! So one podcast of listening will
do me the whole week! Great value for money not spent! -
So
now it is time to give back.
Retirement.
Last
week you asked people to write in on their experience on retirement,
or on retiring.
Consider:
Nowadays being newly retired if
you are healthy and have enough funds is like being a teenager again.
- Only now now ´it´ is all allowed, you can pay for it and
(mostly) it is legal to do ´it´ now!
I
am 66 and 4 months. Newly retired since April this year AND LOVING
IT! In fact for me, I feel it is my vocation in life to be retired!
(You four are probably too young to have had the nuns or brothers
asking you in school to consider what your vocation was.)
It
is not that I do nothing all day, rather I do EVERY THING I WANT TO
DO, WHEN I WANT TO DO IT. Or. I DO NOTHING AT ALL. All ON MY
TERMS. (More on the latter point later!)
All
that is possible because now I have time, funds and most importantly
my health. None of these things do I take for granted either.
What
I do, or not do with my time is not so important for you and your
listeners. Rather I enclose for your perusal, and for your listeners
auditory pleasure, some observations that may help others arrive at
the day of retirement ready to rock and roll. - Or knit, or climb a
mountain, or further their education, learn to paint/
French/underwater swimming or whatever.
Tips
on Reaching Retirement Age and be Ready to Rock and Roll – or Not!
Just
about all these things should be attended to when your in your
twenties or thirties. And the sooner you start, the less effort it
requires.
1)
Look after your Health.
Really
this is a no brainier, and one should be doing it all one´s life.
Many people reach retirement with sickness through no fault of their
own. But a heck of a lot of the rest of us just don´t look after
ourselves by eating right, exercising, avoiding mental stress etc.
The
sooner you start to care for yourself, both mentally and physically,
the more likely the good health will last. Sickness costs money,
and quality of life. And that before retirement too, so avoid ill
health at all cost.
2)
Look after your Finances.
Being
poor sucks no two ways about that, being poor and retired sucks even
more.
-
The man you had on a good few podcasts ago gave great tips on
managing finances. Could you have him come back and do a show aimed
at younger listeners on how to organise and manage finances with a
view to planning for retirement.
(He
can help your listeners sort out questions like which is most
important for them: Paying for their child´s wedding with 200 guests
at a five start venue, or saving a big chuck of €€€ for their
retirement fund?)
2b)
The best tip on managing finances came from Charles Dickens´ father.
-Who
was
himself very
bad at managing his money; he
ended up in Debtors´Prison.
`Income
per year 20 pounds. Out goings per year – 19 shillings and 50
pennies. Heaven.
`Income
per year 20 pounds. Out goings per year – 21 pounds.
Hell.`
3)
About Five years Before you are due to Retire, Consider the
Following.
3a)
Get to know you!
Sounds
a bit weird I know, but if your sense of yourself is strongly
connected with the job, ie. you love what you do, there is a lot of
social prestige connected with your job, or your circle of friends
are all tied with your job. What happens when the job is gone? Who
are you then? Find out now.
3b)
Sort out any lurking regrets WELL before you Retire.
Marriage
a bit wobbledy? A bad relationship with a sibling/parent/child? Any
other unfinished business, or matters niggling at the back of your
head? Work on sorting these things out well before you retire.
All
that free time to ruminate on retirement, will only make these issues
bigger.
3c)
What would you like to do when you retire. Start making a list.
Note
the question is: What would YOU like to do when you retire? Not
what the spouse/ children/friends would like you to do.
3d)
Manage your time YOUR WAY on your Terms.
After
health and enough funds, the greatest gift on retirement is TIME.
Time for YOU to do as you wish. So do consider how you will want to
spend your retirement.
For
example do you want to give time babysitting your grand children?
Consider this one carefully, it can be a minefield.
For
example if you have one child and only one grandchild, a day a week
to care for the cute little grandchild might be absolutely
delightful.
But
what if there are four children and eight grandchildren? If you
babysit one, then you are stuck with being available to all the
others so as not to be seen as having a favorite. (And worse if you
consider daughter Mary´s Johnny is such a cutie and such a joy to
babysit. But daughter Joan´s son Tom is a horror and no fun to
babysit!)
So
it would be wise to let all your children know, very casually of
course, about your babysitting wishes WELL before you retire.
Likewise
with friends and others who need help with, their start
ups/pets/travel needs whatever.
4)
About six months before you retire. Apply for the pension.
No
brainer. But lots of people forget.
5)
The Day you Retire. Now what? Nothing. I repeat, nothing.
This
tip was given to me by a high flyer who worked a 60 hour week for
years. Until one Friday afternoon. Then she woke up the following
Monday morning and her time was her own.
5a)
Do not commit to any thing for at least 18 months.
On
the first day of retirement, most of us for the first time in our
adult lives have the chance to do what we please, or nothing at all
as we please. Don´t let that go, savor it.
After
that you can consider if you want to volunteer, attend classes, start
a business - what ever. There will be plenty of time for all that
later. But just take these months to enjoy your own company, and do
things or not, all on a whim. (Of course the alternative is that
you will be dead, in which case there is nothing to discuss, so no
problem there either!)
5b)
Plan your first day to retire coming into spring or summer.
You
talked about a man who did this last week, and it is a good idea.
That
way you can get your retirement mojo up and running smoothly before
the dark days of winter set in and might cramp your retiring style.
So
dear Johnnies, there you have my tips. But this is surely enough
from me for now. You can use/edit or what ever any or all of this.
Before
ending I have to ask, where do you get the ideas for the topics you
talk about, really they are so diverse, just great craic?
It all sounds like great spontaneous fun, but I suspect there is a
LOT of work being put in to creating
all this spontaneous!
God
bless you and yours – keep up your excellent podcast-ing!
Hausfrau
Róisin.
Dear
Two Johnnies,
You
do a great show every Monday night; it is full of nonsense, common
sense and by times an awful lot of good sense. All that with a laugh
- I mean ´what is not to love here!` As my Jewish Mama
might have said.
I
have no idea how I discovered you lads as I live in Germany, but your
Monday podcast is my method of choice against insomnia: When himself
is fast asleep and I am not, rather than read, I listen to your
Monday night podcasts on Spotify. (I am not going to pay for your
Thursday show, I suspect it might be a tad too blue for my delicate
sensibilities)
The
Two Johnnies Podcast is better than a sleeping pill – I am always
asleep before the end of the show! So one podcast of listening will
do me the whole week! Great value for money not spent! -
So
now it is time to give back.
Retirement.
Last
week you asked people to write in on their experience on retirement,
or on retiring.
Consider:
Nowadays being newly retired if
you are healthy and have enough funds is like being a teenager again.
- Only now now ´it´ is all allowed, you can pay for it and
(mostly) it is legal to do ´it´ now!
I
am 66 and 4 months. Newly retired since April this year AND LOVING
IT! In fact for me, I feel it is my vocation in life to be retired!
(You four are probably too young to have had the nuns or brothers
asking you in school to consider what your vocation was.)
It
is not that I do nothing all day, rather I do EVERY THING I WANT TO
DO, WHEN I WANT TO DO IT. Or. I DO NOTHING AT ALL. All ON MY
TERMS. (More on the latter point later!)
All
that is possible because now I have time, funds and most importantly
my health. None of these things do I take for granted either.
What
I do, or not do with my time is not so important for you and your
listeners. Rather I enclose for your perusal, and for your listeners
auditory pleasure, some observations that may help others arrive at
the day of retirement ready to rock and roll. - Or knit, or climb a
mountain, or further their education, learn to paint/
French/underwater swimming or whatever.
Tips
on Reaching Retirement Age and be Ready to Rock and Roll – or Not!
Just
about all these things should be attended to when your in your
twenties or thirties. And the sooner you start, the less effort it
requires.
1)
Look after your Health.
Really
this is a no brainier, and one should be doing it all one´s life.
Many people reach retirement with sickness through no fault of their
own. But a heck of a lot of the rest of us just don´t look after
ourselves by eating right, exercising, avoiding mental stress etc.
The
sooner you start to care for yourself, both mentally and physically,
the more likely the good health will last. Sickness costs money,
and quality of life. And that before retirement too, so avoid ill
health at all cost.
2)
Look after your Finances.
Being
poor sucks no two ways about that, being poor and retired sucks even
more.
-
The man you had on a good few podcasts ago gave great tips on
managing finances. Could you have him come back and do a show aimed
at younger listeners on how to organise and manage finances with a
view to planning for retirement.
(He
can help your listeners sort out questions like which is most
important for them: Paying for their child´s wedding with 200 guests
at a five start venue, or saving a big chuck of €€€ for their
retirement fund?)
2b)
The best tip on managing finances came from Charles Dickens´ father.
-Who
was
himself very
bad at managing his money; he
ended up in Debtors´Prison.
`Income
per year 20 pounds. Out goings per year – 19 shillings and 50
pennies. Heaven.
`Income
per year 20 pounds. Out goings per year – 21 pounds.
Hell.`
3)
About Five years Before you are due to Retire, Consider the
Following.
3a)
Get to know you!
Sounds
a bit weird I know, but if your sense of yourself is strongly
connected with the job, ie. you love what you do, there is a lot of
social prestige connected with your job, or your circle of friends
are all tied with your job. What happens when the job is gone? Who
are you then? Find out now.
3b)
Sort out any lurking regrets WELL before you Retire.
Marriage
a bit wobbledy? A bad relationship with a sibling/parent/child? Any
other unfinished business, or matters niggling at the back of your
head? Work on sorting these things out well before you retire.
All
that free time to ruminate on retirement, will only make these issues
bigger.
3c)
What would you like to do when you retire. Start making a list.
Note
the question is: What would YOU like to do when you retire? Not
what the spouse/ children/friends would like you to do.
3d)
Manage your time YOUR WAY on your Terms.
After
health and enough funds, the greatest gift on retirement is TIME.
Time for YOU to do as you wish. So do consider how you will want to
spend your retirement.
For
example do you want to give time babysitting your grand children?
Consider this one carefully, it can be a minefield.
For
example if you have one child and only one grandchild, a day a week
to care for the cute little grandchild might be absolutely
delightful.
But
what if there are four children and eight grandchildren? If you
babysit one, then you are stuck with being available to all the
others so as not to be seen as having a favorite. (And worse if you
consider daughter Mary´s Johnny is such a cutie and such a joy to
babysit. But daughter Joan´s son Tom is a horror and no fun to
babysit!)
So
it would be wise to let all your children know, very casually of
course, about your babysitting wishes WELL before you retire.
Likewise
with friends and others who need help with, their start
ups/pets/travel needs whatever.
4)
About six months before you retire. Apply for the pension.
No
brainer. But lots of people forget.
5)
The Day you Retire. Now what? Nothing. I repeat, nothing.
This
tip was given to me by a high flyer who worked a 60 hour week for
years. Until one Friday afternoon. Then she woke up the following
Monday morning and her time was her own.
5a)
Do not commit to any thing for at least 18 months.
On
the first day of retirement, most of us for the first time in our
adult lives have the chance to do what we please, or nothing at all
as we please. Don´t let that go, savor it.
After
that you can consider if you want to volunteer, attend classes, start
a business - what ever. There will be plenty of time for all that
later. But just take these months to enjoy your own company, and do
things or not, all on a whim. (Of course the alternative is that
you will be dead, in which case there is nothing to discuss, so no
problem there either!)
5b)
Plan your first day to retire coming into spring or summer.
You
talked about a man who did this last week, and it is a good idea.
That
way you can get your retirement mojo up and running smoothly before
the dark days of winter set in and might cramp your retiring style.
So
dear Johnnies, there you have my tips. But this is surely enough
from me for now. You can use/edit or what ever any or all of this.
Before
ending I have to ask, where do you get the ideas for the topics you
talk about, really they are so diverse, just great craic?
It all sounds like great spontaneous fun, but I suspect there is a
LOT of work being put in to creating
all this spontaneous!
God
bless you and yours – keep up your excellent podcast-ing!
Hausfrau
Róisin.
