Age Changes the Rules, Not the Possibilities
But you have to be able to take advantage!
Yesterday I was reminded that retirement can open up a whole range of options that simply aren’t available to pre-retirees. For once, the rules are in our favour!
It was a liberating moment.
It was also a great reminder that if we keep ourselves fit and healthy, life can be very enjoyable and worth sticking around for.
The reminder was quite simple. I was at the checkout of our local grocery store with a few items in the basket. When I got to the till, the cashier looked at me, recognized me (we live in a very small village), and said “You’re retired aren’t you?”. I said yes, there was a button pushed, a supervisor approached, swiped a card, and hey presto – I had a 5% discount for my grocery bill!
This pensioner discount is only available from this grocery store on a Tuesday and Thursday, but hey, 5% is 5%!
But it got me thinking again about just how many advantages, financial and otherwise, us pensioners can access that pre-retirees can’t. And I live in a third world country where these types of benefits are few and far between when compared to say Europe or Australia or many other countries.
The trick though is to be able (A) to identify these opportunities and (B), to take advantage of them in order to enrich your life experience. Now 5% on your grocery bill is not in itself life changing, but it might enable you to save enough over time to go on a trip or buy that tool for your workshop you always wanted and so on.
The bottom line is that these small wins or opportunities for retired people can open up a host of other possibilities. But only if you are mentally and physically functionally fit so that you can take advantage of what is on offer. There’s no point claiming your pensioner’s discount for an event if you can’t get there or aren’t capable of participating!
So, buckle up. Start from wherever you are, physically and mentally, and put in a bit of consistent work to ensure that you can take advantage of whatever pensioner offers appeal to you.
Being fit for purpose is your key to a life full of opportunities!
Carpe diem!
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