Rock Your Retirement Show – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode of "Rock Your Retirement," Kathe Kline and Barbara Mock discuss a range of affordable living and travel options for seniors, particularly focused on those with limited financial means.

Addressing concerns about the targeted demographic of the show, Kathe and Barbara dive into practical solutions for managing housing expenses, such as selling a home and moving to a more cost-effective area or exploring reverse mortgages, despite potential inheritance implications. They also introduce the concept of "home share," where senior services connect home providers with seekers, offering shared living arrangements that reduce costs and provide added social and security benefits.

Barbara brings to light inspiring stories from her neighbors, many of whom are widows, and their adventures in affordable travel. Highlighting how one widow manages her finances by taking frequent, budget-friendly cruises, Barbara emphasizes the opportunities available through cruise casino promotions and group travel options.

This portion of the conversation showcases how seniors can enjoy fulfilling travel experiences without breaking the bank and explores the potential financial risks tied to gambling, balanced with anecdotes of friends who have mastered the art of cruising on the cheap.

Kathe also reminisces about past living arrangements resembling "The Golden Girls".

The discussion shifts to the wealth of activities offered by local senior centers, which can provide a sense of belonging and engagement without the hefty price tags of private 55+ communities.

Barbara elaborates on how she enjoys researching and participating in diverse activities, meeting new people, and maintaining an active lifestyle through various community programs.

The episode concludes with Kathe and Barbara sharing several budget-friendly travel platforms and programs. They highlight Trusted House Sitters and the Affordable Travel Club as excellent options for seniors to explore different places affordably while fostering new relationships.

Additionally, they touch on educational and cultural engagement opportunities, including auditing college courses, volunteering as docents, senior academy lectures, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLI). Through these activities, seniors can stay mentally stimulated and socially connected.

Overall, the episode serves as a valuable resource for seniors looking to stretch their retirement dollars without sacrificing quality of life. Kathe and Barbara encourage listeners to explore the myriad of affordable options available, from housing and travel to education and volunteering, ultimately promoting an active, engaging, and fulfilling retirement.

This episode is sponsored by CertifiedMedicareAgents.com

Kathe Kline and Barbara Mock go for an unscripted and heartfelt discussion on the topic of negativity, particularly among individuals aged 60 and older. Although Barbara is known for her unfailing positivity, she steps up to offer insights and advice on dealing with negativity in aging communities. The episode dives into various scenarios where older adults often exhibit pessimistic and critical attitudes, exploring the underlying reasons and potential remedies for such behavior.

Kathe shares her personal experience of managing a large Facebook group within her community, where she has encountered various instances of negativity. She relays a particular incident where a seemingly negative group member turned out to find solace in the online community during his illness. This prompts the important lesson that one never truly knows what someone else is going through, emphasizing the need for empathy and understanding both online and offline. Kathe also discusses Facebook posts where people unwittingly offer unsolicited negative advice, leading to a broader conversation on the impact of our words and actions.

Barbara contributes her strategies for diffusing negativity, including the power of listening, employing humor, and using deflection techniques to redirect negative energy. Drawing on her experience working in government and living in a community with diverse personalities, she highlights the importance of attitude and kindness in fostering positive relationships. The conversation also touches on the significant role of gratitude and forgiveness in maintaining a healthy, fulfilling life as one ages.

Moreover, the episode suggests practical steps for listeners to cultivate positivity in their own lives. These include maintaining a gratitude journal, setting daily intentions, and practicing self-reflection to avoid becoming a source of negativity themselves. Barbara and Kathe agree that while it may be challenging, adopting these practices can bring about a noticeable shift in one's outlook and interactions.

Ultimately, the episode serves as a reminder that combating negativity starts with individual actions and attitudes. It calls listeners to be more mindful of their behavior, to extend grace to others, and to strive for a kinder, more positive way of engaging with the world as they age. Through their candid discussion, Kathe and Barbara offer both wisdom and practical advice for anyone seeking to "rock their retirement" with optimism and resilience.

The 5 minute gratitude journal discussed can be found at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCY47F1H.

This episode is sponsored by CertifiedMedicareAgents.com

In this episode, Barbara tells us about her incredible three-week trip to Ireland, Iceland, and Spain. Join us as Barbara shares her and her husband's adventures, from glamping in Ireland to witnessing volcanic activity in Iceland and attending the Solheim Cup in Spain. Get ready to be inspired by their travel experiences and learn valuable tips for planning your own memorable trips. So sit back, relax, and get ready to Rock Your Retirement with Barbara's amazing travel stories!

Medications Do Not Eliminate Pain Completely There are different pain medications out on the market. Pain medications are drugs used to relieve discomfort related to an illness, an injury or surgery and it is a complex process. Kathe and Les are back in this episode to talk about the article, Real Pain Relief, Now! There are different pain medications that provide relief by acting through a variety of mechanisms. When you are taking any kind of medication, you should start with the lowest dose possible. This is to alleviate your pain and not jump into a large dose. If you start with Ibuprofen for instance, which is usually 200mg per pill. The doctor will prescribe 800mg but you should start with the 200mg, if the 200mg does it, that’s what you should live with. A section of the article starts out by saying, “The goal of pills, patches, and creams is to take the pain down a couple of notches, not eliminate it completely.” This is to allow the person to exercise, work and socialize. Because, when you can take the pain down then you can do the movement which we talked about in the last episode. The typical doctor is going to just prescribe pain medications because the typical doctor is not necessarily trained on chronic pain. Just like we’ve said on the first episode, there’s 1 doctor in every 28,500 people that’s trained in chronic pain. And chronic pain is not helped by these short term drugs that are being tried. That's the downside when taking these different pain medications. Different Pain Medications that Relieve Pain Supplements. There are different pain medications that are prescribed and there are some that are necessarily not prescribed but can be helpful. Which falls under the category of supplements. Marijuana may relieve certain types of pain. The drug industry is not funding trials on supplements because they want to sell their drugs. Supplements like fish oil help reduce inflammation type pain and pain that is neurological. Another one is vitamin B and D. If you have deficiencies in these vitamins certain types of pain are going to be worse. Over-the-Counter Drugs. One of the other things that I found interesting that drugs like Ibuprofen and Aleve reduce swelling whereas Acetaminophen (Tylenol) makes you think that you’re not feeling pain. For Les’ personal experience, Ibuprofen works better than Acetaminophen for most of his pain. For headache pain though, Acetaminophen works better for Les than Ibuprofen. Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen are good for muscle and joint pain but they don’t seem to be very effective against nerve pain. A combination of Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen has had an effect very similar to opioids but you need to talk to your doctor before doing these combinations. Topical Creams. Topical creams like Tiger balm don’t necessarily make the pain go away as much as they make your body react to the burning/cold sensation, taking away from the other pain. There are these compounds called salicylates that produce the feeling of heat or cold to keep the nerves busy transmitting those sensations of pain instead of pain. Prescribed Drugs Antidepressants. There are different pain medications that need a prescription. Some doctors prescribe antidepressants for pain, which seems to be dangerous. There’s only one of that drug that has any connection with pain and that is duloxetine (Cymbalta). But it has a side effect of weight gain, constipation, and suicidal thoughts. Small doses can help with fibromyalgia, headache prevention, and pain due to nerve damage. Anticonvulsants. Anticonvulsants are dealing with the nervous system. If you have nerve pain it would have some effect but it doesn’t help if you have back pai...

How Can Sleep Help Your Pain? In this 2nd episode of our 4-part series on pain, Les and I talk about an article on pain relief. Did you know that sleep also helps with dementia? When it comes to easing pain, It will depend on what the pain is. If the pain is caused by inflammation, it tends to go down as you sleep because your body is trying to heal itself. But there are other things that cause pain in your brain. For example, neuro pain. Your brain is running during the day on full but in sleep, your brain is resting so oftentimes the neuro pain also rest along with your brain. This is a combination of healing and calming your body when we’re talking about not skimping on sleep. If you’re working while you’re sick your sickness is going to last longer. You’re going to feel horrible longer because you didn’t give yourself time to heal. That is why, in any case when it comes to chronic pain sleep is really important. Combining the Treatments is the Key to Ease Pain In the last episode, Les touched on the fact that he’s been having pain at night and he’s been taking Ibuprofen so that he can sleep. It’s been helping him wake up with no pain. Also, removing some devices like cell phones, lights, before you sleep, helps. Sometimes when Les is in pain he just gets up and walks around. But a lot of people don’t want to move because it hurts to move. Oftentimes people would have pain and they’ll not use that area of your body that has pain and that is when atrophy comes in. Maintaining an active lifestyle or being proactive will help you feel better if you want to ease the pain. Physical Activity Can Ease Pain and Improve Your Ability to Move Through the Day A physical therapist can help you with this, it doesn’t have to be lifetime physical therapy but they can help you. They can offer strength and stretching exercises that are tailored to your own needs and on your own abilities. There are also certain posture improvement programs such as the Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais. These posture improving programs can really help ease the pain. Because as you get older a lot of the pain is in your back and it’s usually because of the bad posture. When Les tries to improve his posture even when he’s walking, it makes a difference. The article talks about Tai Chi and yoga and how it helps manages pain. But what we’re doing is Qigong, it’s kind of like Tai Chi but it’s more on meditative movement. The article talks about the mind, body connection. That’s what that kind of movement with meditation does, it connects the body and mind. It’s definitely relaxing and you feel less pain after the session. Mindfulness Typically, in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, you get 7-10 sessions and the therapist can teach the patient to identify thoughts and behaviors that actually worsen pain and replace them with a new thought pattern designed to calm the nervous system and ease the pain. You can ask your doctor for a referral and you can look for a therapist that has training on this kind of therapy. When you go to a massage therapist it’s helpful to know what kind of training they’ve had. A chiropractor, for instance, would be helpful because they understand anatomy and physiology. It’s important to pay attention to that because you go to a massage therapist that doesn’t help you might be because they don’t understand your body that well. Acupuncture also helps with pain but you have to go to somebody who knows what they’re doing and that’s not easy to find necessarily. Acupuncture, massage therapy and the type of chiropractic that Les was doing are not covered by Medicare. Sometimes when we're dealing with our health,

Today's subject affects 20% of the US population because 1 of 5 adults experience pain. In our audience, it’s probably more than that because as you get older, it's more likely that you’re going to have pain. For the retirement years, this is also a good subject to talk about. My husband Les Briney is joining us for today's show as we discuss, how pain affects people. Acute and Chronic Pain As a result of Les’ cancer. He has pain that is semi-chronic. By the way, there are 2 types of pain, there’s acute pain and chronic pain. Acute is usually very sharp pains and they don’t last that long. Chronic pain lasts for more than 6 months. This is according to the definition by Cleveland Clinic. Les has stage 4 advanced metastatic prostate cancer. Meaning his cancer has spread to several places in his body. But he seems to be doing ok yet feeling some pain. He has acute pain from time to time. When he went for his chemo he has a lot of pain. Mainly the pain was a nerve type as opposed to joint type. The pains are sharp and shooting that occurs on different parts of his body. Pain Affects People Differently About 50 million Americans report pain every day. 20 million of that 50 million can’t do their activities of daily living because of that pain. We also have friends who encounter that same problem. Pain is both a sensory and emotional experience that affects people differently. What's more, there is a difference between how you are confronted with pain and how you go on to tolerate it. Your body has different reactions to try to reduce the pain. That is why it affects people differently. How Physicians Treat Their Patients A report prepared by Congress said that for every physician certified in pain care there are more than 28,500 Americans living in chronic pain. Also, doctors treat patients differently depending on what their gender is, ethnic background and all kinds of things. Women, for instance, don’t get necessarily the same reaction to pain when a doctor is a man. 70% of doctors are males. So, you already have some bias there. Acute pain is treated normally through drugs and it’s a temporary thing. Chronic pain drugs cannot make the pain go away. Also, when you use opioids for chronic pain it becomes less effective over time. When it comes to older people with pain, they are put off by doctors because they think that it’s expected as you grow older. Treat Pain Through Combination of Things That You Do Each person's pain should be treated by a combination of things that you do. It’s not something for chronic pain in particular. It is also not something that you can do once and that will be the end. This is something that you’re going to have to do for probably the rest of your life to try to get rid of the pain. The combination of all the things that the article talked about makes very good sense. The fact that it’s personal says your combination is going to be different from my combination. In Les’ case, probably the key thing is a combination of sleep and exercise. Because when Les does those things, generally, he feels better. With sleep, if you have pain, you can’t sleep. So, Les’ use Ibuprofen to keep the pain down as such a level for him to sleep. You have to think about other things than pain. That is why you have to move around and occasionally use pain killers. It is important that you understand the symptoms of pain and how to reduce pain. Dealing with pain whether acute or chronic is difficult but proper knowledge will help a lot in alleviating your problem. Mentioned in this Episode: ConsumerReports.org – Real Pain Relief, Now!

In this last episode of our 4 part series, we talk about the article, Multigenerational Families Provide Benefits for Everyone. In the first episode, we talked about Families Living Under One Roof. The second delves into the Pros of Families Living Together. Also, while multigenerational living has its pros it also has its downside, which we discussed in the third episode. Multigenerational living is one of the hottest trends in housing nowadays. Putting multiple generations under one roof could be a difficult task. However, if done with planning and open communication, it can be successful. A multigenerational household could be meaningful and happy for everyone involved. Anybody who is thinking about entering into this type of living arrangement should follow the tips below to make sure the transition is smooth and stress-free. Have Family Meetings Having family meetings depends on the family. In Jonna's household, it’s very calm. There’s a lot of conflict diversion. Not a yelling household. It’s very placid and we don’t do well with hashing out and having a big group discussion. What seems to work for us is to have quiet sharing sessions. One-on-one seems to work better for us. You have to understand what your loved one is going to be receptive to. After which, create a conversation around that. Your family meetings might be in a big group or they might be a one-on-one conversation so that people are more open. Everybody can have their own style of a family meeting. Communicate any household Issues with the family members If you are living in a multigenerational household, communication is key. This goes along with family meetings. In Jonna's house, her husband was doing the laundry and her father also wanted to do the laundry at the same time. So they had to have an intervention. The three of them had to sit down and learn how to communicate with each other on these things. Being open about that communication and being willing to say this isn’t working for me but this way could help. They even had a calendar up so sometimes things get written on the calendar so they know that there won’t be a conflict. Set Up House Rules in a Multigenerational Home At the outset of a multigenerational home, you need to be open and honest and set out some ground rules. Jonna tries to avoid conflicts in her multigenerational home. So, what her family did was they created a neutral zone. Early on they just said, your beliefs and values are yours, our views and values are ours. If you want to talk about those beliefs and values do that away from the children and in your own space and vice versa. No politics, religion, and those things that you’re not supposed to talk about at parties. Some families are going to be on the same page and it’s going to work out just fine. They just set the standard early, they had the house rules really clear. It was to protect not only her and her husband but also her father from misunderstanding a conflict. Establish Financial Responsibilities For most families, multigenerational or not, money is a sticky subject. Try creating both individual budgets and a shared household budget. The financial bit can definitely be challenging. This is because as an adult child Jonna want to give to her family the whole time. She also had to be very realistic about how long the arrangement might last. Also, why they were doing it in the first place. Part of her father’s agreement living with them is that they’re building out a second living structure that he’ll have on his own. So,

It Can Be a Daunting Task People who experience multigenerational homes know that it can sometimes have its downside. But it isn’t all that rare in our close-knit society. Where we often find 3 generations of families living under the same roof. Sometimes, there comes a time that older adults make the decision to give up their home and move in with their adult children. They may not need complete care at all. But the deeper reason here is that they are unable to stay by themselves anymore. This results in a multigenerational household where seniors, their adult children, and young grandchildren are living together under one roof. It can be a daunting task but so can the benefits. And many families are making this thing work. The Downside of Families Living Together When you’re living in a multigenerational household, you are stepping outside as we used to as our cultural norm a little bit. Because there are some differing expectations from what we may have thought we were going to have of our future self-picture. There is some emotional conflict that comes from that. This article goes through how the adult child might feel. How the younger people in the house might feel and how it will affect the oldest adult in the generational house. That is why it wraps up by talking about kind of the emotional bullet points. Points of how to maybe make the transition better or easier. Acknowledging that some of these feelings are going to exist helps with how you manage the downside of multigenerational homes. Downside for Seniors My father came to live with us last year. We’ve been a multigenerational household from teens all the way up to 60s for that year. There are some really great aspects just like what we’ve talked about on the last episode. The downsides though are also very real. Before my father moved in, I’ve spent some time creating a contract. The contract was more of an acknowledgment of the emotional place of each person in the household. Having that very different perspective starting place made some difficulties. While the contract was a good intention, sometimes the fine bits got pushed to the wayside. One of the things that I found really interesting about the integrations is that you have a second chance to learn your parent. You have your child perspective and then your adult perspective. The downside though is that sometimes I think that we become our child self with our parent more than we would in any other situation. And they will adopt those same roles. Downside for Kids Depending on their age, it can also be difficult for kids to get accustomed to living with their grandparents. They may enjoy spending time with them and have a close relationship, but they will have to get used to a new routine. They will have to share their parents’ attention with their grandparents. It's because their parents may not be able to do with them as many things as before. Being Really Honest with Your Loved One is Important I work with adult children bringing in older adults quite often. Those people that have been most successful are the ones that first off come from a place of charity, and giving, and openness. Even before you ever have somebody live with you. Making sure that your heart is in the right place and that it’s not a chore because it can become a chore. It can get to that place. And if you’re not or already in a place of love and openness, then it makes it that much more complicated. Also, remember to be an advocate for your loved one. Not feeling like you’re doing them a certain favor by having them in your space. But actually, that you’re advocating for their health and happiness. That you want the best for them and you feel like that’s living with y...

Functional and Engaging There are about 49 million families living together in the US. And most of them are in their 20s. From sharing chores to expenses and everything in between. This multigenerational lifestyle is proving to be functional and engaging for many Americans. There are many upsides to multigenerational living. These days, it’s typical for both partners to work to make ends meet, which raises the issue of childcare. There’s also the problem of finance. Huge mortgages undoubtedly stretch family budgets and relationships. Multigenerational Living is Changing A lot of us are out there working hard but it is a different environment then. Things are changing and moving so fast that being a little bit older on the scale. The technology the younger millennials are using blows my mind. It's hard to keep up a little bit. The economy has changed a lot. Therefore, the job market has changed. So the trend for families living together is really changing. That is because of the factors we talked about in the last episode. Which pertains to the job market and the housing crunch. Families Living Together Gives Emotional Bonding You spend 18 – 20 years with a parent from the perspective of an adolescent and a child. All these wonderful memories and preconceived notions of who your parents are based on that perspective. When you enter into the multigenerational household as an adult. Or as a person in your 30s, 40s, and 50s with somebody in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. You suddenly start to see them from a different perspective. And you get so much more from it and remember it too. Some of those issues that you have as a child, you get to work out as an adult. You'll get to sit down and talk through without having those uninterrupted moments. Benefits Older Adults The experience of older adults living together helps them relive the good things for being a parent. And also be part of that in an intimate way. A lot of assisted living communities are bringing in intergenerational programs. And these aren't even kids that are related to them. You're creating a program so that the children and the teens are understanding what it means to spend time with older generations. That is to say, you're bringing those children in to benefit from the knowledge, wisdom, and patience of our older people. It gives benefit to both sides. Even with people who have undergone a divorce. Having that stable adult makes a difference in how well the kids acclimate to the new situation. And it seems that having more people that care about you when you're going through the fact that you're parents are breaking can definitely help. Even from the perspective of the adult having that support makes a huge difference. Financial Benefit Having that multigenerational element does take the pressure off financially. A lot of people are living together due to financial reasons. Grandparents could help care for young children. Adult children living together can save money while going to school, finding a job. Or saving money to buy a home of their own. Just the benefit of freedom and being able to know that there's somebody else who you can pass the torch onto an event. And I wouldn't necessarily have without the benefit of the multigenerational household. The success of families living together means choosing a way of living that best utilizes the resources of the extended family while fostering closeness. To them, multigenerational living is not a way to live, but a way to thrive. About Our Co-Host Jonna Overson is the Founder of Green Tree Home Care – a business that provides Care Professionals in the homes of clients so they can stay safe, cared for,

Is It Time to Rethink? The multigenerational American family household or in other terms families living under one roof is staging a comeback. It's driven in part by different aspects such as economic stability and also a cultural side of the matter. The idea that you grow up, go to college, or get a job and get married. Having this beautiful house in the suburbs with two kids is not the way it was in the US. In fact, that's a relatively new phenomenon from the 40s and 50s in that era. So what we think of is normal is kind of a short blip in the American cultural history. There was such a boom in the economy during that time and then with the recession and the rising house prices. It really does seem like that American dream style from that era is shifting a little bit. We're seeing that people are now more creative with their family living arrangements. The Norm of Living Under One Roof This norm that we think of that where the parents live in one house, the adult children live in another, and the young adults have their own apartment. That is not the only way to live. And other cultures are bringing a different view of how families live. The fact that America's demographics are changing is influencing that there are more families living under one roof. It's not an unusual thing. People are starting to realize that there's a benefit of having that multigeneration experience in one home. And having more adults in the household is a benefit to helping the kids grow up into good humans New Technologies Affects How We Live Today The motivations to bring your parents into your home isn't affected as much as we think it is. It's because there are now opportunities for people to remain where they choose. And the technologies that we didn't have before. Technology opened up a world of possibility for people who need extra help. Giving the people tools that reduce the need for home care keep them independent longer. A Beneficial Way to Live Under One Roof As property prices rise, multigenerational living will grow in popularity over time. But bringing the generations under one roof can be easier in a house designed to meet the needs of each family member for privacy and togetherness. And that means a reassessment of the functions inside of a family home. And also how we go about building, expanding and protecting these houses. As they become home to a growing number of different generations all living under the same roof. About Our Co-Host Jonna is the Founder of Green Tree Home Care – a business that provides Care Professionals in the homes of clients so they can stay safe, cared for, and comfortable at home. Jonna discovered a passion for working with the senior community 7 years ago. She is also part of the sandwich generation. She understands the challenge of balancing the needs of marriage, growing teens, and aging parents. She is an expert on helping family members stay in their own home and was on the show before. You can hear her original interview on episode 24 when the show was still pretty new. Mentioned in this Episode: Karen Sternheimer – The Return of Multigenerational Households www.trustedhousesitters.com This post about retirement and retirement lifestyle first appeared on http://RockYourRetirement.com