James P. O’Brien
Most of SaddleBrooke’s residents are retired, but here is a book to pass on to family and friends, It’s Monday Morning: “There Are People in My Office Working…and I’m Not One of Them” (Realities of Retirement). Jim O’Brien, SaddleBrooke resident, has just completed a 2nd edition of this “how to” book on retirement, following the success of the 1st edition.
Whether newly retired, considering retiring, or dreaming of retirement, this book has useful information and thoughts for everyone who will eventually retire and wants to plan now. Baby boomers have left the workforce and have entered retirement in overwhelming numbers. This book addresses many issues about retirement in a user-friendly manner. It discusses age-based, emotion-based, and finance-based retirement. Although many Boomers have worked through these decisions, the book is invaluable to those new to the workforce as well as those contemplating retirement within a decade or two.
The author presents how retirement is funded through personal savings, pensions, and Social Security. Strategies for accumulating personal savings are presented as well as a variety of pension plans. Current (2020) Social Security principles are outlined.
He also considers other practical issues of retirement, including consolidating assets, writing a will and trust, budgeting, and securing health and nursing care insurance. Lifestyle choices are presented, including physical fitness, nutrition, educational and cultural pursuits, travel and sports, as well as downsizing and moving. Living with one’s spouse, children, and grandchildren are considered as well as economizing through senior discounts and price discrimination to stretch retirement dollars. The book is interwoven with numerous “real life” vignettes, many based on interviews with SaddleBrooke residents, and worksheets to assist readers in making choices. There are appendices that provide guides for retirement number crunching.
The author spent 42 years as a music educator, but retired from the University of Arizona in 2003. He holds a Ph.D. in Fine Arts as well as an M.B.A. in marketing and finance. He has worked as a professional tax preparer, real estate agent, land developer, and professional musician. He has authored 13 books, including two books in music education (Holt, Rinehart and Winston and Prentice-Hall), one in music appreciation with Macmillan (2 editions), as well as instructional manuals. He completed the first edition of Realities of Retirement in 2015 and an autobiography, Somewhere the Train Goes: A Life Journey in 2016.
Jim has lived in SaddleBrooke since 2003, but spends six months in a cottage at Yachats on the Oregon coast, near the scene depicted on the book cover. He is a cyclist, walker, and dog lover and continues to perform on piano, accordion, and trombone. He and his spouse, Shirley, perform on digital accordions professionally throughout Oregon and Arizona. He also volunteers, including teaching ESL classes for IMPACT and preparing income tax returns for AARP and VITA programs.
It’s Monday Morning: “There Are People in My Office Working…and I’m Not One of Them” (Realities of Retirement) is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Its-Monday-Morning-Realities-Retirement-ebook/dp/B01AM2IQ2E.