What’s Your Return on Your RECP?

My research for You Could Live a Long Time; Are You Ready? emphasized our need to build and strengthen our emotional circle. We can pay people to care FOR us but we can't pay them to care ABOUT us. So, we need to nurture our friendships and support our family. And, if we have a partner, we need to figure out whether our partner is the right one for the long term. To build this support, I propose that we develop a Retirement Emotional Circle Plan. We need to continually invest in our RECP and give it as much weight in our planning as our RRSP.

The holidays we celebrate at this time of year can beam a stark light on our emotional circle. The Globe and Mail Report on Business turned its financial investor column over to a discussion about my RECP not just one year but twice– both at this time of year. We know it’s not all about the money - but sometimes we lose our way. 

I’d like to share this wisdom from 83-year-old Ellen who has seen several close friends die this past year.

“My emotional circle is getting more and more important. I am keenly aware of it, and I nurture it! I see people getting lonely in older age, and it's because they don't ‘work’ on their relationships. It’s so important, especially if you live alone, like me. The heck with the phone bills (some of my circle is still very much alive in Europe). I find now that at every nice event I am thinking ‘this is as good as it (might) get/s’ and l have learned to enjoy it even more.”