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More than anything else, my father loved his cars. From the time I could remember anything, I picture my Dad doing something car related — washing and waxing, fixing, buying or selling, but, most of all, driving. When I was around 25, my father had a 1970’s MG Midget – one of those 2 seater, convertible sports cars. You know the kind – shiny, chrome and leather, turning heads, making you want to take the day off and cruise!

As a child growing up near Schenectady, I can remember going to buy clothes at the Carl company. I thought it was the neatest thing to get into an elevator with a human operator. Downtown was a really cool place, and I can remember all of the people shopping and the buzz in the air – Schenectady was a destination.

What does leaving a legacy mean to you? To me, the question is twofold: First, did I protect my financial assets for my loved ones and have I made my wishes known and memorialized in the event of death or incapacity, and secondly, did my life have meaning?

Congratulations on earning that degree. Now what? Here is some common sense wisdom they don’t teach you in school. It’s better to learn these ideas now than by the “school of hard knocks”. Work Hard A good old-fashioned work ethic is just as necessary today as it was 30 years ago, and in this job environment, the people who work the hardest get the promotions.

I used to find it hard to live in the moment. I didn’t have patience, and I put a lot of emotional energy into outcomes that I really didn’t have much control over. Then, my wife Joy and I decided that owning eight dogs (now seven) was a good idea, and they taught me a thing or two about life.

It may seem odd that a financial planning business with a blog titled Happiness in Retirement would have an article about Hospice. But in the end only two things are certain, and taxes is the other one. We owe it to our friends and family who have gone before us to live a happy and fulfilling life, and to do otherwise is not what they would have wanted for us.

Having a hard time coming up with goals to work toward? Try writing a letter to yourself from 20 years into the future. Or, if you prefer, send yourself an email using this site. Here is mine: Dear Bill, It’s me, or, should I say, you – only 20 years from now. I’m writing to let you know how it all turned out.

The biggest event in the Del-Sette household in 2013 was the loss of our faithful Cairn Terrier, Nessie. She was named after that famous creature of the sea, Loch Ness, and while Cairns were bred in Scotland to rid farms of pests, Nessie would have none of that. Unlike our other Cairn Inky, Nessie was too cosmopolitan to dig a hole, let alone spend her precious time hunting for varmints.

Imagine that your Doctor practices medicine part-time. When you call his office, he answers the phone and schedules your appointment. When you arrive, he is plowing his driveway after a snowstorm. You walk in to the building which, in an effort to save money, is an old garage the Doctor renovated with the help of his nephew. You slip on the ice, and the Doctor jumps out of the plow truck.

There are two broad categories of worries – those we can do something about and those we can’t do anything about. In either case, we shouldn’t waste our time worrying about either – and here’s why. First, there are those worries about things we can do something about. If we can act on a problem, then why worry about it? If we choose not to act, it usually means the worry is about something we don’t really place a high value on.

Months or even years can be spent planning a military strategy, but, in the fog of war, these plans inevitably change, and are sometimes rendered useless, by external events. That’s why the idea of Commanders Intent is so important. Based on a single sentence, a soldier can improvise when the best of plans go awry and still achieve the mission. This idea can be applied to retirement planning.

The idea of unlimited economic growth with limited natural resources is a bit far-fetched. We already know that unbridled greed and consumption does not lead to happiness, so instead of trying to maximize the amount of stuff you have, why not try to maximize your happiness with the least amount of stuff?

 I’ve always liked Halloween. To me, the holiday brings back fond childhood memories, like watching scary movies all night, getting sick on candy and being grounded for spreading toilet paper over my neighbor’s trees. It also comes at my favorite time of the year, a time that signifies change as the leaves are falling and the days get shorter.

Can you imagine resisting the changing seasons? On Sunday morning I was sitting out in the yard where a huge hickory tree lives. Leaves were slowly breaking off and drifting to the ground. I thought to myself “It’s only the end of August – too early for fall!” as dismay built inside me. Then, the futility of trying to resist change struck me like a first prize state fair pumpkin thrown by Tom Seaver.

When I graduated college, I lived in a two bedroom apartment that was comfortable, if not a little small. My landlord took care of things that needed fixing. The rent was easy enough to make, and I had good neighbors. I was free to come and go as I pleased, and I always came home to a plowed driveway or a mowed lawn. But, like most Americans, I wanted my own home, and I worked and saved until I had enough for a down payment.

Many clients know that, prior to my career as a financial planner, I worked in public accounting. However, I’ve never told how or why I made the transition to financial planning. In hindsight, it was the best move I ever made. Not because public accounting is not a great career choice – it just was not a great career choice for me. If I had taken some time to examine my values beforehand, this may have been clear to me at the time.

Have you ever had one of those evenings, when you crawl into bed exhausted, but it’s not a good feeling? Maybe you spent all of your time on projects that simply did not matter to you. Perhaps you spent the day living someone else’s definition of success. Maybe you are starting to recognize that you are on the wrong career path, or you made some bad relationship decisions, either with a business partner or a spouse. Perhaps your day closes with a headache or irritability.

One of the most important concepts I learned in Economics is that of opportunity cost, meaning the cost of doing one thing is missing the opportunity to do something else. This concept could be applied to virtually any course of action, financial or otherwise, and people use it all the time without knowing it. Another concept is that of Psychic income, or the satisfaction one feels from doing a task, hobby, or enjoying down time.

Many Capital Region residents are not aware of the large Amish population in the Mohawk Valley region of Upstate NY. If you live around the town of Esperance and need handyman work done, or perhaps a quilt or storage shed, you hire the Amish. They can be found every weekend selling their baked goods on street corners or in parking lots in Johnstown or Glen. One of the biggest risks drivers face in this area is running into a slow moving Amish buggy!

Many people do not have a sense of urgency to accomplish their life goals because they think they will have time to do it later. In the movie The Bucket List, two men learn they have a terminal illness and are going to die soon. They then set out to accomplish all the things they want to do before they die, known as a bucket list (before they kick the bucket). The movie is inspiring, and I highly recommend seeing it.

When I was a child, my family would gather for the holidays at my grandparents’ home in Granville, NY. The kids in the family would have our own setup in the living room. This was 2 card tables side by side, and, while a bit wobbly, they did the trick.

It’s hard to believe that over a year has passed since hurricane Irene came and went. For those that live in certain parts of New York State or Vermont, the storm was devastating. My wife grew up in a beautiful Catskill town that was considered ground zero for Irene’s damage – Prattsville, NY. My in-laws and many of Joy’s closest friends still live there.

I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done. –Lucille Ball Use your health, even to the point of wearing it out. That is what it is for. Spend all you have before you die; do not outlive yourself. George Bernard Shaw

 Why is it so difficult to take an action that we know is beneficial, like increasing savings rates, consulting an attorney for estate planning, or buying life insurance? The answer lies in proactivity. What is Proactivity? The definition of being proactive is creating or controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than responding to it after. The opposite of proactive is reactive.

This is the first in a series of candid interviews concerning retirement.  In this series, I’ll interview people in various stages in life in order to gain a real world perspective about the dangers and opportunities that confront them – their hopes, dreams and worries when it comes to financial independence. What does retirement mean to a young couple raising a family?  To a retiree who retired right before the economy tanked?

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns somthing he can learn in no other way. Mark Twain Research indicates that many of the experiences that bring about happiness are universal, and, as such, much of the writing in this blog can apply to people at any life stage.  But at age 45, what experience do I have with retirement?  

I’ve always been intrigued by the notion of happiness. I began reading the happiness/success literature many years ago, starting with How to Win Friends and Influence People by Napoleon Hill. While I’m not yet retired, I’m trying to learn the keys to true happiness NOW to help myself, but also so I might help those who are already retired. Of course, it’s a good idea to figure these things out sooner rather than later!

 Hi! My name is Bill Del-Sette, and I am a Certified Financial Planner® that specializes in retirement planning and fee based investment management. One of the first clients I had the opportunity to work with lost 20 pounds and went through a depression upon retirement, even though he had a great family and all the money he could need. This got me to thinking: What is it that people who enjoy retirement do differently from those who don’t?

Positive Psychology is the name given to that branch of psychology that focuses on the keys to happiness instead of focusing on what makes people sad or depressed like traditional psychology.   Research has found that certain activities tend to boost happiness much more than others, and as much as 40% of happiness can be controlled by you, as opposed to being preprogrammed by nature like a thermostat.

While it’s great to get away to a far-off location or some exotic vacation, the capital region has much to offer its residents.  Look no further than your town or county’s calendar of events for fun and interesting things to do, often free! Here is a tiny sampling of events in and around the Capital Region

A crucial aspect of retirement planning is drafting a retirement budget to get an idea of how much income you need to support your lifestyle.  If you don’t get it right, you may find yourself spending more than planned, and that can lead to stress.