Beating retirement blues

Carefree: Life can be like a stroll in the park if one learns to live more simply and is money-wise.

Live modestly while you're gainfully employed so that there will be more savings and less adjustments upon your retirement.

Recently, I took a break from work to attend a two-day workshop designed to equip older working professionals with the know-how to cope financially. One exercise generated some surprising responses from course participants. We were asked to work out how a 55-year-old breadwinner could continue to support a homemaker wife, a son doing national service, and a bedridden mother being looked after by a maid – if he loses his S$7,000-a-month job.