Volunteering: The Best Investment You Might Make In Retirement

Retirement isn’t just about stepping away from work. It’s about stepping into something meaningful. While most people focus on finances, the happiest retirees often find something deeper: purpose, connection, and a reason to get out of bed each morning. Today, Taylor explores how volunteering can transform retirement through your time, talents, and financial resources. You’ll hear real-life examples of why giving back might deliver the greatest return you’ll ever experience.

Here’s what we discuss in today’s show:

🤝 Meaningful Connection: Build purpose and community

⏰ Time Well Spent: Turn hobbies into service

🧠 Use Your Skills: Impact others with experience

💰 Smart Giving: Maximize tax-efficient strategies

🎓 Lasting Impact: Create life-changing opportunities

Resources:

Website:  https://www.demarsfinancial.com/

Phone: (509) 536-9556

Schedule an introduction call with Taylor: https://bit.ly/demarspodcast

Check out Taylor's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TaylorMadeRetirement

Taylor's Newsletter: https://demars-financial-group.kit.com/827c64fe0e

Disclaimer: Since we don't know your specific situation, none of this information should be construed as tax, legal, financial, insurance, financial advice, or other advice and may be outdated or inaccurate. It is your responsibility to verify all information yourself. This content is prepared for entertainment purposes only. If you need advice, please contact a qualified CPA, attorney, insurance agent, financial advisor, or the appropriate professional for the subject you would like help with. Demars Financial Group, LLC or its members cannot be held liable for any use or misuse of this content. Advisory services offered through Demars Financial Group LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor. Demars Financial Group is not affiliated with LPL Financial.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

In honor of National Volunteer Week this month, let's talk about why volunteering is an important part of life, especially in retirement. Because it's not always just about stepping away from work.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Welcome to Taylor Made Retirement, where we explore what it takes to build a retirement that works for your money and your life with third generation certified financial planner Taylor DeMars.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

This is Taylor Made Retirement with Taylor DeMars Certified Financial Planner at the DeMars Financial Group. And today is Taylor Mitchell. We're talking volunteering, and I like this topic, Taylor, because you know I think a lot of people just think about money, financial, the financial aspect of retirement. But there's so much about finding a purpose in retirement, and volunteering can definitely help with that.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

100%. Yeah, because when people are entering retirement, I feel like the the picturesque idea of it is, you know, sitting on a beach, peanut sipping a pina colada. And you can only do so much of that before that becomes boring, ironically enough. And so I I think volunteering is a natural inclination people are may have in the back of their mind, but really starts to fill up those hours in a meaningful way.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Yeah, absolutely. And we're going to talk about some different ways you can spend your time, ways to give back, ways to make a difference in those organizations that matter most to you. Before we talk about that, Taylor, why does it actually matter? What what's so important about volunteering in retirement? I mean, besides the obvious of, hey, chance to help out, but why is this so important when you're talking about retirement planning?

SPEAKER_02 1:31

Yeah, for sure. I mean, volunteering in and of itself feels like a selfless thing, and it is, but I think there are some selfish elements to it that uh really help our clients the most. And and it comes down to the data, first of all, where studies show that people that, you know, feel like they're needed and make a difference in the world around them, it helps them boost their spirits and and gives them a better jump in their step, both physically and mentally, depending on what you're doing. And there's the the saying out there that I've I've seen firsthand proven by my own clients, that the happiest retirees are those that have three things. They generally have a hobby, something that lights them up. They have social interactions, people beyond their spouse and immediate family, and they have a purpose, something that gets them out of bed in the morning. And volunteering can many times be all three of those things the hobby, social interactions, and a purpose. And many times people just focus on one, maybe two, but gotta focus on all three, and that's where volunteering is so powerfully because it can do all three at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Yeah, and how often are you talking with your clients about volunteering? Is this something they usually have in mind when they uh make that transition, or is this something that you kind of bring to their attention and discuss with them as a way to, you know, check these boxes that are so important in retirement?

SPEAKER_02 2:42

Yeah, it's a mix of both. I mean, it really depends on what that client's social circles look like. Many times they want to give back in their in their local community at the food bank. Maybe they're wanting to do more at their church. Uh many times they're wanting to find ways to to give back in in some of uh some main categories that I think we'll bring up today because many times people think about, oh, I've got a you know, clock in my hours at the food bank, like I said, or whatnot. But there's there's multiple ways to to give back and volunteer than just doing spending your time.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

Yeah, there are. And we're gonna we're gonna dive into those uh coming up. But I want to start with time because I think this is you know obviously the easiest way to give. And I think the the way that most people think of is, hey, I can go spend some time. And this is a great opportunity, I think. You know, there's a couple different ways to approach it, you know, finding a hobby or you know, using the talents that you've amassed over the course of your career can be very valuable to these organizations.

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Exactly. Yeah, because retirement isn't necessarily it's not like the the a dead end of a road. I like to think of it as a leap forward. And many times people think of retirement as requirement instead. And I think being able to think about you you built decades amassing, you know, your your expertise and your talent around certain capabilities, whether it may be in engineering or managing other people or in finances, or uh, you know, I've got one client who's an attorney who wants to find ways to give back. The the end the possibilities are endless. So, yes, time is a low-hanging fruit to do some of those activities we talked about, and your time is definitely valuable. But talent is, I think, where we can take that to the next level, where we can uh have people be involved in in local community events or or helping at trade schools or at nonprofits. This is the opportunity to get your involvement flexed in a way that is truly valued. And yes, it may not be valued in the sense of paying you a dollar or a certain number of dollars for your time, but it's something that can give back something that you can't put a price on. One thing that I love, in fact, is my grandpa just over this last weekend, he lives in southern Utah, he is one of the biggest golf fanatics I know, but in his mid 80s, you know, it's not like he's golfing every week, but there's a PGA tour event in in his local area, and he just had a ball just uh volunteering and helping out at the event. And so really a cool blend of him mixing mixing his time, his expertise, his hobby into something that felt like he was uh participating in helping others.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

Yeah, I love that. It's a great way to really try to chase those things that you're really excited about. And you know, I I wonder, kind of in your experience, do you see people that that use really the skills they've they are working in an area maybe they've kind of spent their whole career in, or do they often pursue maybe the talents they have that they didn't really get to flex as much during their career?

SPEAKER_02 5:19

Yeah, I you know, there's definitely people who who flex their talents that they develop throughout their career, but I think what other people find in this called refinement lens is chasing down things that they probably couldn't justify spending the time to do otherwise. Being able to, I mean, one one client I told me he lives in California, he said, I just want to volunteer and be a lifeguard at the beach, right? I think there's an element to get a uh an excuse to get his tan on. But being able to feel like he's, you know, someone who's a data scientist by trade, you can't really justify saying, well, I'm gonna spend, you know, a dozen or two dozen hours of my week, you know, being a lifeguard, right? Uh, but but but being able to explore and and and have new talents and and be a mentor, right? Not just the physical activity of be a lifeguard or helping out a local library or nonprofit, but you you you have, I think people underestimate the the the aura, the the the leadership that they have around them, and just being able to be a model for those people who are early in their career or may have never had a one-on-one interaction with someone like that to be able to understand, hey, what is a model citizen look like? What is someone who has worked hard, saved hard, and and and given back to their community throughout their their career look like and be able to have a positive impact in that way as well?

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Yeah, you you mentioned the 200 you know hours or whatever it is to give back. That is, I think, the beauty of it is that you you know you do control your time and you can do as much or as little as you want. If you've is there a sweet spot in terms of how often people are are volunteering when it comes to time? Is it weekly, quarterly? Is there something that you've seen that's more common?

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Yeah, I I mean there's it there's such a a wide varying wit range of involvement. I like to think of it as seasons. Many times there's the the go-go slogo, no-go phases of retirement, right? And so the go-go phase, people are understandably chasing down doing more of those things that they've been releasing pent-up energy to do in those early years of retirement, be it those trips with family members or loved ones or other activities that they've been waiting to get into. Inevitably that honeymoon phase starts to wear off. And I see more people starting to sit back and say, you know, what else am I going to do with my time? I can only, you know, do so many hiking trips or or cruises. So I think it definitely comes in times and seasons. And when they do, finding an opportunity to be to be uh regularly involved, like you're siding, whether it's a monthly activity or a quarterly event that they get involved in, that that pulls them in rather than just waiting for them to get up and be proactive about it is is I think a win-win.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

So we got time, obviously, a very easy way to give in retirement and also find that purpose, giving your talents as well. Then there's obvious the third T here is treasure, Taylor. And this, you know, obviously a chance to kind of give of the resources that you've been able to amass over time. And there's a lot of strategies that are built in around this, right?

SPEAKER_02 8:02

It's true. Yeah. And we've we've been talking about people building up their whole career, their talent, their expertise. But obviously the elephant in the room is people have been building up their nest egg, and many people are looking for ways to give back and and and make uh the fruit of their efforts be able to benefit their local communities. So using their treasure is how they can do that. Many times nonprofits, yes, need your time and talent, but at the end of the day, they need funding to pay their staff, advance their mission, and and that's where we get involved, you know, as as an advisory team, to help think of strategies that can be a win-win. Um, a couple of those off the top of my head are are like qualified charitable distributions. You can't do those until you're age 70 and a half currently, but that allows you to make donations from your most tax-expensive bucket, be it an IRA, and donate it straight to a nonprofit. And it costs no taxes, right? And many times we're seeing clients even paying their tithing to a church if they want in that in that manner as well. Uh, many times there's uh a donor-advised fund that is a proactive strategy to be able to bunch up gifting of rather than do a little bit every year, you can bunch it all up into one year, and you get an outsized tax benefit for doing a large chunk all at once. We've got donating stock that's grown, right? You can instead of selling off your NVIDIA or Apple stock that's grown really large over the years, you can donate the literal stock to the nonprofit. They sell it, pay no tax, you pay no tax, and sort of another win-win. So there's a number of strategies, and and all of them are tailored to, as is the name of this podcast, tailored to the client-specific situation. But many times it comes down to the win-win of being able to use your treasure in the most tax-efficient way.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Do you ever have to convince anyone that that's a good thing? I know a lot of times people might feel it's a little selfish to think about how does this benefit me, but truly you are just trying to make sure that you're getting the most out of the dollars that you have, aren't you?

SPEAKER_02 9:49

It's true. I mean, you know, there's a saying out there that only three people are gonna spend your money. It's you, your heirs, and the government. As long as you're proactive about it, you can be dis you can be the one that decides, you know, where the dollars go. So if you're gonna be charitably inclined anyway, then why don't we find a tax-incentivized way that that you can get more dollars towards that entity rather than towards Uncle Sam as well. And I think when it comes to, you know, that we talk a lot about dollars and cents and return on money and so on and taxes, tax planning. But I I one of my favorite examples of leveraging your treasure is a client we have locally. She was an educator her whole career. And so she's passionate about uh teaching and such. And so she has multiple scholarships set up that she funds annually at two local colleges. And so when it comes to return on money, I don't know if there is a price you could put on my client uh that can see graduates walking across the the stage to get their diploma and her knowing that she had a direct role in making that happen, right? So that's just another really satisfying way that I see clients leveraging their treasure, as you might call it, uh, to help others around them.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

Yeah, that's a really cool story. And I know look with National Volunteer Week, you know, here, and you know, even if you're listening to this later, that you know, it's not volunteer week. This is just a good reminder that look, you can continue to do good long after you've stopped working, right? And and I think also, too, Taylor, it does kind of remind you that planning doesn't stop once you've gotten to retirement either, right? I mean a lot of people think that's the that's the uh the the destination, but you you continue on and you're working with clients well beyond that retirement day.

SPEAKER_02 11:23

100%. Yeah. And I think many times people are trying to find that balance that are many times the client's number one fear is they don't want to go broke before they croak. And so as charitably minded as they want to be, at the end of the day, no one wants to, you know, become pennies in their bank account because they were so charitable towards towards others around them. So helping clients get the confidence of being able to map out their needs, wants, and wishes and making sure that they're covered before they start to you know give it give to others of their their their treasure, if you will, I think is a huge value add that we're able to feel fortunate to be a part of to give them that confidence to do so.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

Very good. Well, you can find out if you're a good fit to work with Demars Financial by going to Demar's Financial.com. Click the link in the description as well to take on that retirement readiness roadmap and really begin laying out your future. And hopefully it will include some of this volunteering and giving back to those organizations and groups that really matter to you. So brought some attention to this, but I think this is a big part of having six a successful retirement and being happy in retirement. A big part of that is giving of yourself and of your time and money and your talent as well. So, Taylor, as always, thanks for taking us through this. We appreciate your time.

SPEAKER_02 12:27

Hey, my pleasure. Thanks, Ben.