I’m always a bit perplexed by the ads and suggested-for-you content that appear when I’m logged into one of my social media accounts.
Most days I log in at least once to what I call the “Big 3” social media platforms — Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It’s nice to keep up on news alerts from Twitter, follow my friends on Facebook, and see snapshots from many of those same friends who post images to Instagram.
Plus, my wife and I have to post the occasional image of our soon-to-be 3-year-old golden retriever to the Instagram account we created for Santiago when we brought him home in 2020. He’s up to 133 followers.
Oftentimes it seems that the ads and suggested-for-you content that appear on my social media apps have little to do with my interests. As tempting as it might be to go back to school to earn a master’s degree in accountancy or to watch a video of how a new ergonomically designed pillow can improve how I sleep, the ads that fill my newsfeed don’t always capture my attention or interests.
Recently, however, it seems that the social media powers that be have decided to send a lot of suggested content my way because they think I’m about to retire.
The AARP hasn’t started sending me emails and snail mail quite yet, but almost every other ad or suggested-for-you content that you can imagine appear each time I’m logged into one of my social media accounts.
I hate to break the news to these folks, but I’m still in my early 40s and am a good 20 years away from embracing the retired lifestyle. And I’m not sure if I ever will fully retire.
My wife does poke fun at me from time to time for all the spreadsheets I keep for our budget and retirement planning, but it’s a labor of love for me to crunch numbers and plan in this way. If I ever were to switch careers, financial planning certainly would be a field that interests me enough to run toward.
Earlier this week, however, one of the retirement posts did catch my attention enough to make me click the link to a news story.
The article boasted about the 14 most beautiful places to retire abroad — a must-read story for anyone who loves to travel as much as we do.
From Porto, Portugal, and San Sebastián, Spain, to Gold Coast, Australia, and Cartagena, Colombia, the author shared reason after reason why these places made the list as the most charming places to spend one’s retirement years if you’re looking to relocate outside of the United States.
Some of the destinations are in colonial cities or quaint towns while others are near the beach or on a tropical island, and each one is a place I would love to explore some day.
It appears many U.S. retirees feel the same, as there were 443,546 retired Americans receiving Social Security benefits while living overseas, according to an article that appeared in USA Today in January. In 1999, there were just 219,504 retired American workers receiving Social Security benefits while living abroad.
While my wife and I are still more than 20 years away from retiring from our careers — despite what the social-media powers-that-be think with their suggested-for-you content — we hope that we can visit many of the places we read about long before we retire.
In fact, I think it’s time to put together another spreadsheet and a budget to plan our next adventure. There’s no time like the present to start planning a future trip.
In the meantime, maybe those retirement ads I am used to seeing will change to more travel-focused content.
jdpeeper2@hotmail.com
