I’ll admit that retirement planning is serious business. Scripture, faith, wisdom, stewardship; plus sequence of returns, required minimum distributions, Social Security optimization strategies—there’s no shortage of weighty topics to wrestle with, and we wrestle with them regularly around here. I’m still working on the “Biblically-Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship” (BIFRS) series, which will probably take the rest of this year. But in all this, I’ve come to appreciate something the Proverbs writer knew long ago: “A joyful heart is good medicine.”
So welcome to The Lighter Side, which will be a recurring feature where Earl, his wife Dot, and their dog Tippy take a sideways look at retirement, aging, money, faith, and the occasionally bewildering experience of being a Christian trying to finish well in a world that can’t quite agree on what that means. Earl works hard at it and means well. Dot sees things simply and clearly. And Tippy, who’s named after a certain inflation-protected financial instrument, never misses a chance to offer tips of his own, and has questions and opinions about everything.
If you’ve ever bought a retirement book that directly contradicts the last retirement book you bought, you may see yourself here. If you’ve been frustrated by all the noise and conflicting claims in the financial media or been confused by an earnest financial advisor, you’ll find something in these cartoons to smile about.
I’ve tried to capture the essence of The Lighter Side in this week’s first installment. I hope you like it—new installments of The Lighter Side will appear regularly right here on the blog and in the newsletter. My intent is for each one to tackle a topic with a humorous angle but always land on a genuine point.
Oh, and by the way, these cartoons are not AI-generated. I hand-draw them with an app called “SketchNow.” Honestly, it’s primarily intended for developing presentations, not cartoons, but I’m finding ways to make it work. I used it to do all the little cartoons on each chapter heading page in NextGen Steward: Planning and Living for the Glory of God.
Drop me a line and let me know what you think, or if you have a suggestion for a cartoon.