About

When Kathryn Severns Avery’s husband, Chris, began contemplating retirement in 2014, she knew they had to quickly come up with a multi-faceted plan. They spent the next year discussing, sometimes heatedly, what they would do once he stopped working. On paper, their plan looked exciting. They would head from Colorado to the 1891 sea captain’s house they bought and renovated in Rockland on Maine’s midcoast.

Kathryn Avery

Kathryn Avery

But the reality of planning and implementing retirement was much different than expected. Kathryn,11 years younger than her husband, wasn’t ready to retire from her successful career combining lifestyle design and home décor styling which she believes are inexorably linked. (“Whether someone wants to admit it or not, their home reflects every aspect of their life,” she said. “When your home isn’t working, your life isn’t working.)

Neither realized how stressful the retirement planning process and would be. Nor were they prepared for the emotional, physical, and other challenges they experienced after Chris left the workforce. “We thought we would easily transition into this next phase of life. We were dead wrong,” she said.

Knowing that countless other baby boomers will soon face the same retirement planning experience, Kathryn carefully researched, wrote, and published Your Countdown to Retirement to guide them around hidden hazards and unanticipated pitfalls. Through the Your Countdown to Retirement platform, she speaks about, conducts workshops, and coaches clients on how to create an inspirational and fulfilling plan for one’s post-employment phase of life. She also continues to work with clients to create homes with lifelong designs so they can live there comfortably for as long as possible.

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Kathryn has worked in radio, television, marketing, and public relations. She is the author of five books and has written articles on interior design and crafts for national and regional publications including Romantic Homes, Log Homes Illustrated, The Rocky Mountain News and Colorado Homes and Lifestyles.

Like Your Countdown to Retirement’s Facebook page and visit the website www.yourcountdowntoretirement.com for more ideas and information.  To reach Kathryn, email yctr2016@gmail.com or call (207) 596-3485.