10 Tips to Help Make Retirement The “Golden Years”

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So retirement has arrived, and all the wonderful benefits of retirement are yours to enjoy and appreciate, right?

It may be important to take a moment and ensure you are ready for retirement. Ready for retirement?

That may sound odd initially, but just taking a moment to consider what that means should quickly bring clarity and reason to this consideration.

Any endeavor of any consequence will most likely require some planning and consideration. Retirement isn’t any different. It may be even more true of retirement as it is a lifestyle change impacting time, income, and even health.

Some tips can help make this time, these “golden years,” just that.

1 – Budget for the Future

Keep the “golden years” that this namesake proclaims by saving some of that gold. Unless you’re independently wealthy, this may be one of the biggest changes in your life.

Look at your budget and make a plan. This will remove stress and give you a clear picture of what you must work with for those retirement plans.

2 – Remember, ‘Less is More’

Chances are the kids have long since left the nest. That all the room and yard space needed for children, hosting those youthful events (for the kids and yourself), isn’t necessary anymore. So no sense in paying for what you don’t need, which will help loosen that budget above.

Another benefit of downsizing your home and getting into something smaller is saving time. The basic upkeep of a larger residence can require considerably more time and money.

3 – Continue to Work On and Follow Your Passions

It may be advisable to continue working in some capacity. Aside from the obvious advantage of an extra income, this can add structure to your new schedule. For some of those more pricey retirement plans, using the extra income to put toward that trip or cruise just can’t hurt.

4 – Check a Few Things Off Your Bucket List

Yes, this was a very popular movie. That doesn’t detract from the fact that some very real truths were included in this film. Make your bucket list; everything you couldn’t do years before because of time, money, family, and so on may now be viable realities.

5 – Exercise Your Body and Your Brain

No, this doesn’t sound like the fun and enjoyment of the “golden years,” but if you aren’t healthy enough or staying healthy enough to enjoy this period of your life, then the rest becomes a moot point.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that being in the condition to run a triathlon or enter a fitness competition is necessary (unless it is on your bucket list!), but with more free time and more downtime, extra weight and unhealthy habits can easily sneak up on you.

6 – Stay Active

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This is tied to exercise but is more about the schedule you keep. Find activities and or events to fill your new schedule. This will afford opportunities to stay involved with others and your community and allow that variety that is so important to keep life interesting and moving.

7 – Find New Hobbies

This can be an excellent way to check the boxes for staying active and exercising. There are always those things that have held our interest and stirred our passions that we weren’t permitted the time or luxury of doing. That love of woodworking, writing, or whatever it has been that you have wanted to explore is now a real option.

8 – Go Back to School

Have you ever wanted to take a class in psychology, computers, or anything else? Well, this is a two-fold benefit; in addition to learning about a subject that has always been a curiosity for you, there is the very valuable bonus of keeping your mind sharp.

An old commercial speaking to children declared, “the mind is a muscle; work it.” This is no less true now than it was in our childhood and youth.

9 – Lend a Hand – Volunteer

With the right perspective, this could almost be considered an obligation. For all the good that volunteer organizations have given our communities which in one way or another was a benefit to you, it just seems right to give back. This is also a chance to do something that counts and that you can feel good about.

10 – Take it Easy and Take it Slow

Punching the clock, getting the children to class, practicing, and so on, or any of the countless deadlines of our once hectic and crazy lives has now calmed.

Be mindful that you are learning a new lifestyle, so relax and take your time adjusting and remember that there is no pressure to get this or that done by 3 p.m. You have earned the right to rest.

You may have noticed a few things on this list that sound like life as usual, not the easy, laid-back, do whatever you want to that is often associated with retirement. This is true to some degree, and just like life before retirement, balance is the key. Enjoy these years, and rest and stay active to stay healthy.

Go back to work but rekindle those hobbies that have for too long been dormant. Balancing the rest, activity, plans, and everything else that comes with retirement will be important.

Society, your family, and the community you live in appreciate the example you’ve set, and you should be proud of getting to this place in your life. So please make the most of it, and find that gold in this new life that awaits you.

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One Comment

  1. I am retired. When I die will my wife receive my pension. How long will I have to be married for her receiving my pension?

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