Almost every retired person I know has said something like that to me.
It’s just one of the things I promised myself would not be part of my retirement. I spent an entire lifetime being busy, fighting against being busy, and promising myself that, if I ever had the opportunity, I would not be busy. Or maybe I really mean overly busy ... idle hands and all that stuff.
In any case, I decided quite some time ago to plan for my retirement rather than letting it just happen to me. And so, based on my experiences, both leading to and now living in retirement, I have a few thoughts I want to share with you.
A. Be honest with yourself about your resources, especially your money situation. Food, housing, healthcare, recreation, travel ... all these things can cost you money (Medicare doesn’t kick in until you turn 65, and there are often premiums to pay). You can offset some expenses (walk instead of drive; spend more time at home, garden some of your food, etc.). However, don’t despair if you only have a small amount of money on which to retire. I watched my in-laws successfully retire on very little money. My father-in-law had been a machinist almost all of his adult life. He had no company sponsored retirement, nor did he have any company sponsored health coverage. My mother-in-law was blind from birth. Suffice to say, they were not “rolling in the dough.” And yet, with careful planning, they found a way to enter their retirement years with enough. And that’s the watchword: enough. It takes a little thought (and maybe a calculator), but you can project how much you are going to need to live on. Once you have that number, that becomes your money goal.
B. Decide where you will live. Where you will live will shape every other decision. If you are planning to relocate, you need to include that cost in your money plan. But it also affects how much and what kind of clothing you will need, and even what foods will be available to you at different times of year. If you want to retire in the north, you need to take winter into consideration. If you want to live south, near the ocean or gulf (or in the desert), air conditioning and humidity are major factors. Also, some locations are just more costly on a day-to-day basis than others. Research what current retirees are paying for housing, food, etc., in your preferred location. Luckily, all of this is out there on the internet. Another consideration: will you live with family, or communally, or in a care facility? All of these need to be planned for ... as much as they can be.
C. Decide what you want to do in retirement. I have often heard, “Retire to something, not from something.” There is some truth in there. If your whole plan is to just get out of the workforce, you will not be happy in retirement. I recall my grandfather just leaving the house every morning and walking for most of the day. He didn’t want to just be a home, but he didn’t really have anywhere to go and he had nothing to do. The sadness of that has been seared into my brain. Luckily, there are a couple of fairly easy things you can do to make this part go well for you. First, take a little time to think about (and write down) the things, actions, travels, etc., you’ve “always wanted to do.” Most of us have some idea, already, about matters that we have had to push aside, put on hold, etc., because of the time constraints of working, raising families, caring for loved ones with health concerns ... you know all of this. In that list, you will find that there are some that call to you more than others. Have you wanted to do (or do more) community service? Put that in your plan. Does your garden call to you? Put that in your plan. What about travel? If you’ve got places on your bucket list, put that in your plan. Once you have begun your list, try to divide it into two broad sections: one for day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month kinds of activities ... the kinds of things that will fill your days at home (or close to home). The other section is for things like travel desires, running for political office, post-retirement employment, and the like. Once you have some of these things on paper, revisit A and B, above, so you can match up resources and locations. The more realistic your plan, the more likely you will actually get to do it.
D. Plan for a “Gap Year.” Among some really excellent advice I received prior to actually retiring was this gem. Give yourself an entire year in which you make no new commitments. Does that sound strange to you? Does it sound like something you could not actually do? Let me share with you how not only I, but also my spouse, employed this lovely tool to significantly increase the joy of our retirement. When I retired, I already knew I wanted to become more involved in my community. However, beyond some broad ideas, I had no real specifics. I wanted to “be useful” and to “be helpful” and “to be of service” in some way. I wanted my involvements, whatever they turned out to be, “to have an impact” on my community. But, by making a covenant with myself to wait for a year before making any significant commitments, I found I had time to do some other, very significant, things. After about three months of careful, thoughtful consideration, I decided to enter a local community volunteer training program (LeadershipPlenty, for those who are interested. Designed by the Pew Foundation, it has a unique philosophy and approach that works with folks who are already present in local communities.). Because I waited, and had a relatively free calendar, I could take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to explore our community and learn about our true needs. As a result, by the time my “gap year” was coming to a close, I knew how I wanted to redeem my time. I was invited onto the board of a local nonprofit that works with unaccompanied homeless high school students to facilitate their graduation and next life-step. In the following year, I added just a couple more activities (joined the League of Women Voters; sought an appointment to the local public library advisory commission). My spouse has had a similar experience. Following retirement, she continued to serve on the board of our local public radio station, but turned down every other “opportunity” that came calling (and they do come calling ... nature abhors a vacuum). Now, as she approaches the end of her “gap year,” she has begun to see the shape of what she might actually want to do with her life in the coming years. In the meantime, we have used her gap year for travel, family connections, time with the grands, reading, writing, spiritual development, etc.
2. WORK YOUR PLAN: Before we explore this, let me share with you something that often surprises people about planning: no plan survives actual implementation. Yes, you need to plan. No, you don’t have to do things that no longer make sense. Between the time you make your plan and the time when you might actually retire, lots of things will change. Part of working your plan is that you will, from time to time, need to amend it so that it always reflects reality. Remember: a dream is what you desire; a plan is how you make those dreams come true. To put it bluntly: some of our dreams may be beyond our ability to make come true. You will have to choose, so take the time to determine what matters most to you. Reviewing, amending, and working your plan will help you to choose what most matters to you and then help you match your resources, location, etc., to trying to fulfill those dreams.
3. ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT: Because we are all different, have different resources and different situations, what makes for an enjoyable retirement will be different for each of us. Planning will help. But, truthfully, your own attitude and approach to your daily life in retirement will be the most important factor. For me, focusing on how I use my time has been key to my happiness; time with my spouse, time with my family (in-laws, outlaws ... I get to define who makes up my family), reading, writing, spiritual journey. All of these are precious to me —the most important aspects of my life— and are the real reasons I got out of the “rat race” to begin with.
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There is a lot more that can be (and has been) written about retirement. My objective, here, was to try to keep it simple. As mentioned, there is a lot of information out on the Internet, and it is easily searched for on Google or some other search engine. Feel free to do some research. The more you make it your plan, the better.
PHOTO: https://allwording.com/retirement-party-invitation-wording/
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