In planning your retirement, you may consult many different sources to create the best retirement solutions to address your needs. Most information deals with saving and finances but very few address everyone’s most valuable commodity: their time. Many people come to this point in their life and wonder how they’re going to fill the hours of their day with no job to go to and, often, very little spending money.
We can address both items here and that’s part of the fun as you take what may be your first step in creating your future. If money is an issue, we’ll discuss some possibilities to consider that may fit in perfectly with the most important thing of all: spending quality time doing the things that make you happy.
If you haven’t done so already, make sure you have gotten to know all about yourself by taking our Self Discovery Challenge. It is the most important thing you can do right now and worth taking the time to take a full inventory of “what makes you tick”. And, remember, there are no right or wrong answers. The only mistake you can make is not to be completely honest with yourself!
What you want to do is understand what gave you the most fulfillment in the years leading up to this point, understanding why those times affected you in the way they did and, then, build on those experiences while modifying them in a way that will reflect your current situation. Planning your retirement is not something to be taken lightly or done in a vacuum. Remember, you probably only get one shot at this. It's how the term "bucket list" got created.
If you haven’t started taking notes yet, I strongly suggest that you do so – a Retirement Journal, if you want to call it that, is not a bad idea. That was one of the suggestions contained in the Self Discovery Challenge (we’ll call it The Challenge from now on) and we think it’s a good one.
Planning your retirement should bring a smile to your face or you’re doing it wrong! If you’ve completed The Challenge, you have a list of goals and, perhaps, obstacles as you create your dream retirement. The obstacles might be financial, physical or emotional. You need to look at these first, especially if they’re significant problems. One piece of advice should always be kept in mind and that is to seek professional advice with all of these issues. We offer some guidance within this website, but we are not financial, health or medical experts. We are advocates of living life to the fullest so let’s move forward.
If money is the problem, we have a few suggestions. The first is to keep in mind that some of the best things in life are free and others cost less money than you think. If you need additional income there a few strategies you can consider. One is very traditional and that is to trade your time for money and get a job. When you consider employment, however, we advocate keeping a few things in mind when you look for a job and we discuss this further, along with a few specific suggestions, in our section on retirement jobs.
A second option to bring more money your way is to sell something that you own. Many people reach retirement age with a house, basement or garage filled with things they have accumulated over the years. We have a complete section on selling your “stuff” that is part of section of this website devoted to Retirement Income. We’ll discuss selling your possessions as well as our favorite way to generate additional money in retirement and that is to start a business. We love that ideas so much, we suggest it to people who don’t need money at all! The challenge of starting a business to support a family can be extremely stressful, but doing so to create additional income can be something that keeps you engaged in a very enjoyable and satisfying way. All we're saying is to consider it as a possibility as you're planning your retirement.
Another obstacle facing people is a physical one. Having good health in retirement is an absolute blessing but we realize many people are not in top physical shape or have a condition that is keeping them from doing the things they love. We discuss health and activity level in part of our section on Retirement Lifestyle. When people take The Challenge and list out all of their goals, we remind them to build in the time to take care of themselves so please make sure you read all about that.
If physical activity is limited, it’s good to know that there are more ways than ever to broaden your horizons through learning and virtual travel and tours. Please don’t underestimate the value of learning new things. It can keep your mind sharp, your outlook positive and make you a source of knowledge that people will seek out. In planning your retirement, part of what we discuss in The Challenge is to evaluate your physical, mental and emotional needs and identify sources for you to consider throughout this website.
As you look for ways to enrich your mind, you’ll be surprised to find out how it can help you emotionally and even physically. When there are new things to learn and do, you look forward to each day a little bit more. You learn to savor the things that bring true enjoyment. The goal of this site is to get everyone to Enjoy Retired Life more every day. To achieve that goal, planning your retirement should be an important first step no matter what your age.