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For some people, retirement can feel a bit like the dog that caught the car. You’ve prepared for this moment your entire adult life, and you’re certainly very happy to have gotten here but … well, now what?
You’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to afford your life in retirement. Now it’s time to start planning for what that life will look like. Whether you’re tweaking a plan you already have or starting from scratch, here are five tips to enjoy life after retirement.
You can work with a financial advisor who can advise you on the best investment choices for your unique situation.
Live Close to Your Friends and Family
When it comes to daily happiness, having access to friends and family can be a lifesaver. Make sure that you have people you care about that you can see on a regular basis.
Sometimes, technology, ranging from phone calls and e-mail to video chats can’t replace the feeling of in-person conversations with the people you care about. And if something goes wrong, it’s much better to have someone show up in person than on a screen.
But just as important is the fact that having friends and family around is fun. Life is much better when you have someone to hang out with on a random Saturday night. That’s even more true in retirement when every day is Saturday.
Many people see retirement as a chance to sell the house and move away. But this can be a mistake. If you can convince your friends and family to move to paradise with you, then by all means go for it.
If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Emphasize Exploring
Retirement is a great time to experience new things. Exploring is one of the best ways to enjoy your life. Having new experiences makes us happy. It forms stronger memories, creates a more vivid experience of time, releases dopamine in significant amounts, and it’s just plain fun.
When you’re at a crossroads in life, the best advice is this: Go and have an adventure. And make it your own. For some people that adventure will involve travel, going far from home to see new places.
That isn’t everyone’s adventure though. Maybe you’ve always wanted to take up farming (or, perhaps of more manageable ambition, a local garden). Maybe you want to read new books or write one. Or maybe you simply want to experience different foods or take up a new hobby.
Whatever it is, have your adventure. Then, have another one.
Find New Hobbies
Finding new hobbies in retirement can be challenging. If you’re retired in your 60s, you may not be able to do things you used to physically. Or you may not have the same interest in the hobbies you used to love.
So in retirement, it can be easy to do a little bit of nothing and then keep right on doing that little bit of not a whole heck of a lot. This doesn’t feel good.
Instead, find new hobbies. You can treat this as a chance to finally get to choose what you want to do.
Have you always wanted to start a small business, create a movie, design apps or remodel the house? The key point is to find something to do that is meaningful, productive and requires real effort on your part.
You’re retired, so you get to define what that means. But life will feel much better when you have something to relax from.
Eat Healthy and Exercise
Do not use this as an opportunity to let yourself go by not staying in shape. It’s easy to sit back and relax and stack up on food when you have nothing to do. And over time, when you are used to doing nothing during the day, it gets harder to have the urge to maintain certain work ethics. But keeping good habits with exercising and eating healthy can go a long way.
Working out even 30 minutes a day reduces your chances of almost every kind of major disease and improves almost every form of physical outcome.
These steps can help you move more easily and do a much wider range of activities. Not to mention it they can help you live longer and be in better health throughout that life.
Keep Investing
As with work, many people see retirement as a sort of finish line. That’s not a great perspective, especially since with a bit of luck you’ll spend a good third of your life as a retiree.
Instead, treat this as a transition point. That includes how you manage your finances. Yes, you need to make sure that your retirement account is secure. This is the money you’ll live on for the rest of your life. So, you don’t want to gamble that away on speculative ventures. That doesn’t mean you should stop trying to grow your wealth though.
And keep your relationship with your financial advisor. Ideally, you will have a lot of money to work with. Just because you’ve retired doesn’t mean it should stop working on your behalf.
Bottom Line
Retirement isn’t the end of the road. In fact, it’s just the beginning of something entirely new. Once you get there, make sure to focus on the things that will actually make you happy on a daily basis: Friends, family, health, exploring and a purpose.
Tips to Help You Figure Out Your Retirement Strategy
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If you want help to figure out what retirement plan or plans are right for you, consider working with a financial advisor. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
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Having an accurate sense of your cost of living can better help you prepare how much you’re going to need to save for retirement. You can save accordingly now in order to save yourself from trouble later. Use our retirement calculator to get a comprehensive breakdown.
Photo credit: ©iStock.com/svetikd, ©iStock.com/Wand_Prapan, ©iStock.com/PeopleImages
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