Greetings! I trust that this will find you well and enjoying life!
In my role as a retirement planner, it has been interesting to observe how some individuals and couples seem to have more quality of life in retirement than others. This occurs for several reasons some financial and some not. I want to speak to a non-financial reason today. It has to do with the amount of time and energy put into planning what you actually want to do with your time in retirement. A bucket list should begin well before retirement begins and be revised frequently as time passes. Being deliberate about what you want to do with yourself in retirement makes the adjustment so much easier than flying by the seat of your pants. Dream big with yourself and with your spouse! The folks I observe that seem to enjoy retirement the most and appear to be happiest, are proactive and careful to maintain a mindset of setting and achieving activity goals.
Regarding activity, I want to briefly make a second point. Pick something and become good at it. You may have a craft, a hobby or a skill established going into retirement that gives you meaning and if so that’s great. If not, you need to decide on something and get good at it. Something that allows you to create. Getting good at something will not only occupy you in a productive way but will serve to provide meaning perhaps at a time later when little else can or does. Write, paint, garden, build, cook…. the list goes on and on, the important thing is to find your niche or calling and get good at it.
Best regards,
Jeff Christian CFP, CRPC
Losing a game is heartbreaking. Losing your sense of excellence or worth is a tragedy.
Joe Paterno