Author: Kirsten Veldman

Retirement is life-changing, and sometimes it can be challenging to adjust to retirement. I did some research and looked into the things other retirees do to adjust to their retirement. It resulted in this practical step-by-step guide.

1. Prepare For Retirement Financially

Saving for retirement is important because it creates some stability for your upcoming retirement years. When you know how much money you have in retirement savings, it is easier for you to adjust your lifestyle in retirement. 

Knowing more about your financial situation helps you to determine how you’ll fill in your retirement years. Preparing financially for your retirement is like one of the first steps when you start preparing for retirement. And when you start at an early age, you probably can save up a nice retirement budget.  

Now, I’m not a financial advisor. I merely try to be as helpful as possible, so you can adjust to retirement more easily. However, it is recommended to talk to a professional financial advisor. Which might be possible via your employer or via The National Association Of Financial Advisors. 

This all may sound obvious. Still, the facts are that most people in the United States struggle to save for retirement. According to the national institute of retirement security (NIRS), almost 40% of people that are 60+ years old, have only a social security income. 

There are actually many other ways how you can save for retirement. The most commonly known are; 

• Employer pension plan(s)
• 401(k), 403 (b) or IRA savings
• Personal savings

This helpful video explains the most important things you need to know about 401k and IRA savings methods; 

When you’re living together with your spouse, it is also important to consider your financial situation as a couple. It is beneficial to prepare for retirement together, so you also know what to expect when you both come closer to the retirement age. In my article Retirement Planning Guide For Married Couples, you can find a lot of helpful information.  

So, to summarize, knowing your financial situation helps you better adjust to retirement. You don’t have to stress if you’re financially ready to retire, and you can focus on other important things. Because there’s a lot more, you can do to adjust more easily to retirement. 

2. Prepare For Retirement Mentally

Retirement is a major life-changing event for everyone. You’ve worked almost your whole life to get to this moment. However, when you’re not prepared in the right way, you’ll be having trouble adjusting to retirement. 

We already covered the importance of financial preparation for retirement. Still, many people forget the importance of mental or emotional preparation. 

There are basically two reasons why retirement is life-changing; 

• You stop working 
• You can do whatever like

These are the reasons why adjusting to retirement can be a struggle for many. Maybe you’re emotionally ready and look forward to your retirement, but have no idea what to expect. Or perhaps you still love your job so much, that, deep in your heart, you don’t want to retire yet. 

Either way, mentally preparing for retirement is important, and ideally starts between 1 – 5 years before your actual retirement. The best way to start with this preparation process is to visualize your life in retirement. How is your life going to be? What are the things you’re going to do once you’re retired? And so on. 

Thinking about how your life is going to look like in retirement, helps to transition or adjusting into retirement more easily. Maybe you can go on a ‘pre-retirement,’ where you take some time off and learn more about how your life looks like once you’re retired.  

Mentally preparing for retirement is a process that takes time. I wrote a helpful article that you might find interesting to read; How To Mentally Prepare For Retirement, 21 Tips. 

Many people are finding it hard to identify themselves once they’re retired. For years they referred to their identity with their job position. Like when you were a realtor or police officer. But when you’re retired, you don’t hold that position anymore. So you need to rediscover your identity in retirement. 

Mentally preparing for retirement is also the first step in rediscovering your new identity in retirement. I’ll tell you later more about that. 

First, let’s focus on the process of retirement, and the phases or stages everyone gets through once they’re retiring. 

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3. Know The Stages Of Retirement

When people first talk about transitioning into retirement, you often hear them talk about the stages or phases of retirement. It is helpful to learn more about these stages; almost everyone gets through five stages during retirement. 

The five stages of retirement are behavioral and emotional stages that focus on periods from pre-retirement until you’re long retired. The stages are widely known as; 

Pre-retirement Stage

It’s also known as the preparation stage. The years and months before you’re retiring and preparing what you want to do in retirement. 

Honeymoon Stage

When you’re fresh in retirement, as a newlywed (hence the name ‘honeymoon.’) Sometimes this stage is also described as the ‘liberation phase.’ Either way, during this phase, everything is new and excited. Most people look forward to starting their time in retirement. 

Disenchantment Stage 

This stage is also known as the ‘worrying stage.’ Reality sinks in during this period. It is actually the stage where most people finding trouble adjusting to retirement. Luckily, for most retirees, this stage doesn’t take very long. 

You’ll start questioning yourself about what you really want during retirement. 

Reorientation Stage 

When questioning yourself, you’ll naturally transfer into the reorientation phase. It is the period in retirement where you re-inventing yourself; you find your new purpose in retirement. 

Stability Stage

The fifth stage of retirement is the stability stage. Most people don’t even notice when they’re in this stage. It’s because you have found your new identity as a retiree and living your comfortable retirement life.

You might be interested in learning more about the stages of retirement. If so, I recommend reading my article What Are The Stages Of Retirement?

4. Stay Active In Retirement

According to the CDC, physical activity is one of the most important things you can do as an older adult to prevent health issues that come with age. Move more, and sit less, is their slogan. With the physical activity guidelines, the CDC recommends everyone in the United States who is over 65 or older and generally fit, to do at least the following physical activity; 

• 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercises a week + 2 times a week muscle strengthening exercises. 

It’s even better to exercise more if you’re up to it. You might think, how does this physical activity benefit me to adjust to retirement? 

Well, it’s quite simple, it benefits healthy aging. You’re staying fitter in general, which is often linked to feeling better and more energetic. Thus, you’re able to enjoy your retirement more. 

Read more: How To Stay Active In Retirement

Staying Mentally Active

You’re never too old to learn. It might be even one of your new goals in retirement, learning new things. Like a new language, or learning how to play guitar. 

A lot of people are afraid they stop using their brain after they retire, that they will miss the cognitive challenge. However, it is important to keep up with these cognitive brain activities. According to this article on Harvard Health Publishing, cognitive activities improve skills like problem-solving, concentration, and memory. 

Staying mentally active keeps you ‘sharp’ and fit, so you’re able to enjoy your retirement activities more. When you’re looking for inspiration on staying mentally active, I recommend my article “How Do I Keep My Brain Active After I Retire?“ I share 10 helpful tips in this article. 

If you’re keen on learning new things in retirement, I feel that the best gift you can give yourself is an annual membership to Masterclass. 

Masterclass is an online platform with many different courses where your teachers are the most famous and successful people in the world. You can learn how to cook with lessons from Gordon Ramsey. Serena Williams teaches you how to improve your tennis skills, and Carlos Santana teaches you to play the guitar. Why wait? Let’s start learning a new thing today!

Staying Socially Active

Next to staying physically and mentally active, it is also essential to keep up with your social circle. Let’s take a look at another article from Harvard Health Publishing. They say that broader social interactions are linked to many health benefits, like less chance of depression. 

A risk in retirement is that you’ll have less social interactions. For many people, their social life is also linked with their work. However, there’s a lot you can to improve your social interactions in retirement. For example, sports. Many sports activities are taking place in (small) like-minded groups. A great way to improve both your physical activity and social interactions! 

In my article How To Stay Social After Retirement, you can find helpful tips to improve your social circle. 

So, staying active helps you to adjust to retirement. It helps you to set new goals, and maybe it helps you even to find your purpose as a retiree. 

5. Find Your Purpose In Retirement

One of the most important stages that help you adjust to retirement is the reorientation stage. The period where you learn what you really want to do in your retired life. 

During this time, you’re basically rediscovering your identity. I mentioned it earlier, many people linked their identity with their job. For example, your job was a large part of your identity when you were a police officer for like 30 or 40 years. Now that you’re retired, this changed, and you have to discover again what you stand for in life. 

It might sound a bit scary, ‘re-invent your identity,’ and maybe it is a bit challenging. Still, it is important to do when you want to adjust to retirement and enjoy your time as a retiree. 

A few things that can speed up the process and make it easier for you. Maybe you already had an idea of how you want to spend your time in retirement. Perhaps you’ve things you’re really passionate about and want to spend more time on. 

It’s also the time where you can make your dreams come true. Like travel the world, learn a new language, or maybe find a volunteer job to help local society. 

The most important thing is that you find something that makes you feel good because only if you do something that’s closely related to yourself, it will be long-lasting and fun to do. 

Purpose vs. Passion

Purpose and passion are closely related, but not completely the same. A purpose is something (or multiple things) you want to achieve, a goal or multiple goals that you’ve set for yourself. 

According to dictionary.com, a purpose is an intended or desired result or goal.

Passion can be closely related to your purpose. Dictionary.com describes passion as followed; a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything.

So, you can be passionate about something, but it doesn’t have to be your purpose. For example, I’m very passionate about music, but I don’t intend to make my own music (I will save you the trouble). 

I feel this saying describes the difference between purpose and passion best; “Your purpose is the reason you get up in the morning, and your passion is what you love to do most.” 

Knowing your passion can help you to redefine your purpose. I wrote the article How To Find Your Passion In Retirement, which can be very helpful in this process. 

Ikigai – Japanese Saying For Purpose

Ikigai means A Reason For Being in Japanese. And when talking about passion and purpose, I always have to think about this saying, and the book Ikigai – The Japanese Secret To A Long and Happy Life. 

It’s a very inspirational book. The authors describe what Ikigai means for the people living in Ogimi, a small village on the island of Okinawa. The village has the highest percentage of people that are 100+ years old and is one of the world’s blue zones. You can buy the book on Amazon;

What I found most interesting is that Ikigai not only refers to once purpose. For the people in that village, it’s more like their way of life. It turns out that there isn’t a word for ‘retire’ in Japanese. They always stay busy or active and involved in their community.

6. Structure Your Days In Retirement

When you stop working, you probably have an empty agenda. You don’t have to get up early in the morning. Maybe you’ve some appointments to catch up with old friends or family, but you are basically can do everything you want. You don’t have to plan anything. 

It may sound ideal, “no appointments!” But there’s also a risk to it. If you lose your structure, it can lead to an unworthy feeling. And before you know it, you’re back into the disenchantment stage of retirement, I told you earlier about. 

To prevent that, and to make sure you easily adjust to your retirement, it is better to structure your days. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you need to replace your busy work life with other appointments that fill up your whole day. Not at all! 

But it can help to create a new daily structure in retirement. Like getting up early each day, have a nice breakfast with your spouse, do some exercise (the important daily physical activity), plan time for coffee with friends. It is also important to plan time for yourself, where you don’t have to do anything, and enjoy your leisure time and find happiness. 

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7. Create A Retirement Bucket List

One thing I learned from the people living in the Blue Zones is that they always have something to do. And all those happy retirees I met during my travels around the world have something in common. They all have a list of things they want to do in life. 

A retirement bucket list can be a list of things you always dreamed of doing. It different than your purpose, because it mainly contains fun activities, things to do or learn. Your purpose can be ‘to complete my retirement bucket list’ 😉

If you find it challenging to come up with things you can do in retirement, it is recommended to start creating a bucket list. Just sit down with your spouse or some friends and write down everything you always think of doing. Let the creativity flow, and don’t hold yourself back with thoughts; ‘I can effort this and that,’ you can worry about later when you finalize the list. 

It’s all about getting the best ideas of what you can do in retirement, so you get excited and want to get the most out of your retirement. If you need some help with ideas, I recommend reading my article, 101+ Ideas For Your Retirement Bucket List. 

Recommended Articles

When you follow these seven steps, I’m confident you won’t have any problem with adjusting to retirement. 

If you’re looking for more inspiration, I can recommend reading the following articles on this website; 

• What Do I Need To Know Before I Retire?
• How Can I Enjoy Retirement? 
• The 30 Best Hobbies In Retirement

Are you wondering how you can keep your brain active after you retire? I share 10 tips, in-depth information, and practical ideas in this article. 

1) Learn New Skills

You’re never too old to learn new skills! So why not start a course or apply for a class and learn something new during your retirement. 

According to Harvard Medical School “Practicing a new and challenging activity is a good bet for building and maintaining cognitive skills.“

When you’re learning, you keep your brain active, and it helps to keep a ‘young mind.’ And the coolest way to learn something is from the best and most famous people in the world.

Do you want to learn to be a great chef, a better guitar player, a good poker player, or get better at gardening or something entirely different?

Masterclass is a streaming platform that makes it possible for anyone to watch or listen to hundreds of video lessons taught by the most successful and famous teachers in the world. It will make your retired life instantly fun and interesting.

From cooking classes to art, science, music, sports, business classes, and everything in between. Get a annual membership to Masterclass and follow classes such as Ron Finley teaches Gardening, Aaron Franklin Teaches Texas-Style BBQ, Kelly Wearstler Teaches Interior Design and so many more.

To name a couple more experts on Masterclass: Martin Scorsese, Dr. Jane Goodall, Christina Aguilera, Usher, Hans Zimmer, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Curry, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Chin, Serena Williams, Dan Brown, etc.

A perfect way to learn new skills during your retirement and keep your brain active. 

2) Stay Physically Active

When you’re physically active, you’re staying physically and mentally fit.

By exercising regularly you preserve cognitive skills and potentially lower dementia risk and it also improves blood flow to the brain, reduces stress levels according to this article of the Cleveland Clinic.

Also with a fit body, you’ll feel more energetic and thus its easier to stay mentally fit as well. 

There are many ways to stay physically active and here are some ideas:

• Swimming
• Yoga
• Gardening
• Hiking
• Running
• Dancing
• Bicycling
• Playing Golf
• Dog walking

Blue Zones In The World

Have you ever heard of the world’s blue zones? Places in the world that have the most centenarians, people that reach the age of 100+, often in a healthy way! 

Five places in the world are known as a ‘blue zones.’ These are; Sardinia in Italy, Ikaria in Greece, Okinawa in Japan, Nicoya in Costa Rica, and Loma Linda in California. 

People living in the blue zones are always physically active, but they exercise in a moderate way. So they avoid extreme sports or high impact sports. It seems to be better to exercise moderately daily instead of doing an intense work out once a week. 

The CDC shares clear guidelines on how much time people should spend on physical activities or exercise. According to the CDC, physical activity is essential for healthy aging. 

The CDC says that older adults (in the age of 65+) need at least 150 to 300 minutes of physical activity a week. 

It is easy to create a daily schedule where exercising becomes a regular thing. You can easily add exercise to your schedule for just 30 minutes or 1 hour a day. 

For example, go for a walk every day. Daily walks are good for your body and your mind. Maybe you live close to a park or the beach, where you can enjoy the natural environment while walking. Leave your car and do more while walking or going for a bike ride. You can use trail link to find the best biking trails close to where you live. 

Get this book: 399 Games, Puzzles & Trivia Challenges Specially Designed to Keep Your Brain Young.

3) Maintain A Healthy Diet

Maintaining a healthy diet can help a lot in staying both physically and mentally fit. 

According to the an article in the Medical News Today: eating a brain-boosting diet supports the brain function for both short- and long-term period. Because the brain is an organ that needs a lot of energy to function properly it needs plenty of good fuel to maintain it’s concentration. The brain uses around 20 percent of the body’s calories and that’s why it requires certain nutrients to stay healthy.

So, try to eat healthily and maintain a healthy diet throughout your retirement. Things to avoid when aiming for a healthy diet are saturated fats, to much sugar, and overeating. When you’re looking for information on healthy food, I recommend visiting the website of the CDC. They have a lot of helpful information about eating healthy. 

As I mentioned earlier, the people in the Blue Zones have a lot in common, like staying physically and socially active, but also because they have a healthy diet. They avoid eating saturated fats. They eat less dairy and drink less alcohol. 

When you want to know more about their diets, you might find this book an interesting read; The Blue Zone Kitchen; 100 Recipes to Live A 100

4) Get a Daily Dose Of Nature

Nature does wonders for our (brain) health. You probably experienced for yourself that after a walk through the forest or a quick dive in the ocean you feel refreshed and see things more clearly.

Being in nature reduces anger, fear, and stress, and increases your mood. Nature will make you feel better emotionally. And it also contributes to your physical health: reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. 

In nature you have a things called negative ions. And negative ions are the key to well being. They strengthen the body’s immune system and stimulate the supply of oxygen to the brain, and activating the mind and the body as well as bringing more mental energy. Most negative ions (from 5,000 – 50,000 per cubic centimeter) are present in the mountains, at sea, and in forests. 

According to Harvard Medical School research suggests that you should spend more time outdoors when you want to boost your mood.

Find more in-depth information on the benefits of sunlight, fresh air, and the ocean in my article: 15 Tips On How To Deal With Depression In Retirement.

5) Meditate

Meditation helps to clear out your mind. It avoids stress and helps you process al the daily impulses. According to this article in Healthline meditation lowers blood pressure, reduces anxiety, decreases pain, ease symptoms of depression and also improve sleep.

There are many ways of meditation, and sometimes people think its something weird to do. But I can promise you it is not. 

Meditating is entirely normal and good for your mental health. You can say that meditating is the best exercise for your brain. It helps to keep your brain active and decluttered.

I, myself, meditate daily and use the smartphone app Headspace. It helps me to easily meditate, and I can do it everywhere I like. Headspace makes it super easy and simple for everyone to learn how to meditate. 

6) Get Good Quality Sleep

We all know that sleep is essential. When you sleep, your body rests, and your brain processes the daily impressions. You need sleep to recover and be energized to find happiness in retirement.

However, many people struggle with sleep and looking for tips on how to improve their sleep. Because when you experience sleep deprivation it disrupts levels of hormones such as serotonin, dopamine, and cortisol in the brain, that has an affect on your thought, mood, and energy.

So, good quality sleep is essential to be keep your brain active in retirement. And according to the Sleep Foundation, adults need to sleep 7-8 hours a night. 

If your experience trouble sleeping and it affects you daily, it might be time to see a doctor. Finding professional help is important when you have serious problems. It will only help you in the long term!

For me, it helps when I limit my screen time like one hour before I go to sleep. So not using my phone, tablet, television, or laptop. I just read a book or listen to some relaxing music instead. And sometimes I just do nothing, relaxing a bit. 

Meditating is also very helpful in improving sleep. When you’re meditating, you’re processing all the impressions from that day. Do you recognize that when you’re trying to fall asleep, your brain becomes very active, and your thinking of what you did that day? When you meditate only a couple of minutes before you go to sleep, your brain already processed many things. So you can fall asleep more easily. 

Sleep Quietly

For you to sleep better you want to make sure it’s quiet at night. Your sleep can be greatly influenced by your partner snoring the whole night. If snoring is a big problem for you or your partner you can get an anti-snoring mouthpiece from VitalSleep that helps you to breathe easily and sleep quietly. It helped over 400,000 snorers get a restful night’s sleep. You can read hundreds of VitalSleep reviews here.

Sleep Comfortable

Another essential for good quality sleep is to have a comfortable mattress. Make your retirement more comfortable and more well-rested with the Puffy Mattress. It’s ranked as the best and most comfortable mattress in America. Read the 5-star reviews and get yourself a comfy mattress today.

7) Stay Socially Active

According to this article in the New York Times social interaction critical for mental health. “People that having satisfying relationships with family, friends and their community are happier, have fewer health problems, and live longer.”

Regular social stimulation keeps your brain active after you retire. And once your retire you lose the daily social interactions you had at your job. Therefore, it’s essential to seek new ways to be social in retirement to keep your brain active and stimulated.

Many new retirees struggle to stay socially active in their retirement. When you’re struggling with this, don’t worry. It is entirely normal. You might find the following article I wrote helpfully; 20 Ways; How To Stay Socially Active in Retirement.

8) Find Your Passion 

Having a passion in your retirement helps you to stay busy. A passion is different for everyone, but it is very important. I always say, when you’re retiring, make sure that you have something to retire to. 

If you have something to retire to, and you have found a new purpose in life, you’ll probably be able to enjoy your retirement much more. 

But I understand that it is easier said than done. When you’ve worked for, let’s say, 35 years, you’re identifying yourself with your job. You might have never thought about ‘having a purpose after your retired.’ 

If you struggle with finding a daily routine and things to do during your retirement, you probably need a passion in retirement. Because when you found your passion you have found a new purpose in life.

In my article, How To Find Your Passion in Retirement, you can find 14 helpful tips. 

9) Read Books 

Another great way to keep your brain active during your retirement is by reading books. Nowadays, it is super easy reading a lot of books by using an e-reader that can contain a hundred or thousands or digital books. It’s the cheapest way of traveling to a whole new world without leaving your home.

The mental stimulation you get from reading helps to heighten overall brain function, protects your memory and thinking skills, especially as you get older.

I love using an e-reader because it is super easy to use and lightweight. So I don’t have to bring a lot of heavy books when traveling or going for a walk somewhere. However, reading paperback books is also great to do, sometimes you just want to hold a ‘real book,’ right? Check out the newest releases.

When you want to start using e-books, I recommend buying an e-reader from Amazon Kindle. Perfect quality, and with the huge kindle library, there’s unlimited reading you can do in retirement. 

10) Do Puzzles

Doing a puzzle reinforces between brain cells and it also improves mental speed, your memory and thought processing. Especially, Jigsaw puzzles are great for improving short-term memory.

There are so many different puzzles you can do. And here are a couple of ideas:

• Wooden Puzzles
• Sudoku
• Brain Teasers
• 3D Puzzles
• Lego for Adults

Recommended Articles

• 50+ Fun Classes For Retirees
• What To Do When You’re Retired? 65 Ideas
• How To Plan Your Life After Retirement? 11 Tips

Retirement should all be about enjoying yourself. And perhaps you’re asking yourself, how can I enjoy retirement? Well, I’m here to help you out with this practical guide with 11 tips.

#1 Have Something To Retire To

Perhaps you’ve worked in the same job all your life, or maybe you had several jobs during your career. Either way, most people identify themselves with their jobs. It’s ‘who you are.’

It’s completely normal to feel that way because what we do in Western society is more important than who we are as a person. Especially at introductions. You only have to look at parties or events where you are introduced to new people. A common question is always, “What do you do?” Referring to your job. 

People never ask, “What’s your passion in life?” if they want to get to know you. Strange, don’t you think? 

Maybe, the question ‘what’s your passion’ is just too personal. It’s probably easier to ask what someone is doing for a living instead of what this person loves to do most. But what are you going to answer when you’re retired?

I know, the answer “I’m Retired,” is probably a good one, but the follow-up question will be something like ‘what do you do with your time?’ or ‘Do you enjoy retirement?’ 

Of course, it’s not about all about answering these questions, but thinking about these conversations can help you understand why it’s important to have something to retire to. 

It’s just that simple. You’ll stop working after several years, and if you don’t have a passion or things to do that, you love. How can you possibly enjoy retirement?

Masterclass

A great way to explore new activities, hobbies and learn new skills is with an annual membership to Masterclass. It’s one of the best things you can get yourself in retirement.

Masterclass is a streaming platform that makes it possible for anyone to watch or listen to hundreds of video lessons taught by the most successful and famous teachers in the world. It will make your retired life instantly fun and interesting by taking online classes from the best experts in the world.

From cooking classes to art, science, music, sports, business classes, and everything in between. Follow classes such as Ron Finley teaches Gardening, Aaron Franklin Teaches Texas-Style BBQ, Kelly Wearstler Teaches Interior Design and so many more.

Martin Scorsese, Dr. Jane Goodall, Christina Aguilera, Usher, Hans Zimmer, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Curry, Carlos Santana, Ron Finley, Jimmy Chin, Serena Williams, Dan Brown, etc.

Most retirees regret that they didn’t have something to retire to. They were overwhelmed with the endless free time once they retired and struggled how to enjoy retirement. 

When you’re planning your retirement, you need to have thoughts about what you want to do in retirement. Because how do you know when you’re financially ready for retirement if you don’t know how you want to spend your time? You need a bigger budget when you want to go traveling in retirement versus doing volunteer work. 

So it also helps with your financial planning to have some sort of idea on how you want to spend your time in retirement. 

It doesn’t mean you need to have it figured out day-to-day daily. But visualizing about life in retirement and putting ideas and plans on a bucket or wish list helps you to mentally prepare for retirement. And you’ll have something to look forward too once your retirement date is happening. 

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#2 Stay Healthy

Health is Wealth. So if you’re not healthy or have health problems, you’re not able to enjoy your retirement. And that’s why you need to stay on track when it comes to your health. 

You want to make sure you eat healthily, you sleep well, you exercise regularly, and you strengthen your immune system. 

A combination of staying physically, mentally, and socially active in retirement is a great way to take care of your body, brain, and emotional well-being. And helps you to enjoy your retirement as long as possible. 

Learn more: How To Stay Active In Retirement

#3 Make Time To Relax

You’ve worked very hard to be able to retire. And therefore, you need to allow yourself to relax as well. Make time to relax and unwind regularly, and create moments to be unproductive. It’s good for you. 

Take enough breaks during projects and activities and don’t fall in the trap of the pressure of being productive all the time. Reconnecting with yourself will make you better equipped to deal with more challenging periods.

Retirement is about relaxing, less stress, and enjoying leisure. You don’t have to replace all your work activities with activities in retirement. Finding the right balance in doing activities and just relaxing helps you to enjoy retirement. 

Read more: How Can I Relax In Retirement

#4 Nurture Positive Relationships

The quality of your relationships also determines the quality of your life. You become most like the people you spend the most time with. So you want to make sure you spend your well-earned time in retirement with the people you like most and enjoy having in your life. 

And therefore, you need to identify the people who lift you up and focus your energy on them. It’s okay to be selective with whom you want to spend time in your retired life.  

Also, once you retire, you lose the daily social interactions that came with the job. It’s important to replace these social interactions with new interactions. Because being lonely is just as unhealthy as smoking. 

And you can do this by fostering and building your relationships with people you already like. Or seek new ways to be social. You can find new ways to be social in my article: 20 Ways How To Stay Social After Retirement.

#5 Explore New Activities

Retirement is a new chapter in your life, and it will be a waste if you don’t use this time to explore new activities. Try out new things and see if you like it. Because you never know if you enjoy something if you don’t try it. 

Also, getting out of your comfort zone is the quickest way to grow as a person and learn more about yourself. It’s often the place where the ‘Magic’ happens and where you will feel most alive. And the feeling of being alive is usually the place where you can find joy. 

“Discomfort is the currency to your dreams.”
-Brooke Castillo The Life Coach School

Applying for a class is a great way to explore a new activity and learn something new. Because you want to keep learning in life to create better and new experiences for yourself. And I’ve got the perfect class for you: Masterclass. 

Masterclass offers classes (for any skill level) from cooking, acting, writing, poker, gardening, music, sports to science, and so much more, taught by the best in the world. All accessible from the comforts of your home. Learn at your own pace, anytime, anywhere on any device. Check out all the Masterclasses available;

#6 Have A Retirement Hobby

Successfully retiring means, you replace your work activities with new activities that you enjoy doing. And an activity you enjoy is a hobby. 

Perhaps you already have a hobby that you can finally spend more time on in retirement, or you have to find a new hobby. 

A BLS study has shown that people between the age of 65-74 reallocate only about 15 percent of their day (2,5 hours) from activities like work to activities they choose to do (leisure). They spent more time on activities like running errands, shopping, household activities, and watching TV or scrolling the internet aimlessly.

To enjoy your retirement, you might want to allocate more than 2,5 hours per day on leisure activities. 

You can learn more about finding a retirement hobby in my article: How To Get A Retirement Hobby

A great way to explore new hobbies in retirement is with Cratejoy. You get a Crate of Joy each month with new (creative) projects to do in retirement. From crafts to books, wellness, home-decor, self-care, cooking, drinks, recipes to other Crates of Joy. Find out more about Cratejoy here.

The Adults & Crafts Crate

#7 Be Present

You can’t enjoy life now if your mind is in the past or future. Often feelings of anxiety, tension, stress, worry are caused by mentally being in the future. And feelings of guilt, regret, resentment, and sadness are caused by mentally being in the past. 

To enjoy your retired life and find happiness, you need to be in the present moment. Because it’s the only place where it truly exists. 

Practicing mindfulness is a way to learn to live in the present. And have more present moments during your day where you’re able to enjoy life as it is now. Being more mindful of everything you do in life will make you enjoy life better. 

Ways to learn how to practice mindfulness:

• Download the helpful Headspace App to practice meditation
• Read the Bestseller Book of the Dalai Lama: The Book of Joy
• Get a practical book about mindfulness with an 8-week plan.
• Get an inspiring mindfulness journal.
• Get a mindfulness coloring book for adults. 
• Get out of your head and into your body with physical activity such as swimming, fitness, yoga, gardening, etc. 
• Get a meditation cushion and Tibetan singing bowl for calm and peaceful sounds. 

#8 Find Your Passion

 Finding your passion helps you to better enjoy your retirement. Knowing what your passion is, and creating activities around it is an important step in the five stages of retirement. Stages that almost every retiree has to deal with when they retire. These five stages in retirement end with finding your passion and enjoying your retirement. 

When you want to learn more about the five stages in retirement, you might want to read my article, ‘What Are The Five Stages Of Retirement?‘ where I explain these stages step-by-step. 

Finding your passion can be challenging. It’s possible that you’re not used to asking yourself ‘difficult’ questions about the things you love to do most. Don’t worry, it’s actually quite simple. As long as you stay honest and real with yourself. 

Here are some tips that can help you find your passion in your (retired) life. You can start with asking yourself questions like; 

• What would I regret NOT doing in life?
• What are the topics I can read 500 books about and not get bored?
• What gives me satisfaction and happiness?
• What gives me energy and exciting feeling?

Simple questions that can give important answers on how to spend your time in retirement. 

There’s a lot more you can do to find your passion. For example, think back to your childhood. Before you got in the pressure of going to college or finding that (high) paying job. What was it that you were passionate about as a kid? You might find your passion when answering that question. 

When you find it challenging to find your passion, I recommend reading my article, “14 Tips on How To Find Your Passion.” This article is a hands-on guide that’s proven to be very helpful. 

#9 Learn To Enjoy The Little Things

When we think about how to enjoy life, we probably think about huge accomplishments and overwhelming highs. But that means that you only enjoy life at very little moments in life because achieving something big doesn’t happen every day. For example, that means you can only be happy on vacation. Once a year. Doesn’t sound right, right?

True happiness is not a place or far away destination to arrive at, but it’s the journey of traveling. It’s embracing the little things such as a good cup of coffee, a nice gourmet meal, a sunny or even a beautiful rainy day, a nice sunrise or sunset. 

It doesn’t mean that your life has to be perfect to experience joy. You find enjoyment in accepting and experiencing life as it is now. With where you are and who you are. 

And to enjoy the little things you need to practice gratitude. Because once you get better at being grateful, you can enjoy the little things in life better. And find joy in everyday retired life. 

To learn to be more grateful, you can keep a gratitude journal. 

#10 Be Aware Of What You Give Your Energy To

Energy flows where attention grows. 

Be selective in what and who you want to put your energy in. Whatever you give your attention the most will grow and become a bigger part of your life. And also determines the quality of your life. Value what you give your energy and time to. 

To enjoy life in retirement, you need to put your energy and attention towards things and people you enjoy. It’s as simple as that. 

Perhaps it means that you need to rethink your daily schedule and your social circle. You can keep a list of how much time you spend on certain things and see if you spend your time wisely. If you spend the most time on things you do not enjoy, you have to reallocate your time towards things you do enjoy. It can be a shift in your daily activities, but a shift for the better. 

It also means that you have to be aware of your thoughts. If your mind often runs off to negative thoughts, you will experience a negative view on life as well. Be extremely careful about what you allow yourself to think. Try to turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts, and you will experience a huge shift in the quality of your life. 

“Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are, 
it solely relies on what you think.”
-Buddha

Mindfulness will help you to be aware of your thoughts, but reading a practical book about how to transform your thoughts will give you that extra help that you need.

You can read the book Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts to learn more about transforming your thoughts.

#11 Learn From Other Retirees

It can also be very helpful to look at what your (retired) friends are doing as a hobby or during their free time. 

For me, my father is very inspirational. 

My dad is retired for over more than 10 years, and he has never been bored. He’s always busy with something. Every day it’s something else. And sometimes, he’s just doing nothing. Reading a book, or looking at the birds in the garden. 

What we all can learn from his activities is that you don’t have to be scared to try something new or doing the things you love to do. 

Retirement is all about you. It’s your time. You’ve worked long enough, so let’s enjoy it! And honestly, when you step out of your comfort zone once in a while, you’ll experience the best things in life! 

My dad even visited us during our travel adventure in the Kingdom of Tonga. For us, it was a trip to the other end of the world because we’re living in The Netherlands. Our goal was to swim with the Humpback Whales, a long-cherished dream. It was one of the best experiences of our lives! And my dad? 

The almost 70 years old retiree also jumped in the open ocean, with a wetsuit and snorkel, to explore these amazing creatures. Something we all had never done before. 

What I’m trying to say is that you’re never too old to make your dreams come true. And maybe your retirement is the perfect time for doing so. 

I know it is easier said than done. Especially when you’re not used to having so much free time on your hands. Keep in mind that retirement is the time where you can enjoy everything you do. And to get inspired you can read my article: 101 Ways To Enjoy Life In Retirement

Staying Active Helps To Enjoy Retirement

When we summarize the helpful tips that I shared above, we can say that one of the most important things in retirement is to stay active. When you look at inspirational sources on why staying active is important, we can learn a lot of the people that live in the world’s famous Blue Zones.

Blue Zones are the areas in the world where most centenarians live, people that reach the age of 100+ in a healthy way. There are different Blue Zones in the world, probably the two most famous are Okinawa in Japan and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica.

The lifestyle of people living in the blue zones is similar, what we can learn from their way of living when focus on how to enjoy your retirement is this. Lifestyle in the blue zones are roughly based on these three elements;

• Low Stress
• Healthy Diets
• Moderate Daily Activity (both physical and socially)

It’s interesting to read more about the Blue Zones, I can recommend reading this book;

Physical and Social Activity

According to this article, the CDC recommends at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercises a week, and two times a week muscle-strengthening activities, for elderly people. According to the CDC physical activity helps with healthy aging. It prevents common health problems that are age-related.

So, when you’re around 65 years it might be a good idea to follow up on the CDC recommendations. Physical activity can be anything from swimming, hiking, working in the garden. When you’re struggling with finding a new activity, you might want to read my article ‘How Can I Stay Active In Retirement?‘ where I share 30 different ideas.

Did you know that, according to Harvard Health Publishing, staying socially active is also very important? They say that many different social interactions and engagement are also related to healthy aging. Luckily many physical activities can easily be done within a group or several people, so this way, you can benefit from both physical and social activity.

Recommended Articles

I truly hope that this article was helpful for you and that you found the right inspiration on how to enjoy your retirement. You still might have other questions that are related to your (upcoming) retirement. I wrote many different articles that can be helpful for you and you might find it useful to read;

• 101 Ways To Enjoy Life In Retirement
• What Are The Five Stages Of Retirement?
• How Can I Keep My Retirement Busy?

Are you getting close to retirement and curious about what to expect when you retire? I’m here to help out and tell you all about the important things you’ll come across when you retire. 

You can expect more leisure time, fewer obligations, and less stress in retirement. And you spend your working hours on new activities, relationships, and relaxation. Also, you will go through a mental process that is called the five stages of retirement. This process is different per individual.

Are you ready to learn more about what to expect when you retire? Let’s dig in and learn more about how you can prepare for your retirement and ideas on how to celebrate your retirement. And of course, what you can do to get the most out of your retirement! 

What To Expect When You Retire

You’re getting close to one of the most important things one’s life, after let’s say a career of +30 years, you can finally see that finish line called retirement ahead. There are a lot of things coming your way in this period, which can be overwhelming. But don’t get stressed about it, let’s see retirement as your new job, your new project that you take on for years. 

It doesn’t matter what your job position was, whether you were a police officer, a teacher, ceo, entrepreneur, or something else. When you retire, you become a retiree. It might sound scary at first, but believe me, it is awesome! 

How do I know? I’m kind of an early retiree myself, I quit my job. I started traveling around the world with my boyfriend, enjoying life to the fullest. Also, I observed many retirees over the years. I love to share this information with you, so you can prepare, celebrate, and enjoy your retirement in the best way possible. 

Life Towards Your Retirement

Retirement is a completely new phase in life, and to enjoy this time in the best way possible preparation is key. Many people start preparing financially for their retirement years before their actual retirement date. This is important because, without a good financial savings plan, you won’t be able to enjoy your retirement in the best way possible. When you haven’t started saving for your retirement, it is advisable to get some professional financial advice. 

Thinking about how your life is going to be when you’re retired is equally as important as having your finances in order. I always say that you need to have something to retire to. Making plans for your retirement, thinking of what you’re going to do in your retired life, creates a purpose. It helps you to make the most of your retirement and enjoy your life in the best way possible.  

Where a retired life is different for everyone, it is good to know that the period that builds up towards retirement, and the stages people experience once retired are quite similar. This makes it easier to prepare yourself for what to expect when you retire. 

In the next part of this article, I’ll share more in-depth information, and sometimes I’ll recommend a different article on this website, where you can find more helpful information. 

The Stages Of Retirement

When you’re finally retired, the most important thing is to get comfortable within your new lifestyle. You don’t need to go to work anymore, and you can fill in your days in a different way. It is a new situation, and for many people, this can be a big transition. 

Luckily the stages almost everyone goes through in their retirement are quite similar; 

• Pre-retirement: You’re planning your retirement while working. But retirement is coming near.
• Honeymoon: Your last day at the office and first weeks in retirement where you enjoy your new-found freedom. 
• Disenchantment: Just like a wedding: the emotional high has worn off, and reality sinks in. Is this it?
• Reorientation: You’re re-inventing yourself again in retirement.
• Stability: You have found your new identity and are comfortable in retirement. You’re living and enjoying your retirement. 

The length of each phase in retirement is different for each individual. However, these phases mustn’t take to long. The longer it takes to reach the stability phase, the more difficult it will be to enjoy your retirement in the best way possible. Don’t worry, you don’t need to go through this transition process in a matter of days. Sometimes it can take months until you get through all these phases. But knowing this schedule helps you prepare and thus enjoy your retirement. 

To retire successfully and find happiness is where you need to replace your work routines with new routines. And that you are comfortable with your new identity in life. The loss of structure, routines, purpose, daily social stimulation and identity are what a lot of newly retirees struggle with. But you can be ahead of that by preparing yourself mentally in the best way possible. And read my helpful and in-depth article: How To Mentally Prepare For Retirement: 21 Tips

How To Prepare For Your Retirement

I already mentioned it a few times, preparing for your retirement is essential. And not only financially. If you never prepared financially for your retirement, it is time to go to a financial advisor and learn more about your finances. 

I’m not a financial advisor, but I have some basic experiences in finance. If you get my ebook Five Steps To Happiness In Retirement, I’ll explain more about how to financially prepare.

Life After Retirement

When you’re preparing for retirement, you’re not only preparing financially. Preparing for the things you’re going to do in your retirement life is just as important. 

Remember, number 4 and 5 in the stages of retirement? Knowing what you want your life to look like after retirement helps you reach these stages quickly after you’re retired. It gives you a new purpose as a retiree. But don’t take this process too lightly, it can be a challenging and sometimes overwhelming transition. But with the tips you can find on this website, things get a bit easier. Also, in this article, I’ll explain more about how to find fulfillment in retirement. But first, let’s look at another aspect you can expect when you retiring, the retirement party. 

Planning A Retirement Party

When you officially announced your retirement, it might be time to start planning your retirement party. 

Officially announcing your retirement is another important step that I don’t completely cover in this article. When you’re interested in more information about how to announce your retirement, I recommend reading the step-by-step guide How To Announce Your Retirement, that I wrote. 

A retirement party is not for everyone. Some people just want to retire without having a big party. And that’s okay! It is your retirement, so you can decide how and if you celebrate that moment. However, when you do want to plan a retirement party, there are a lot of things you need to think of. The process of planning a retirement party can be overwhelming, so sometimes it is helpful to ask a friend or colleague to help you organize the party. And if your budget allows it, you can even hire a professional party planner.

When you plan a retirement party some basic things you need to keep in mind are; 

• Creating a budget for the retirement party
• Create a guest list (who do you want to invite to the party?) 
• Sending out invitations. 
• Pick the right venue.
• Choose a theme (what kind of party do you want to organize?) 

Sometimes your employer can help you organize your retirement party. Some employers even have a budget for employees who are celebrating their retirement. So make sure to ask for that when you start planning your retirement party! 

You can find out more information on the ‘celebrate page,’ where you’ll find all the articles related to celebrating your retirement.

Have Something To Retire To

We covered a lot of information about the things you can expect when you retire. I feel that one of the most important things is to prepare for your life after retirement. You need to have something to retire to. 

Having a purpose in retirement helps you making the most out of your retirement. It creates fulfillment. But like I said, the transition process from working life to being a retiree can be overwhelming and difficult. Luckily you’re not the only one that’s experiencing this process, so there are a lot of tools that can help you get the most out of your retirement! 

You might not be used to answering the question, ‘What do I really want to do in life?’ Or maybe you have already answered that question and created a complete retirement bucket list. Both situations are okay. Planning for your retirement is an individual process, so the things you can expect towards your retirement are also personal. 

Either way, if you don’t have any idea how your retirement life is going to look like, it might be helpful to first find your passion. A delicate and sometimes scary process when you’re not used to it. But when you get out of your comfort zone, you’ll grow as a person and experience the best things in life. 

When you try to find your passion you can ask yourself questions like; 

• What are the things that excite me?
• What is a topic that I can read 500 books about?
• What is a stress reliever for me?
• What is it I love to do without getting tired?

If you find it difficult to ask yourself these questions, I recommend reading my article 14 Tips For How To Find Your Passion in Retirement.

A Purpose Leads To Fulfillment 

When you find your purpose in retirement, it gets much easier to fill in how your life in retirement is going to look like. If you know what you love doing most, and you can do that, you automatically reach fulfillment in your life. 

I wrote a helpful article about How to find fulfillment in retirement. In this article I also explain the meaning of fulfillment; 

“Fulfillment is a feeling of happiness and satisfaction. It’s also the completion of something, like the fulfillment of a promise.”

Even when you found your passion and fulfillment, you still can expect some periods of boredom or loneliness when you’re retired. It is important to know it’s fine having those feelings. However, when you feel you’re developing severe (mental) issues, I recommend contacting a professional doctor who might be able to help you. 

If you just experience a few moments of boredom, don’t worry! You have a lot more time since your retired, so it is only natural that sometimes you don’t know what to do with your spare time. I would recommend to also enjoy the moments where you do nothing. Maybe you can go outside and go for a walk, or just sit and relax, or read a book. 

Retirement is not about achieving goal after goal or reaching those targets like when you were still working. Retirement is all about doing what you love to do most and having the best time of your life. And if you still get bored and not knowing what to do? Read my article; 25 Great Things To Do When You’re Retired And Bored.

Recommended Articles

The following articles are helpful for you to read as well:

• How To Structure Your Retirement Day
• How To Celebrate Your Retirement
• What To Do In The First Week Of Retirement

When you are getting close to your retirement age, you might want to know the difference between retiring and resigning. I’ll tell you all about it in this article. 

The difference between retiring and resigning is that when you retire, sometimes you still can receive (social) benefits like healthcare and a pension. These benefits vary per company. To be able to retire, you need to reach a certain age or minimum length of service. Resigning means you voluntarily quit your job, which means you’re not eligible for those benefits. 

Let me tell you more about the difference between resigning and retiring and why it is important to retire instead of to resign. Also, I’ll explain the most important steps of how you can prepare for your retirement. 

Retiring vs. Resigning

The only similarity between retiring and resigning is that with both processes, you quit your job. However, they’re both very different. Not only the outcome is different, but also the way you need to prepare for each process differs. Let me tell you more about the basics of each process. 

It is important to know that this is purely meant informational. Processes for both retiring and resigning can vary per job position and company. The rules in each state and even company can also differ. When you’re thinking about retiring or resigning from your job, make sure you’re informed about the rules of your company. Often you can find these rules in the personnel guide. Ask your manager or HR department for the latest information. 

Process of Resigning

Resigning from your job is relatively easy. Often, the only thing you need to do is writing a resignation letter with a one-month notice. This notice period can vary per company. 

It is not quite as simple as it sounds, there are a few other things you need to think of before you decide if you can resign. 

Of course, you need to ask yourself if it’s financially attractive to resign? When you don’t have a different source of income or a new job, how can you make sure that you can still pay all the monthly bills? 

It is also possible that you followed a course or education that is paid by the company. If this is the case, often you’re obliged to stay at the company for several years after you finished this course. Most of the time, you signed a separate agreement, where you can find all the terms, also when you decide to resign. If this applies to you, make sure to find out if you need to pay the company back the costs of the education. 

When you resign from your job, you’re probably not eligible for health insurance and other social benefits. It is essential to know this before you resign because not having health insurance can be problematic. 

If you’re thinking of resigning, I always would recommend getting some professional advice before you make your decision. This way, you make sure you save yourself a lot of trouble. And if all the lights are green, and you still want to resign? Good for you, go write that resignation letter! 

Process of Retiring

The process of retirement is entirely different. Yes, it also ends with you quitting your job, and you probably need to write a retirement letter to make everything official. 

However, when you’re eligible for retirement, you often can keep your healthcare insurance and other social benefits for a specified period. Most people also saved up a lot of money during their career, intended to use as a pension. When you retire, this money comes available for you to use during your retirement years. 

If you’re eligible for retirement depends on many factors that vary per company and state. Retirement is a process that people plan for years in advance. Many companies have retirement policies where you need to start the process for retirement even months before your official retirement date. 

It is important to know all the details. I recommend getting professional financial advice before starting your retirement. And if you’re still many years away from your official retirement age, it’s also important to already think of when you want to retire. How much money do you need in retirement, and how you can start saving for that big day ahead. And what you want to do in retirement, because you need to take the costs for your retirement plans and dreams into account as well.

The most common retirement savings plan is called 401k. Named after the tax code that governments use. It is a retirement savings plan that is sponsored by the employer/ company you work for. It allows you to set aside a part of your paycheck before taxes. A financial advisor can help you out with sorting out all that essential information.

Besides getting financially ready you also want to be mentally ready for retirement. Knowing what you want to do after retirement prevents a lot of struggles later on. Also, not many people are aware that retiring is a process that takes time to get comfortable and be happy. And that is why I created the ebook: Five Steps To Happiness In Retirement. It helps everyone that is busy with their retirement making the most of it. I highly recommend anyone to read this book if they want to live a fulfilling life after retirement and want to get to the happiness stage of retirement fast.

How To Announce Your Retirement

Now you know more about the difference between retirement and resigning, you probably want to know more about the important steps in how to retire. After all, I’m here to give you tips and tricks about your retirement. So that you can enjoy your retirement in the best way possible. 

Announcing your retirement can be different for everyone. The steps and processes can vary for each company, but the basics are the same everywhere. 

There are basically five steps when announcing your retirement; 

• Step 1: announce your retirement verbally to your boss.
• Step 2: write a retirement letter directed to your boss and send a copy to HR. 
• Step 3: announce your retirement to co-workers. 
• Step 4: share your retirement plans with family, friends, and clients.
• Step 5: announce your retirement on LinkedIn and social media. 

The hows, and when you need to complete these steps, vary. I wrote the article ‘How To Announce Your Retirement,’ where you’ll find an in-depth guide on how to cope with these steps.

What To Write in Your Retirement Letter

Writing your retirement letter can be a difficult task. Even when you’re used to writing formal letters, this one can still be an emotional job. 

Many people retire from their jobs after working for decades at a specific company. Sometimes in the same posts, and sometimes in different job posts. Either way, you built up a relationship with the company, with your colleagues, and probably also with your boss. 

It is important to keep in mind that the primary purpose of your retirement letter is to announce your retirement. You can always reflect on your career in a later stadium, and maybe while giving a speech at your retirement party. However, you can add a short part in your retirement letter where you thank your colleagues and show your gratitude for the company. 

So, a retirement letter is a formal notice. It needs to contain specific details like your retirement date and personal information. It is important to write your retirement letter with a positive voice. Even when you’re not in a positive mindset about the company, you never know how you feel in a few months. So try to keep things positive. 

Your retirement letter doesn’t have to be an epistle. It is enough to write a short, positive, and formal letter. Limit your retirement letter to three paragraphs, something like; 

• First paragraph: start date of your retirement.
• Middle paragraph: express your gratitude and highlights of your career. 
• Final paragraph: well wishes for co-workers and company, what you’re looking forward to in retirement, and offer help for the transition.

If you want to know more about how to write your retirement letter, I recommend reading my article How To Write A Retirement Letter. This article contains several examples of retirement letters and other useful tips. 

How To Prepare For Your Retirement

Preparing for your retirement starts, of course, many years for year actual retirement date. When you start with your retirement savings plan, for many people, their 401k plan. If you want to know more about the 401k saving plan, I recommend visiting the official website of the IRS and ask at your company. 

However, many people start to prepare for their retirement a few years or months before their retirement date. First, you finish all the official steps, with giving notice to your employer, write your retirement letter, and maybe start planning your retirement party. 

When you finished those steps, it is time to think about how your life is going to be when you’re retired. And this process can be overwhelming for many. Maybe your spouse is not retiring yet, and you need to figure out together how life is going to be. Maybe you have a large bucket list of activities you plan to do when you’re retired. One thing is for sure, you don’t have to work anymore once you’re retired, and you can do everything you want! 

If you want to have the retirement of a lifetime, make sure to check out my ebook: Five Steps To Happiness In Retirement. It’s a very small investment for a happy life after retirement.

Recommended Articles

I wrote many articles about retirement that might be helpful for you. A few of the most popular articles are; 

• 35 Thoughtful Retirement Gifts
• What To Do When You’re Retired? 65 ideas
• How To Structure You’re Retirement Day?