1st Four Steps Non-Financial Keys to Retirement
Planning[i]
Much time has
been spent talking about retirement planning but most of it has to to with the
financial aspects of it. Financial planning however, is only one part of
planning for retirement - how you afford it. The rest of retirement
planning has more to how you run your life and your relationships. The
answers are not necessarily as easy as you might think.
1) Why are you
always here?
Let’s face it,
you’ve spent the last 20, 30, maybe even 40 years away from each other 9-10
hours per day 5-6 days per week. You’ve
lived together, but you haven’t lived together all day long. You’ve developed habits, your way of
doing things, and most of all, you have acquired and learned to live in your
space. You eat lunch your
way and your spouse eats it another way.
Discuss your
ideas of retirement with your mate, and maybe even consider some pre-retirement
counseling. Getting used to
being around each other could take months or a year. You will learn to communicate in
different ways. This is a
huge adjustment, so give it the consideration that it requires. Most of all, give each other some
space… before you need it!
2) What do you
mean you want to golf?
What does
retirement mean to you? What
does it mean to your spouse? Have
you discussed what retirement means to each other? If not, you may both be operating with
completely different expectations.
Chances are
that each of you will have different ideas. The husband may have been looking
forward to golfing every day while the wife has been looking forward to
spending much time together, sleeping in, or traveling. The day after the retirement party,
both of you are going to run into some surprises and disappointment. Most of all, make room for each other’s
ideas and learn to compromise. In
many ways, you will find that the beginning of retirement is much like the
beginning of marriage was because you will be learning to live together all
over again.
3) Get exercise
– join a gym together
You’ve heard the
phrase, ‘use it or lose it’. What
they are probably talking about is your physical fitness. When you were
20, you could have sat down for 3 months and then got up and recovered
quickly. Not so now. Every day, your body gives you one
more chance. If you pass on
it, you may not get another one.
Keep moving,
join a gym together or at least find the local high school track or a jogging
trail and start walking. Not
only is it good for the heart, muscles, blood pressure, and bones, it’s also
good for the brain and the libido.
4) Show me the
money
If you don’t
have a financial advisor, get one. It’s
never too early to start to plan financially for retirement. People are living longer these days
but yet still retire at the same age. If you are going to retire longer, you
obviously need to have more financial reserves and/or learn how to stretch it
out better. Take a look at
your life and health policies, update your will, and above all, consider a
living will. It’s amazing how much peace of mind you will have at having
all these things updated and out of your worry box.
[i] [i]
http://www.seniormag.com/caregiverresources/articles/caregiverarticles/personal-development/retirement-planning.htm
(six more to be b=published next week)
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