What to do after retiring? Know the answer

For many people what to do after retiring is a problem...make sure you know what you are going to do before you retire.

How many times have you heard...She worked hard all her life and died the year she retired. That sadly can happen to anyone, another reason to retire right now!, but you have a better chance of living a long, happy retirement if you plan and set goals for things you want to accomplish in retirement.

Don't be this person...When a retiree was asked what advice he could give to a person just retiring, he replied "Don't go to the bank and the post office the same day"...That does not sound like a person I want to become.

We did some planning by listing our goals of things we never wanted to do again and what we wanted to do after retiring.

I would encourage you to do make your own lists, your dislikes and hopes will be different than ours, write them down. It is very important to be clear about these 2 areas.

What to do after retiring...stay or get healthy

Just as important as a good relationship with your spouse becomes, having good health, greatly expands the options you have for living cheap. If this applies to your situation you know what to do. If you are not eating right and getting regular exercise the sooner you start the better.

The very best way to lower your costs for health care are to stay away from doctors in the first place.

What do we do personally?...We stay in shape and eat right...and cheap.

Our medical insurance covers a catastrophic loss involving hospitalization with a $5,000 deductible. The insurance still costs us $4,000 a year. Our annual physical is on our nickel.

Stay healthy to live well and live cheaply.

Practice first

If at all possible, try the things that you say you want to accomplish in retirement. For instance if you want to RV, rent one a take a 2 week trip before purchasing a new one. This makes sense for more than just seeing if you like it.

A new RV loses a lot of its value when you drive it off the lot. If you are renting one and discover it is just not for you for whatever reason you haven't lost that much money.

Same thing with a moving abroad. Go spend a few weeks renting a place, not a B and B or hotel, an apartment where you will be doing things just like you would if you lived there.

Try to live, not like a tourist but as a resident. There is a huge difference. Cook a few meals, do your laundry, go to the library, check for banks, etc.

Make sure you are retiring to something and not away from something

Retiring just because you don't like the people you work with or the boss, is not a good reason to retire...it should be a side benefit. If you say all I want to do is relax, you will quickly become bored.

Retire to something and you will be excited about each new day. Plan, plan and plan some more...it will pay off for you like it did for us.

What to do after retiring is not a question you should be asking yourself. How am I going have enough time to do all this stuff?, would be a more appropriate question.

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