The debate of what the ideal lifestyle after retirement is continuous and will not end anytime soon. Why is this? We all have different personalities and aspirations which most times add to determine our type of lifestyle.
A retirement lifestyle is chosen by the retiree in an effort to live comfortably and happily through all aspects of retirement. The retirement lifestyle chosen should remain fluid as it constantly evolves.
Is there a general lifestyle that is expected of retirees? There is a constant notion that retirees are majorly meant to go on their dream vacation with their spouse or just stay at home. This can be said to be right and wrong at the same time. To support the statement, life after retirement should be stress free and should provide you time to engage in other interesting activities.
On the other side, there shouldn’t be a defined retirement lifestyle. Every retiree should be able to choose the type of lifestyle they want whether simple, complex or even touring the world. The plan of some retirees is to assist in NGOs, others. This complete guide will give you insights to the retirement lifestyle.
Retirement Lifestyle Insights
Most times, when conversations regarding retirement pop up, it is restricted to majorly money and housing. However, it goes more than that and it includes but not limited to how you spend your time, vacations, activities to keep yourself busy and others. The thought of how seniors will live their lives after retirement often sends chills down their spine. What are the things to work towards to have a great retirement?
With these two things in mind, all seniors should be able to select and plan their retirement lifestyle.
Create a plan
Oftentimes, seniors have spent a larger portion of their years focusing on work due to the responsibilities such as housing loans, children tution fee, feeding, and others. Therefore, having to work extra hours or multiple jobs to make ends meet. Retirement is a time when we can all take some time from work and actually “LIVE.” You get to make the choices of how we spend each day.
The plan is everything to having a splendid and worthwhile retirement. Just like the saying “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” it is important to think about what you want to do with your time- hobbies, trips, cooking class and others. This is the point where you want to sit down and think hard about interesting things you love doing and activities you have always longed for.
At this stage, exercise is important to keep good health. Map out daily exercise routines to keep fit. Don’t allow age to be a determinant of activities you choose to engage in. Start slow and make a comprehensive but flexible list. Most importantly, switching between a lifestyle you were once used to, to a new one might be hard. Start working on some of the list on your retirement plans before you retire.
Time for new dreams
The goal of having a retirement lifestyle is to have a fun-filled and comfortable retirement experience. To achieve this, it is important to make a bucket list of things you would like to do within the first 15 months after retirement. It is important to add a lot of short-term goals that are easily checked off the list and replaced. To start with, add activities you have always wished to engage in such as skating, fun trips, family outing, hiking, skydiving, and other fun activities.
While engaging in your first set of dreams, new dreams will come to mind based on things you see and experience which confirms that “human needs are really insatiable.” Before you realize, you would have a long list of things you have done and other things you want to do.
However, your new dreams may not be restricted to short term dreams that can be easily checked off the list. Occasionally, goals can be broken up into smaller, more realistic goals. This is a very effective tactic for going forward and achieving the greater objective. In reality, with each smaller portion an aging adult achieves, they experience a rush of success, pride, and inspiration to continue. For instance, walking for health, a senior might plan to walk just 30 minutes, twice a week, for a month. However, in subsequent months, they may increase walking time and or number of days per week.
Consider your savings
Your savings is everything when planning a retirement lifestyle. Your plans will often be affected by your savings and responsibilities. So, while creating a dream, stay on the realistic side and set goals that are budget achievable.
We don’t want to make vacation plans that your savings won’t be able to fund or will have a large portion of your retirement savings. Be money conscious while drawing out a plan and look for stress free ways to add to your savings even when you are retired.
There are options such as freelancing, stress-free jobs, room rent, and others from which you can earn from the comfort of your home. Freelancing jobs such as data entry, internet research, writing, graphics design doesn’t require you to take a step outside your home leaving you time to engage in other planned activities.
Lifestyle Choices For Retirement
Are you still confused about the retirement to select from? Let’s take a look at the top 4 common retirement plans.
Social butterflies
This category does everything from spending time with family at home, going to movies, playing, sporting activities, getting club memberships, volunteering, and even part-time jobs. They have many social events and responsibilities, they relax and also go on vacation.
Back to school
Residing in a college town offers access to sporting activities, museums, speakers and concerts. Best of all, seniors over 60 will still take college courses for free or at substantially reduced rates. Retirement schooling is so common that an increasing number of colleges are developing retirement communities on or near campus.
Volunteer
Retired volunteers offer valuable services from museum instructors to hospital assistants. The best volunteer positions include a feeling of helping others and chances to get out and socialize. Seniors are well-educated, active, and involved in community services. Make a significant contribution and resources to represent values and interests.
Second career
In the conventional retirement years, many people continue to work, mostly because they need money, enjoy the job, or both. Some retirees switch to part-time jobs or seasonal or consulting to have more flexibility or leisure time, and often turn to new fields.
Alternative Retirement Lifestyles
The above listed retirement lifestyle are the most popular lifestyles but not the only ones available. If you didn’t find your desired retirement lifestyle in the list, let’s look at some rare retirement lifestyles. This are the three alternative lifestyle you can consider:
Art appreciation
Some retirees migrate to the villages of artists to live and produce the art they’ve always wanted to make. Typically situated in scenic locations, these provide a great opportunity to connect to like-minded individuals and maybe earn some money from selling your work.
Roommates
Roommates will help both parties in various ways. You’ll both save money, have comfort and security, and when demanded, you can offer each other a listening ear.
Workamping
This is a relatively recent concept relating to seniors moving from place to place in an RV and taking odd jobs to help support their income. They also trade resources for a place to live. They can work as ticket counters, maintenance crews, or park rangers.
Retirement Lifestyle Questionnaire
Creating a retirement lifestyle plan can be worrisome, so we have researched and compiled the following questions to ease the process.
- Why are you retiring?
- What is it that you will miss most about your job?
- How will you replace the things that you liked most about your work?
- What are you looking forward to the most about your retirement?
- What areas of your retirement life need a plan?
- What are the opportunities that you see in your retirement?
- How Much Retirement Savings Will You Actually Need?
- How Much Can You Afford to Spend Yearly Once Retired?
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