Did you Plan for Retirement?

Most people, when answering the question did you plan for retirement, will immediately think of the financial aspects of this question.  While it’s very clear that this is an important area to consider, at this website we like to devote our attention to whether or not you did a sufficient amount of planning for how you’re going to spend your time.

As you plan for retirement, you should think the change that is coming in how you spend your day.  You should think about waking up each morning with none of the normal activities you did each day at work.  During my time as a prisoner of Corporate America, my day usually started before six each morning and included a one-hour commute to the office.  My mornings were taken up with conference calls and meetings and sometimes lunch was nothing more than a working meeting which, quite often, included a presentation or report that I had to give.  The afternoon was no better and I almost never left before six in the evening.  I’m not complaining (okay, maybe just a little).  That was the nature of the job and they always paid me enough that I came back for the next day of fun and games.  The point I’m making is that my day was full.  I never had to wonder what I was going to do because my supervisors and co-workers took care of that for me.  I knew that when the day of my retirement came, not only would my paycheck stop but my obligation to be at a specified place at a certain time would be gone as well.  Yes, my plan for retirement included the financial concerns, but had I done enough to make sure that I had a plan to nurture the active person I had been while I was working?  Had I done enough to fill in the day of the person who suddenly found himself with no phone calls to make and no meetings to go to?  Could I retire and still be active?

Your Plan For Retirement Should Not
Only Be About Your Finances

I’m happy to say that the answer was yes.  I have enough interests to keep me going for a long time and they’re a blend of physical and mental activities as well as setting aside time for my emotional wellbeing.  My plan for retirement included a lot more than just the question of money.  Unfortunately, my experience has been that that has not been the case for some of the people I have met along the way.  Some of them have more money than could possibly ever spend but they seem to have lost the zest for life.  Many of them have said that they wished they had never retired, and I can’t tell you how sad that makes me.  This website was my response to what I was hearing.  It’s my own personal mission to get people to get the most they can out of these precious years of retirement.

Throughout this site you’ll find information about hobbies and sports, travel and learning.  I believe everyone had at least one interest in their past that they abandoned along the way.  And, although I believe that retirement should be about looking forward, I do think taking a little time to do some self-analysis may give you some hints about finding ways to fill in your days and make this gift that you’ve been given as wonderful as possible.  Being able to retire is, indeed, a gift.  Many people never make it this far.  It seems such a waste not to make the most of this time.

Retirement should be a time to find new interests and get back to old hobbies.  It’s a time to make new friends and, possibly, seek out some of your old acquaintances.  It’s time to travel to new places or spend time in the places we love.  Enjoy as many sunsets as you can.  I’m a firm believer that money should not hold us back.  There are many ways for retirees to make money and some have even learned to profit from their hobbies.  Many have devoted themselves to their passion by creating a website like this one.  I can tell you from experience that it’s fun and challenging and very rewarding.  I love to hear from people who gotten inspired to make a change in their life so please don’t hesitate to reach out.  I’ve thought about putting some of their stories on this site for others to read.  This time of your life is to be embraced and enjoyed.  If you haven’t done so already, make a plan for retirement.  Explore all the possibilities.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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