One of the main reasons that some people struggle as they try to adjust to life in some form of retirement is that they have only thought about money when doing their retirement planning. This is not surprising considering that the retirement planning industry has been telling us for the last 30 – 40 years that a happy retirement is all about having enough money.
Not only is this simplistic – it’s downright misleading and it has caused a lot of angst over the years. Unfortunately much of the financial planning industry is still spinning this story.
The reality is that while saving enough money is important, it’s only part of the story. Unless people also consider a range of lifestyle issues as part of their retirement planning, they are likely to struggle as they try to adjust to a new and very different lifestyle. It’s not that complicated, it just requires some thought and communication with your partner and other people who will be effected by your retirement.
While everyone is different, here is a guide to some of the lifestyle issues that most people could usefully think about as part of their retirement planning:
- Are you happy with your current life? How does it measure up against your earlier goals?
- Have you really thought what happiness means for you? What would your life look like if you were really happy? Remember that you are the only one in charge of your happiness.
- Are you at peace with yourself and others important to you?
- Is your work / life balance in reasonable shape?
- Do you still have important goals to achieve in your life? What are you going to do about them?
- Are you bored or frustrated?
- How is your relationship with your partner? Does it need some work?
- Do you have issues, or negative attitudes you need to get rid of?
- What is the context in which you see your life? Is it just yours? Is it just what your family or friends want of you?
- Are you part of a community and the world?
- What about death? Is life a finite thing that just ends?
- Is there any purpose to your being part of humanity, however troubled it is in the 21st century? How do you see the physical universe and your relation to it?
- Do you still smell the flowers and watch the sunset and rain?
Be honest with yourself and your partner (if you have one). The answers and the understanding you generate through this process will have a considerable influence on the rest of your life.
To help make this process easier, we have produced four books about preparing for a life in some form of retirement. You can find more details on them on the home page of our web site.