Making The Most Of Your Retirement

Making The Most Of Your Retirement

At last, a lifetime of hard work and pension contributions has paid off – it’s time to retire and have some fun.

But while you may have been dreaming of this moment since your first day at work, have you got a plan for how you’re going to spend your time?

And, just as importantly, a plan B if things don’t turn out quite as you had imagined?

While you may not be able to plan an unexpected health issue you can and should prepare mentally for retirement. “Retirement is like emigrating,” says the author of The Psychology of Retirement Dr Derek Milne

Many will be faced with some difficult transitions, such as having to build up a new support network and dealing with work-related loss, such as identity and structure.

At first not having to go to work can be very strange and many people struggle to stop thinking about it and wonder what they can do – we’ve heard it said many time “there’s only so many games of golf you can play” but there’s no denying that some form of exercise if really helpful both from a mental and physical wellness perspective.

New beginnings

Whatever your situation, retirement can also offer the potential for positive change – whether that’s volunteering for a charity, resolving to eat healthily or becoming more active.

“The most successful transitions are people who see it as a growth opportunity, where things you’ve always wanted to do become possible,” says Dr Milne. “Tackle it like a new job, use all your skills and treat it like a new beginning.”

Getting Your Finances In Order

Let’s talk about money and financial security for a moment

It’s been said that if you fail to plan you plan to fail

Sadly we see this all the time and we could very well have fallen into that trap and to be truthful we did after investing what savings we had into property rather than a traditional annuity pension given we thought about it late and had to do the best we could.

We know we’re not alone as many professionals like ourselves – accountants, lawyers, consultants, dentists, doctors find themselves in a similar situation.

That being said you need to organise your money so you can work out what you’ll have to live on.

Gradually reducing your spending in the lead up to retirement will make it easier to adjust. Track down any old pensions, claim your state pension and check what other benefits you can claim.

If you realise that money is going to be a problem for your retirement years think about what skills you have that could earn you some extra money.  People are searching all the time for people who can do tasks like bookkeeping, spreadsheets, proof reading, website creation, graphic design etc.  If you were good at something in your career the chances are that someone somewhere could use your skills.

For instance a cousin of ours in the United States has a nice little bookkeeping business using Quickbooks and helps people do their annual tax returns.  This gives her the extra cash to travel and go on cruises which she loves.

Sites like Upwork.com are a  great place to let people know you’re available to do jobs for which you are skilled.  There’s also Fiverr.com where you can post a gig.

If that’s not to your fancy then you can learn how to do just about anything online these days from life coaching to teaching languages, start an Amazon business or sell craft things on Etsey

The world really is your oyster

Because we like to travel we prefer to generate our retirement income from affiliate marketing.

We promote a variety of programs, tools and resources and products that don’t require us to handle fulfilment or customer service.

Our favourites are in online education and training, health and wellness and travel because they fit our background and what we want from our retirement

Whatever course you take for your income generation you will need to learn digital marketing skills because people go online for pretty much everything these days and you need to know how to be there to serve them.

Be Prepared For Ups And Downs

There may be times when you feel lonely or a bit lost, which is normal. If ill health or changes in your relationships temporarily scupper your plans, accept that this has happened and get your back-up plan in action.  Try and think positively and seek help if you need it.

Develop a routine

You may find it feels more normal to continue getting up, eating and going to bed at roughly the same time every day. Plan in regular activities such as voluntary work, exercise and hobbies. This will keep things interesting and give you a purpose. This is especially important if you have decided to start a business to earn you some extra income.

Exercise your mind

Studies have shown that learning in later years can help people stay independent, so use your free time to continue to challenge yourself mentally, whether it’s learning an instrument or a language or getting a qualification

Keep physically active

We should all aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week, so build up to this if you haven’t made exercise a normal part of your life previously. Why not sign up for a charity event to give you a goal to work towards?  We did this for Alzheimers and it was very fulfilling and we knew we were helping fund research into this horrible disease for which there is no known cure.

Make a list

Writing down your aims may help you focus on what you really want to achieve – like a ‘to do’ list. Work out what you can afford to do and schedule time to make it happen, so you experience a sense of accomplishment, as you would have done at work.

Go for a health check

We can’t stress this enough.  We were lucky to be offered one and discovered we both had high cholesterol leaving us prone to a heart attack or stroke.  Luckily this was something that could be corrected with medication, diet and lifestyle changes…

And led us to developing a health and wellness business (one of our income streams)

Travel more

Always dreamt of going on an around-the-world cruise, a wine-tasting trip through Italy…

Now you can finally make those long-held plans a reality, depending on your health and budget limitations.

If longer trips aren’t practical, mini breaks may be a good alternative

Now we love ❤️ to travel and it was the thing that set us off on our online business journey

We belong to a travel club giving us great deals on all kinds of trips.

We love it so much we became affiliates and get to travel with friends as well.

Push your boundaries

Last but by no means least, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut, both health-wise and in general, and doing something different can be a refreshing change.

From keeping fit and healthy to making the mental adjustment you can have the retirement you want

Thanks for reading today’s blog Making The Most Of Your Retirement and would love you to share your thoughts and feedback and if you would like any help in bringing your dreams and goals to life just contact us here

Making The Most Of Your Retirement