What is Important for a Successful Retirement?
What is important for a successful retirement?There are a number of issues which are both vital and crucial to a
successful retirement. It is important that sufficient income and
pensions arrive and it is vital that good money management skills have
been learned and mastered long before retirement. Maintaining good
health and a daily regimen of exercise is also important as is and
excellent insurance coverage. It is essential that risky investments
are ignored and safe investments checked out. In addition to keeping
ones medical health intact, it is important to keep your mental health
intact also. Sharing the remainder of your life with your marital
partner or someone special is a true blessing “at our age”. As a
retiree, you have gained a wealth of knowledge that can still be usable
by those younger than you. There are many more, but I won’t waste
bandwidth.
- How can one best deal with the aging process?
You can deal with the aging process by doing things that both stimilate
the mind and the body. It is important to note that many retiress
return to the workplace as trainers and consultants, thus passing on
their knowledge and experience. Continuous activity can slow down the
aging process.
And — Rather than referring to yourself as a Senior Citizen, full of
societal stereotypes, why not refer to yourself as a Seasoned Citizen,
and keep em guessing!
- What are the pros and cons about retiring to different geographical
locations, retirement communities, the move from a house to an
apartment/residence?
As a retiree, you’ve lived and worked throughout your life. If you
choose to “finally” move to a warmer climate, a vacation area, near the
ocean, to a dry climate or even abroad, you’ve earned it! If you want
to sell the house and move to an apartment or condo, and it is within
your means, by all means consider it! We continue to hear stories about
retirees who lived short retirements or committed suicide because they
felt unneeded or unwelcome and could no longer realize their self-worth.
That need not be you or your story. Retirement is a second chance to
live a new existence and to make the most of this new lifestyle in
moderation with your financial picture.
- What is the best way to handle finances during the retirement period?
If you waited until you retired to learn good money management skills,
you’ve waited too long and too late. But, a trip to your local high
school or community college will enable you to sign up for a senior
citizen financial management course which may be available. The AARP
offers some good information for seniors troubled with money management
woes.
- Noteworthy senior activities and events:
Volunteering your time in retirement is truly an appropriate act, as you
will be helping those fellow seniors with their needs such as
transportation, feeding, friendship and companionship. This is an
outreach which can blossom many times over.
- Discussion of “reminiscent” topics: music, fads, clothes, activities,
etc.:
Participation in online discussion, awareness and training sessions can
be a wonderful experience for any retiree. Remember, you have many years
of expertise just in living your life, then add the experiences of what
you did during your occupational career and you’ll soon realize that you
are more important to a lot more people as your retirement world
expands. I recently browsed through a 1951 daily newspaper (headlined
“MacArthur Lands In New York Tonite – Parade Tomorrow!) and realized how
much more I know now than in 1951 (and well before that date) when that
newspaper was delivered to my door. What has occurred between the day
in 1951 when that newspaper was published, and today, are the
ingredients of the knowledge I have to offer and actively share with
others.
- Health related topics that affect the body as it ages, coping,
prevention and maintaining the aging body
If you have avoided medical and dental professionals in the years prior
to your retirement, you’ll now have to pay the virtual piper!
Maintaining a good regimen of periodic checkups is important to
post-retirement life. You may not want to hear what will be said, but
remember that what is being said concerns you and your physical well
being, and in essence, it’s all about you and earning your longevity.
Note: I service an ever-growing list of retirees and seniors interested
in keeping abreast of the latest scams, schemes, cons, frauds and
swindles as they pertain to the senior and retiree communities, who,
more and more, are the primary targets of unscrupulous, unfeeling
telemarketers who exploit senior Americans on a daily basis. This area
of interest is one I learned from my occupational career and now pass on
to those fellow retirees, many of whom have been victimized and (some)
have lost countless thousands of dollars because they believed it
couldn’t happen to them because they had age and wisdom.
What are you doing with your life experiences to make a difference for
Senior, Seasoned and Retired Americans?