Dream retirement – what does it look like to you? Start planning and saving for retirement now, so you can live the retirement of your dreams.
Maria retired when she was sixty-five. She signed up for Social Security and she had a small pension from the last place she worked. Her house had been paid off for several years. If she wanted to go to lunch with her friends, there was money in the bank. For Maria, life was simple, but good.
Then a hurricane hit the Gulf Coast and almost destroyed her home. Insurance rates sky-rocketed – homeowners, auto and flood insurance prices more than doubled. Money became tight, so Maria could no longer afford to go out with her friends. Depressed, lonely and barely making ends meet, she sat at home and watched television – the only pass-time she could afford.
Maria’s dream of retiring became an unplanned nightmare. Does this look like the retirement of someone you know? Your grandparents? Maybe even your parents?
Your dream retirement
Your retirement doesn’t have to look like Maria’s. A wonderful, dream retirement doesn’t just happen. If you want to enjoy yours, you need to do some careful planning.
It’s never too soon to start planning and saving for retirement. The sooner you start, the more you will have when you actually retire. But, it’s also never too late. My husband and I started planning our retirement twenty-five years ago. Should we have started sooner? Definitely. Isn’t it time for you to get started planning?
Start dreaming now
So, back to my original question – what does your dream retirement look like? Are you ready to do some dreaming right now? Turn off the television. Shut down your Social Media for a few minutes and just sit quietly. Using a note pad and pen, start making notes. Think about things you’ve always wanted to do – put together your wish list.
Exploring your “wish list”
Traveling
- Take a cruise – or two or three
- Explore Europe
- Visit every national park in the U.S.
- Visit friends across the nation
- Play golf in every state in the Union
Learn new skills
- Learn to play tennis
- Get in shape
- Train to run a marathon
Family
- Write a book – your memoir or a novel
- Trace your geneology
- Spend time with your grandchildren
- Take your family to Disney World
- Set up college funds for your grandchildren
Volunteering / Continuing Education
You can bring new meaning to your life by giving to others – making a difference in their lives. When you grow and share that with others, it changes you, your neighborhood, city, state, country . . . maybe the world.
- Volunteer
- Go back to school and finish a degree
- Take continuing education classes
- Teach a class
- Start a new career
Hobbies
What did you long to do when your children were younger but never had the time to do? These are just brainstorming ideas based on things we thought about doing when we were younger. Your list is going to look so different from ours.
- Sewing
- DIY projects
- Restoring antique cars
- Restoring furniture
- Reading books
- Gardening
Where will you live?
- Retire in place (In the home you are in now)
- At your lake place / vacation home
- In a warmer climate
- On the beach
- On a golf course
- In another country
Other items – cars and health
- What type of car(s) will you drive?
- What is your health like now and do you anticipate any big changes?
Final Thoughts
There are so many things to consider, aren’t there? I’m sure I missed some, but these lists were provided to get you thinking about things you want to include in your dream retirement.
When you have a fairly clear picture of your dream retirement, you’ll be ready for the next step – calculating what it’s going to cost for your retirement. Please read that article next.
What topics can you think of that should be included in this list? Leave me a comment and maybe I’ll add it to the list.