Healthy Living in Retirement

Many people have found retirement to be the happiest time of their lives. How your retirement turns out depends on good planning.

The best advice you will get from successful retirees is this: Don’t go into retirement cold. Get a few library books on the subject. Subscribe to a retirement publication. See what other retirees have done, and learn from the mistakes they have made.

Failure to lay out a balanced program of activities that stimulate the mind, use the hands, tire the muscles gently by bedtime, and enrich the spirit is the reason many people feel that their retirement days are not fulfilling.

 

 

Not taking into account the standard of living you can afford with the money you will have is a serious mistake, especially with inflation eroding its value each year. Is it cheaper to live where you are, or could you save money by selling and moving to a smaller house in a less expensive town or neighborhood?

Don’t wait until you are done to decide where you want to begin the next step in your life. A couple of years before, scout a few likely places. Visit towns or places to which you might consider relocating, and, if possible, rent for a couple of weeks.

Decide how attached you are to your children, grandchildren, neighbors, and friends. If you do move, give yourself a chance to get adjusted—a year at least. Return to your hometown without selling your original home. Is it still desirable? Stay for the winter. Like it still? Then move back: You’re not one to pull up roots.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that retirement is just for you. It’s a new beginning for your spouse too, and you shouldn’t forget to include him/her in your plans. Try to understand that this is a brand new life for both of you.

You may consider activities to do separately for some occasional time apart, or more things you can do together. You can bowl a few times a week on your own in a league, or how about a mixed couples league once a week? Exercise is key to being healthy in the years after your professional career is over, so if you haven’t already, how about joining a gym, on your own or together?

Be careful when becoming a babysitter for your children. This is your time to enjoy leisure. Once you get in the habit, you could be imposed upon constantly.

Don’t let your children know how much money you have and how much you intend to leave them. Don’t loan money to them. Many children, even if they are able, don’t feel obligated to repay their parents—a habit they got into as youngsters. Should you enjoy a long life, this could become a problem.

Some children have promised lifetime support if all their parents’ assets were turned over to them. However sincere their intentions may be now, decline. Should you live longer than they expected or should they get into a financial bind, the consequences could be disastrous.

Don’t leave your legal affairs in a tangle. Find out now about inheritance taxes, update your will (especially if you move to another state), house deeds, insurance, auto club benefits, etc. Take care of these items first so that you can relax when you finally leave your school career behind. Make your spouse aware of all your financial affairs and what he/she should do if he/she suddenly has to manage alone.

Do all of this while someone else is “picking up the bill.” Don’t neglect to have all your health problems, especially operations, taken care of while still employed and covered by full health insurance, instead of going through Medicare, which may pay only half the bill.

Make a list of the activities you want to engage in when you retire. Don’t delude yourself into believing that you can fall into the endless bliss of perpetual golf, tennis, fishing, or any hobby if you have not cultivated a fondness for it before you retire. And don’t put all your eggs into one hobby basket. You may have to give up golf and tennis eventually, so cultivate a few alternate hobbies. Take some computer or cooking classes—anything for which you may find a new passion! Many people even enter a new career upon leaving their employment in the school system, whether it’s writing, working with their hands, traveling, or making use of a hobby.

Don’t fall into the habit of always complaining about your illnesses; You will drive your friends away. Some retirees complain about other things besides their health. Everything becomes sour and no good: politics, kids on the street, relatives, rising prices. Most people do not like to hear about such depressing things. Pay attention to the older people who have the most friends. They are the noncomplainers, the smilers, the agreeable ones to whom others flock. Such brightness is contagious, and everyone wants a piece of it.

Do not dwell constantly in the past. There have been good old days, and there’s no harm in reminiscing about them occasionally with friends. But the current days are good too. Keep up-to-date on them. Subscribe to a good national news magazine or visit your local library or book store to read one.

Food may taste better than ever since your other pleasures have slackened. But now that you are not working, you won’t burn it up as easily, and you may clog your arteries and gain weight. So learn the caloric and cholesterol content of most of the foods you eat. Devise an exercise program that you can follow at least three or four times a week.

You may like to “wing it” in life and see what each day may have in store for you when you get there, but if you fail to make plans for the day or week ahead, you may find yourself with nothing to do. Lay out a schedule for yourself. You’ll get more done and be much happier with things to look forward to.

Experts on successful aging say that persons who age well are integrated types who remain actively involved in the world and react to life and aging positively. They become involved in other people, in the younger generation, in mentoring, and in helping others less fortunate.

There is a precious freedom that comes with retirement. You can fill your hours with all sorts of happiness and pleasant satisfactions that make your life after school a joy.