Life after Retirement (15 Best Tips to Help You Enjoy Yours)

Yes, there’s a lot of life after retirement that you can really enjoy! This article reveals great tips to help you really enjoy life after retirement.

 

Importance of Life After Retirement

You have worked hard, there is money in the bank and your retirement accounts seem to be doing okay.

Now, what about the investment of your time?

Most likely, you thought quite a bit about retirement and working towards that goal.

The day has arrived and there you are.

The golden years or retirement has arrived.

You had a few ideas or goals in mind.

Some may have included travel, seeing the grandchildren, enjoying the links, etc.

However, what about the other hours in the day?

What to do with the remaining time or what if there has been a change in plans.

 

Personal Story

We worked hard, my wife and I.

We saved and invested our money in retirement accounts to retire comfortably.

We were all set.

Our retirement dream included a train and the Canadian Rockies.

Both combining into an adventure of a lifetime to start our golden years together.

However, the unfortunate thing about trains is that sometimes they derail.

Well, our retirement train did in fact get derailed.

The derailment was caused by the horrible disease of Alzheimer’s.

So, marital vows and love required that our time is now spent together each moment of each day and a modification of retirement plans.

 

15 Best Tips to Help You Enjoy Life After Retirement

1. Have the Right Attitude 

Like the childhood game of hiding and go seek plays out, after the counting is completed and everybody is in their hiding positions, the child who is finished counting explains “Ready or not here I come.”

So it is with retirement, ready or not here we come.

That statement is bold, daring, and aggressive.

So should be the same attitude of the retiree entering in or has gone into that new stage of their life known as retirement.

Circumstances may be hiding in wait for us, it may not be clear as to where all of the circumstances are hiding, but as a retiree, who’s been there and done that, the bold proclamation should be ready or not here I come.

Attitude, in anything, is critical.

This is especially true as it relates to retirement and those things that may be lurking in hiding places that we are not aware of.

 

2. Adjust

The United States Marine Corps has a mindset that they live by.

That mindset is, “Improvise, adapt, and overcome.”

Welcome to the new adventure of retirement.

Most likely, some things have been planned for and other things may possibly be a surprise.

Therefore, it is important that the retiree improvise and adapt so that they can overcome.

By adjusting to retirement, one will find that every day is going to provide the possibility of a new adventure.

Therefore, as a retiree, with decades of life as their experience, they are going to adjust and enjoy every moment that they can of this retirement that they have earned.

 

3. Be Active 

Another helpful tip for an individual to enjoy life after retirement is to stay active.

The idea of sitting in a rocker and whittling or knitting your life away in front of a TV may have its place but hopefully is not a major part of your retirement plans.

In order to stay engaged in life and continue on with each new day’s adventure, it is important to stay active.

A practical tip on staying active includes scheduling part of your day so that you remain disciplined and engaged in your retirement life.

It is important to take the reins of retirement life and steer in the direction that you wish to go rather than the reverse.

 

4. Take Care of Your Mental Health 

Another important aspect of life after retirement is to maintain one’s mental health.

By this, it is meant that the individual should endeavor to recognize any potential depression that may be lurking in the shadows.

Examples of the impact on an individual’s mental health could be an unexplained illness, illness of a loved one, worrying about finances, etc.

Consequently, it is important to cultivate one’s mental health.

This can be accomplished by reading self-help books, attending positive-thinking, or just simply being around positive-thinking people

It is definitely important not to give in to any episodes of self-pity.

 

5. Take Care of Your Physical Health 

As part of the overall attention that should be provided to an individual in their enjoyment of life after retirement is to remain physically active.

It is important to take daily walks, practice yoga, play pickleball at the senior citizens center, etc.

Even if an individual has some sort of arthritic or other limiting physical factors, they can still engage in physical activity by moving their upper body or lower body.

It is always good to do these sorts of activities with other individuals.

Therefore, the individual can join a chair yoga class or do water aerobics with a group of other people, or more.

 

6. Take Care of Your Spiritual Health 

Another important part of an individual, regardless of whether they are retired or not, is the spiritual aspect of their being.

Therefore, it is important not to neglect this critical aspect of an individual’s being.

Practicing one’s spirituality can be exercised by doing meditation alone or in a group setting, practicing yoga, attending church functions, etc.

 

7. New a New Hobby 

As individuals, we never stop learning.

In fact, if we are not learning, then we could be described as being stagnant.

Of course, stagnation is not a healthy place to be in.

It’s always important to learn and one way that this can occur is by learning a new hobby.

A new hobby could be playing chess, checkers, crosswords, word games, picking up golfing, etc.

Despite limitations, it is important to challenge oneself and to learn new things so that the individual can continue to learn and grow.

 

8. Read 

Another essential tip to the enjoyment of a successful life upon retiring is to continue the commitment to read.

In all likelihood, you are successfully retired due to the fact that you did read and study what was required in order to enter into retirement.

Understanding that challenges with our vision may be a reality, it is important to remember that there is always support available.

You can have a young person read for you and that would not only increase your knowledge base on what is being read but also the young person’s knowledge as well.

In addition, there are a number of organizations that help to provide tools to facilitate reading for those who may be a little visually impaired.

Some of those tools that some of these agencies provide include a magnifying reader or the provision of audiotapes.

Some of those groups include the Lions Club, public libraries, and more.

Also, many smartphones are equipped with apps and vision tools to help those that may be visually impaired.

 

9. Maintain Your Old Hobby 

In addition to learning new hobbies, life after retirement is an opportunity for the individual to further the advancement of old hobbies that they may have previously indulged in.

Hobbies like woodworking that make you money, building wooden ships, putting together model airplanes, playing chess, knitting, crocheting, golf, etc.

All of these hobbies, now that the individual has more time on their hands, can be taken to new levels that will still engage the individual but require the learning or developing of new aspects of the hobby.

 

10. Socialize 

We are social animals regardless of whether we are retired or not.

We enjoy the company of others.

Therefore, perhaps even more so, an individual who is retired still needs to socialize.

Socialization can be accomplished by joining a variety of clubs, attending the senior citizen activity center, church functions, etc.

The benefit of socializing is being with other people, talking, listening, learning, and laughing together with these individuals.

 

 

11. Keep Being Employed 

Life after retirement can also provide a new employment opportunity.

However, rather than being subjected to the stresses of one’s old job, the individual now can pick and choose what employment they wish to engage in.

Employment positions with low stress attached to them could be driving for a delivery company such as Uber or DoorDash, being a greeter at a discount store, pet walker, etc.

This will not only give the retiree a sense of still being useful but also provides some additional income.

 

12. Have Fun 

A critical important tip for an individual in enjoying life after retirement is to make sure that they laugh.

Studies have shown and certain books affirm that laughter is like medicine.

Therefore, if the individual laughs as much as possible they will be doing themselves a great deal of good to all aspects of their being.

Laughter can occur by reading a daily joke, being with other individuals who are fun to be around, interacting with children, etc.

 

13. Money Is Still Important

Being retired typically means that one has left their employment position and is now relying on retirement monies, Social Security, pensions, and other revenue streams.

Therefore, it is important that one manages their personal finances well.

Consequently, a good practical tip to follow as a retiree is to ensure that you have a good working budget that captures that your expenses and income.

The budget should balance.

Also, as a retiree, you have earned whatever age-specific discounts may be offered from a variety of retailers.

For example, on one day of the week, the supermarket may offer a senior discount which reduces the total amount owed.

It may not seem like a lot of money, but it can add up over time.

Also, it is important to use coupons and other money-saving offers that are available to help one manage their monthly finances.

Also See: How to Get Paid to Save & How to Get Paid to Store Vehicles.

 

14. Travel 

Life after retirement is a prime opportunity for one to travel.

This travel can be to exotic places if the individual’s budget will allow it or can be just simply traveling to undiscovered areas within their own community.

This can easily be accomplished by signing up for various tours sometimes offered through community colleges, or through the senior activities center.

Travel can be also accomplished by renting various videos that take the individual, through those videos, to faraway places.

An idea would be to make a party out of it and invite others with the appropriate food found in the country or city “traveled to.”

 

15. Volunteer 

Another incredibly powerful tip on how to enjoy life after retirement is to give back to others.

This goal of being a blessing and giving rather than receiving can be accomplished by volunteering.

When looking for an opportunity to volunteer it is important that it is a good match for you as an individual.

The volunteer opportunity should match up with a passion and interest that you may have.

For example, if one loves to see children involved educationally, the individual may wish to volunteer at a school, a preschool, or other children’s educationally related opportunities.

Also, if the person has a heart for those that are needy, there are multitudes of organizations that can be volunteered with that help the homeless and meeting their basic needs.

Volunteering will not only be a reward for the person, but practically other lives will be touched.

Talking about retirement, check out the following related articles:

• Best Money Making Hobbies for Retired
• Low-Stress Work to Do after Retirement
• Best High Paying Jobs for Retired Teachers
• Importance of Planning for Retirement
• Tax Efficient Retire Withdrawal Strategies
• Can You Really Retire at 60 With 500k?
• What Happens to 401k When You Quit?

 

Life After Retirement FAQs

 

What Is the Greatest Fear of Retirees?

It seems that the biggest fear of those that are retired is outliving one’s retirement funds.

This can be overcome by living with one’s retirement means, utilizing cost-savings measures, and taking an odd-paying job as needed.

 

What Are the Five Stages of Retirement?

Below are the five stages of retirement:

1. The first stage is pre-retirement that spans 5 to 15 years before the retirement date. The focus is on preparing for retirement.

2. The second stage is the honeymoon stage. This phase lasts from one to two years where the individual is enamored with retirement.

3. The third stage is disenchantment. This phase reflects an attitude that retirement isn’t what it was supposed to be.

4. The fourth stage is a reorientation. This occurs when all of the planned activities appear to have been accomplished and an attitude of “now what” appears.

5. The fifth stage is the stable stage. Contentment and settling in are experienced. The stage, sometimes appearing 15 years later from the initial retirement date, provides a sense of fulfillment.

 

You Can Do It

Age is a state of mind, or you are as young as you feel.

There is some significant truth to these adages.

Therefore, just because one is retired it doesn’t mean that your life stops.

The same needs and activities that got you to this point still need to be part of one’s lifestyle regardless of their age or retirement or non-retirement status.

You still have life, meaning, and purpose.

Continue to live and be relevant.

 

Conclusion

Retirement is an opportunity to relax a bit from one’s hard work and related stresses.

However, you are not ready for that “grazing pasture.”

Remember to be retired is an opportunity to be rewired.