Your retirement: Instead of working until you're 100

Submitted by Russ and Marilee, active retirees with PhD's

Just as every other life stage, retirement is made up of several phases. You may choose to settle down in a new city. Move closer to family, or stay right where you are. For us, it has come in three phases so far. We packed up everything and put it in storage so we could freely go where we wanted for the first few years. Next we rebuilt the family homestead and finally found a great beach community. These are some of the lessons we learned.

1.  Make sure and communicate with your partner about your retirement plans
Don't assume you know what you partner is thinking.  Know how much time you wish to spend together during your day.  Knowing that can prevent difficulties later.

2. Get expert advice 
Get good financial information in advance of retirement so that you will understand how much to spend each year. We've all seen the stock market results of late so plan for emergencies and stay in your limits.

3. Take a test drive  
You can try out hobbies or volunteer activities while you are still working.  That way you can eliminate those you don't like.  This will be a continuous process.  The beauty about retirement and volunteering is you cna quit and move on to something else.

4.  Stay in the game
If you think you may want or need to work in retirement, you should plan for that while you are still working.

5. Discover yourself
Whatever title or position you held is gone.  Hopefully you have discovered who you are beyond what you did when you worked.

6. Share your time 
This is an opportunity to decide what you wish to do with the rest of your lifewhich we hope includes some volunteering to share your expertise with others.

7.  Shake things up
Retirement is a very good time for a couple to rexamine how "chores" are delegated.  My husband decided he would like to do more cooking.  I was thrilled and he's still our main cook 15 years later.

8. Choose
This means you are in charge of the rest of your life.  Take ownership for your life and make the decisions carefully. Like all other life stages, you learn from your mistakes. Don't forget to plan realistically for your declining years.  Most people avoid this painful subject and then become the "victim" of others decisions.  Please check the reality of your choices with a counselor from your local Office of the Aging. We have seen so many of our friends go from "we're just fine" to a move not of their choosing.

9. Don't intrude 
Even though we live quite a distance from our children and grandchildren we try not to overstay when visiting. We try and keep in touch in other ways.

10. Vacation frugally
Travel can be done in a more inexpensive way by staying a week at a time in a motel with a kitchen and making side trips from that location.  We traversed Canada that way.