I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately on what I need to do to prepare for retirement.  Much of what I have read said to start getting serious when you have 2-5 years left until you plan to retire.  I’ve seen a lot of lists on what things to consider and have come up with the following that seem to rise to the top for me.  Here are some of the items I am doing to prepare:

• Work on creating a snapshot of where I am financially….
• • List out any debts I have and how I plan to address them
  • List my assets
  • Review my savings
  • Review my investments/401K’s/pension plans
  • Make sure all legal documents are in order, wills, trusts, directives
  • Analyze what income I think I will need in retirement
  • Take a class or read up on Medicare
  • I am hoping to retire before 65, so what will I do for health insurance
• Where will we retire?
• • Should we stay where we are or move
  • Cost of living here vs other places
  • Choose 3 potential retirement places (other than where I am currently living)
  • Research each of them, including spending some time there to decide how it would feel to live there
• What will I do?
• • Hobbies
  • • Photography, gardening, dog sports/activities, hiking, biking, kayaking, reading, cooking, learning to play golf…..too many things to list….
  • Projects I haven’t had time to pursue
  • • Organize years of photos
    • Clean out the closets
    • Organize holiday items
    • Plan play dates with my nieces/nephews & new grand-baby
  • New career or business idea
  • What if boredom sets in?
  • Consider the emotional side of retirement
• Staying healthy…
• • Evaluate my health and determine ways to use my retirement to be more healthy
  • • Cooking at home ideas
    • Time in nature
    • Join a workout facility for classes or get a personal trainer
    • Consider healthy hobbies

Did I mention bird-watching?  I hope to share many of these explorations and document them as I go.  Happiness isn’t always about getting there, but more the journey and the discoveries we make along the way.

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