Having enough money to retire on is what most of the retirement planning industry focuses on. That’s important, but it’s only part of the story.
Having enough money is certainly a big improvement on having too little. However money is really the means to an end and not an end in itself. What we are not told is that there are another 4 areas which need to be managed, which are just as important as our finances. They are:
- Understanding the challenges retirement will bring
- Health
- Relationships
- Finding Happiness
We’ve all heard the saying “money can’t buy happiness” and while having enough gives us more options, if we don’t manage these other four issues well, our retirement years can be a great disappointment. It’s important when we are planning our retirement that we devote time to thinking about these lifestyle issues.
UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGES: We are faced with more changes now than we ever had to handle as adolescents. Life after a full time career is totally different to the organised, routine life that we experienced in the workforce. This offers both opportunities and challenges and we’ll handle both better if we understand what’s likely to happen to us during this transition period. Our book “The Rest of your life” can be a great help.
HEALTH: Medical advances and a better understanding of the importance of a good diet, regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle mean that we can maintain good physical and mental health into our seventies and eighties (if we do the necessary work). Without good health, we can’t do a lot of the things that make retirement such a rewarding experience. We have published a book titled “How To Stay Healthy, Active And Sharp In Retirement” and it explains in simple language how we can enjoy a better quality of life in retirement.
RELATIONSHIPS: The major changes that retirement generally brings to our lives can place added pressure on our relationships. Lots of couples get divorced during the early years of retirement. Our book titled “Relationships In Our 50s – 60s And Beyond” was written specifically to assist people facing these challenges.
FINDING HAPPINESS: This is what most people are really seeking. Unfortunately we are being constantly being told that happiness can be found by buying various products and services. This is both confusing and misleading. Long term happiness comes from inside us. It’s about our attitude and how we perceive the world. Dr. Tim Sharp is the founder of the Happiness Institute and he has written a chapter on finding happiness in our book “The Rest Of Your Life”.