Setting Goals to Have a Happy and Secure Retirement
When I semiretired from my healthcare career in 2010, I was thrilled at the thought of all the free time I would have for doing the fun things I had put off. Annoying alarm clocks begone! No more work nights or working weekends. Meetings permanently canceled.
Indeed, I planned to travel, garden, go to shows, see all the movies. Could I do it? What if my retirement savings and social security are not enough to keep me out of poverty? Right now, 11% of women over 65 live in poverty and almost 9% of men over 65. So my number 1 goal became ”maintain enough cash to stay out of the poorhouse
Select Your Goals
What are your important goals in retirement life? Think: “Am I living the life I want to live? What is most important to me? Who is most important to me? “
Are you overwhelmed with the possibilities? And the dangers? Here are some tips for prioritizing:
- Make a list of all the goals that you are considering. I call this the brain dump. List every goal that comes to mind.
- Divide the goals into categories – I use Financial, Personal Development, Professional, Health & Fitness and Leisure as my categories.
- Choose a goal from each category. These are your 5 goals.
- How will you achieve them? Spend some time planning the steps you will take. Set a reasonable deadline for each step to help you stay on track.
- Get started.
- Track your progress.
Here's the planner I use to choose my goals, action steps and deadlines and track my progress.
Remember, the most successful people in retirement look to use their talents and passions to make a contribution.
Figure out how you will make a contribution. What really matters to you?
I love planning and find it invaluable. Thanks for the resources and ideas!
Such great advice here! You’ve given me a lot to think about even though I probably have another decade or so to go.