May 2023
Financial Planning

4 Personal Habits of a Successful Retiree

By Myra Alport, AFC®

After decades of dedicating yourself to your work life and saving for your retirement, the time has finally come to move on to your next chapter! For many retirees, it may begin with a lengthy to-do list or perhaps a long-awaited vacation to separate your work self from your permanent “out of office” self.

You’ve made thoughtful decisions about when to begin Social Security, Medicare and a pension, if applicable. Perhaps you will downsize or move closer to family and friends in other parts of the US or even overseas or buy that second home in a place you have always wanted to split your time between.

You understand that you are now entering the decumulation phase, at which time you may begin to withdraw from your saved assets and investments. This may feel uncomfortable at first as you realize that you’re in a different phase of life. Think of it this way – instead of receiving a paycheck, you will receive a retirement check!

As your partner in this process of imagining what retirement might look like, we would like to share some of the best personal habits of a successful retiree.

Be Clear on Your Values

Make sure your money in retirement is aligned with what’s truly important to you and brings joy and meaning to your life – there are no right or wrong answers here! Whether it’s taking a family vacation, giving back to your community, making time for a new hobby, maintaining your health or broadening your social circle, take a moment to reflect on the things you wished you had more time for during your working years.

Beware Lifestyle Creep and Boredom

With more time on your hands, you may find yourself indulging more – golf, skiing, dining out, entertainment, travel. As long as you have accounted for these expenses in your monthly budget, excellent! Review your monthly spending to make sure you have accounted for some of those costs that seemed to pop up out of nowhere.

Boredom can also lead to unplanned spending to fill a void in your life that work used to provide you socially and professionally. Reflect more on your values (above) for guidance and direction.

Invest in Your Health

Keep moving; inactivity is not your friend. If you have put your health on the back burner after tending to others, now is your time to change course - no more excuses! Find something you enjoy – take a morning walk to start your day, join a gym, swim, enroll in group fitness classes, garden, learn to play pickle ball (the latest craze). Adding some structure to your day will leave you feeling accomplished, and time will pass more quickly. Maybe you’ll make some new friends along the way in your fitness journey.

Refrain From Checking Your Account Balances Too Often

Now that you’re not adding regularly to your accounts, you may find yourself checking your account balances more frequently. If this has always been your normal routine, it’s unlikely this will change.

You might challenge yourself to check weekly instead of daily, or when your monthly statement becomes available. Monitoring too often may cause you to overreact to daily price changes in your investments. Take time to review your tolerance for risk; volatility isn’t your friend in the distribution phase of retirement. If you feel your portfolio allocation is causing unwanted stress, we want to hear from you.

Best of all - enjoy your retirement, you earned it! We can’t wait to hear about your new adventures!

If you are looking to retire and aren’t sure if you’re financially or emotionally ready to say your goodbyes, now is a great time to set up a meeting with us. We would love to review your plan with you and figure out what makes the most sense.

If you have questions, please contact us.

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