How to Make Retirement a Step Forward, Rather Than a Step Back
Are you nearing the end of your working life? Maybe you’re considering finally taking the plunge and retiring. Many people resist retirement and continue working into their senior years, even if only at a reduced capacity. For many of us, we’ve become conditioned to working and finally putting down the tools of the trade can seem like a loss. Yet, retirement is a time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Let’s take a brief peek at how your retirement can be a step in the right direction, rather than something to feel bad about.
Time to Downsize
Retirement is a great time to downsize to a smaller property like a townhouse, unit, apartment or community care facility. There are many benefits to this. The first is a tidy profit. Many people who are at retirement age today were lucky enough to purchase property at a much lower price than it is currently worth. Even factoring in inflation, many properties are worth a hundred times over than their purchase price decades ago. By buying a smaller place for less money than your property is worth you could be pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars to put towards whatever you desire!
Also, a smaller place means less upkeep – and a substantial saving. Chances are it’s getting more difficult to get up and clean gutters and paint weatherboards, so you’re likely to hire someone to do this for you. A smaller place has less upkeep so you’ll pay the handyman less than if you stay in your first home.
Finally, if you consider a community care unit you have immediate access to a thriving community with on-call assistance should you require it.
Explore Your Interests
Did your interests, hobbies and passions fall to the wayside while you were working? If so, that’s perfectly OK. It’s really hard to find time to explore those things while you’re working full-time or raising a family. Retiring will give you all the time in the world to paint, sew, read, make music, join a choir, join a walking group, learn another language or whatever it is that ignites your passion. If you’re creative and industrious enough, you could even turn your hobby into a small business.
Spend Time With Your Loved Ones
Retiring gives you more time for anything and everything. Use it to reconnect with your close friends and family. Take trips away for the weekend to your friends’ places, and go out for lunch or dinner as a treat. If your kids are having kids, then make yourself available to help out. Young children can benefit from the wisdom of age, and you’ll benefit from their innocent joy.
See Your Country, or the World
Retiring is a brilliant time to travel. You’re not limited by your annual leave, so you can get away for more than a few weeks at a time. The only limit you have is funds, and if you’ve saved throughout your life, why not spend some of that hard-earned money on a few trips? You could explore Australia, or take a trip around the world. The sky’s the limit, really.
Live it Up
Most of all, enjoy yourself. You didn’t work all your life to be bored. Consider downsizing to a smaller place, or joining a community care facility. Explore your interests and consider a hobby or two. Who knows, you could even make some money from them. Spend time with your family and friends and explore Australia or the rest of the world, or both.