Five great lessons for retirees
Reprinted courtesy of MarketWatch.com
Published: Dec. 26, 2012
To read the original article click here
A successful retirement rarely happens by accident. It happens by design. Today I want to share five great retirement lessons I have learned over the past 40 years from some of the smartest people I know.
Lesson 1: Happiness in later life is not a direct result of how much money you have.
This truth flies in the face of a lot of conventional wisdom and media hype. But I’ve seen it many times over. A lot of people scoff at this notion. But this insight is never a surprise to the smartest people I know.
I’m not advocating poverty, of course, and I work hard to help people save and invest wisely so they will have more resources.
However, I’ve known many people who are very happy even though their means are quite modest. And I’ve seen many others who are unhappy, sometimes even miserable, although they have much more than enough money.
The lesson is this: Once you have met your basic needs, your happiness depends more on your attitudes and your behavior than on the size of your portfolio and your bank account.
Also see:The secrets to living a rich life
Lesson 2: People who plan are likely to prosper.
Prosperity, like success, is much more likely to result from planning than from accidental fortune.
The smartest people I know make plans — in writing — for their retirement. They put a lot of advance thought into what they will save, how they will invest their savings, how they will withdraw those savings and how they will live the remaining years of their lives.
Over and over I have seen that the investors who have made written plans are the ones most likely to reach their goals. I think there are two reasons for this. First, the plan itself directs what you do (assuming of course that you use it). Second, if you’re serious enough to make a plan, you’re probably serious enough to carry it out with dedication and to do whatever you must do.
Also see:The first step in retirement planning
Lesson 3: The quality of your life is shaped by the quality of the people in your life.
The happiest people I know seem to have many favorite people in their lives — and they nurture the most rewarding friendships. We can’t choose all of our relationships, but we have a choice about many of them. One very smart retiree in my circle expressed it this way: Some relationships have more of a payoff than others.
Smart people of retirement age purposely create and maintain friendships with young people. When your contemporaries are succumbing to ill health and, unfortunately sometimes falling by the wayside, it’s easy to become discouraged. But if you regularly get to interact with bright, energetic young people, you’re more likely to have faith in the future and a positive outlook.
Also see:10 great volunteer jobs for retirees
Lesson 4: In order to have a successful retirement, you have to still be alive and at least reasonably healthy.
This is patently obvious, of course, and especially as we get older our health is not totally within our control. But I do know this: Smart people take care of their health to the best of their ability. They see their doctors periodically and follow their doctors’ advice.
They don’t neglect their mental health, either. And this leads me to the final lesson for today.
Also see:Good health means more retirement money
Lesson 5: Active trumps lazy, every time.
Smart people of every age keep themselves active mentally as well as physically. Statistically, it’s well known that people who challenge their brains live better lives in old age than those who get intellectually lazy.
Smart retirees have plenty to keep themselves occupied. They read, write, do crossword puzzles, take classes, teach classes, travel and aren’t afraid to try unfamiliar things. In short, they want to keep learning. “Bored” is not a common experience for them.
If you follow the examples of these smart people, you are likely to have a better retirement — and for that matter a better pre-retirement, than if you don’t.
Also see:A bingo game for awkward family holidays
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