Shifting into retirement after many long years of work can seem like a sigh of relief, a moment to catch your breath or just slow down for a bit. However, this major shift in your lifestyle can also bring up feelings of sadness, anxiety, and lost sense of purpose. Studies show that a 1/3 of retirees will develop symptoms of depression, especially those who have lost a loved one, live independently, or retired unexpectedly, or are simply struggling to adjust to a lot of free time. Such a dramatic shift can be challenging, so it’s important to recognize and make note of how you feel. In addition to finding empathy for yourself, the following ideas can help stop these feelings from dominating your thoughts or help you cope with them better should they arise. At
Retirement Wealth Advisors in Cape Coral, FL we are all about the full experience of retirement for our clients not just their financial health and wellbeing. Our goal is straightforward; help our clients live the most enjoyable lives they can with a little help from smarter financial planning and asset protection. A second set of eyes on your financial future is always a good idea and what we model our success upon.
- Take it Slow
Rather than diving head first into the retirement deep end of the pool, try and find ways to offload your work duties slowly over time, using that extra time to just relax, maybe pick up a new hobby, and get a real taste of what retirement is like for you and how you’d eventually like to spend it. Consider going from full-time to part-time employment and gradually work less and less hours. If you are unable to take this more gradual approach, try to take some personal time to begin to map out what you’d like to do in retirement, almost like an extended vacation itinerary. This can help you build enjoyment and
excitement for retirement and get you ready for what the retirement lifestyle has to offer you.
- Engage in Your Community
Many people decide to put off retirement because it can be difficult to replace the purpose you had and the social life that being employed can provide. Although time to yourself is healthy and good, if you’re concerned about what will substitute the fulfillment you get from working, you might find great new purpose and joy in engaging in different local community groups or organizations. Local SWFL community sports, arts, volunteering, working with children, or finding someone to go on walks with are just a few ideas that can make a real difference. Interaction with your community and actively making new personal connections and friends with other retirees, whether you are peers or not, can get you out of the home and out being active, thereby building your network and filling you with a greater sense of purpose and fulfillment.
- Explore Your Inner Child
There’s a wise old saying that goes something like, “as we grow older, we are a sum of all the years that came before.” When you reach your retirement years, you’ve gained a wealth of experience, knowledge, and of course, memories, but don’t discount that you’re allowed to be the same person that once experienced those memories for the very first time! Take time to think of the activities you wanted to do earlier in life that you never got around to doing. Maybe it’s trying out new foods or cooking or taking a vacation somewhere exotic or special. Whatever it is for you,
retirement is the perfect time to light that old flame and go after as many of those dreams as you can. And
Retirement Wealth Advisors in Cape Coral can help you find a way to utilize your retirement to make sure you can do all those things you want to do and feel secure in your financial health. Exploring your "inner child" is a wonderful way to rediscover parts of yourself and then create new and better memories.
Each of our
clients retirement plan is personalized based on the specifics of your situation, your unique circumstances, your wants, needs, and your risk tolerance and overall time frame. Planning includes an in-depth understanding of a client’s willingness, ability and need to take on
risk with their investments. Great planning and oversight keeps all parties involved and on the same page at all times. Data drives the majority of decisions that we make at our firm and it also helps us understand that investors can often times be their own worst enemy. After completing a thorough mutual discovery and understanding the client on a deeper level, we can then apply data and design a plan to help clients overcome the emotional drive to do the wrong things at the wrong times.
Retirement will and often is an eye-opening experience, seeing new sides to yourself and your life. This time in your life has many adventures and learning experiences to enrich your life. But what’s equally just as important is that you can make the most of your retirement savings so you can afford this great time of enjoyment and exploration without worry, stress and fear. To find out how you can better manage your finances in retirement set up a time to talk to us at
Retirement Wealth Advisors today.
