Creating a life plan for retirement

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You may have a financial plan so you feel you are ready for retirement. But don’t neglect to also create a life plan. Whether you work with a life coach or do it on your own, here are some questions to get you started.

Do you want to make changes in your lifestyle?

If so, what changes do you want to make?
Can location/neighborhood help you make those changes?
What about the style of your home?

Where will you live?

Downsize/cross-size?
Move to a place you have always dreamed of?
Move to a retirement community?
Spend time in multiple places?

If you move…

What will you miss?
What will you be happy to say good-bye to?
What will you look forward to in your new home?
What makes a place feel like you could willingly waste your time in it?

What will you do?

Will you work?
Will you volunteer? Where, what kind, what end goal?
Will you help with family? Parents, children, grandkids, other?
Will you travel? Visit places, family, friends? Short-term, long-term stays?
Will you study? Learn something new, teach?
What have you always wanted to do but never had the time?

As you make plans for the next stage of your life, whatever that may be, never lose sight of who you really are. Use your values, gifts, dreams and passions as a benchmark against which to measure how you spend your life.

We can get so distracted and influenced by the world around us that we may forget what is really important to us… what nurtures our souls and keeps us ‘alive’.