It’s always a good idea to revisit your retirement plans to see how you can make changes that can help you be more financially secure, healthy, and satisfied with life. And what better time than the start of a new year?
With these goals in mind, here are five New Years’ resolutions to reflect upon and consider. Pick the goal or goals that resonate most with you.
Revisit Your Bucket List
It always helps to have something to look forward to. This can motivate you to spend the time it takes to put your dreams into motion.
As you age, it’s inevitable that your bucket list might evolve. Maybe you have items you can check off now that you’ve enjoyed them. It’s also possible that your desires can change as you age into your slow-go or no-go years. Maybe you no longer want to ride your bike across the state or country, but going on a cruise sounds perfectly fine.
If it’s not already on your list, another great resolution could be to spend more time with family and friends, particularly those you haven’t seen in a while. And if there are causes that really call to you, volunteering your time is an appropriate use of your bucket list.
Review Your Finances
Review all your sources of retirement income to make sure you’re financially on track for 2025. For example, if you have significant invested assets, you may want to consider rebalancing your portfolio or changing your withdrawal rate. You might also want to think about whether you could be hit with any unpleasant surprises in the coming year regarding your living expenses, to be sure you can handle them.
Purge The House
Many people have accumulated a lifetime of memories, knickknacks, and photos. A red flag is if you have a storage unit—or an attic, basement, or garage—full of furniture, pictures, appliances, castoffs, and other items you haven’t used for years.
Someday, somebody will need to deal with your accumulated stuff. If you wait until you pass away, your kids or friends will quickly go through your things and call 1-800-Got Junk. If you want to find a better home for your things and relive your memories one more time, take the time to go through things and decide for yourself whether each item is a keeper, a donation, or a throw-away.
Another reason for offloading the things you don’t need? Many retirees find that they need to move in their later years, either because they want to downsize or need to move to assisted living. This can often happen after a spouse passes away. At that time, it’ll be a lot easier to make the move if you’ve culled your possessions. Consider it a gift to your spouse and family.
Make Sure Your Spouse Or Partner Will Be OK After You’re Gone
When one spouse or partner passes away, the survivor is often faced with serious financial challenges at a time when they’re grieving. Do the math now to make sure your spouse or partner will have enough regular income to cover their living expenses after you pass. Often surviving spouses face the “retired widow’s money crunch”—their income drops a lot more than their living expenses do.
You’ll also want to make sure the survivor knows about the day-to-day details of your household finances. For example, make sure the surviving spouse can access all online financial accounts. If you haven’t already done so, create a detailed inventory of all your assets, debts, and bills. To help you with this goal, check out the free, online Thinking Ahead Roadmap, which provides very helpful resources.
Enhance Your Exercise Routine
Exercise is one of the few proven ways to improve your health and protect against cognitive decline. If you don’t already exercise regularly, get started with an easy 20-minute daily walk.
If you do already exercise regularly, perhaps you could enhance your routine by rounding out the different types of exercise you practice. Which of these types of exercises could you add to help improve your physical health: strength training, cardio, flexibility, and balance? For the best overall health, you’ll want to engage in all these types of exercise.
Or could you simply do more exercise? Unless you’re already doing ultra triathlons, you’ll benefit by adding in more exercise to your regular routines.
When you’re considering the types of exercise you’d like to do, remember this: The best types cause you to look forward to your routine. Exercise that brings you together with like-minded friends can add an important bonus.
There are numerous ways you can enhance your health, feel more secure financially, prepare for the future, and enjoy life more. If none of these resolutions resonates with you, do your homework to discover other ways you can achieve this essential goals. It’s never too late to help make your life better!
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