“Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to.”– Harry Emerson Fosdick
‘Retirement’ may sound mind-soothing and relaxing, but to some extent, it can be depressing and disastrous if you are not well prepared for it. Maintaining a healthy, wealthy, and prosperous life leads to a happy retirement life.
We, human beings, generally establish a lifestyle throughout the years. Retiring from something and then living life without it can make you feel lacking something you had become accustomed. But that feeling does not last long because we, human beings, possess the adaptability quality that helps us adjust with any situation.
However, let’s find out some ways to live a healthy and wealthy retirement life.
How to stay healthy during retirement life
While thinking about retirement, you may think of living a life where you can do whatever you want. Throughout your life, you’ve taken responsibilities, and now it’s your time to enjoy.
You may have the money too. But everything can get spoiled due to poor health.
Let’s discuss how to stay healthy while you are living your golden years.
Physical health
- When it comes to taking care of physical well-being, the first thing that strikes the mind is consuming good food. Following a healthy diet and an exercise routine helps control or prevent chronic health issues like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and so on.
- Malnutrition is often diagnosed in older adults, which comes from poor diet, consuming alcohol, saturated fat, and salt in ample amount. So, if you want to get out of prolonged disease that is hampering your happiness, you need to follow a diet that includes fruits and vegetables in a significant amount and saturated fat and salt in less amount.
- For better results, limit the intake of alcohol. And don’t skip meeting your physician for a regular checkup.
Mental health
- According to the World Health Organization, over 20% of adults, aged 60 and over, suffer from a mental or neurological disorder (excluding headache disorders). About 6.6% of all disability among people over 60 years is mostly due to mental and neurological disorders.
- Anxiety disorders affect about 3.8% of the older population, substance use problems affect almost 1%, and around a quarter of deaths from self-harm are among people aged 60 or above. Substance abuse problems among older people are also often overlooked and misdiagnosed.
- The most common mental disorder prevailing among the elders is depression, and you can overcome it by engaging yourself in different activities you enjoy and mixing with different kinds of people. Take professional help if it seems too difficult to manage on your own.
Spiritual health
Spirituality is nothing but searching for meaning in life. Practicing spirituality helps you get in touch with your own human spirit without necessarily focusing on a higher being that runs the universe.
Here are a few ways to practice spirituality to be happy and healthy:
- Meditate to connect to your inner self
- Give to and help others, as it facilities spiritual development
- Associate with like-minded people who practice their own spiritual rituals
- Focus on your inner-self instead of your outer-self
In doing so, you’ll discover that which is most important and meaningful to you. The greater you feel the purpose or purposes of your life, the less lonely or down you’ll feel. Spirituality can help you stay stress-free and increase your enjoyment of life — two of the most important things for you at this age.
How to stay wealthy during retirement life
Living a retirement life means living on a limited income, and in such a case, you have to be careful so that your spending does not surpass your earnings. To keep a balance between income and expense, consider living a frugal life. You can follow thoughts from a 50+ minimalist to set a different perspective about living and enjoying frugal life.
Here are a few tips for maintaining a healthy financial life in your golden days.
Track your spending
List all your spending to figure out whether or not you’re spending more. To plan your financial life, you have to track where your money is going. After you get a complete picture of your spending, create a budget plan, and save a significant amount every month.
Cut back on expenses
If you analyze your spending and distinguish between your needs and wants, you’ll see that you can save more if you cut back on your wants a bit. Indeed, you’ll want to enjoy life after your retirement, but before doing that, ask yourself whether or not you need it. Doing so, in some instances, you’ll decide not to buy that item. See it this way; you can cut certain expenses to spend on something which you desire.
Use your resources to increase your earnings
When you retire, it doesn’t mean that you can’t do any work. On the contrary, if your health permits, then after retirement, you can work for your pleasure, and in turn, you can earn a significant amount. If you’re good at teaching, you can provide online tuitions. You can also pursue a hobby to make a decent income at the comfort of your home.
Reverse your retirement plan
It means returning to work again. As per a Federal Reserve Board study, about ⅓ retirees are returning to work as a part-time or full-time employee. However, after retirement, you may have to adjust your salary expectations. And, before joining the workplace, prepare yourself to be comfortable with the relatively young people and make them suitable to work with you as well. Then, work will be fun. You can even take up a part-time job; doing so, you’ll stay engaged and also earn to maintain your current lifestyle.
Manage the debt wisely
One of the biggest enemies you’d have to deal with is debt!. Try not to retire with debt. Do solve your debt problems before you retire. However, if you can’t do it, you can opt for consolidation or settlement, as per your financial situation, to repay debt. If you have a home, you can also use it to repay debt. You may wonder how home equity is helpful to consolidate debt? You can use your home equity as collateral to repay your outstanding unsecured debt like credit card bills, medical bills, payday loans, etc. Then, you have to repay the loan through monthly installments. While taking out such a loan, make sure you’ll be able to afford the payments after retirement, if not, then opting for a consolidation program or settlement might be a better idea.
Consider a reverse mortgage loan
If you own a home, you can take out a reverse mortgage loan and enjoy a healthful lifestyle. You don’t have to repay this loan. However, if your descendants want to stay in that house, then they would have to repay the loan. A reverse mortgage will enable you to remain in the home. Please note, both you and your spouse’s names need to be on the title of the property and the mortgage.
So, no need to worry that much after retirement, right? You can continue with your present lifestyle in your golden days. However, it is always better if you make a retirement plan beforehand. But whatever your choices, do not compromise with enjoyment.
Live your life to the fullest!
