This blog covers six different lifestyle areas.  The exercises are designed to help you find your ‘balanced leisure lifestyle’. The Overall Goal Your overall goal is to have at least one regular activity in each area. Here is a checklist to help you reach this goal the first time: Entertainment: Things you do for fun…

Successful retirees build their own realistic and well-rounded vision of retirement. They create and implement a plan to make it happen. In my most recent book, Why Me? And No Gold Watch!, I assist you in doing the same. The book outlines the issues you need to address, and it covers best practices. It is…

Let’s take a look at how you can build a balanced retirement lifestyle. One that will keep you involved and stimulated, staving off boredom and depression. 1. Entertainment Entertainment stimulates your mind and provides healthy diversions and amusement; laughter is good for the soul. There are many activities that fall into the entertainment category. The…

In a world in which one in five people can expect to live beyond their 90th birthday, governments in many countries are coming under increased strain to meet the costs associated with an aging society. Traditional ways of looking at retirement are also changing. People see retirement as an active stage of life in which…

Gone are the days of rushing to work, fighting traffic, meeting deadlines, skipping lunch, and working overtime. Retirement is the time to slow down, relax, and play. This is your reward for all your years of hard work. The question for you now is this: What are you going to do with your leisure time?…

For many of us in North America, work is a defining feature of our life, and this begins at a very young age. Children play with work roles such as teacher or soldier. They dress up in work attire for Halloween: doctors, astronauts— even pirates are pirates for a living. Work is also closely linked…

In many ways, we can consider current and soon-to-be retirees only the second generation to experience retirement because it’s only in the last 50-80 years that government and private pensions have allowed working people to support themselves after leaving paid employment. The nature of retirement is undergoing a transformation. Although the change is positive, it…

Where do you start in planning for retirement? I suggest you start by taking time to consider and visualize what retirement currently means to you. Do whatever you usually do when you want to think things over, whether it’s sitting quietly by yourself, taking a walk, or chatting with a friend over coffee. Don’t attempt…

Letting retirement just happen is exactly what many people do, to the detriment of themselves and their loved ones. Let me share a personal story that illustrates the dangers of retiring without a well-thought-out plan. My father, Jack, was more than merely successful in his work. He loved his job! His friends were there. His…

In your quest for a successful retirement, beware of retirement’s outmoded image, which can generate challenges of its own. Retirement used to mean starting a chapter in life in which retirees become non-productive, non-contributing members of society, heading into their final sunset. Many retirees still have this pessimistic view and end up mentally “hanging up…