If you’re heading toward your retirement years you may be wondering what you can do to ensure you’re both healthy and well taken care of. Understandable. In a shaky economy, you need all the support you can get.
10 Secrets to Living Healthy in Your Retirement Years
1. Do Some Pre-Retirement Planning
The day after your last day of work is not the time to start thinking about how you’ll spend your retirement. You should be planning ahead at least 5 years in advance of the big day.
This means taking advantage of a good health insurance policy by getting any major medical procedures you’ve been putting off out of the way. It also means sitting down and planning a budget. What will your bills look like? How much money will you be bringing in through retirement, social security, and savings? Planning ahead can save a lot of stress in the long run.
Five years before retirement is an ideal time to invest the maximum amount of money into your company’s 401K plan or Superannuation account. Taking advantage of the valuable tax breaks your company has to offer will give you the ability to give your nest egg the extra padding it needs to enjoy a healthy, more comfortable retirement.
2. Live Within Your Budget
Taking the time to plan a budget will come in handy when the day of your retirement arrives. This will help you to avoid the temptation of overspending when you suddenly have nothing but time on your hands. Living within your budget means staying smart about your spending and saving the use of credit cards and reverse mortgages for medical emergencies and the like (should they arise). It’s also important to keep inflation in mind when planning a budget. Many seniors forget to do this and struggle financially as a result.
3. Keep on Working
It can be easy to get bored putting around the house or lounging by the pool a month or two into retirement. Living healthy in your retirement years means keeping yourself busy and staying in the workforce. Even if you only work bagging groceries a few times per week, adhering to a set schedule and interacting with others gives you that connected feeling that’s so crucial to your health and well-being. Also, working a part-time job in your retirement years can give you some extra spending money and offset your need to dip into your savings too early.
4. Consider Relocating
The cost of living varies greatly from state to state and even country to country. Now that you and your spouse are no longer working, you may find yourself unable to continue to afford to live where you are. In addition to reducing your retirement costs, relocating to a new home may be good for your health. You may choose to move to warmer climate and decide on a one-story home, an apartment or even a retirement community so you’ll spend more time relaxing and less on property upkeep.
5. Eat a Healthy Diet
In your retirement years, it can be easy to break out of routine and start eating whatever happens to be handy at the moment. Over time, this can have a negative impact on your health. Eating a healthful diet is the cornerstone of maintaining good health. A well-balanced diet consisting of organic vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, beans, meat, poultry, fish, and healthy fats can keep you out of the doctor’s office and enjoying your new, care-free life.
6. Continue to Exercise
Studies have shown that regular exercise boosts the function of your hippocampus, the area of your brain responsible for memory formation and recall. As you mature, brain cells die faster so it’s important to keep your mind sharp any way you can. You don’t have to do anything drastic. Light weight-training, swimming, walking, and hiking are all safe, low-impact ways to maintain health of both body and mind.
7. Get Involved in Your Community
The Corporation for National and Community Service connects seniors aged 55 and over for mentoring, coaching or companionship to those in their community. According to statistics, retirees who were active volunteers were far more likely to enjoy a healthy, satisfying retirement than those who did not volunteer.
8. Take up New Hobbies
A healthy retirement doesn’t mean shutting down; it means getting out there and trying new things. Get in contact with an adult education program in your area or scout around for art classes. There’s always something to do to keep your mind occupied and seniors usually get great discounts!
9. Lend the Benefit of Your Experience
By the time you reach retirement age, you’ve accumulated a lot of experience that you can turn into opportunities to teach. You can volunteer to tutor children or lend the benefit of your experience to up-and-comers in your chosen field. Teaching gives you the opportunity to give back, which will make you feel like a valued member of your community.
10. Travel
Not needing to punch a clock anymore means being able to pick up and go whenever you take a notion. Having a chance to travel and see the world is one of the best benefits of retirement. Make sure when you travel you make use of senior citizen discounts. Seniors are often able to save a good bit of money on airfare, hotels, and the like.
Businesses will not always advertise this information so be sure to ask!
When it comes to living healthy in your retirement years, a little planning can be the difference between struggling and enjoying the best of your golden years.
These are excellent tips Jaime. My dad is in his 80s. He controls is diabetes with medication, but doesn’t exercise. He just stays indoors and watches tv. I told him to get involved in his community, but he says just a bunch of old people go there. What to do?