I’ve been doing this long enough to see clients go from business owners or employees to successful retirees. I’ve observed three factors that contribute to perceived retirement success and satisfaction. The non-scientific formula can be stated as such:
Consumpution+Community+Creativity=Success
Consumption
Let’s face it, you worked hard, delayed gratification, grew your investments and now it’s time to party. And by all means, spend your means. Too many retirees have a financial plan that simply isn’t fun enough.
Typically, there is a vague sense that they will run out of money if they order too many oat milk vanilla lattes. That’s fair. Your consumption must match your assets and income. However, you absolutely must find a way to reward yourself with the things that spark joy. Make a consumption plan and spend that money.
Community
Your social circle changes in retirement. No more water cooler gossip or break room birthday cupcakes at work. The kids have lives of their own and the grandkids don’t think you’re cool anymore. Some of your friends are still working or moved to their retirement lair in North Carolina. On the bright side, you won’t have to deal with Karen in HR anymore.
One of the blind spots in retirement is making sure you have the right amount of the right people in your life. Retirement may be an opportunity to strengthen existing relationships or start new ones. But keep score on how connected you are socially and emotionally. Loneliness in retirement is an invisible assassin of retirement success.
Creativity
After you and your friends have consumed oat milk vanilla lattes, there may still be something missing. When you were employed, you did something, you made stuff, you solved problems. There were days when you didn’t want to, but you didn’t have a choice. Now that you don’t have to “work” you may think retirement success means not leaving the rocking chair, but that’s not how we are wired.
I think what effectively replaces work in retirement is creativity. I’ll leave it to you as to what that means. For my mom, she learned to play the ukelele. She joined a group of retired ladies that perform in the area. They call themselves the MotherPluckers. Creative name for a group of retired moms. Now, why would you stress yourself out with rehearsals and stage fright and the possibility of incoming tomatoes? Because there is a need to create something with your life. Even if you are simply creating a better version of yourself. We need to challenge ourselves in a low-risk fun way in retirement.
Retirement Bucket
Imagine a bucket made of wood slats. The amount of gold coins the bucket can hold depends on the height of the lowest wood slat. Gold coins represent retirement success in case you missed it. Consider that each of the three C’s above are slats on your retirement bucket. It’s about balance.
Perhaps the trick is to combine all three C’s together at the same time. Let me give you a very realistic hypothetical. For consumption, you could go on a river cruise of Europe, eating local fare and drinking the finest wines. For creativity, you could create YouTube video documenting your experiences and giving others insights on planning their own trip. For community, you could invite your financial planner to come with you.
The key is to be mindful that all three play an important part in your retirement success.