Before you retire at 65, make a plan for an ordinary week, including what you’ll enjoy doing and what it will cost. Vacations can be part of that plan, but thinking from 65 to 85 means thinking about 20 years. You’ll need something to look forward to between trips, too.
Twenty years is a lot of time to fill
I’m Bill Jurey, and I help people with retirement planning in Lincoln, Nebraska. This is something I’ve been thinking about for myself.
I used to think, oh yeah, it’s gonna be great. I’ll turn 65, retire, and have my money saved up. Now I’m in my early 50s, and I’m asking: what am I gonna do from 65 to 85? That’s 20 years.
I’m in a position where I could keep doing what I’m doing until I’m 70 or 75. I’m not even thinking about stopping right now. That’s made me look a little harder at what I expected retirement to be.
Could I take a vacation once a month? Not with what I have currently. I might be able to take one vacation a year. But am I just going to sit around waiting for my two-week vacation every year?
Plan the weeks when you’re home
If you’re asking yourself the same thing, start with a regular week. Leave the big trip off the calendar for a minute.
Write down how you’d like to spend your time, who you’d spend it with, and what would give you a reason to get moving in the morning. You might want time for a hobby, family, volunteering, or some paid work. Those are possibilities to explore, not a schedule you have to follow.
Be specific. If you want to spend more time on a hobby, try setting aside time for it now. If volunteering sounds good, find out what the commitment actually involves. You can learn quite a bit before making a permanent change to your working life.
Put a cost next to the retirement you picture
My vacation example comes down to what I can afford. A trip every month and a trip every year are two very different plans.
Put rough costs next to the activities you’re considering. Include the regular expenses of being home as well as travel. Some ways of spending your time may cost very little; others may become recurring expenses.
Then look at that picture alongside your expected retirement income and savings. The useful question is how the week you want fits the money you expect to have. If it doesn’t fit, you can adjust the activities, the spending, or your retirement timing before you commit.
Decide what you actually want to stop doing
For me, being able to continue working has changed how I think about turning 65. Your situation may be different, especially if continuing in your current work isn’t practical.
Before choosing a retirement date, write down what you want to leave behind and what you want to keep in your week. Compare stopping work completely with reducing your hours, if that’s an option. Give each version an actual weekly schedule and a budget. That gives you something concrete to work through in a retirement planning conversation.
