By Steve Crifasi, CTFA, CFP®

Retirement can be a huge adjustment. The financial challenges alone are daunting.

Don’t forget about the emotional changes, though, which can be just as challenging. But if you can tackle the personal part of retirement, along with successfully managing your money, your retirement years can be the icing on the cake of a well-lived life. 

To help, we put together some tips for living a healthy, happy retirement.

1. Find Your Purpose

In general, living a purpose-driven life is ideal regardless of your age. After all, understanding your innate values and interests can be the key to living your best life. But in later years, it’s even more important.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you’ve lived your entire life up to your retirement years working at the same job, making your wants and needs secondary to your company’s needs. 

Your retirement years are the perfect time to pivot your attitude and discover what’s really important to you. Trust us, finding your purpose can promote health and happiness you never knew existed. 

You could find yourself by spending more time with family, volunteering, pursuing a hobby, or traveling. Whatever works. Ask yourself what you really like doing.

Now’s the time to focus on you.

2. Discover a Hobby 

Embracing a new hobby is a great way to add meaning to your retirement years. 

Ask yourself these questions: 

• What am I good at? 
• What am I curious about? 
• What’s important to me? 

There’s a side benefit here too. Whatever you take on as a hobby most often leads to meeting like-minded people. Thanks to the internet, it’s really easy to find local classes, workshops, social media groups, and clubs full of people who like to do the same thing you do. And who knows? They might just have some good ideas you hadn’t thought of before.

3. Stay Healthy

Thomas Jefferson wisely said, “Without health, there is no happiness.”

Granted, staying healthy is more of a challenge for older people than it is for younger people, but there are ways to stay healthy regardless of age:

• Eat a healthy diet. Eat lots of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. Avoid processed foods, sugary drinks, and unhealthy fats. 
• Exercise regularly. Try to get 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day. Break up your workout sessions if that feels more comfortable.
• Get enough sleep. Everyone differs on how much sleep they need, but the average is 7-8 hours per night.
• Manage stress. You might be surprised how quickly stress can affect your health. Try exercising to minimize stress. 
• Visit your doctor regularly. Regular checkups and screenings help you catch any health problems early while they’re still treatable.

Not only can health bring happiness, but it can also put a lid on medical expenses. It’s no secret that, among other negatives, being unhealthy is associated with high medical expenses. And if your retirement income is limited (and even if it’s not), paying exorbitant medical bills is a huge concern.

Your smartest option? Stay healthy!

4. Transition Gradually

Not everything needs to be done all at once. That includes retirement. 

Try transitioning to retirement gradually. There’s no need to rush into it all at once by going from working 40 hours a week for 30-plus years to zero hours per week. Consider working part-time before eliminating work hours altogether.

Retiring slowly can help you adjust to changes in your work hours and changes to your income. And guess what retiring progressively promotes? Health and happiness!

5. Prioritize Friendship

Last (but definitely not least) is building and maintaining meaningful relationships. 

Adults with strong social connections with their family and/or friends enjoy a reduced risk of significant health problems (both mental and physical). 

We’re not suggesting you attend every party and socialize with everyone you encounter, but if you can maintain at least two to three solid relationships, you’ll be doing your health (and heart) a favor. 

Let’s add it all up. Now that we’ve targeted five simple ways to enhance your retirement years, it’s up to you to make them part of your routine. Go for it!

We’re Here to Help You Enjoy Your Retirement

We at Westover Capital Advisors take retirement seriously. You’ve worked hard to get to a place where you can enjoy the things you love. We get that.

We offer experienced and skilled guidance in financial planning, budgeting, and lifestyle choices. Our number-one priority is to help you navigate retirement confidently.

To get in touch, call (302) 427-9600 or email [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.

About Steve

Steve Crifasi serves as Associate Director of Wealth Management and Business Development at Westover Capital Advisors, an independent, fee-only, and privately owned investment and wealth management firm founded in 1999 and based in Wilmington, Delaware. Steve provides tailored guidance and works in partnership with his investment, tax, and planning colleagues to understand clients’ wealth management goals and objectives and help fulfill them. Steve thrives off developing personal relationships with clients, serving as their reliable and trusted financial partner; and as a fiduciary, he provides advice that is always in their best interests. 

Steve has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. He began his career as a research analyst at Penn Square Capital focusing on the equity and private real estate markets and spent over 13 years at trust companies as a relationship manager for high-net-worth clients. Steve received a Bachelors Degree in Finance from Villanova University and also holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification and Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA) designation from the American Bankers Association. In addition to his role at Westover, Steve is a member of the Delaware Estate Planning Council and Wilmington Tax Group. He has also served on committees for several local charitable and nonprofit organizations in and around Wilmington. To learn more about Steve, connect with him on LinkedIn.