Retirement is supposed to be a happy time. We speak of the "golden years" for a reason.
For many, however, the last phase of life can be the most painful and unhappy.
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Almost a third of retirees suffer from depression. That number is too high.
The good news is, though, you don’t have to be broke and miserable in your later years. If you simply stop doing five common things after age 55, you can increase the chances that you have a happier, richer retirement that you actually enjoy.
1. Neglecting Your Health
Giving up unhealthy habits can make all the difference in your longevity and continued ability to do the things you enjoy. That’s why it’s crucial to stop compromising your health as you age.
Exercising reduces your risk of all sorts of diseases and increases the chance of a long, healthy life. In fact, older adults who did any weight lifting, but no moderate to vigorous aerobic activity, were 9% to 22% less likely to die over a decade, according to a 2022 study cited in an AARP article. "Those who met aerobic guidelines and lifted weights once or twice a week had a 41 percent to 47 percent lower risk," it added.
It’s also worth giving up other unhealthy habits, from smoking to eating poorly to getting too little sleep. Changing these behaviors can not only enable you to enjoy retirement for longer but it also makes it more likely you’ll be healthy enough to do the things you love once you leave work.
2. Supporting Adult Children
Adult children can be a huge source of joy for retirees, but they can also be a major financial drain. As many as 47% of parents with grown, non-disabled children provide their kids with some kind of financial support, with parents providing an average of $1,384 monthly, according to research from Savings.com.
These contributions to kids are more than double what the average working parent contributes to their own retirement savings monthly, which is why it’s not surprising that 58% of parents said they’ve sacrificed their own financial security for the sake of their adult kids.
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While it’s understandable to want to help your kids, it’s also important to remember that they have time to build their financial futures but you don’t. Set a limit on how much you help based on what you can truly afford and look for ways to offer non-financial assistance.
Doing so is the only smart choice for both you and your kids because if you end up broke, it won’t be good for them either when you show up to live in their guest room.
3. Taking Time for Granted
It’s an inevitable fact that the older you get, the less time you have left. That’s why it’s so essential to stop wasting time in your later years.
Once you reach your mid-50s, you don’t have endless years left to save. Get serious, making the sacrifices needed to build a big nest egg. Whether that means putting in extra hours, asking for a salary bump, or making budget cuts, step up your savings efforts now more than ever.
Devoting your efforts to bulking up your savings in your 50s will hopefully pay off and, as you move into your 60s, you’ll get to a point where trading time for more money no longer makes sense. At this point, if you have enough to live comfortably, staying on the job longer to earn more often stops being worth it if you give up some of what may be your last healthy years.
The early use of your time saving should allow you to put your time to good use enjoying life later — so make the most of each of these different life phases.
4. Not Spending in Line With Your Values and Goals
For seniors living on a fixed income, wisely spending money is more important than ever. Unfortunately, if you don’t have a plan for what to do with your dollars, you could end up spending on the wrong stuff.
If your dream is traveling, for example, but you’re staying in your costly family home and spending your travel money on property taxes and home maintenance, you’d likely be far better off downsizing and freeing up cash to take your dream trips.
Take the time to look at exactly where your money is going, and make sure that you’re using it the way you’d prefer. Cut the things you don’t care about and allocate as much of your money as possible to making your retirement dreams a reality.
5. Worrying Too Much
Finally, far too many seniors end up wasting their retirement worrying about the things they can’t change. From bad news on TV to a potential future market crash to undesirable political outcomes, there’s a lot that seniors spend their days fretting about — very little of which is in their control.
Rather than wasting time stressing, seniors should take the steps they need to set themselves up for success, like choosing the right asset allocation for their investments and making sure they have a life where they live below their means at a safe withdrawal rate.
Seniors who are smart about their finances and who maintain an objective distance between themselves and upsetting issues are likely to be a whole lot happier — which is what they deserve in retirement after a lifetime of working to get there.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
