Don't Retire Until You Hit These 5 Goals

[00:00] Today I want to share five goals to hit before you retire because after 16 years of being a retirement advisor a common question that we get is how can I be sure that I'm actually ready to retire now and here's the truth most people focus just on the money once they get that figured out

[00:15] and they have enough they they believe that they can retire and yes that's true that's a huge piece of the puzzle but that's just one piece so today I'm going to share the five goals you must hit before you're ready to retire and we'll go over the one thing that matters more than your 401k

[00:28] balance, and then also why successful people struggle the most in retirement, and then also the relationship strategy that happy retirees swear by. These aren't just theories. These come from helping hundreds of families move into retirement over the last two decades. So let's

[00:43] dive in. Here's the interesting thing. Some of the unhappiest retirees, they've got one thing in common, and it might not be what you think. The retirees who really struggle the most aren't the ones with the least money. They're the ones who are isolated. And that's what nobody warns you

[00:58] about, right? Once work ends, your relationships often take a nosedive too. So goal number one is strengthen up those relationships before you retire. Because think about it, how many of your current friendships are built around work, right? The colleagues that you go grab lunch with, or the

[01:12] team that you chat with by the coffee machine, the work friends that you text about what you're doing on the weekend. Because when you retire, those daily touch points, those vanish overnight or almost overnight. And research backs this up too. Studies show that retirees lose an average of 25%

[01:28] of the social connections within their first two years of retirement. And that's why I tell my clients, you can't wait until retirement to build those relationships outside of work or find those new groups that you're going to be a part of. So here's the action step for this. Start now. Think

[01:41] about those special people from your past maybe Maybe old friends that you drifted apart from since college or when you were younger Or maybe neighbors that you used to be close with and you moved or family members that you haven talked to in years I know it might feel awkward to reach out

[01:55] after 10 or 15 or 20 years of not talking to someone, but I've done this myself recently and 100% of the time, they're actually happy to hear from me, thankfully. But here's the thing, retirement gives you something precious

[02:08] that working life doesn't. And that's the time to actually nurture these relationships that truly matter. Let's move on to goal number two. And that is when you retire, you're gonna have more time in one day than you currently have probably in the entire work week,

[02:22] right, more free time. And think about it, right now, after your commute, your work, getting ready, and maybe two to three hours of free time on the weekends, in retirement, you've got 16 waking hours every single day to decide what to do with.

[02:35] So that's 168 hours a week to fill. So the goal is have a life plan, not just a financial plan. And here's the action step here. It's why I like creating this idea of life buckets

[02:47] or maybe these little time segments of retirement. Think about them maybe in five years. It's not a bucket list of things to do before you die, but really just specific goals you want for the next five years, 60 to 65, 65 to 70, and so on.

[03:02] Write down the things and maybe some of the major accomplishments or goals or things that you wanna do. A lot of people, they think about travel in their 60s and 70s when they're young and they can move and they could walk these cities that they want to explore. Now, the third goal is important

[03:15] because your biggest retirement challenge won't be financial. It's going to be figuring out who you are when you're not working and when your career identity goes away. In 16 years of helping people retire, I've watched strong, successful people,

[03:29] especially men, they completely lose themselves in retirement, right? After 30 or 40 years of carrying the responsibility and meeting the deadlines and the team goals work becomes who we are but you so much more than your job title So goal number three is identify or know your identity beyond work

[03:47] And here's the action step. Here's where most people get stuck. They can't imagine what they'd actually enjoy doing with all their free time. And that's where vacation becomes your testing ground. So if we're still working before we retire,

[03:59] a lot of people don't use their vacation time, but we should be using all of the vacation time. Actually, from what I read, half of Americans don't use their full vacation. Here's the key. Don't just use it to catch up on chores

[04:11] or go travel to a new city or sit on the couch. Use those vacation days to start to experiment, right? Try the pottery class if you're interested in that or the welding class, which one of my clients is really into now.

[04:24] Volunteer at the animal shelter or take a cooking lesson or join a hiking group, whatever it is. Think of vacation before retirement as your retirement laboratory. And when you're off work, pay attention to those things that energize you.

[04:36] What are those things that are fascinating and motivating for you versus the things that drain you? What activities make you lose track of time? So the goal isn't just to take time off, it's discover what lights you up

[04:48] and what's defining your day because that's exactly what retirement's gonna be like, except instead of one week off, it's every week for the next 20 to 30 years. The next goal is related to health. And this is key, right?

[05:01] Even if you love your job and even if you have a great boss or you have a great company, every job comes with stress, comes with deadlines and deliverables and goals. And after 30 years or 30 or 40 years, we don't even notice how that stress might be impacting

[05:14] our health or even how the time commitment of work is taking away from the time that we could spend focusing on health or moving. So the goal here is just honestly assess where you at with your health and be brutally honest Think about your job and if it negatively impacting your health And then start to take action and doing the small things to introduce that into your days

[05:34] or at least start making a plan of what you might start doing in retirement when you get there. The next goal is one that you'd probably expect a certified financial planner to say, and that's have your detailed financial plan. Now, early in life, before you retire, it's about savings rate and it's also about growth, right?

[05:50] Growing the assets. But then when you get to retirement, it's really about tax-efficient withdrawal strategy or really overall tax planning, income planning, and then making sure the investment plan and the income plan are synced up and working together.

[06:03] It's more about sustainability and introducing a little bit more certainty than just growth. So the action plan is don't just use a back a napkin to create a plan or even just Excel. There's some detailed Excel spreadsheets out there that I love, but talk to an advisor

[06:17] or try out my favorite retirement planner below to get a more detailed retirement plan and get your investment set up. But then don't forget the other things, tax planning, income planning, estate planning. Those are some of the keys we really got to focus on at this stage or before you retire.

[06:31] And I'd love to hear from you. Which one of those five goals are you going to work on first? What's at the top of the list? Let me know in the comments below. I'll look at every single comment. I don't always reply, but I'll definitely see them. And then remember, retirement isn't just about having enough money.

[06:45] It's really about creating that life that's meaningful, fulfilling, and joyful. The goal isn't just to retire, it's to retire well. If you agree, please give this video a like. And then if you want to make sure you're not making any critical mistakes in your 50s and 60s

[06:58] that could actually sabotage your retirement, check out these videos here where I'll give you some of the things that get in the way of retirees that I've helped retire over the years. Thanks for watching and take care.

[07:11] Thank you.