Life is like a river that flows and changes over time. There are gradual twists and turns that we make in life and retirement is one of those. To ensure that your retirement flows in the right direction it is important to plan ahead. 

In this episode, we explore how to create the direction of the new flow of your life in retirement. You won’t want to miss hearing BW from the Rock Retirement Club as he defines the 6 arenas of life that require our time and energy. Listen in to check it out.

What does it mean to rock retirement?

I am always talking about rocking retirement here and in the Rock Retirement Club, but I haven’t ever defined what that actually means. 

On a recent live meet-up with 600 of you, we were able to piece it together and create a working definition of what rocking retirement means. Rocking retirement is a verb--an action word that describes a way of being. 

Rocking retirement is a state in which you work towards aligning your resources to create your best-imagined life. Money is important to rocking retirement, but decisions about money and life are always intertwined, so It’s important to create a retirement plan that helps you create a rocking retirement!

What you need to ask yourself to get into the right groove

Your life has created a well-defined groove that you have followed for decades and work has been essential to helping create that groove. Now that your working years are slowing down or coming to an end, it’s time to create a new groove that is different from the old one. Think about the direction you want your new life to take. What will your lifestyle look like? What can you afford? When can you start this new journey? What can you afford to do? Defining the answers to these questions is integral to creating the rhythm of your new life in retirement. 

The phases of retirement

There are several stages to retirement and right now you are probably in the planning stage. This is the time when you are trying to get it all figured out. You are trying to envision your retirement journey. 

The second step of retirement is the honeymoon phase. This stage is a celebration of your new life. Everything you do in this stage is exciting and you will probably be actively enjoying your life. After the honeymoon phase, many retirees reach stage 3 which is a point of inflection. They start to question their choices. They may atrophy a bit and wonder if life will be like this forever. However, this is when it is time to rock retirement! Listen in to learn how you can really rock this sometimes challenging stage of retirement

Design your life energy

To get intentional about retirement planning you need to consider the 6 life arenas. The first one is labeled career, but this doesn’t have to be a traditional career. It can be whatever gives your life purpose or meaning. Think about what you are trying to accomplish. The next stages are family, relationships, self, spiritual, and leisure. Think about where you are spending your life energy. Is it in line with your priorities? Sit down and think about the direction of your life. Listen to this chat with the RRC head retirement coach, BW to learn how you can get your retirement moving in the right direction. 

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

• [5:03] What is rocking retirement?

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT

• [6:55] The steps to creating your new journey in life

COACHES CORNER WITH BW

• [11:35] The 6 life arenas
• [18:35] Think about how you are spending your life energy

Q&A SEGMENT

• [21:22] A question on the Rule of 55
• [24:25] How dividend aristocrats can be integrated into your retirement plan
• [30:10] Share your retirement wisdom

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT 

• [31:31] Pick one area of your non-financial life to improve

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Rock Retirement Club

Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That

BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney

Work with Roger

Roger’s Retirement Learning Center