What does it take to retire successfully?

20140909-MoneyTips-Fincon-The retiree-screen Res (FINAL)Where I grew up, people worked for as long as possible and felt diminished by retirement. Now it’s seen as a second chance.

Some people still say they plan to spend their golden years improving their golf swings or lying around in hammocks, but increasingly retirement is becoming an opportunity to start over: trying a different type of work, learning a new skill, maybe even running off to join the Peace Corps.

If you’d like to learn more, tune in to the Retiree Next Door Tweetcast next Tuesday, Nov. 18. Co-hosted by MoneyTips.com and certified financial planner Jeff Rose, the one-hour event will answer common questions and any additional queries sent in by listeners.

From 11 a.m. to noon Pacific Standard Time, a couple of dozen personal finance folks (including me) will be offering tips on topics like:

  • Do you need to be a millionaire to retire comfortably?
  • How much do you need to save for retirement?
  • What are some common planning mistakes?
  • How do you save for retirement without drastically changing your lifestyle?
  • How should different demographics plan for retirement?

Got a question for the panel? Tweet it to @MoneyTipsSocial, using the #retireenextdoor hashtag.

The Tweetcast is free, although registration is required; when you sign up, you’ll get a free copy of an e-book called “The Retiree Next Door: Successful Seniors’ Surprising Secrets.” Hope to see you there.

Got a job that won’t let you sneak-Tweet? Sign up anyway, because all those who register will get an e-book of the 100 best pieces of advice from the Tweetcast.

Retirement probably won’t happen for me until I’m 70, and even then I’ll likely continue to work. Writing for pay or for enjoyment fits into my personal definition of retirement: the opportunity to direct the pace of my own days instead of having someone else do it. I’ll still have deadlines, but I’ll get to choose them myself.

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13 thoughts on “What does it take to retire successfully?”

  1. Sounds like a great conversation–I hope I’ll be able to join. I think you’re absolutely right that the landscape of retirement has changed dramatically. I often wish there was another term to describe my goal other than “early retirement” because “retirement” has such a specific connotation that just doesn’t hold true for all “retirees.”

    Reply
    • Best one I’ve heard so far is just “Financially Independent”. It seems to me that’s one that was used in old British novels where someone of any age had inherited or somehow gained enough money that the income from it would cover their basic needs. Then they could do whatever they wanted, if they were careful not to touch the capital. That’s where I’d like to be!

      Reply
  2. Hmmmm. IMHO “successful retirement” is all about attitude and planning. I know plenty of folks who retire with good pensions…SS benefits and never seem to have any/enough money. Yet I know of others with modest or no pensions..SS benefits and they are “happy as clams”…and seem very content. I seem to recall a “famous blogger” who recently toured Manhatten on the “cheap” and saw a Broadway Show for $32 while a gentleman nearby spent $500. I’m thinking that is what retirement success is all about. Having a goal and coming up with a plan to reach that goal…in other words “living deliberately”….

    Reply
    • This. I’m all about the intentional living. Fortunately, so is my DF. If we weren’t on the same page financially it wouldn’t be much fun.
      Thanks for being such a consistent reader and commenter.

      Reply

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