You’ve worked hard throughout your life to reach the point where you can set aside most of life’s burdens to make the most of your golden years. Unfortunately, many retirees suddenly find themselves listless, like a ship adrift at sea, once they have a surplus of time on their hands. As many as a third of seniors suffer from depression, which is certainly not how most of them expected to feel once they were free from so many of their responsibilities.
Now that the shackles are off, however, there are many exciting ways to spend your retirement money to make the most of your hard-earned rest in a way that can prove both relaxing and satisfying. If you aren’t thinking of doing vacations, Annuity Advantage offers ways to reinvest your money for retirement. While in retirement you can grow your money even more. This is also the best time to make a bucket list of things you have always wanted to do and seize the day, truly experiencing life in a way you may never have.
Here are some excellent ideas for fun things you can do with your retirement money!
Travel
One of the most popular ways many retirees choose to spend their retirement money is by exploring new places, so they can enjoy novel experiences while enjoying the wonders our planet has to offer. One of the most significant aspects of retirement is freedom. Locking yourself away at home with your television rather than grinding away at a job is another type of prison.
The world is diverse and vibrant, and retirement can be the start of a new adventure, an extended vacation to exotic locations where you can learn more about unique cultures and even make new friends. You can enjoy unfamiliar cuisine, participate in new hobbies, and even spend some time on open waters, savoring the breeze and ocean spray as you shed accumulated anxiety and stress that has built up over the preceding decades.
Get a Gym Membership
Many retirees find their physical capabilities decline, especially if they spend most of their time in a sedentary environment. With so much free time, it is easier than ever to engage in regular physical fitness to restore mobility and build muscle to make the most of life.
What? That doesn’t sound fun?
Gyms are full of people who enjoy working out and exercising, mainly because it stimulates chemical endorphins in the brain that make you feel happier and fight off the effects of depression. While it may not seem enjoyable at first, take it slow and give it time, you will soon find a routine that works for you and your body will begin to reward you for the effort. You can always start with activities that you may already enjoy, such as walking or swimming, to get you started.
Many seniors enjoy public fitness centers because they can get out of the house and socialize with new people. Exercise is a lot of fun with a friend, and you can offer each other encouragement until you realize that you are having fun and feeling better than ever, which carries over to your other exciting retirement activities.
Find New Hobbies
You’re never too old to learn something new, and some people discover new passions only after retirement when they have time to devote to diverse activities. From chess to sports such as tennis or bowling, there are many leisure activities that you can do with others, as well as plenty you can do on your own.
You can purchase model train kits, puzzles, or craft materials easily and can sign up for golf club memberships, yoga classes, music lessons, art classes, or any other pursuits to find out which hobbies are the most fun for you. Most of these activities include opportunities to participate with others, so this is yet another opportunity to find others who share similar interests.
Take Classes or Get a Degree
It is always possible to learn something new, and while you may need to spend some of your retirement money on classes, many states offer free tuition for seniors 62 or older! This opportunity is excellent for those who love knowledge and either never had the chance to attend college or want to learn more about topics that interest them that they never had time for.
You may have always been interested in computer programming and wondered what you could do if you knew how to code. With retirement, you now have plenty of time to enroll in classes that teach you how to do it, and if you enjoy it, you can even pursue a degree. You can then use your newfound skills as a hobby, seeing what exciting programs you can make or coding fun games for your grandchildren.
If you find out it’s not as fun as you imagined, the curriculum list holds plenty of other options for new skills or subjects that both engage your mind and satisfy your curiosity.
Donate to a Cause
Few things are as enjoyable for many people as helping others in need or making the world a better place. There are innumerable nonprofit causes with missions ranging from helping animals and children to saving the planet and mitigating climate change. If you have an interest, there is likely a foundation working to improve research in that sector or help improve the quality of life for others.
If your retirement budget does not provide enough leeway to make the impact you desire while allowing you to enjoy your own pursuits, consider making a legacy gift to the nonprofit(s) of your choice.
This is as simple as making a provision in your will with the charity as a benefactor, allocating either a set amount of your assets or a specific percentage to their organization upon your passing. Many donors prefer choosing a percentage because it can be challenging to predict the state of your finances in advance. This allocation method ensures you have more control when caring for your family and significant others.
The Bottom Line
Retirement should be something to look forward to, not dread. You have worked hard for the opportunity to rest and enjoy your Golden Years, so it’s worth taking the time to figure out what activities you would want and then checking them off your bucket list. These activities are great ways to spend your retirement money in a way that benefits you, but they are by no means the only ones. This is your time; make the most of it in the way that makes you happy.
This is a Sponsored Post – the author has requested this post be shared on WE magazine for Women and WE were compensated for sharing.
