Should I retire? That’s a big question.
Some people can’t wait to retire and want to retire as soon as possible. Others are anxious about life without work. Those who hesitate to retire may be worried about money, or they may be worried that they will miss their job. The fear of missing out (FOMO) can be strong in both work and leisure.
If you’re torn between quitting your job or staying in your career, here are nine exercises to help you gain clarity on this big decision: Should I quit or not?
1. Choose the quote that best describes how you feel about retirement.
Choose the quote that resonates with you and it might help you decide whether or not you should quit your job.
1. So sit back, relax and do things you’ve never done before.— Julie Hebert
2. Work is the basis of life. I will never retire. People rust faster than they wear out. Colonel Sanders
3. Retirement is not the end of the road. It’s the beginning of an open highway. – Unknown
Four. Musicians don’t retire. They stop when the music is gone. Louis Armstrong
5. You’ve crunched the numbers on your retirement accounts. It’s time to decide who will wear the mask and who will drive the getaway car. – Unknown
6. I believe retirement is the first step to the grave. Hugh Hefner
7. The end of one thing often marks the beginning of something else. – Fred Rogers
8. To retire means to die. Pablo Casals
9. The problem after quitting your job is that you can’t take any time off. Abe Lemmons
Ten. There isn’t enough time to do everything I want to do. — Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes
11. Finding joy in your work is discovering the fountain of youth. Pearl S. Buck
12. Work saves us from the three great evils: boredom, vice and greed. Voltaire
The meaning of your quote
If you select quotation marks 1, 3, 6, 7, or 10If so, you’re probably ready to retire.
Did you find the quote? 2, 4, 9, 11, or 12 Which one is most appealing? This suggests that work is where you get the most satisfaction in life, and there’s nothing wrong with continuing to do what you’re doing.
The reference number is Five Which is the most meaningful? This probably means that no matter what you want to do, you will need some kind of income. But remember: you don’t have to work too hard! Change your job and do what you love. Find the best jobs for retirement and retirement business ideas after 50.
2. Create a detailed retirement budget
Nothing makes the financial and lifestyle aspects of retirement more realistic than creating a detailed budget for the rest of your life.
Figuring out what you want and need to spend your money on and by when is the most important part of creating a financial plan for retirement.
The NewRetirement Planner makes it easy to create a detailed retirement budget. You can either:
- Create budgets for different stages of retirement and set overall spending levels for different time periods.
- Create a detailed budget of how your spending varies across 75+ different categories and specify mandatory and discretionary spending amounts for better planning.
Of course, in reality you need an overall financial plan, but your future budget will determine how much you need to save and how much you need to earn.
NewRetirement Planner helps you better manage your expenses, income, savings, investments, taxes, time, and more.
Create two budget scenarios
- It is a continuous process and creates one scenario for your life.
- Build another one for your retirement.
- Compare how you would feel about your imagined life and finances in these two very different futures.
3. Reflect on your purpose in life
Study after study shows that having clarity about your life purpose is the key to happiness.
Defining your purpose can help you make a better decision about whether to leave or stay. Here are some resources to help you define meaning and purpose:
4. Think about how you feel during the holidays
I once spent a holiday with someone who never wanted to retire.
- Indulgence makes him restless.
- Although activities (e.g. sightseeing, surfing, meeting new people) are fun distractions, his heart is never in it.
- He is looking forward to coming home to the office as much (if not more) as he is looking forward to going out. (And this is only a week later; I shudder to think how he will feel in two weeks, a month, or even longer.)
If you’re like this guy, maybe it’s time to stop worrying about retirement and just enjoy doing what you love: working, solving problems, creating value, and building teams.
But if you enjoy any type of vacation, retirement might be right for you.
5. Create a “bucket list”
Are you ready to retire? Only if you have a plan for what you want to do with the rest of your life.
- Is there something you’d like to try? How about a seaplane ride? How about surfing?
- Where would you like to go? The Grand Canyon? Visit all 8 wonders of the world?
- Is there a legacy you want to leave behind?
- A career benchmark to achieve?
- An accomplishment to be achieved? Helping people through your work?
- Is there anything physical you’d like to do? Run a marathon? Plant a vegetable patch?
What would you regret not doing? Make a list and evaluate whether it is a good fit for working or retiring.
6. Think about it Who What’s important to you
How you spend the rest of your life is up to you, but your relationships may be the most important part of your life.
Asking yourself who is important to you and how the decision to retire or stay working will affect your relationships may be important to your happiness.
7. Create a weekly retirement calendar
So let’s assume for a moment that you have decided to quit your job. Now imagine what the next week will be like. What time will you get up? Who will you meet and where? What will you eat? What will you do?
Write out your complete retirement schedule from Monday to Sunday and decide if it suits you. Evaluate whether it is a realistic and desirable future for you.
8. Make a pros and cons list — including thinking about what you regret most.
This is a classic decision-making exercise and can be very helpful in understanding the potential impact of your decision.
When creating your pros and cons list, there are a few things to keep in mind.
- There is no right answer, only the right answer for you
- Consider which option will leave you with the least amount of regret.
9. Evaluate what another year of work really means
Many people who are unsure about retiring keep putting it off, saying, “Just one more year.” The problem is that “one more year” often turns into 10 years.
If that’s you, consider what one more year really means.
Are you ready to dive into leisure or continue enjoying work?
The good news? There is no right answer.
You can choose to dive into leisure or continue to enjoy work. Either is fine. And whatever your goals, the NewRetirement Planner can help you create and maintain a financial plan that fits the future you want.
scheduled:
- Fund your retirement goals
- Building a fortune for your heirs
- Balancing today’s financial priorities with tomorrow’s possibilities
- Slowly moving towards leisure life
- A combination of the above
With the right planning anything is possible.
