In this video, I discuss 10 things that successful retirees do well.
[Voiceover] Holy Schmidt!
Enjoying retirement is not just about how much money you saved for your end game, so to speak. In fact, I know a lot of retirees who have a rich and full retirement living on very modest income. This video’s gonna cover off 10 things that successful retirees do well, most of which costs very little, if any money. Before we begin, please make sure you click Subscribe and Notifications so that you get alerted the next time I post a video. I post about twice a week.
All right, let’s get into it! The first three things that we’re going to talk about are actions that free the mind. This allows you to fully enjoy the road ahead without having to worry about things that are either out of your control, or should be out of your control, as the case may be. So point number one is setting up a medical power of attorney, drafting a will, and setting up trusts, depending on how you want to arrange your finances. You could probably do most of this yourself if you went online, and downloaded the appropriate forms. I would recommend that you do see an attorney.
The cost is relatively modest to set all of these documents up. In fact, most attorneys have a package for you that allow you to set all of them up simultaneously. The next thing that successful retirees do well is they get social. They participate in card games, they golf, they play tennis, they host a barbecue for their friends, et cetera. Staying social in retirement is of paramount importance. The more social people are, generally speaking, the happier they are. The next point is getting extremely organized. If you want to live like the wealthy, then one of the tricks is to free your dwelling of all unnecessary junk. Really, things that just sit there, and really don’t serve a purpose.
Getting rid of all of that also frees your mind, but it also helps you enjoy where you live a lot more, because you’re not surrounded by a mess. The next thing successful retirees do is that they exercise. Exercise creates endorphins, which improve your mental state. It also extend your life, and you look better. So, it’s the trifecta of benefits when you exercise. The next thing that successful retirees do well is they manage their time. That’s the next category. Point number five is they 80/20 everything. Now what is 80/20? The 80/20 rule says that 20% of your actions are responsible for 80% of your outcomes.
So, at retirement age, people are pretty smart, and they know what works, and what doesn’t work most of the time, and they spend time only on those things, activities, et cetera, that serve them. Point number six on freeing up your time is mastering the technology on your phone. Your phone is quite possibly the most important, or one of the most important devices that a retiree will own, because it can do so many things. A phone has four or five different ways to communicate with people: email, telephone calls, texts, et cetera. Importantly though, it’s not that hard to get skilled up on an iPhone, or other, simply by buying a book, or even going to an Apple store, and taking one of their free classes. The return on your time investment, will be immeasurable, and your ability to do things, talk to people, get connected, will be off the charts. Along the lines of 80/20, successful retirees learn to use the services of professionals wisely.
They’ll pay an accountant to do their taxes, rather than struggle through it themselves. They will hire someone to do their landscaping, if they don’t like to garden. They’ll also hire an attorney if they feel like there are legal matters that need to be dealt with. The last three areas revolve around money, and being as effective as possible with money. Successful retirees manage their money very, very well. The first thing that a lot of them do, is they get three quotes for just about anything that costs a significant amount of money. Let me explain. I used to tell people, “If you want to have a lot of money when you get older, learn how to negotiate, because in most cases, it’s a zero sum game.
For every dollar that I give you, that’s a dollar less that I have and vice versa.” As one would expect, most people don’t like the hardball nature of negotiation, and would prefer not to deal with that element in their lives if they had the option not to. Well the next best thing, and frankly, probably as good, or even better, is just to go out, and get three quotes for whatever it is you’re gonna spend your money on. It’s not insignificant. If you’re buying a car, call three dealerships, and tell them that you’re buying the same car, and get the best price before you go in. If you’re out buying a home, and you fall in love with one house, try to fall in love with two, or even three.
That way, if the price of one doesn’t suit what you can pay, well then maybe one of the other two will. But the most important thing is to get three different quotes for the same thing. Not three quotes from the same vendor for three different options, by the way, three different quotes for the same thing from three different vendors. The next point on effectively using your money is plan way in the future. I always carry with me, or at least have with me, an 18 month calendar. Why is that? Because, at any point in time, I may make a decision that I want to do something where I’m gonna spend a considerable amount of money. Vacation is a perfect example. If you plan your vacation, 12, 15, even 18 months in advance, what you spend on that vacation will be a lot less than if you hop on a plane tomorrow, and head off to Europe. If you happen to be in the last 6 months of an 18 month calendar, then just go out and buy a 12 month calendar for the new year. Moleskine provides both. And, they’re reasonably expensive to be frank. This is about $22, but it is the best $22 that I’ve invested, in terms of ways to save money.
The final point when it comes to expenses is to ask the question, “Who owns this expense?” What do I mean by that? Well in retirement, and frankly in life, there’s always that uncomfortable moment where somebody has to pay for something. And, oftentimes, it’s at the end of the night, and somebody has to put out a credit card. So, the person who’s the most senior person at the table, i.e. mom or dad, in most cases, pulls out the credit card, and puts it down. That’s probably okay, but it isn’t okay in life, especially if you happen to be with other people that should be sharing the expense with you. It’s a natural reflex because, your entire adult life, you were the one who was paying for everything, everywhere, and oftentimes, you can see that people kind of expect you to, even though you really shouldn’t, or shouldn’t be obligated to anyway. Pause, and don’t say anything when somebody around you says, “I’m not sure how we’re gonna pay for all of this.” When you hear that, let the uncomfortable silence sink in. In fact, probably the best response when I hear something like that is, perhaps we just shouldn’t buy it.
And be aware of the professional moocher. This is the person who fawns over what you have, talks about it, and how wonderful it is with the hope that you might offer to share in what you have with them. I see this a lot with people that own vacation homes, for example. Someone says, “I would love to go to North Carolina to the beaches and spend a week there, but we just can’t afford it.” They say that right after you mentioned the fact that you were either going there for two weeks, or you own a vacation home in North Carolina.
If you liked this video, please make sure you click Subscribe, Notifications, so that you get alerted the next time I post a video. Retirement is changing fast, and I work very hard to get what’s out there in here for you. Also check out this video on what to do if you’re over 50, and you have no retirement savings, or little retirement savings, and you’re looking to retire on time. This is Geoff Schmidt. Thanks for watching.
I read in the newspaper that a person should put money in a income annuity so they can have money when they retire. Is it a good idea? You talk about Social Security I read that in the newspaper that a person can collected their ex-spouses Social Security once the ex turns 62 and if they where married for more then 10 yrs. And the other spouse does not have to be 62. So if I am understanding if correctly when my ex turns 62 I can collected his Social Security even if I am 51. Correct me if I am wrong that I will be able to came my ex’s Social Security when he turns 62. But the payment will be smaller.
I read in the newspaper that a person should put money in a income annuity so they can have money when they retire. Is it a good idea? You talk about Social Security I read that in the newspaper that a person can collected their ex-spouses Social Security once the ex turns 62 and if they where married for more then 10 yrs. And the other spouse does not have to be 62. So if I am understanding if correctly when my ex turns 62 I can collected his Social Security even if I am 51. Correct me if I am wrong that I will be able to came my ex’s Social Security when he turns 62. But the payment will be smaller.