Have you figured out how much you need in order to retire? Have you adjusted this for how you actually want to retire? Retiring young would require you to start saving more upfront. Maybe you want to work part-time because you could never see yourself with empty hands. Or maybe retirement to you means finally doing things that you love, whether you make money from it or not.
Retirement may be awhile away for you (it sure is a long time away for me), but I’m sure all of us have thought about how we would spend retirement.
Yes, at first all you might want to do is lay on the beach for hours and hours, but what about after that? I’m sure most of you want to keep busy at least some-what, I know I do. So have you ever thought about how you would fill your time?
Ways that you can possibly spend your retirement:
1. Volunteer.
Volunteering might be on your mind right now, but maybe you’ve been putting it off since you don’t have enough free time. But what about when you retire? You will have a lot of time available, and you can finally spend your time dedicated to organizations that you believe in.
There are so many organizations that need your help, so open up your phone book or your laptop and start calling places when you have time. This is something that I definitely want to do when I retire, but something that I should be doing now. Giving back to your community has so many positives, so why would you not volunteer when you have so much free time?
2. Travel.
Love traveling? Travel the whole time in your retirement! Some countries can be insanely cheap to travel in, and thus you can stretch your retirement dollars in these areas. Of course some areas and countries are more expensive, so you should save and budget accordingly.
Since you won’t have a job tying you down, exploring new countries when you are retired is a great time to do so. You can do adventurous things such as go on safaris, skydive, try exotic foods and so on. Being able to travel without something or someone to tell you to come home would be my dream.
This is something that I definitely want to do, but not full-time. Maybe for a couple of months (maybe even a year, depending on my health and how old I am) since I know that it would be exciting. Having a stable place to call home in my actual home town is something that I love.
3. Have a part-time job.
You’ve been working your WHOLE life most likely, and some of you might not see yourself being 100% jobless. You can find a nice part-time job that is stress free and still allows you to interact with others. The extra income is another positive! Some part-time jobs even offer full benefits such as health insurance.
Part-time jobs could include dog walker, store greeter, customer service, nanny, instructor, tour guide, translator, blog owner, etc. The list is really endless, so of course don’t think those are the only jobs included.
4. Start new hobbies.
Do you have a long list of things you want to try, such as knitting, painting, teaching, collecting, DIYing, etc.? Well now you finally have more time! Maybe create some kind of list and cross things off as you complete them. Is having too many hobbies a bad thing? I don’t think so 
5. Start a new business.
Have you always wanted to start your own business? I’m sure a lot of us have dreamed of what our personal businesses would be. If you aren’t as reliant on income, then this can be a fun and stress-free way to begin your dream. And you never know, without the extra stress, you might become extremely successful!
Michelle,
I’d like to travel if I’m fortunate enough to have the ability. I imagine I’ll work, too, just because I enjoy doing something and won’t mind the extra cash. Honestly, as long as I have a loved one to share my time with, I’ll be happy.
-Christian L. @ Smart Military Money
I actually wish to get more active than I am now. Giving up a day job would allow me more time to pursue incredibly rewarding experiences in business ownership and entrepreneurship. Growing up in the restaurant biz I have always had an interest in owning my own, or several. That would be something I could definitely see myself getting into. The other might be buying a larger piece of land and increasing my small farm to that of a large scale one, with all of the small elements.