How To Retire Painlessly

Before you get on that horse to ride off into the sunset, decide what you want to do first. There's nothing worse than living with the idea that you'd be idling away the rest of your life. You may feel great to be free of all those tensions, stresses and responsibilities, but the elation is going to last only for a short while. After that the devil starts taking over that 'workshop' of your idle mind. Don't allow doubt and despondency, which may lead to poor health, take you to an early grave.

Don't fight it, if your time's up, it's up. And don't look back. You've spent more than half your lifetime toiling and working the skin off your fingers (or tearing your hair off your head, like it happened to me ever so often), it's time to let go, sit back & relax. Go get that guitar or that rocking chair which you've been thinking about.

Money not enough? There'll never be enough if you don't budget. But if you need to make some extra income for the just-in-case ocassions, pay a visit to this webpage for some useful tips.

Be prepared for change in lifestyle. You've spent almost all your life adhering to schedules; getting up on the dot, trying to keep those crazy deadlines, living your life according to company or bosses' demands. Now that you're free of all that, you'll feel disoriented. You'll need to recondition your mental facilities to your new status. Imagine yourself an ex-convict for a life sentence walking out through the gates.

If the wife has been your housewife for all your working life, consider taking over some of her house-keeping duties, like mopping the floor, cleaning windows, walking/grooming the dog, or getting out the garbage. If not to make her happy, at least you get some regular exercise. After all, you're not the only one getting old and needing to slow down.

Your wife (or hubby) may not get used to your ever-presence in the house unless you can blend in with the furniture. Differences in opinions may creep in. Your wife may worry about your limited savings and resources(except for Bill Gates & all those listed in Fortune Magazine, how many people can have unlimited resources?). Argue and reason over those differences, not quarrel with your partner's worries.

Don't risk your life's savings by trying to earn those 'pie-in-the-sky' promises of easy profits. Never go into any of those get-rich-quick schemes. And nothing comes free either.

If you can spare it spend some of your savings on holiday trips. You and your life partner deserve it. But keep the rest stashed away for rainy days in low-risk investments or fixed deposits. They may earn pittance, but they'll remain your money, not someone else's gambling funds.

More points will be added after I've suffered and survived them.