You Are Never Too Young to Retire

Several Australian studies conclude that the best indicators of whether individuals will find retirement easy are their ability to cope financially, their satisfaction with life as a whole prior to retirement, and their ability to retire at the time preferred. In the event that you are still working, but looking forward to retirement, it’s important to pay close attention to all three factors, particularly the last one.

Retiring at the right time is not always the easiest thing in the world to pull off. Even so, some people are able to retire much closer to the ideal time than others. In 1996, Dianne Nahirny retired from full-time employment so that she could escape from the hectic pace of the corporate world. Interestingly, the Hamilton, Ontario, resident was only thirty-six at the time. More interestingly, she had never made more than $20,000 a year.

Note: The above is excerpted from the book How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free.



Note: See retirement quotes and sayings at:

The 237 Best Things Ever Said about Retirement

Fun Ideas for Retirees and Retirement Quotes to Help You Retire Happy, Wild, and Free

The item below was sent to me by George Fulmore, a San Francisco Bay resident who has reviewed many retirement books and loves my The Joy of Not Working, calling it the best retirement book ever written. (I disagree with George. I agree with the BarnesandNoble.com reviewer who called How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free the World's Best Retirement Book.)

How to Have More Fun as a Retiree

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting.

Well, for example, the other day I went downtown and into a shop. I was only there for about 5 minutes, and when I came out there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.I said to him, "Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break?" He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. I called him a "Nazi." He glared at me and wrote another ticket for having worn tires.

So I called him a "doughnut-eating Gestapo." He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he wrote a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more I abused him the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, I didn't care. I came downtown on the bus, and the car that he was putting the tickets on had a bumper sticker that said "Guliani in '08."

I try to have a little fun each day now that I'm retired. It's important to my health.

Retirement Planning Magic: Don't Make Retirement the End of Life!

In the course of a lifetime people pick up the knowledge and skills to build careers, raise their families, and accumulate material possessions. But not much of that prepares them for life in retirement. How do they handle leisure time? How do they keep their minds in tiptop shape? How do they adjust to a life without structure and purpose?

Fact is, retirement planning for the separation from work requires mental and spiritual planning more than most people realize. A long-term retirement plan to achieve your retirement goals is essential if you want a meaningful and productive retirement. The degree to which you plan beforehand how you are going to spend the bulk of your free time will determine how much fulfillment you experience in retirement.

When happy and successful retirees are asked what advice they would offer to a person just entering retirement, most will respond with a variation of: When it comes to retirement planning, spend as much — or considerably more — time thinking about how you will utilize your days and months as you do contemplating your finances.

Retirement Planning Tips

• Take the time to find what you really want to do with your life.
• Establish a good work/life balance many years before you retire and zealously maintain it - refrain from working on weekends
• Maintain optimum health while you are working.
• Be open to learning new things at work and in your personal life.

In short, retiring happy means being engaged to the full level of your mental and physical ability. More than any time in your life, retirement is an opportunity to enjoy the moment for all its worth. By living in the moment, and appreciating it, you too can make retirement the best years of your life. All told, you should make retirement the beginning of life — not the end!
Note: The above article is adapted from the two retirement books 1001 Ways to Enjoy Your Retirement and How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free by Ernie J. Zelinski