How To Make Your Money Last

Yesterday, you were an active member of the workforce. Today, you’re retired. What will be your first step in this new phase of life?

Many people feel lost at the start of retirement. Fortunately, you can make sure you’re not this type of retiree by planning ahead.

Retirement is challenging, as it’s a leap into the unknown. After all, what's the first thing you say when you introduce yourself to a new person? You share your profession: “I'm a lawyer,” or “I'm a teacher.”

As a society, we often define people by job. Going into retirement can then feel as if you’ve lost your social identity.

Plenty of people lie in bed all day when they first retire. While this might sound like a vacation, even vacations get boring if you're not doing anything. Planning your days is crucial.

There are five retirement stages. Let's go over each to ensure your retirement will be successful.

First, there's preretirement. During this stage you slowly disengage yourself from daily work. You start imagining what your life will look like when you retire.

Second, there’s the honeymoon or your first taste of freedom. As a newly minted retiree, you now get to spend as much time as you like on leisure activities, such as fishing, painting, reading or playing with your grandchildren.

Next comes disenchantment. In this stage, the days may start to feel long, and you might start missing your daily routine at work.

You overcome disenchantment by entering the fourth stage, reorientation. Here you refocus on the things that matter most to you and start adjusting to your new financial situation.

Once you've reoriented, you reach the fifth stage: stability. Stability is about settling in and enjoying the new rhythm of your life.