How to Find Meaning and Purpose in Retirement?

Fritz Gilbert is the Founder of The Retirement Manifesto, a personal finance blog focused on helping People Achieve A Great Retirement.  Fritz will be retiring in the summer of 2018 at the age of 55, after 3 decades in Corporate America (most recently as a Commodity Trader).  He and his wife live in a cabin in the Appalachian Mountains of North Georgia, just a few miles from the start of the Appalachian Trail.  They have a 23-year-old daughter who was married last summer and recently moved to Seattle.  After retirement, Fritz and his wife plan on traveling extensively with their 5th Wheel RV, as well as working with local charities and “giving back” to their community.  They are active in a dog rescue charity and have 4 rescue dogs who will be accompanying them during their travels.

All though Fritz does have a personal finance blog, he thinks all of the other things to think about during retirement are even more important than finances. He calls it the softer side of retirement.

Fritz will be officially retiring June 8th of 2018 and both him and his wife are excited.

How Fritz and his wife are preparing for his retirement?

They are having discussions on how will they live their life after Fritz' retires and how they will find purpose in retirement. They come up with some things that both of them needed to decide.

Here are some examples:

* Develop an interest/hobby:

* What are we going to do individually?

* Fritz's wife started to grow an interest in pottery. Turns out she is a good potter. Fritz will join a group that swims 3 times a week.

* What are we going to do together?

* They put up a jar with a notepad next to it where each of them put in activities once a week so that they have 2 years worth of weekly activities. They call it their “Wednesday jar”. What comes out of the jar, they do together every Wednesday. I think the Wednesday jar is a great idea!

* Create a timeline together

* As his retirement approaches, they have things planned out like healthcare, they also bought an RV because they wanted to explore new places and spend some time traveling. They have also built a list of each state and things they would like to see or do in each state.

* Build relationships

* Because they moved into a new area where they don't know anyone, one of the things that they wanted to do is build relationships. They wanted to build networks with their neighbors by, one example, walking their dogs. They met a few people who also walk their dogs. Another way for them to meet new people is through their church.

Be receptive to doing something that gives you passion and purpose in retirement, but don't obligate yourself to do something until you've settled into your new lifestyle.

 

 

 

 

 

What are some ideas you have to prepare for and to find purpose in retirement? Share your thoughts and ideas below in the comments

Contact information for Fritz:  Website- http://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/

Websites mentioned in the interview

(Seasonal employment) CoolWorks or Workamper

Rotary Club

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