{"id":41700,"date":"2025-04-18T08:16:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T08:16:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700"},"modified":"2025-04-18T08:16:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T08:16:39","slug":"4-questions-that-can-help-you-create-your-retirement-handbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700","title":{"rendered":"4 Questions That Can Help You Create Your Retirement Handbook"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

For much of our life, school systems and workplaces teach us the next steps. We learn in elementary school the skills needed in middle school to prepare us for high school. But we don\u2019t wait until we are seniors in high school to prepare for college. College preparation starts earlier so we are ready for applying to colleges. Similarly, we don\u2019t wait until we are seniors in college to decide a direction for a career. That starts earlier with declaring a major and securing a few internships.<\/p>\n

Once we begin our careers, we learn the skills needed to advance through experience, mentors, and observation. Employee handbooks outline the policies and procedures to make sure we follow the norms. But when our careers come to an end, where do we learn how to be retired? Where do we find the handbook to guide us in this next phase of life?<\/p>\n

We are living in uncharted territory\u2014life expectancy has increased, along with changing expectations of aging. While these changes present challenges, it also offers opportunities. Richard Leider, author of \u201cThe Power of Purpose<\/u>\u201d was involved in a 2009 survey by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, titled \u201cDiscovering What Matters: Balancing Money, Medicine and Meaning.\u201d The study revealed that as people reach retirement age, \u201cmeaning trumps money in defining the good life.\u201d Leider concluded, \u201cThe good life consists of health, finances, and doing what\u2019s important. But it is not always easy to figure out what\u2019s important.<\/em><\/p>\n

One of my previous Forbes.com articles outlined how to continue to learn and grow. It described learning opportunities such as workshops, classes, online learning, and lessons. These are just a sampling of how we can stay active, engaged, and relevant.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s no official road map, \u201cuser\u2019s manual,\u201d or handbook for retirement, the most common practice is to work with a financial advisor to develop a financial plan to ensure you have the funds to support your lifestyle including the costs of health and insurance. But once you have the financial part figured out, it is the nonfinancial aspects of retirement that are of concern:<\/p>\n

How will I spend my time?<\/p>\n

What is my purpose?<\/p>\n

How will I interact with others?<\/p>\n

What is my reason for getting up in the morning?<\/p>\n

Create A Vision For Your Retirement<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Companies create vision statements for where they want the company to go. It is futuristic and should be inspirational. The same is true for your vision for your retirement. Creating a vision depends on your situation such as marriage, children, grandchildren. If you are in a relationship, the vision should be created by the two of you to make sure you are on the same page.<\/p>\n

When I was younger, I didn\u2019t understand when people would get divorced because \u201cthey grew apart.\u201d But I understand how that happens if people are growing in different directions or are not communicating about what matters most to them. It often helps to have a coach, someone who can facilitate conversations around how both of you envision living the next decades of your lives together. What does it look like? How much time do you want to travel? Do you want to invest in a second home? Do your children and grandchildren live close or far away?<\/p>\n

Seek Out Role Models<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We can learn from watching how others are living out their lives. Look for role models who are living in ways that look attractive to you. Ask yourself, \u201cWhat is it about their lives that inspire and interest me?\u201d You may or may not know these people, but we can learn a lot from observing others.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A handbook or manual for retirement is a mix of financial preparation, personal reflection, and exploration. Retirement is often a time where we have more freedom and flexibility. You feel more secure if you plan ahead, but life can throw us some curve balls. So, we need to also be flexible as life unfolds. A successful retirement is not about having a lot of money or being smart. It is about making intentional choices about how you allocate your resources of time, energy, money, and attention.<\/p>\n

It is important and can be exciting to create your own handbook for how you want to live the rest of your life. How can the rest of life be the best of life for you? What does that look like for you? Who might help you achieve this vision? There is no better time to start than now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For much of our life, school systems and workplaces teach us the next steps. We learn in elementary school the skills needed in middle school to prepare us for high school. But we don\u2019t wait until we are seniors in high school to prepare for college. College preparation starts earlier so we are ready for<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-41700","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-retirement"},"yoast_head":"\n4 Questions That Can Help You Create Your Retirement Handbook | iSafeSpend<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For much of our life, school systems and workplaces teach us the next steps. We learn in elementary school the skills needed in middle school to prepare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4 Questions That Can Help You Create Your Retirement Handbook | iSafeSpend\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For much of our life, school systems and workplaces teach us the next steps. We learn in elementary school the skills needed in middle school to prepare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"iSafeSpend\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-18T08:16:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-18T08:16:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1744964199_0x0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"News Room\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf\"},\"headline\":\"4 Questions That Can Help You Create Your Retirement Handbook\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-18T08:16:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-18T08:16:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700\"},\"wordCount\":771,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Retirement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700\",\"name\":\"4 Questions That Can Help You Create Your Retirement Handbook | iSafeSpend\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-18T08:16:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-18T08:16:39+00:00\",\"description\":\"For much of our life, school systems and workplaces teach us the next steps. We learn in elementary school the skills needed in middle school to prepare\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"4 Questions That Can Help You Create Your Retirement Handbook\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/\",\"name\":\"Solutions For Real\",\"description\":\"Latest Finance News and Updates\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Solutions For Real\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png\",\"width\":690,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"Solutions For Real\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf\",\"name\":\"News Room\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"News Room\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"4 Questions That Can Help You Create Your Retirement Handbook | iSafeSpend","description":"For much of our life, school systems and workplaces teach us the next steps. We learn in elementary school the skills needed in middle school to prepare","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"4 Questions That Can Help You Create Your Retirement Handbook | iSafeSpend","og_description":"For much of our life, school systems and workplaces teach us the next steps. We learn in elementary school the skills needed in middle school to prepare","og_url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700","og_site_name":"iSafeSpend","article_published_time":"2025-04-18T08:16:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-18T08:16:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1420,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1744964199_0x0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News Room","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News Room","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700"},"author":{"name":"News Room","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf"},"headline":"4 Questions That Can Help You Create Your Retirement Handbook","datePublished":"2025-04-18T08:16:38+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-18T08:16:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700"},"wordCount":771,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Retirement"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700","name":"4 Questions That Can Help You Create Your Retirement Handbook | iSafeSpend","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-04-18T08:16:38+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-18T08:16:39+00:00","description":"For much of our life, school systems and workplaces teach us the next steps. We learn in elementary school the skills needed in middle school to prepare","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=41700#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"4 Questions That Can Help You Create Your Retirement Handbook"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/","name":"Solutions For Real","description":"Latest Finance News and Updates","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization","name":"Solutions For Real","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png","width":690,"height":64,"caption":"Solutions For Real"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf","name":"News Room","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png","caption":"News Room"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/isafespend.com"],"url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41702,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41700\/revisions\/41702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}