Tag Archives: Exercise

Budget-Friendly Resolutions To Better Yourself

Budgeting, Early Retirement Lifestyle, ,

It seems that New Year’s resolutions tend to be centered around ways to make yourself healthier, a better person, or how to save yourself money in the upcoming year. The truth is: this isn’t something that just feels common; the most popular resolutions actually center around one of these themes of health, self-care, or budgeting.  

The best news is that you don’t have to overwhelm yourself with new tasks to complete all year round to try to make a better life for yourself. There are ways you can be healthy, practice self-care, and be eco-friendly all while saving yourself money. 

Budget-Friendly Resolutions To Better Yourself

Image Source

Making eco-friendly changes

This year, strive to make changes that will help you and the environment. Being retired, you have more time to focus on things that really matter, like making the planet a better place so it makes sense for your resolutions to not just be focused on yourself. I am sharing some eco-friendly changes to make to your lifestyle that can actually save you money too! 

Reusable water bottles – If you are still using single-use plastic water bottles, 2020 is your time to make a change. Reusable bottles are a great investment. They may be a pricier one-time payment, but they can prevent you from spending money on water bottles and wasting plastic every week for years to come. 

Contact lenses – You may think that something as small as your contact lenses wouldn’t matter. However, just like water bottles, you have to think about how the small amount of plastic you use daily can add up quickly. Switch your contact lenses to a brand that uses less plastic and is affordable! You can’t go wrong.

Clothing – There are even ways to be conscious of the environment with your clothing. Shop from sustainable brands that source their materials naturally and ethically, as well as brands that are mindful of their carbon footprint and employee treatment. To save yourself even more money, you can shop second-hand. Thrift stores are a good way to save money on clothes while giving a second life to clothing that others no longer wanted.

Budget-friendly health changes

Being retired means there is more time to do things you enjoy – and it’s a plus if any of those things include exercising and being active. Oftentimes, people waste money on gym memberships they don’t use or seek out classes and don’t end up enjoying them. Fortunately, there are alternatives to these typical go-tos! Make better use of your funds and keep yourself motivated by doing things you actually have fun doing. If you like tennis or golf, then you should do those things to get your daily exercise in if that’s your plan for the new year. 

Another option is to invest in items for a home gym so you don’t have to leave your home to get a good exercise into your day. Simply dumbbells, yoga mats, and resistance bands can offer a great workout. However, you can take your dedication to fitness a step further this year and invest in a product like a stationary bike. There’s the top of the line exercise option the Peloton bike which can give the feel of a workout class in your home. But there are also lower cost options like the Schwinn IC3 Indoor Cycling Bike and  L Now Indoor Cycling Bike that can be purchased at a reasonable price! Both have a media shelf and if you crave that interactive workout class feel and motivation then you can still get Peloton’s classes via their app.

Make sure you’re investing your money and your time in something you enjoy doing for any health changes you consider in 2020. There is no point in spending money on a gym membership, classes, or workout equipment if you aren’t having fun while doing it! 

Self-care practices for the new year

Self-care is another practice that is important to better ourselves and is often a focus of New Year’s resolutions. The eco-friendly and health resolution ideas we’ve discussed are actually both forms of self-care in themselves – it’s important to feel good about yourself and the life choices you are making.

Budgeting – Yes, budgeting in itself is a form of self-care. Being smart with your finances can give you peace of mind, help you spend your money more wisely, and encourage you to save money for things that are important. It’s especially wise to budget around the holidays, when we tend to spend a lot of money at once. 

Be outdoors – Something as simple as being outside for 30 minutes every day has a lot of positive benefits. Whether you choose to work out, go for a walk, or just bask in the sun, be sure to get outdoors every day for a free way to boost your health and mood! 

Journaling – Writing in a journal is something that can help your mental health by expressing gratitude and working through any feelings of stress, anxiety, or depression. It can also help increase memory capacity and comprehension. Writing is a simple, free practice that many people aren’t doing on a regular basis after retiring. 

 

Health, self-care, and living a green life luckily all go hand-in-hand. If you’re looking to make a New Year’s resolution for 2020, consider some of the budget-friendly options on this list to better yourself, the planet, and the people around you too! 

Small Changes You Could Make To Your Health, This Year

Early Retirement Lifestyle, Health, Non-financial Aspects of retirement, , , ,

Whether busy in the working world or in retirement, it can be hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle. You might try a diet for a few weeks before slipping into old ways, or you might try to quit drinking so much but you end up falling off the wagon when you go to a bar with your friends. Healthy living can seem like a chore, but it shouldn’t. With gradual steps in the right direction, you can start to form habits that’ll become part of your daily routine. Staying healthy shouldn’t be time-consuming. It should simply be a part of your existing schedule. Here are some small changes you could make to your wellbeing.

Small Changes You Could Make To Your Health, This Year

Picture Source

Exercise every day.

First of all, you should aim to exercise every day. It’s a small change that could make a massive difference to your physical and mental wellbeing. Rather than fretting about strenuous sessions at the gym once or twice every week, you could achieve better results by simply doing 10 to 20 minutes of exercise on a daily basis. Run around your local park, do some push ups in your living room, grab a chair and do some triceps dips, or simply go on a walk with your family and friends. Staying physically active can help to not only keep your waistline trim but also keep you mentally healthy. Exercise releases endorphins in the brain, and that boosts your mood. Establishing a routine exercise activity and incrementally pushing yourself a little more as time goes will generate positive health results.

Reduce your unhealthy habits.

Everybody has unhealthy habits. For some people, it might be that they snack on junk food when they’re bored. For other people, it might be that they drink a little too much wine on a frequent basis. Whatever the unhealthy habit, you should aim to improve your attitude towards excessive consumption of things that are bad for you. Being healthy isn’t just about exercising or eating well; it’s about avoiding the things that are unhealthy for you.

If this seems an impossible task to get onboard with, some people have found success with hypnotism. If you’re struggling to kick a habit such as smoking then you might even want to look into nicotine patches, gum,  or getting a cheap e-juice as an alternative that is a bit healthier for you. Sometimes, weaning yourself off bad habits is easier than going cold turkey. Aside from the health benefits that can come from quitting bad habits, most come at great financial cost. Think about all the things that you could better use your money towards.

CBD Flexoffer

 

Work on your mental health.

Remember, your mental health is just as important as your physical health. One important change you could make to your health this year is to look after your mind. Your mental wellbeing can be improved in many small ways. For starters, you should talk to your family and friends as often as possible. Sharing your feelings, whether that means laughing or crying, is crucial to your mental health.

You might also want to start making smarter financial decisions. For many adults, the root cause of their high stress levels is money. Whether you’re having problems with your finances or not, you probably worry about money a lot. You might find that it helps your mental health to start being more organized with your finances. An organized budget leads to an organized mind. The point is that you need to think about aspects of your lifestyle which could be improved in order to improve your mental wellbeing.

Lower What You Pay for Life Insurance Regardless of Your Health

Paying Less Life Insurance, ,

Hopefully, you signed up for a life insurance policy at a young age and in prime health, thus securing a low premium. If you missed this window, don’t fret. Even those with chronic health conditions can take some steps to reduce their payments. For example, working to manage a health condition — whether you’re trying new types of exercise, dropping bad habits such as drinking or smoking, or consulting with a doctor about other medications you could be taking — can reduce the cost of monthly premiums.

In addition to lifestyle changes, take a closer look at your current policy with some help from professionals like at Health IQ. For example, riders are typically added to policies. Many people, however, can do without the extra coverage that riders provide. Re-evaluate your policy and remove unnecessary riders to lower your payout. Also keep in mind that you don’t want the longest term period you can find. Your health will change as you age — which is something insurers account for. A longer policy increases the risk that the company takes on in insuring you, so you’ll deal with a more expensive policy.

The above situations are only a few brief examples. From driving more defensively to securing a rate when you’re young and switching to annual payments, you can consider many factors to reduce the cost of life insurance. Meet with an insurance agent, but do some homework beforehand. Take a short quiz on costs to learn about other ways to decrease what you pay for life insurance.

Thank you Health IQ for sharing this knowledge quiz with Leisure Freak readers.

About The Quiz Provider / Insurance Company- Health IQ

Health IQ’s mission is to improve the health of the world by celebrating the health conscious through financial rewards. Health IQ delivers better rates and underwriting, and was recently featured in sites such as CNBC, Venturebeat, and TechCrunch.  and partners with top-rated insurance carriers such as SBLI, Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. and Assurity Life Insurance Company, and reinsurer partner Swiss Re to offer health conscious people between 4 and 33 percent lower rates on life insurance. Founded in 2013 by a team of health conscious entrepreneurs, the company is a licensed life insurance company in all 50 states and has helped tens of thousands of individuals secure a total of $5.3 billion in insurance coverage.

Early Retirement Reality vs Assumptions

Early Retirement Lifestyle, Non-financial Aspects of retirement, Retire Early, ,

Every day people are reaching their financial independence goals and their hard-won FIRE  freedom. If you are one of them or soon will be one of them, then that is when you have the Early Retirement Reality vs Assumptions issues to understand. For some who are looking forward to their new adventure there are two general areas that can cause concern and even confusion when their early retirement reality clashes with their assumptions.

Getting to this place of early retirement means finances are most likely the easiest to master. There are financial planners and online resources that can be used to fine-tune your plan.

A post-retirement plan is needed to figure out:
  • How much is needed after your retirement to keep in your emergency funds.
  • Your investment allocation.
  • What sustainable withdrawal strategy to use.
  • How much is your monthly cash flow amount.

There are two general areas that can cause concern when early retirement reality vs assumptions misses the mark. Finances is one of them but it is the other one related to what we will do in retirement that can cause the biggest mismatch in our expectations.

That being, now that you are no longer spending hours at work, how will you spend all of that free time that financial independence-retire early (FIRE) will be providing you?

After years of being a successful ambitious income earning, super-saver and go-getter, your financial assumptions may be the closest to your retirement funding reality. The harder of the two early retirement realities to reconcile could be what to do with the time you used to spend while working.

Before actually pulling the trigger on early retirement it is far too easy to make general assumptions about our new free time based on all of our pre-retirement day dreams.

Early Retirement Reality vs Assumptions: Your New Lifestyle Cost

Will your lifestyle cost less, the same, or more after early retirement?

Reaching early retirement normally means that there was a sustainable budget and a certain amount of frugal living that had to occur throughout your FI journey. As long as that same mindset is aligned with your early retirement lifestyle assumptions then there will be limited surprises here.

My wife and I created our early retirement lifestyle while we were still working. We simply added to our retirement budget enough to cover a little more travel and some for inflation projections. We could see what our new early retirement budget should be.

Obviously some costs will go away or be much less while other costs, as in our case travel will increase. It is important to honestly look at how much your monthly spending will be after your retirement.

Costs that traditionally decrease. Or will they?

Job/Career/Work related costs. No more having to buy work clothes. Suits, ties, dresses, overalls, steel-toed boots, tools, uniforms, etc. However we all have to eventually buy clothes for ourselves. What is your honest retirement clothing vision? Lots of recreational related or sports specialty clothes or equipment? Shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops? It is now time to get real with yourself.

Work Commuting Costs. No more bus/train passes or fares, parking fees, and a big reduction (for most people) in fuel and auto maintenance costs. Perhaps even a reduction in the number of autos you have thus reducing car insurance costs too. But if you are planning on increasing your travel and that is by way of your car or RV then these auto related cost may stay the same or be even higher.

Eating Out. Having more time in retirement means more time to prepare your own meals and eat healthier. If your busy working lifestyle included much more eating out then there can be a big savings to your budget in this area. But if you are planning on a lot of travel then this may not be the case.

Utilities. For many of us while we were away all day at work we seasonally turned our home’s heat way down. On the flip side we turned our air conditioning temperature setting way up. If now we will be home most of the time, our utilities may need to be looked at as whether there will need to be a change in our utility budget.

Having more time to look for and use discounts

Many early retirees are already discount seeking pros. It comes with living frugally to get to financial independence. However my wife and I found that once we retired we became even better at it.

Another area that we can take advantage of discounts was in last-minute and happy-hour deals. Flexibility in our travel and other activities can be a new money-saving advantage to the early retiree.

Early Retirement Reality vs Assumptions: What to do with all your hard-won free time

Those that reach early retirement are usually an ambitious lot. They are most likely not the type of people who envisions a retirement of watching TV all day or parking their keister on a rocker for the next 30 to 40 years.

I can bet many of you reading this are saying, “I know exactly what I want to do once I retire.” The reality of this issue may surprise you at how unprepared you are about your assumptions.

The non-financial aspects of early retirement are as important as all the financial ones. It is what we retire to that makes for a happy, healthy, and enjoyable life. It takes an honest assessment of what it is we want to do in our retirement with all of our free time.

Spending time traveling

I mentioned above considering plans for travel as it relates to an early retirement financial reality-check. It also comes into play for how we spend our time. Most people can’t travel year round nor want to. Take the time to set a realistic vision of how much of your time you will be spending in this activity.

Staying social and connected to your family, friends, and community

Many early retirees find that their social network was mostly work related. I sure did and it took a concentrated effort to increase my circle of friends in my community. Make a plan to be social by going to places where you can meet new people and stay connected or reconnect with those you are already close to.

Consider volunteer opportunities, joining clubs related to areas of your interest, or any other activity that allows you to get to know your community neighbors to enjoy a fuller life. The most priceless experiences we can have are those we share with people we care about.

Have a plan to live an active life

Staying active can offer multiple benefits. It not only allows us a way to spend our time in a positive way but also gives us better health. Some of our activities can also add to our social life if we choose to participate in team or group activities.

Plan to have a varied active lifestyle. If all you do is golf 7 days a week it may become less enjoyable over time. If you don’t already have multiple hobbies then investigate and add new hobbies. Variety will allow you to never say you are bored in retirement.

Early Retirement Reality vs Assumptions- Staying activeStaying active doesn’t have to cost money. My wife and I go hiking on the trails near our home 5 to 7 days a week. It is amazing how much better we feel afterward. That and how much we miss it when we are not able to get out there.

Think of ways to move. A bicycle to cruise around on is both fun and healthy. There are many low or no costs ways to stay active.

Aside from physical activity make a point to keep your brain active. Make curiosity a priority and always learn new things. Plan to dedicate time in your day to research and investigate new things and any concepts that peak your interest.

Pursue your interests and passions in an encore career or start a business

I always intended to retire early and often and I took on a couple of opportunities I was interested in learning and doing. I then retired again once I felt I was done. But I am still always keeping an open mind towards any new opportunities.

Even taking on a part-time job can add to your social life, allow the flexibility you need to travel and be fun to do when you choose a retirement job. One that is aligned with your interests, skills and passions.

In Conclusion

It is easy in our enthusiasm and excitement when we retire early to overestimate or underestimate our financial and what we are retiring to readiness assumptions.

Early retirement is a wonderful event in one’s life. There is plenty of time to sit back, take a deep breath, and do some honest assessments of the best way to take advantage of our rat race freedom.

How about you? Are you ready to deal with and reconcile any Early Retirement Reality vs Assumptions gaps?

Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals

Early Retirement Lifestyle, Health, Non-financial Aspects of retirement, , , , ,

When it comes to my goals for the New Year they are more Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals than financial. I have read a lot of impressive goals on many personal finance sites. They have motivated me to also begin my process to set and write down my goals for this New Year.

Being that I am early retired and living from my portfolio I have no real financial targets other than staying on budget.

IF I decide to take on a paying gig within my interest and my passions then my goal is simply to save 100% of the income it produces. At this time I have no such targeted opportunity in mind. I may not start any this year so I can’t set as a goal a targeted number to be saved.

You may be wondering, what are these Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals? They are goals to help me live a more fulfilling life. Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals are worthy goals for anyone retired or still on their financial independence journey.

Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals 

Always Be Motivated

Nothing is more motivational than having something to look forward to. Having a goal or adventure in front of me that is something that I am interested in, passionate about, or just plain excites me can’t do anything but keep me motivated.

Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused GoalsI could rename my bucket list and change it to my motivation list. It is having these listed experiences and adventures or my always being open to an unknown adventure that keeps me remembering that my life is something more than my day-to-day life, routines, and habits. Part of this Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goal is working my way down my list and when appropriate adding to it or removing something that no longer interest me. It also includes taking action to make them happen. Even if it takes long-term action to get there. It is still motivating to see progress.

So what is on this list? It has the answers to the all-important question: What do I want to experience and accomplish before I die.

Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals # 1- Be a Motivated Person. Motivation leaves no room for boredom, discouragement, or dread in my early retirement lifestyle.

See the Silver Lining

This is a very challenging goal. Life is full of ups and downs. My goal is to always look for the good in any bad situation. It is all about keeping a better perspective and maintaining a positive attitude. The idea is to see the Silver Lining so I can find the meaning in my mistakes, failures, and losses so I can learn from them. Then make adjustments and move on without stewing in negativity about anything bad that has happened.

Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals # 2- Seek Silver Lining Freedom. Finding the good in bad situations means I can successfully move forward instead of being chained to the past.

Count My Blessings

By focusing on all the good things that I have in my life and what I want to accomplish I can live feeling content. That is certainly a better way to live than the alternative. Focusing on my losses, failures, or what I don’t have would only cause negative feelings and a negative attitude. Taking stock of all that I have and being truly thankful is a goal that ensures a happier life.

Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals # 3- Recognize that I am Blessed. Understanding that I am fortunate and have an abundant life means negativity and envy can find no home within me.

Feed and Grow Personal Relationships

My family and friends are the cornerstone to my well-being. Some relationships come easy and others require work to stay connected. One reason I have this as a goal is that these relationships are counted as part of my blessings. Also by giving myself to others outside of any other goals or my happiness makes ME a better person.

Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals # 4- Treat Family and Friends as Priceless. Selflessly giving and connecting to other human beings that I love and care about is the only path to a full, loving, and rewarding life.

Make My Health a Priority

My health is what it is. It could always be better and it sure can be worse. It is up to me to do all I can to be as healthy as I can. I want to live a long time and enjoy my early retirement freedom. My goal is to pay myself first through daily exercise and staying active. I always feel better mentally and physically after exercise. Other health goals are to always seek ways to improve my diet and stay current with medical and dental checkups. My exercise goal is a way to delay aging into a rocking chair. This lifestyle goal is to stay vital and active for as long as I can.

Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals # 5- Protect My Valuable Health. By staying healthy I might be able to keep putting distance and time between me and my becoming a sick old man waiting for the Grim Reaper.

 Take Calculated Risks

Staying comfortable is the easy way but a less rewarding way to live. But my taking calculated risks that takes me out of my comfort zone is necessary for me to create what I want from life. That is to live life as an adventure and let my passions and natural curiosity guide me. My goal is to reach beyond what I know which is a big part of the early retirement lifestyle I want to create. I want to constantly learn and experience new things.

Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals # 6- Embrace Strategic Risk. Live life to the fullest and avoid regretting later in my life the risks I didn’t take.

In Closing

You may be thinking these are goals that I should always have. Not something to just list for the New Year. That is absolutely correct. I believe taking the time to list out goals whether they are common-sense or raising the bar on our accountability is important. It is all about choices. We choose to better ourselves, our finances, our happiness, our career, etc. Listing our chosen goals is the first step. We then get to put action towards them and measure how well we have done. We then can identify areas we need to work harder at. My Early Retirement Lifestyle Focused Goals are all about living the best life I can. Not only this year but the rest of my life.

Do you have any non-financial based goals for the New Year to make your life happier and more fulfilling?

Boost your Immunity System with Exercise

Health, Non-financial Aspects of retirement, , ,

Health should be a year round priority and did you know that you can Boost your Immunity System with Exercise? Exercise and staying active is a frugal way to stay our healthiest. Whether we are on the path to financial independence or already enjoying our early retirement we have too much we want to do and don’t want to be sick.

I happen to be writing this during the holidays because it is a time when we tend to live with added stress even though we know we should be enjoying our time. We tend to stray from our healthier diets and overextend ourselves with all kinds of social gatherings, shopping for gifts, worship, and celebrations.

Boost your Immunity System with ExerciseWe are in close proximity with many people and our immunity system may be tested and called upon many times. Right when we have absolutely no time to be sick.

Regular exercise is a way to keep our bodies and immunity system in top condition. To stay healthy we must keep our immunity system strong to protect and defend our body against illness and to help quicken our recovery if we do fall to illness.

Boost Your Immunity System with Exercise – How It Works

When we are in movement it also results in our body’s immune cells being more active. Faster circulating immune cells are able to overcome and kill any invading viruses and bacteria easier.

The extra immune cell energy boost that is gained from our movement through exercise lasts hours after the workout ends.

Did you know that research has found that people who exercise regularly have fewer colds and sick days from work than those who don’t?

  • Exercise makes us less vulnerable to illness by slowing our release of stress hormones. I know I come out of a workout less stressed than when I went into it.
  • Exercise also helps us fight infection by raising our body temperature. I know I am exercising when I feel the heat turn up.
  • Exercise causes us to sweat and increase our breathing. That in turn helps us flush out disease-causing bacteria from our bodies through our sweat and lungs. YUCK! Remember to wipe down the workout equipment after use.

You Can Boost your Immunity System with Exercise But Don’t Over Do It

There comes a point when exercise loses its health benefits. That happens when we go overboard and over exercise. Extreme exercise will stress our bodies too far and weaken our immunity system’s ability to fight off disease. This can occur with long and strenuous workouts of 90 minutes or more.

Boost your Immunity System with Exercise but don’t ignore other healthy actions.
Exercise is easily forgotten and for many people the first to thing to be sacrificed when we get busy. There are the other healthy habits that we need to also remember to keep as a priority to boost our immune system.

  • Go to bed and get enough sleep.
  • Manage and try to control your stress.
  • Concentrate on eating healthy.
  • Take your prescribed medication and any required vitamins/supplements that are part of your health routine.
  • Don’t drink your immune system into drunken oblivion and avoid all tobacco smoke.

There you have it.

Go ahead and make a plan to Boost your Immunity System with Exercise.

Do speak with your Doctor before significantly increasing your exercise or activity level.

If you can’t talk while exercising then you may be pushing too hard and over doing it. Those of us who may be a little out of shape will need to take it slower and work towards things. It can take far less than the 90 minutes mentioned above if we push ourselves beyond or fitness level too quickly. It can end up taking things too far. We don’t want to exercise ourselves into a compromised immunity system.

Do you find that when you exercise regularly you are sick less?

Do you see yourself letting exercise slip away from your healthy living routine when life gets hectic?

Pay Yourself First is More than Money

Health, Non-financial Aspects of retirement, , , ,

In the financial independence world we hear a lot about pay yourself first. But pay yourself first is more than money. Unfortunately setting a budget, living a smart-frugal life, paying off debt, saving and investing our money is what we put our highest focus on. For many years that is exactly what I did. What about our health? Shouldn’t that also be just as important? Is it a coincidence that Health and Wealth are only separated by a single letter?

LiveHealthy-pay yourself first is more than moneyWhile I was in my second retirement over the last several months I had the time to make my health my primary focus. I did this by exercising every day for 2 to 3 hours. I was successful in losing 40 pounds and knocking several years off my age. I still have a ways to go to reach my health goals. But now that I have started this new side hustle it isn’t as easy to pull off. My struggle to pay myself first with dedicating time to exercising after work is what made me take a little self-assessment of my financial independence pay myself first short-comings.

Pay Yourself First is More than Money- Time For Self Assessment

  • I enjoy and look forward to my bi-annual meeting with my financial adviser. We go over my fund performance and discuss investment strategy and goals going forward.
  • I don’t feel the same about my bi-annual doctor appointment for blood tests. Where we also meet to discuss my health, what I am doing to improve it and strategies to meet my health goals. I always dread going in. Perhaps because I wasn’t making any improvement until these last several months.

 

  • I will without fail track my spending and saving. I never miss a beat with my finances. I eagerly look forward to my financial statements.
  • I am less than committed to tracking my exercise for the day and any health gains or loses. It can always wait and when I am tired or busy with anything else. When busy I put exercise as secondary. Not much to track anyway. I don’t hold myself accountable for my health goals.
Bingo. My brain says there is a problem

I have only worked 5 days at this full-time side hustle. I admit that the first two days I did come home and just told myself it is alright to not exercise. Just relax and chill after a rewarding but long day. I thought a lot about this over the weekend. Dammit! I come to realize that my health is just as important as my wealth. I better start treating it that way. I have to start treating it as paying myself first just like the financial stuff.

All the thinking I did about saving my side hustle income in a 401K to shield it from taxes this year and not one minute worrying about fitting in a sufficient amount of time to exercise daily. I basically lost all the weight that I had gained working until retirement number two for these exact lack of exercise reasons and I don’t want to gain it back. I feel healthy now but I won’t for long if I don’t stick to it.

Pay Yourself First is More than Money, it’s Also About Your Health

Making the pay myself first health and exercise plan
  • I made a scaled down version of my larger and longer exercise routine so that I now commit to at least an hour after work. I have set that time as my own from 6:00 to 7:00 PM during the week.
  • I started tracking my exercise and health gains during my retirement for the first time. I will now continue to do the same while working this side hustle to hold myself accountable.
  • I will honestly communicate with my doctor instead of just getting through it as quickly as I can. I will be a fully active participant in this bi-annual get together which is done for me in the first place. I was so stupid!
  • I will work to improve my healthy diet knowledge and start incrementally moving to a more healthy diet.
  • I will read my Health related magazines more in-depth instead of gleaning through them. Maybe learn something. My doctor had recommended my using and joining (membership) a company called “Life Extension” for both the periodicals and the vitamins they offer. I also recommend them to anyone who wants improved health and knowledge. (BTW, Full disclosure. I do now have an affiliation with Life Extension. Although this is a personal recommendation based on my own use of their products, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you if you use these Life Extension links or the Life Extension Ad in the sidebar to place an order. Do your research and if you decide to use their products follow all instructions and consult your doctor when recommended.)
Conclusion

Pay yourself first is more than money. It also includes our health by paying ourselves with the time and commitment to be the healthiest that we can be. What good will wealth do anyone if their health is poor and they are unable to enjoy the freedom that financial independence will give? Aside from the misery that poor health can cause, all the effort to reach financial independence wasn’t just to hand it over to cover high medical costs due to preventable health issues.

Do you struggle to commit to exercise and a healthy lifestyle because you are too busy or do you have it down and can share how you are able to stay committed to your personal staying healthy plan?

The Secret to a Happy Early Retirement

Early Retirement Lifestyle, Non-financial Aspects of retirement, Retire Early, ,

Do you want to know the Secret to a Happy Early Retirement? It is staying active. It is all about staying active physically, socially, and mentally. These are non-financial aspects of retirement life. I can already hear people say that having over a million dollars would make them happy in their retirement and that is a far better Secret to a Happy Early Retirement than “staying active”.

I totally disagree with that. Having a million dollars or whatever dollar amount you come up with might be necessary for you to retire but won’t be the secret to retirement happiness. Not that having that kind of money is irrelevant to overall happiness. However, having enough where you don’t worry about money and having your needs met brings happiness regardless of what the “amount” is.

But that isn’t a secret. Everyone who is planning for early retirement always plans for the financial part of retirement. People need to also plan for the non-financial aspects of retirement.

The Secret to a Happy Early Retirement is out of the bag.

Stay Active for a fulfilling and happy life during retirement.

Stay Active Physically –

Good health is probably the main key to a happy retirement. Get up off of your butt and get moving. Walking, sports, biking, they all add to improved health. Even spending the day in the garden is much healthier than watching TV. Fuel your physical activity with healthy food. Establish a sustainable and enjoyable exercise routine.

Everyone feels better and happier when they have decent health. Don’t measure your health or exercise against others. Competitive spirit may help motivate you but your goals are to be the healthiest “YOU” you can be.

If you start your retirement with existing health issues, then make it your goal to do the best you can to improve and live the best life you can. Knowing you have taken control of your own health and doing everything possible to improve it is what makes for happiness.

Secret to a Happy Early Retirement- Stay active -Devils Tower group hikeStay Active Socially –

Make an effort to stay socially engaged with family, friends, your community, neighbors, etc. Pick a sport that includes other people, like golf, bowling, basketball, etc. Knock out two birds with one stone being social and staying physically active.

Having meaningful relationships with others is the cornerstone to happiness. It can be difficult to try to meet new people but worth the effort. Join a gym, volunteer, look at some of the local clubs that you can join. As an example in many areas there are hiking clubs. I made it a point to go to the same independent coffee shop every afternoon around the same time and soon I made new friends.

Once people see you are normal (you are normal aren’t you?) you start having conversations and later relationships. Even a Leisure Freak like me is eventually accepted. Pick a place you feel comfortable going to and make an effort to meet people or socialize with those you know who are there.

Stay Active Mentally –

Pursue your passions. Whether it is paid work or feeding your curious mind by learning new things. Read, try new things, and challenge your brain. Live your retirement as an Optimist. Always see things on the bright side and when things go sideways don’t despair but think of solutions.

Keep your mind healthy by focusing on what is positive in your life. Your experiences, passions, relationships, etc. instead of focusing on stuff.

Conclusion

Anyone planning for retirement should also plan for their happiness. Don’t focus solely on your retirement finances. Make sure to also identify and reduce the things that triggers your unhappiness before you retire.

If something like where you live, a relationship, your health, etc. causes you unhappiness now, it won’t get better without a plan to take control and turn it around.

Staying Active Physically, Socially, and Mentally is the Secret to a Happy Early Retirement. Pursue your passions and all the things important in life that gives you real pleasure.

Do you agree that staying active is the secret to a happy early retirement?