If you are winding down your working years and getting ready to embrace life as a retiree, it can often present a surprising blend of emotions. As you approach retirement, it’s natural to feel happy, proud, nostalgic, wistful, and perhaps a bit uncertain or even worried about “what do I do next?”

Retirement is Not Just a Matter of Money

While having a sizable retirement nest egg can help alleviate your worries about money, many people find that feeling happy and successful in retirement is also a matter of staying active, staying connected, and being of service to some larger purpose than mere leisure.

Women Over 60 Are Reinventing Retirement

30 years ago, the image of “retirement” in most people’s minds might have been an old man in a rocking chair, watching TV while his wife cooked dinner. But the truth is, today’s women over 60 are making retirement into a more diverse, inventive and explorative stage of life.

Here are a few retirement tips to help you get the most from your new life – with health, wealth and happiness!

Get Moving

Retirement is no time to rest easy – women over 60 often find that all the extra time when they’re not at the office can be put to good use on a new fitness routine. We’ve written before about how strength training is so important for women over 60.

Whether you want to join a fitness class, try a new sport, or attempt a new personal fitness milestone like a marathon or triathlon, anything is possible for women over 60. Even if you lived a sedentary lifestyle during your working career, your retirement years can be the beginning of a new chapter of physical activity and fulfillment.

Stay Social

Some women over 60 fear losing their daily social connections of life at work – chatting with co-workers and networking with colleagues is an ideal way to socialize and find mutually beneficial ways to connect with people throughout your life. Now that you’re retired, will all of those relationships fall away?

The truth is, today’s women over 60 are more socially active than ever before. If you’re a natural networker, there’s no reason to stop now that you’re not drawing a paycheck – just devote those energies to supporting your favorite charities or recruiting volunteers for your grandchildren’s school! Even if you’re not a social butterfly, social activity is one of the most important things we can do to maintain our health and mental sharpness as we get older.

Even if it’s just a regular coffee outing with a close friend, keeping your social life active should be one of your top priorities for retirement.

Get Smart About Money

Retirement is the stage of life when you can finally stop saving and start splurging…right? Wrong! Women over 60 need to be smart about their personal finances, since we are likely to live longer in retirement than any generation that came before. Check out this article we wrote earlier about how to make your retirement savings last longer!

Try Something New

One of the biggest myths about women over 60 is that we are afraid to learn new things. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! Many women over 60 are more adventurous than ever before – and fortunately, we now have the self-confidence, self-assurance and personal resources to make our dreams a reality – whether that means going back to school for a long-coveted degree, or traveling to new countries and continents. Check out this article for ideas on great adventure tours for women over 60.

Pamper Yourself

We talk a lot about how women over 60 are active and capable and fearless – but sometimes we all need a little tender loving care! Retirement is also a time to take good care of yourself and try to make every day a good one. Here are a few ideas for FREE ways to pamper yourself and spend every day feeling great!

Pursue Purpose

People who tend to have the most fulfilling and successful times in retirement tend to be the ones who are seekers of purpose and meaning. Retirement for them is not just a time to relax and rest – it’s a time to keep pursuing their own sense of meaning, to keep “singing their own song” to the world.

Who are the happiest retired people you know? What retirement tips can you share with the rest of the community? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Here are 10 retirement tips to help you save money in retirement.