Trial Retirement in a Weekend

How do you tell if you are really ready for retirement? We’re not talking in a financial sense but more in a “What will I do with myself?” and “What will it be like?” sense. Well, what if I told you that a trial retirement is possible and that it only takes three days!

Trial retirement over a long weekend

Just like real retirement the key to a trial retirement is planning. Let’s assume our trial retirement is three days. Two of the days can be a weekend. One of the days (a Friday or Monday) should be a work day for the rest of the world. Memorial Day or Labor Day weekend won’t work.

Next think of the kinds of things you will do in retirement. How and when will you do them? Here are some examples:

Experience shopping on a work day

Do you know how you always end up doing grocery shopping on the weekend? Well, when you are retired you don’t have to do that, and in your trial retirement you don’t have to either. So, go shopping at 10:00 AM or 2:00 PM on a Friday or Monday and see how empty the stores are compared to a weekend.

Lunch or dinner on a work day

In a similar fashion try lunch at a spot away from the business lunch crowd on a weekday. Or try dinner on a Monday night. I used to know people that owned fancy restaurants and they always suggested going to dinner on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday when the staff wasn’t overwhelmed by the crowds

Time for chores

Yes you will still need to do chores when you are retired. The difference is that you can pick the time, so try that during your trial retirement.

What will you do during the day (besides TV?)

Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

Time for hobbies – dust off an old hobby and spend a couple hours enjoying it.

Can you visit somewhere out of your ordinary? I’m talking about the kind of place that you would consider a little too different to risk wasting your time, or maybe a little further than you usually travel for a day trip.

What people are included in your plans? Maybe surprise somebody with a visit. (You might want to call first!)

Can you do a mini-vacation that feels like a retirement trip? Maybe stay overnight somewhere at a Bed and Breakfast, or an overnight camping trip.

Afterward, review how it went

Were you bored? Were you stressed? Did you enjoy anything you don’t normally enjoy? What did you do that was out of the ordinary?

Give your trial retirement a rating

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 highest how would you rate your mini retirement? How would your spouse rate your mini retirement?

By the time you are done your mini retirement you will learn something about yourself. What would you change? Why not wait a month or two and try the mini retirement again. This time incorporate changes based on what you have learned. More importantly you can use what you learn in planning for your real retirement!

Until next time…