#209 - Making Friends in Retirement

We need to have a social network in retirement. A good network of friends can help you live your life to its fullest and expand the quality of your life. Retirees with the most robust network of friends are happier, healthier and more engaged than those who are lonely. Your social network doesn’t have to be a huge group of friends. Making new friends will also help you figure out who you are as you enter this new phase of your life. Listen to this episode to hear how to find some great ways to embark on new friendships. Making new friends can help you define who you are Who are you? It is easy to label yourself in your younger years. You are what you do, right? When you hit retirement the previous label you gave to yourself no longer applies. So you need to base your answer on what your interests are and exactly who you really are. Think about how you will spend your time in retirement. These thoughts can help you discover how and where to look for a new circle of friends. Making new friends will help you figure out who you are and who you want to be in this next phase of your life. Listen to this episode of Retirement Answer Man to get an idea of how you can start defining yourself and finding new friends in retirement. Don’t be left lonely On a previous episode, I touched on loneliness and how vulnerable the elderly are to loneliness. Our circle of friends can shrink as we get older as people move away or pass away. Sometimes if our spouse passes away then we can be left even more lonely. Our circles of friends get even smaller as we age and become more sedentary. This is why making a solid friend base early on in your retirement years is vital to combating loneliness as you age. I give some fantastic tips for combating loneliness in your retirement years on this episode of Retirement Answer Man so listen to the full episode to hear them all. How do we make friends in retirement? Sometimes it’s harder to make friends when you’re older. If you’re not in school or working where do you even begin to make friends? One way is to follow your passion. What do you like to do? Passion brings a commonality. If you’re a knitter, join a knitting group. If you’re a reader, join a book club, If you enjoy yoga, hang out after class and get to know other yogis. Get outside. Become a joiner. Make acquaintances first and see if they turn into friendship.People crave human connection and are often looking for new friendships. Build friendships with those that are younger than you and this will support you in the years that lie ahead. Listen to this episode of Retirement Answer Man to hear how you can get out there and make some friends. What can you do in pre-tirement? On the Practical Planning segment, we discuss pre-tirement. Pretirement is that sweet spot when you are still working but maybe not full time. It’s like a dimmer switch, where you plan your life to slowly move from full-time work to part-time work to full-time retirement. The time to think about pre-tirement is while you're still working. Do some research to discover what you might like to do. Research who you want to serve and what problem they are trying to solve and help them solve it. Listen to this episode to find out if pre-tirement is right for you. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN [1:22] What is an introvert? HOT TOPIC SEGMENT [4:46] Our circle of friends can shrink as we get older [6:25] How do we make friends during retirement? PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT [14:02] What are some ideas for pre-tirement? [20:58] Can you earn money and defer it to retirement accounts while not having your social security benefits reduced? THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT [26:29] We define who we are by what we do TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT [27:44] Who are you? Resources Mentioned In This Episode BOOK - Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller Pretirement Episode BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney Ask Roger a question Work with Roger 3-video Series: 5 Minute Retirement Makeover Roger’s Retirement Learning Center The Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page Intro music by bensound.com