What is lifestyle? According to my computer’s built in dictionary it is simply “the way in which a person lives” – a definition sufficiently vague and all encompassing. It also states that a “lifestyle choice” is “a choice a person makes about how to live and behave, according to their attitudes, tastes, and values”. Perhaps they should have added “and what they can afford”.
Lifestyle choices typically involve the spending of money, and with more free time that often means more opportunities to do more and spend more. My biggest concern about retirement was: Would we still be able to enjoy the same lifestyle after our switch from work income to retirement income? Neither I nor the Love-goddess wanted to spend our retirement staring at bad TV because we suddenly discovered it was the only thing we could afford to do.
Your lifestyle costs may actually end up being less than you anticipate. You may suddenly discover that you want to enjoy outdoor activities, like hiking, that you hadn’t tried or been interested in while working. Or, you may find that you really are not suited to be a scuba diving, paragliding, or mountain climbing enthusiast, so you are not spending the funds you had budgeted for those activities. But, don’t bet on it.
You also need to keep in mind that lifestyle isn’t just about the big adventure, big ticket sorts of activities you will want to enjoy with all of your new-found free time. Lifestyle also encompasses many of the day-to-day things we do to enrich our lives; having wine with a meal, attending the theatre or concerts, going out to dinner with friends. Like the big-ticket activities, these too will probably evolve or change, from what you once did. And, of course, they cost money too!
Fortunately, cost is not the only factor that will impact your lifestyle choices in retirement. I have discovered that lifestyle priorities can shift in your post-work life. You may end up doing some of the things you thought you would do in retirement, but you may also drift into some things you hadn’t even thought about.
You probably have noticed that a couple of the Categories I will be addressing, Travel and Personal Growth, are in themselves lifestyle choices. But, they are really big ones for me, so in my view, worthy of being considered separately from all the other things I will be addressing under Lifestyle.
Lifestyle and spending, it’s all about balancing wants and desires with what you have to spend. Things like, sharing a nice bottle of wine every night for dinner because you don’t have to worry about how if might affect your productivity at work the next day, may or may not be the best choice. It’s all up to you. Trust me, I know.
