If you take the advice of current retirees and learn from their experiences, you know that living near family and friends is vital to your physical and mental health in retirement. There are a number of steps you can take -- financially -- to help make this a reality.
For one, if you live far away from family, start doing your homework now to figure out what you need to do to sell your house and buy a new one near your family. Make sure you discuss what boundaries will need to be set if this is a brand-new living situation.
If your best friends and your family live in totally separate areas, start budgeting for travel. The same MLAW study found that 77% of retirees have done "hardly any" planning for their leisure activities over the next five years. By planning ahead, you can prioritize money spent on travel to maintain healthy social connections with those you care about.
Retirement planning is a complex process. Often, we prioritize making sure we have enough money to maintain a similar lifestyle in retirement. But the fact of the matter is that our lives change markedly once we enter retirement. Understanding this can help our pre-retirement planning match our true priorities in our golden years.
Keep reading to learn about five Social Security rules you should know by heart.
