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By Jay Gershman, Retirement Visions LLC, West Hartford

Are you having trouble deciding when the right time to retire is for you?

If you’re like most people, your colleagues are your second family and your job is your identity. You might find yourself wondering if the stress you’re feeling is worse than the fear of losing two things that are very vital to you.

As a financial planner, I work with people every day to help them understand when they can retire. I often discover that many are unwilling or afraid to pull the cord. There are a lot of common truths, from “I have no hobbies,” to “I don’t know if I can spend that much time with my spouse,” to “I don’t know what I’ll do with myself.”

There are, of course, the people who genuinely like working and have no desire to retire. Unfortunately, as time passes and close friends pass away, the reality is that working may not be the best use of precious time. I even had one client who, at age 66, was still working and told me his secret to deciding when to finally retire was, “when I have two bad days in a row.” He did finally retire just over a year ago and suffered a serious health scare just one week later. Luckily, he’s happily enjoying his life without a schedule.

So what you do can you do if you’re facing retirement and worrying about how you’ll fill your time? Here are ten ideas straight from my clients:

1. Read to young children at a school
2. Volunteer as a big brother or big sister
3. Usher at minor league baseball games
4. Volunteer at an interest-specific museum
5. Learn to sail
6. Take a motorcycle trip
7. Make stained glass windows and lamps
8. Take photographs and sell them at local fairs
9. Travel the country in an RV
10. Prepare taxes for people who can’t afford to pay for tax prep

The bottom line is this: Once you’re all set to retire, you don’t have to wait for your second bad day. Start thinking and experimenting with ideas that will inspire you and fill your heart with joy and fulfillment. Your best life awaits you, fear not.

Jay Gershman is the Owner and Founder of Retirement Visions LLC, a West Hartford-based financial planning firm that focuses on comprehensive life planning and financial management. For more information, visit www.allset2retire.com. Information and advice are for guidance only and opinions expressed belong solely to the author. Securities offered through Securities Service Network, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. Fee-based services are offered through SSN Advisory, Inc., a registered investment advisor.

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