“Don’t sit around waiting to feel motivated. You take some little actions, and that often gives you the motivation and the momentum to move forward.”

Our hosts, Stephanie McCullough and Kevin Gaines, sit down to work through a HerMoney.com list of ten things to do when retirement is a decade away. The meta-lesson turns out to be bigger than any single item on it!

The list, from Jean Chatzky’s financial information service for women, gives them a useful scaffold, but what they keep returning to is the paralysis that keeps so many people from starting at all. Planning for retirement can feel like pushing a stone uphill; getting moving makes it roll the other way.

The list items themselves span the practical and the personal. Test-drive potential retirement destinations before committing. Tackle home repairs now, while you still have a paycheck. Start volunteering, not just to give back but to road-test how you’ll spend your time when work no longer fills it.

On the financial side: understand what Medicare actually covers (spoiler: not dental, vision, or long-term care). Build your HSA if you’re eligible. Track down old 401(k)s and check the beneficiaries on every account. Create your Social Security account online and verify your earnings record for errors. And on claiming age, Kevin pushes back on the blanket advice to “always wait” because Social Security strategy depends on how it fits the rest of your specific plan.

The bonus tip says it all: say it out loud. Telling people you’re planning to retire creates accountability. It makes the stone easier to push!

Resources:

• Retirement Readiness Quiz
• The 5 Years Before You Retire and other books by Emily Guy Birken
• HerMoney.com Article Discussed in this Episode

Take Back Retirement Episodes Referenced:

• Making Your Own Story: Finding Meaning After 50 with Diane Gansauer
• Redefining Retirement: Finding Your Creative Voice Through Comedy with Lynn Harris
• The Challenges and Opportunities of Defining Your Identity in Retirement with Elizabeth Parsons
• Practicing for Retirement: Balancing Creative Pursuits and Financial Planning with Mary Jo Hoffman
• Simplifying Medicare: What’s Important For You To Know with Susan Sloan
• Cultivating Creative Connections for Lifelong Wellness with Claire Waite Brown
• Getting the Most from Social Security: Smart Strategies for Women with Heather Schreiber
• Smarter Social Security: Getting What’s Yours Without Panicking