I mentioned in a previous post (or ten or twenty of them) that I’ll be retiring in approximately 3 years. August 2027 is my expected date. Some things may change between now and then, particularly on the finance side, but that’s the current goal.

I have found that most retirement guides generally discuss financial investments as their primary focus. It’s the obvious part of the question—when can you afford to retire? If you could retire now and not have to work anymore, wouldn’t you do that? Not necessarily. Some people love the feeling they get from their work. But obviously, finances are perhaps the largest component for almost everyone.

Yet I know that there are just as important questions for me to answer on the health side. One of the various resources that I looked at framed it this way:

You know how much you need to invest financially to retire. Have you made the same health investments or social network investments? What about learning investments?

I have a decent idea of what I want to do when I retire. I am going to use the next 12 months to see if I have the right investment plan for those other areas so that when I reach my magical date, I will be ready in all spectrums. Here’s the plan, but I haven’t quite figured out the order:

• Financial and legal issues
• Health and fitness
• Writing
• Travel
• Astronomy
• Reading
• Learning
• Games and gaming
• Cooking
• Crafting
• Volunteering
• Social network

Twelve months and twelve headings is not a coincidence, but I could probably list a bunch as simply subheadings under something like “hobbies”. Except there is a bit of a legacy question, maybe an identity crisis buried in there too.

One question I liked in one resource was, “What do you want people to say about you when you die?”. Aside from your various interpersonal qualities (talking too much, telling lame Dad jokes, etc.), is there something you want to be remembered for aside from your “job”? Is it simply father, husband, son vis-a-vis relations with others, or something more intrinsic / internal to you, like being a painter or a runner?

If I am honest with myself, I probably wish that people would have seen me as a writer first, followed by a lifelong learner, and then somewhere down the list, add in astronomer, reader, and perhaps a crafter in multiple areas. Not an athlete, not a handyman, but maybe some basic abilities too.

Month 1, I’m starting with financial and legal issues. Feel free to tell me your own thoughts on my plan, I’m doing this openly in the hopes it might spark feedback from others too. Tally ho!