As I have been in and out of the office for the start of AEP and will continue to do so. I have spoken with a bunch of people either I am meeting with them, or they are in passing, and asking them how they have made their retirement happy for themselves and their loved ones. I felt like I should share my discoveries with you all since that is what we at SMRT Planning strive to do with all of the people that ask for our help. So here are 5 ways, from our Nutshell Family, to have a Happy Retirement.

1. Getting your finances in order. Even if you just had questions for us and did it yourself, People have told me that once they got a grip on all their pensions, benefits, Social Security, and Retirement Income Planning they almost felt like they can really start enjoying their life. You really start to enjoy the little things around you.

2. Make Friends in your neighborhood. As we get into our own routines around the house or with loved ones. You forget to branch out and make new friends, enjoy the company of people that are not blood related to you so you can talk about the gardens or the sports games, or your loved ones. Making friends in the neighborhood is also a great because they will check on you and your house if you decide to go on a trip or a storm coming rolling through.

3. Pamper Yourself. You have worked for many many years, and everyone talks about putting in your "dues", I deserve some "me time". However you treat yourself, from a sundae on Sunday to a cruise. You have worked hard your entire life to enjoy the little things later in life. During retirement it is time to "cash in" on those "I do it when I have more time" activities.

4, Make a list. What activities did you say "I'll do this when I have more time", or "I just do not have the time to do that right now." Well now is your time to think about all of those activities or "bucket list" items and start checking them off. Take some cooking lessons, go horse back riding, or enjoy a laid back vacation.

5. Keep_physically active. We should all aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week, so build up to this if you haven't made exercise a normal part of your life previously, It is never too late to get into the best shape you can be in. Staying active is also a great stress reliever as well it lets your mind wonder and "wash" all of those dark thoughts out of your mind.

I am sure that there are many more thing to do in retirement to make it happy for you. But I thought that sharing some of the thoughts and ideas from all of you would be a great way to get others thinking about what they would like to do to make it a better retirement or say of that is a great idea I am going to try that out!