Ever do research on a topic? Like say, read books on retirement planning? Too few people do, and yet research is not a monumental task by any means. Whether the topic is retirement, RVing, or whatever, once about six different books (authors) have been read, ninety percent of the total information on the subject has been harvested. So there is no reason to avoid tackling such a project. Now with the internet, there is no excuse whatsoever.

Ideally, a person should read-up on retirement five years in advance, and at least two years in advance on the topic of serious RVing. I’ve met many folks who were freshly muddling their way through either one or both. They had no clue as to what a year of retirement budget would be, nor how to back up a fiver. But yet, there they were, headed south for the first time and worried about both issues.

What is not widely recognized is that by the retirement age stage, any change in life routine is a major stressor. Most books on retirement deal for the most part with the financial and residential needs. Usually only a mere brief chapter is devoted to the psychological aspects of the major life-change. How well a person copes with these latter concerns impacts directly on their physical health. Textbooks on psychology repeatedly confirm that psychological stress both precipitates and reactivates a whole range of psychosomatic physical ailments. So let us take a brief look at a few important matters.

First with retirement there is the initial shock of withdrawal. The comfort and stability dictated by the job routine and schedules are gone. The person is left with a blank sheet upon which to create a new routine. No prior training or experience doing so creates considerable anxiety. What to put down? What are the priorities? Some people simply choose to escape into RVing for starters, but without any long-range plans related thereto.

Secondly, retirement brings the loss of identity when the retiree becomes an "ex-somebody." The trade, career, or job title is gone. All that is left to the person is the dubious title of Jane or Joe Taxpayer – a burdensome moniker at the best of times. So more stress accrues. Next, and related to the above, is the loss of friends and acquaintances made at the workplace. This takes place rather quickly if the retiree either changes residence or goes away on lengthy RV escapades. Some can make new friends easily through RVing, and in a new locale. Many others cannot. If not, this creates a feeling of social detachment and another void in the life of the retiree.

In the majority of jobs, liked or disliked, the individual invariably develops a certain sense of job satisfaction. Being able to do the job better, faster, or more easily brings its own personal rewards. A sense of worthwhile-ness develops that the employed person may not be really conscious of until leaving work. Suddenly that’s gone too.

That old job demanded a huge chunk of the waking hours. Now comes the need to fill time. The years of role-dictated repetition both filled and over-filled the hours and the days. How now to do the same with something new, challenging and meaningful? For those who had previous exposure and knowledge of computers, the new-found freedom is an intellective smorgasbord. On the other hand, the computer is both frightening and avoided by many retirees who resist learning something technical. Even our dauntless RV Times tippytoed with hesitation into the inviting waters before plunging into the World Wide Web. Filling the days with steady, demanding and meaningful tasks, as before, is a genuine challenge and a stress creator. This is especially the case if the matter is left until the interval of uncertainty after retirement occurs.

Writers on the subject all agree that retirement is more stressful for men than for women. Even if both partners have worked, the female almost invariably took on the added role of managing the household. That task continues on afterwards, and so she has essentially only half-retired. Then too, if both were employed beforehand, there was little time to spend together. Now all of a sudden they both soon suffer from the stress of too much "togetherness." For the husband who has few hobbies or daily activities, the wife now finds him too often in the way and underfoot. This can happen especially with the perhaps newly-chosen RV lifestyle. Lengthy RV trips when retired generate totally different interpersonal dynamics than did those often busy and hectic short RV holidays during the working years.

In the majority of cases, the family residence becomes too large and too expensive after retirement. This is more the case with city dwellers than with those folks from small towns or living on farms. Still, the excessive space, cleaning, maintenance and taxes of the earlier residence become onerous. For those who choose to RV either part-time or most-time, there is the added worry of leaving a home vacant or with questionable renters. Selling out and moving to a smaller residence, or deciding upon an RV lifestyle, is stressful following retirement. Two things happen. The first is that nothing is often done due to ongoing procrastination and indecision. The second is that decisions are made too rapidly without an adequate weighing of options. In this second instance, a new locale or residence is often chosen which obviously does not, and will not, meet the needs of the retirees for health reasons, shopping facilities, or otherwise. Your writer has observed this happen to people only too often. The suggested thing to do is to begin planning for the residence issue three to five years in advance of retirement. Selling-out and making the change a year or so prior to retiring is recommended, if logistically possible. That final work-year can be spent while living in an RV.

Financial worries often preoccupy the early retiree even though liberal pension benefits, RSP’s or other financial means have been established. The loss of the monthly paycheque keeps them haunted. They fear that spending will outpace income. Yet how many folks do you know who have kept a complete record of their total monthly living expenses pre-retirement? Many do not even monitor cash flow post-retirement, when it may become more necessary to do so. The result? They have only a vague idea as to what the total monthly or yearly living costs amount to, or what the various individual cost items tally to. Will the sum for eating-out decline and will the cost for medications increase? By how much?

The answer is simple. Begin five or more years pre-retirement and use the 16 or 18 column accounting blue book, or a computer program, and log the itemized daily costs down to the penny: how much for groceries, how much for the vehicle, recreation, eating out, clothing, medical costs, etc. on a daily basis. Five years of such records pre-retirement will provide a very accurate guideline with which to erase the financial worry of retirement.

So what’s the solution to avoid most of the above stressors? Well, spreading out the total stress load over an extended time-frame rather than having it land on your shoulders all at once is desirable. How to achieve this has been partially explained in the two examples presented above. Central to the retirement issue is that in western civilization genuine task objectives, or a constant challenge of some kind, is necessary for psychological well-being. Doing pre-retirement planning and writing things down, however brief, is an absolute necessity. Couples who are realistic and daring even make contingency plans relative to anticipated major life events such as sudden health changes or loss of a spouse. Again, too often incorrect and costly decisions are made by the unprepared surviving spouse emotionally burdened under the trauma of the moment. This would not happen with proper pre-planning. Actually, no major decisions should be made in the year following retirement or a major stressful event. The options, and likely decisions, should preferably all have been considered beforehand. Nowadays, as you might expect, computer software programs are even available to help with self-education and retirement preparations. Those without a computer can at least start with the book The Best of Retirement Planning (1995) by Marion E. Haynes.

RVing is popular and the last decade has seen it blossom as the choice of activity for retirees. However, as one American full-timing couple have said, the RV is merely a new home or the means of pursuing a new work objective or career. (Do read Complete Guide to Full-Time RVing (1998, 3^rd edition) by Bill & Jan Moeller.) For those who do not wish employment as such, the objective or "career" might be similar to what another American established for himself. Rather than leaving the objective open, he stipulated and quantified it so as to enable him to gauge progress and know when the goal has been achieved. He has set himself the task of RVing to every state park in all of the states of the western half of the US. Well, that’s a pretty big job, but at least he knows the magnitude of the challenge and can keep track of his achievements on a continuing basis.

So what then is the focal point of this article? The lesson in all of this is that advance planning and record keeping are mandatory. Together they are the key that opens the door to a retirement that will be an anticipated challenging adventure rather than the opposite. It allows developing a career and a rewarding lifestyle where you finally become your very own boss. After all, who hasn’t said that they could do things much better than the boss if just given the chance? So now let's really see whether or not you can actually deliver on that statement. It finally makes you put your money where … no, not that saying. Rather, it makes you put your money and effort where careful forethought and common sense have decided they should go to maximize your quality of life overall.