5 Things Many Retirees Wish They’d “Let Go Of” in Retirement But Were Afraid To
Sometimes we have to let go in order to move forward, add on, and grow.
That's certainly one of the challenges of retirement. From bucket list travel to grandbabies, most seniors have a lot to look forward to during the Golden Years. But to make the most of this precious time, you also have to leave behind the career that no longer determines your schedule, habits that no longer serve your wellbeing, and even some relationships that might be holding you back.
I've noticed that many of the seniors I've worked with over the years don't truly embrace retirement until they let go of these five things:
1. The 24/7 News Cycle
The Problem: During your working years, keeping a finger on the pulse of the world is often a necessity. But once they no longer need to work, some seniors start treating the news like it's their job. And they’re not just scanning headlines before meetings or reading industry trades on their lunch hour: they're plugged into social media and cable news 24/7. A healthy desire to stay informed becomes a compulsion that can heighten stress and cause real anxiety.
How to Let Go: Real peace of mind doesn't come from knowing everything. It comes from focusing on the things that you can control.
If you find yourself locked into every breaking news alert, take a "news fast." Check the day's headlines in the morning and after dinner. In between, replace screen time with books and in-person learning, like classes or lectures.
2. Decades of Paperwork and "Just in Case" Files
The Problem: Decades of your professional life are filed next to decades of utility bills, tax returns, and appliance manuals.
How to Let Go: The boxes of stuff you're holding on to today are a burden that you'll feel every time you pass that messy closet. And, eventually, those boxes will be a burden to heirs who will have to sort through the junk in search of a sheet or two that might be important.
Save yourself and your family that hassle. Buy a scanner, or use a scanning app, to make digital copies of important legal documents: birth certificates, Social Security and Medicare cards, driver's licenses and passports, marriage or divorce records, and your estate plan.
On the financial side, the IRS recommends that most folks keep their tax records for three years and at the longest seven years.
Keep monthly statements from your bank and credit accounts for a year. Scan and permanently file documents related to your retirement accounts, benefits from your previous employer, insurance policies, and financial accounts, including login information.
You might also scan and file some professional documents that have sentimental value: records from a career-capping project, or correspondence with mentors and coworkers.
Important medical records -- like test results -- might also deserve to be scanned and filed permanently.
The rest?
Buy a shredder or call your local shredding company.
3. Toxic Relationships
The Problem: Difficult colleagues, demanding clients, high-maintenance friends, crabby family members. Over the decades, you've gotten used to them. Sometimes it was because you had to. Sometimes it was because having one grump in your monthly golf foursome or at the holiday dinner table was tolerable.
But, in retirement, if you feel obliged to spend more time with people who drain your energy and try your patience, their negativity will have a bigger effect on how you feel as well.
How to Let Go: Time is your most valuable resource in retirement. Don't spend it on people who don’t compound your emotional well-being. Let professional relationships that don't serve you personally recede. Turn down invitations from friends or extended family who only bring you down. If the "No's" start to pile up and lead to a confrontation, an honest conversation might turn the relationship around. If not ... well, just because you'll always be there for a loved one doesn't mean you have to see them every week.
4. The “Always Busy” Identity
The Problem: When you're working and raising a family, busyness can be a badge of honor. "Life hacks" and time blocking helped you excel at work while also finding time to train for your next marathon and coach your kid’s soccer team.
Once life starts to slow down, many seniors aren't ready to slow down with it. So, as soon as they retire, they pack their schedules: travel, consulting, more time with their personal trainer, more golf, more tennis, more of anything that fills an hour of their day.
They find ways to stay busy. But by doing so, they avoid confronting one of the essential questions facing all retirees: Who am I now?
How to Let Go: Give yourself permission to enjoy unstructured time. Take an extra half hour every morning with your cup of coffee to read, journal, or sketch. Leave yourself an open hour or two after lunch and see what happens. Maybe you'll take a long walk with your spouse. Maybe you'll find yourself in the garage, imagining a new woodworking project. Maybe you'll suddenly have a taste for a gourmet meal you haven't cooked in years. Worry less about "doing" and learn to enjoy "being" and you might discover new ways to make your retirement even more fulfilling.
5. The "Forever" Family Home
The Problem: Retirees who planned to retire in place are often shocked when their home starts to feel like a house. With the kids moved out and spare rooms decluttered, seniors have more space than they can fill. Stairs start to cause aches and pains. Pushing the lawnmower around the yard takes longer and longer. Mortgage payments, property taxes, and upkeep eat into their retirement budgets.
But they keep working, paying, and maintaining. They think, "One day the kids will want the house." Or, "We'll need the extra room for the holidays."
How to let go: Your retirement home shouldn't be a museum to your old life – it should be a place where you feel supported and comfortable so that you have the energy and resources you need to achieve all your goals.
If your kids do want to keep the family home, work out a plan and a timetable.
If you’re all ready to move on, then consider "downsizing" into a smaller house, or renting an apartment or condo. You might be surprised how quickly the pain of letting go is replaced with relief and excitement.
Plan to Start Fresh in 2026
The happiest retirees I know don’t live smaller lives – they live simpler, more intentional lives. Schedule an appointment with Keen Wealth and let’s discuss what you’re still carrying around from your working life and what could become possible if you let go.
About Bill
Bill Keen is a financial advisor with over 30 years of industry experience. As the founder and CEO of Keen Wealth Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm, he focuses on providing personalized retirement planning designed to help people thrive before and during their retirement years. With a passion for educating others, Bill regularly blogs about retirement planning, hosts the podcast Keen on Retirement, and has contributed to Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Reuters, Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, Yahoo Finance, and other publications. Based in Overland Park, Kansas, Bill and his team work with clients throughout the greater Kansas City area and across the nation. To learn more, connect with him on LinkedIn or visit www.keenwealthadvisors.com.
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