Whether you are already retired and are looking for some additional ways to expand your social circle and inject some fun and entertainment into your freedom-filled week, or else are planning your retirement and want to have as many different ideas as you can to make the most of it, either way you have clicked on the right article.

Here is some valuable support, advice, and new ideas for retirees in and around Stockport.

1.   Keep Your Finances as Simple as Possible

First and foremost, now you are able to experience a great deal more freedom and be treated to the gift of time. You will naturally want to do everything you have always wanted to do but never get around to.

For this to work, you will first need to be entirely au-fait with your financial situation, and what is more, you could also look to free assets and extra cash, by selling shares, downsizing your home, or even curbing your spending on a particular luxury item.

The simpler your finances are, the better, and this applies to anyone of any age, whether they are retired or not.

2.   Expand Your Knowledge Base

A For those soon-to-be retirees who are always on a quest to learn as much as possible about a whole host of different subjects, there could be no better way to spend one or two evenings a week of their retirement learning something new.

You could attend a physical class and make new friends, in-person, at a beginner’s French language class, or else join an online community for more unofficial and casual tips, help and advice on cultivating a more aesthetically attractive garden.

The importance of learning is not only to help keep your brain strong and astute, but also to help widen your perspective, broaden your social circle, and inject fresh levels of motivation and curiosity into your daily life.

Furthermore, there are other key reasons to push yourself to learn a new skill, including the following to name just a few:

• A real and palpable boost you your overall levels of contentment and happiness
• A tried and tested method of fighting away boredom
• A boost to your self-confidence
• A way to benefit both yourself and the people around you
• A reduction in your personal levels of stress and anxiety

3.   Tackle Your Aches & Pains

Lonel Now, you may well be one of those people who are lucky enough to not have to take a handful of tablets every morning for your various aches and pains and can enjoy a morning of gardening, followed by a walk in the woods with friends without feeling pain and discomfort in at least one part of your body.

However, should you have been diagnosed with a lingering condition that causes mild to moderate stress and pain, as well as following the advice and instructions from your GP, retirement is the time to experiment with other, non-surgical, treatment options.

One such example would be to look into the effectiveness of medical cannabis for pain if all other options have been exhausted. There are medical cannabis clinics dotted around the country that could help you, like Integro. You can read Integro reviews online to help you get an idea of how your treatment plan would look, how the professional staff would support you, and how your symptoms could be reduced.

4.   Launch a Side Hustle

It may well be the case that, after many years of diligently working, saving any extra money you earn, and generally making sound and reasoned business investments, once you retire, you will be more than comfortable living off your savings and pensions.

If, conversely, you would still like an extra line of cash once you have retired from your primary profession, then starting a side hustle may well be the motivation you need to get out there and make things happen (and could also mean a boom for your social life too!).

Examples of some tried and tested side hustles for older adults include, amongst a host of others, the following:

• Dog walking around the estate
• Freelance work in your qualified field
• Running an Air BnB from one or more rooms in your home
• Selling your own handmade products
• Taking paid surveys on your computer
• Working for customer support for a business you believe in
• Beginning private tutoring for either children or adults

5.   Prioritise Physical Fitness

There is something to be said when you have the time and the freedom to not have to set the alarm for seven o’clock on a cold and dark winter’s morning to get up and be ready to leave for work.

In the first few weeks of your retirement, embrace this newly relaxed schedule and, by all means, take a few extra hours in bed and even spend the morning reading a book in the garden or watching a movie on the sofa.

However, if you continue this pattern for many months, you will begin to notice a decline in not only your levels of physical fitness but also possibly your mental health as well. The solution is simple and basically consists of ensuring that you leave the house for at least thirty minutes daily (unless you are poorly of course) and engaging in proper physical exercise.

You could choose to register with your local gym and start swimming three times a week, or in the summer months, make a point of always walking to the paper shop rather than having your newspapers delivered!

Spending all day and night in the warmth and comfort of your own home may sound like the dream, but this can be seriously detrimental and instead, reward yourself with an afternoon in front of the television wrapped up in a blanket after taking yourself for a walk around your local park.

The human body is built to move regularly and often, as long as you are not experiencing a lot of pain and difficulty in doing so, and if you want to give yourself the best possible chance of a long, happy, healthy, and fulfilling retirement, then you need to try and move a little more!