Potentially, one third of our lives are spent during our retirement years. That's a good chunk of our life-span, assuming you retire between 62-65 years and not 50 years of age like some very fortunate baby boomers. Since the average lifespan today is 78, that means you will have anywhere between 16-28 years on average to enjoy a lot of leisure activities. Boredom should never be an option.

Imagine having 40 hours a week to enjoy life instead of spending it in an office. Time to spend doing what you already enjoy and want to do more of over the years to come. Time to discover new and interesting passions that will keep you engaged and excited about life for the next twenty years.

Does your health permit doing the things you want to do? If not, have you looked into other options that will give you satisfaction and joy? What do these activities and hobbies cost? Can you afford to continue or start them? All questions you need to ask yourself.

Planning for a desired retirement lifestyle with activities and hobbies is an integral part of the process. In a recent US survey, 23% of the participants said that preparing for a desired retirement lifestyle took some planning. And 24% thought it meant some of the planning meant financial planning. And yet studies show that as many as 60% of baby boomers who have retired or are close to retirement age do not have a plan for the lifestyle they want to have during the next third of their lives.

Perhaps you’ve been ignoring the issue. After all, when you are young those years seem so far away that they are just an abstract. You can only imagine yourselves forever young. Then, somewhere around the age of 40 or 50 you finally have to face reality.

If you haven’t already made provisions for the rest of your life by then, as any good financial planner would have advised, you must take action now. You will have to sit down with your partner and talk about what you both want, and how you can achieve it.

Somewhere in the conversation you should discuss the possibility that you may need Long Term Care Insurance. You may have to consider a Reverse Mortgage, Refinancing your home, Annuities, Life Settlements to meet your financial demands when you retire if Social Security doesn‘t meet your needs. You may consider selling your home located in a pricier state or neighborhood, moving to a state or neighborhood with more affordable real estate and putting the rest of the money you receive from the sale of your home into a safe, interest bearing account.

Once you have discussed your financial situation you can begin looking at leisure activities and hobbies that fit into your budget and lifestyle. That decision may also include where you will retire based on cost of living and climate. If you have a large budget and money is no object, the sky is the limit. If your budget is more modest there are still myriad things to choose from. If you are active, there are plenty of things you can and should continue doing, even on a limited budget.