Two retirement bucket lists – and why the smaller one matters

Imagine you’ve just retired. You’ve booked one of the dream trips on your bucket list, but what will you do on an ordinary Tuesday when you’re at home?

A safari, a trek to Machu Picchu, or a few weeks exploring Italy can give you plenty to look forward to in retirement. But a three-week holiday still leaves another 49 weeks in the year.

That’s why it helps to have two retirement bucket lists: one for the big adventures, and another for the everyday pleasures that make life enjoyable once work stops setting the timetable.

You may be approaching retirement with a list of exciting things you want to do, but perhaps less of a plan for what everyday life will look like once work is no longer part of it.

Financial planning is obviously crucial, but planning for the life you want to lead is important too.

When you stop working, you lose more than a salary. Work often provides structure, routine, social interaction, purpose, and motivation. These are easy to take for granted until they are no longer there.

Yet a 2024 report from the Department for Work and Pensions found that almost 4 in 10 people aged 40 to 75 had not yet started planning for the transition into retirement.

Big adventures need to sit alongside smaller pleasures

Bucket lists tend to focus on exceptional experiences, such as big-ticket holidays and adventures that take months of planning and anticipation and create memories that can last a lifetime.

They give you something to work towards and something exciting to look forward to.

When you get home, you might immediately start planning the next big adventure, but you also need things to look forward to in the meantime.

Additionally, some bucket-list experiences can be expensive, so you don’t necessarily want every source of enjoyment in retirement to require a significant withdrawal from your retirement fund.

That suggests you need another list – perhaps a smaller bucket – filled with everyday events that are easier to do, cost less, and don’t require months of planning.

Make room for everyday pleasures

Your second list should be about the everyday things you enjoy. In particular, the things you may not have had enough time for while working.

That could mean:

• Taking on a walking challenge with friends such as the London Loop
• Finally getting through the pile of books you’ve been meaning to read
• Taking your time over coffee and the morning paper
• Joining a local club or volunteer group.

You could also start to develop new routines around exercise, hobbies, or socialising. So your coffee could follow a weekly walk, and you could use some free time to collect your grandchildren from school.

The key is to choose things you actually enjoy, so you make the most of the extra time retirement gives you.

Cost is worth considering too. Your everyday bucket list doesn’t need to compete with your big bucket list for the same budget.

A morning coffee and the newspaper might cost less than £10. A walk can be free. Meeting friends at home rather than always going out can cost very little.

Small pleasures can therefore provide a regular source of enjoyment without putting unnecessary pressure on the retirement fund you’ve spent years building.

Make the two lists work together

Your two bucket lists don’t have to be completely separate. In fact, they can complement each other, so a big trip can inspire smaller activities in the months before and after it.

If you’re planning a trip to Italy, for example, you could learn some of the language or read books set there. You could also take an Italian cooking course, and then set yourself a target of cooking an Italian dish once a month.

If walking to Machu Picchu is on your big bucket list, you could make walking part of your everyday routine and take on progressively longer local walks.

That way, the smaller activity isn’t simply something to fill the time until the big adventure. It becomes worthwhile in its own right.

And that’s important because plans change. The big trip might be postponed, circumstances might change, or you might simply decide that you no longer want to do it.

Your everyday pleasures should still give you a fulfilling retirement even if the bigger ambitions change.

If you’re working on your own bucket list, try writing down three big experiences you’d love to have, then five smaller things you’d enjoy in an ordinary week. Which of those could you start doing now?

The big adventures give you stories to tell. The everyday pleasures give you a retirement you enjoy living.

Get in touch

If the situation I’ve described here feels familiar and you’d like to discuss your own retirement plans, please get in touch.

You can call me on 07769 156250.

Please note

This blog is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice or a personalised recommendation. The information is intended only for individuals.

Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. This blog is based on our understanding of current and proposed legislation, which may change.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up, and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.

When investing, your capital may be at risk.