by Moe Zilla

Created on: July 29, 2010   Last Updated: October 04, 2010

A lifetime of experience changes into something new and wonderful when you retire. But it's both a joy and a challenge. There's more to retirement than simply confronting a new financial situation. Retirement also brings a big emotional transition, but with some careful planning, retirement can become what it was meant to be: the best years of your life.

Here's the 10 best tips to help you adjust to retirement.

* Re-connect with friends and loved ones. The biggest change that comes with retirement is suddenly having extra time on your hands. The good news is this allows all the time that you'll need to catch up with your friends and family. This also makes it easier to schedule time with new friends - and it's important not to isolate yourself as you're withdrawing from the workplace.

* Establish a routine. One retiree told me that he didn't want to live like a teenager on summer vacation - flitting from one recreation to the next as the time drifted away. The best way to avoid this is to make a "wish list" of things you'd like to accomplish, and to pencil in a rough schedule for when you'll work on these things during the week.

* Calculate your monthly income. The Social Security administration will send you clear information on exactly how much money you'll receive each month in your social security checks. Obviously you'll want to subtract your living expenses and monthly grocery bills - so you'll how much is left-over for enjoying yourself.

* Make a plan for withdrawals from your other retirement funds. There's some specific legislation that affects your retirement savings accounts, including IRAs, Roth IRAs, and 401(k) plans. If you time your withdrawals correctly, you can avoid some of the taxes that you'd otherwise have to pay!

* Take the new deducations on your tax return. When you're officially retired, your income is taxed at a much lower rate. In fact, there's many new rules you'll encounter when you fill out your first personal tax return as a retiree. And you'll find that many of these new rules are much more lenient.

* Watch your health. I always remember the joke that youth "is wasted on the young." When you're finally retired, you'll want to take advantage of your new freedom - and you don't want to be limited by low energy or other physical problems. Staying physically fit can also help your mind and even your emotions. If you want to make the most of your retirement, spend some time to make sure you're staying in shape!

* Deal with your feelings.

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