Retirees can make Valentine’s Day mean more

Valentine’s Day is a special day to touch some of the most meaningful people in a retiree's life – those with whom they share their heart. The day is often remembered by wonderful romantic experiences and showing the care they have for one another.

I would like to challenge my readers to use the occasion as a springboard to consider a deeper and more meaningful connection that touches on what would make their lives spectacular – realizing their life goals, hopes and dreams, while meeting their need for love, one of the core needs of their souls.

Goals are objectives retirees set for their lives that they expect to meet, while hopes are those wonderful stretches they are not sure they'll experience, and dreams are truly amazing apexes of life they don’t quite think they will reach but would certainly be awesome if they could. Life flourishes when people can share their dreams with those they hold most dear. It can be even better when people work together to live their dreams together.

Two important types of life goals, hopes and dreams are experiences and relationships, as well as impact. These categories include everything that would make life thoroughly enjoying and fulfilling.

Experiences and relationships make up a single category, because the most incredible experiences are often shared with those with whom retirees have the most meaningful relationships. This category combines what they would enjoy doing most, with those they love the most. These “wow” experiences are not simply standalone snippets of life, but tie to who they are and what they care about the most. They often require specific financial resources to fulfill them, such as paying for a trip to the Holy Land or visiting one's ancestral homeland that allows them to experience who they are and connect to their deeper identity.

Another category is impact, where retirees can make a difference in the world – in the lives of people they want to bless and any causes they believe in. Retirees can make an impact with their time and finances by making gifts and charitable contributions while they are alive or after they pass. This requires financial planning that considers tax consequences, and it's vital to maintain financial sustainability by not overextending their financial resources.

By including those they love deeply with the amazing life they want to live, life for retirees is richer in a non-financial way. And when they do empower their life through their financial resources, they are bringing their money to life and making it more personally valuable than its numeric worth. So, on this Valentine’s Day, retirees have the opportunity to extend the romantic feelings to deeper connections and share their heart in a way that would make their life as fulfilling as it can be. This year, they can share life goals, hopes and dreams with the most wonderful person in their life. Start by asking questions like what it would look like and what would it take of one's time and financial resources to share amazing experiences and relationships, and make a lasting impact together.