Is there anything more exciting than planning your travel in retirement? During our recent listener survey, we asked you what you were most excited about in retirement. Number one on the list was time freedom and number two was travel. December is the perfect time to plan your travels for the next year which is why we decided to explore travel in retirement over the course of this month-long series. Learn how to dream up your ideal vacation on this episode of Retirement Answer Man.

What is our most precious resource?

Do you think money is your most precious resource? What about time? We always feel like we have an endless supply of time until we get sick or someone around us passes away. When we are young time feels infinite, but as we age we realize that it’s not. Time is something we always feel we don’t have enough of, we can’t store it, rent it, or buy, it. Yet we all seem to waste time in different ways--from watching TV, to browsing social media, or aimlessly searching for distraction. Do you value time over money? Do your choices reflect your values? Would you walk away from a million dollars to gain more time with family?

How to create your ideal vision for travel in retirement

Sure you know you want to travel more in retirement, but how do you begin to plan what you want to do? First, you need to discover what you want to do. You need to get a good idea of your vision. You can think creatively about what it is you really want to do to create the rich life you envision for yourself in retirement.

There are 2 types of travel people usually think about: the normal yearly vacations and the bucket list travel goals. Learn how to plan both by listening in and learning the questions you should be asking yourself about how you want to travel in retirement.

Define your travel goals

Think about how you want to travel. Where do you want to go? Do you prefer rural or urban locations? Sun or snow? Beaches or mountains? Do you prefer to travel with a group, alone, or just you and your spouse? Do you need to have everything planned out for you, or do you prefer to just go with the flow? Do you crave leisure, activity, or fitness? You can use these questions to create a vision for where and how you want to travel in retirement. Learn what else you can consider when mapping out your travel goals in retirement.

What tools can you use to help you plan to travel in retirement?

Now that you know what to consider when dreaming up your ideal vacation, you need some tools to help you plan. I love my giant NeuYear wall calendar, it helps me quickly see where my vacations fall amidst the rest of my year. One way to begin brainstorming is to create a mindmap. This allows you to take an idea and then expand upon it by adding new layers and ideas. If you are a visual person, you may enjoy creating a vision board. How will you begin to plan your retirement travel?