People in their 50s and 60s often prepare for retirement by watching their savings. Jerry Pinkas believes another resource deserves just as much attention: time.
Waiting can carry a real cost. Health, housing, energy, relationships, and the ability to make a major move may all look different ten years from now.
The point is not to fear getting older. It is to use these years to protect choices while many of those choices are still easy to make.
A few current numbers help explain why this matters. They do not predict anyone’s future, but they show why planning beyond money can be useful.
1. Recognize the Window When Time, Health, and Money Overlap
Pinkas describes life using three resources: time, health, and money. The balance between them often changes across adulthood.
Younger adults may have energy and decades ahead but little savings. Midlife may bring more income, while careers, children, parents, and household duties consume much of the week.
Retirement can create more available time. Yet health, caregiving duties, mobility, or finances may affect how that time can actually be used.
This should not become another rigid rule about age. Plenty of people travel, move, start businesses, study, and take on new challenges well into their 70s and beyond.
The better lesson is about postponement. A dream that requires strong knees, complicated travel, or a demanding relocation may be easier now than after another decade.
That does not mean rushing through a bucket list. It means asking whether something important is being delayed simply because the future is assumed to be more convenient.
A person might keep postponing a national park trip until retirement. Another might keep saying a cross country move will be easier “in a few years.”
Those plans may still happen later. But Pinkas’s point is that there is value in recognizing a period when money, energy, and flexibility may overlap unusually well.
The practical question is simple. What meaningful experience keeps getting postponed because someone assumes there will always be a better year?
2. Protect Career Time, Relationship Time, and Renewal Time
Pinkas divides time into career, relationships, and renewal. The third category is usually the easiest one to sacrifice.
Work announces itself through meetings and deadlines. Family responsibilities, errands, appointments, and home maintenance can fill nearly everything that remains.
Renewal rarely makes the same demand. A quiet walk, guitar practice, fishing trip, afternoon with friends, or hobby can therefore disappear without anyone noticing.
That matters because retirement does not automatically restore an old interest. A hobby ignored for 20 years may take effort to rebuild.
Pinkas’s idea works best as a simple weekly audit. Readers can look at where their time actually goes instead of where they believe it goes.
| Type of Time | Warning Sign | Practical Reset |
|---|---|---|
| Career | Work fills evenings and weekends | Protect one recurring block |
| Relationships | Important people get leftover time | Schedule connection first |
| Renewal | Hobbies disappeared years ago | Restart one small activity |
| Maintenance | Chores consume free time | Simplify or hire out selectively |
The goal is not equal hours in every category. Life circumstances can make that impossible, especially for caregivers and people still working full time.
The goal is to notice imbalance early. If every good hour belongs to work and chores, retirement may arrive before the person has rebuilt anything that makes free time enjoyable.
3. Get Better at Saying No Before Everyone Else Uses the New Free Time
Saying yes can be useful earlier in a career. New assignments, introductions, and responsibilities may open doors.
The cost changes when someone reaches their 50s or 60s. Every unwanted commitment now competes with health, family, rest, travel, hobbies, and retirement preparation.
That does not mean becoming distant or refusing everyone. It means asking what is lost each time another obligation enters the calendar.
Someone may keep serving on committees because it has always been expected. Another person may keep accepting weekend work even after the extra money matters less than the lost Saturday.
The useful question is no longer, “Can this be done?” The better question is, “What must be given up to do it?”
Boundaries also matter after retirement. Families, organizations, and friends may assume that someone without a job has unlimited free time.
Retirement freedom can disappear quickly if every open hour is automatically assigned elsewhere. Protecting time before retirement makes that transition easier.
4. Sometimes Money Should Be Used to Buy Back Time
Pinkas argues that money can occasionally be used to recover time. That idea can make sense when the household can afford it.
Consider a hypothetical homeowner paying $120 a month for a task that consumes several unpleasant hours. That equals $1,440 a year.
If those hours are replaced with exercise, grandchildren, volunteering, or something deeply valued, the expense may be worthwhile. The benefit is not purely financial.
But outsourcing everything can become expensive fast. Convenience should not create credit card debt or undermine retirement savings.
The smarter approach is to identify the jobs that are physically difficult, risky, or unusually time consuming. Yard work, snow removal, heavy cleaning, and complicated repairs may fall into that group.
Future paid help deserves even more attention. CareScout reported a 2025 national median of $35 an hour for a nonmedical caregiver, though local rates vary widely.
At that rate, 10 hours each week is about $350. Over 52 weeks, that reaches roughly $18,200.
Twenty hours a week under the same assumption approaches $36,400 a year. That is why housing and health decisions can eventually become major financial decisions too.
5. Treat Health as Part of the Retirement Plan
One claim from the original context should not be repeated. Exercise cannot responsibly be promised to add a specific seven years to an individual person’s life.
The evidence is still strong without making that promise. CDC guidance recommends that adults 65 and older aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity weekly.
CDC also recommends muscle strengthening on at least two days. Balance activities are included because they help support physical function.
Not everyone can meet those exact targets. People with medical conditions or mobility limitations may need a different approach based on their abilities and professional guidance.
The National Institute on Aging reports that physical activity can support strength, balance, sleep, daily function, and independent living. Those benefits have direct retirement consequences.
Being able to carry groceries matters. So does walking through an airport, getting up from a chair, using stairs, and spending an afternoon exploring a new community.
Health therefore belongs beside savings and Social Security in retirement planning. It influences which options remain practical.
That does not require an extreme fitness program. Walking, suitable strength work, balance activity, sleep, and regular health care can be built gradually.
Anyone with health concerns should discuss appropriate exercise with a qualified healthcare professional. The aim is safe function, not chasing an unrealistic promise.
6. Build Social and Emotional Renewal Before Work Ends
A job provides more than income. It can provide routine, conversation, identity, problems to solve, and people who notice when someone is absent.
Removing work can therefore remove part of a person’s social structure. The first few weeks of retirement may feel relaxing, while the months after can feel very different.
Living alone does not automatically mean being lonely. The National Institute on Aging makes a clear distinction between loneliness and social isolation.
Still, social connection deserves a place in retirement planning. NIA has reported that about one in four community dwelling adults 65 and older are socially isolated.
The answer is not filling every hour. It is having enough meaningful contact that retirement does not become an empty calendar.
That might involve old friends, a faith community, a library group, recreation programs, neighbors, volunteering, family, or part time work.
Technology can help too. Video calls and messaging can support existing relationships, especially when friends or family live far away.
A useful test is to mentally remove coworkers from the weekly contact list. If almost nobody remains, rebuilding connection before retirement deserves attention.
7. Start Giving Something Back Before Retirement
Pinkas’s own pinball interest provides a useful example. The Myrtle Beach Pinball Museum says its development grew from Jerry and Sheila Pinkas’s collection.
The museum also describes itself as volunteer run. That makes the example more concrete than simply telling retirees to “find purpose.”
The supplied context says giving back can return value “tenfold.” That is an emotional expression, not a measurable guarantee.
The stronger lesson is that decades of skills do not have to disappear after paid work ends. They can be used in different ways.
A retired bookkeeper might help a nonprofit. A former mechanic might mentor younger workers, while a gardener could join a community garden.
Someone who loves history might volunteer at a museum. A retired teacher may enjoy tutoring a few hours each week.
Starting before the final workday makes this easier. The activity already exists when the old schedule disappears.
It also allows experimentation. Someone can try a volunteer role and discover whether it feels meaningful before committing large amounts of time.
8. Track Spending Before Retirement Changes the Pattern
Pinkas also emphasizes expense tracking. This is one of the most practical lessons in the entire list.
Retirement does not mean every cost suddenly falls. Housing, insurance, food, transportation, travel, health care, and home maintenance can still consume a large share of income.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported average annual spending of $78,535 across all U.S. consumer units in 2024. That is not a retiree specific budget.
Still, the categories are revealing. Housing averaged $26,266, transportation $13,318, food $10,169, and health care $6,197.
A retiree’s actual numbers may look very different. Location, homeownership, health, travel habits, debt, and household size all matter.
That is why the better question is not, “How much should retirees spend?” The better question is, “Where is this household’s money actually going?”
Track housing, utilities, groceries, dining, transportation, insurance, medical costs, subscriptions, travel, gifts, hobbies, and household services.
Then turn monthly spending into annual spending. A $250 monthly habit does not feel large until it is seen as $3,000 a year.
The point is not to eliminate enjoyment. Spending can support independence, relationships, comfort, and fun.
The goal is to know which expenses deliver something valuable. Everything else deserves a second look.
9. Make Housing Decisions While Moving Is Still a Choice
Pinkas strongly encourages people to think about downsizing or relocating before a move becomes overwhelming. That part of the advice has real value.
It does not mean everyone over 60 should leave a large house. A familiar home may still be affordable, accessible, well located, and deeply connected to community.
The National Institute on Aging recommends considering future needs before substantial help becomes necessary. Housing layout, transportation, home support, and access to services all matter.
A single story home may be convenient for someone who wants fewer stairs. Yet stairs alone do not make a property unsuitable.
Likewise, downsizing does not automatically save money. A smaller condo may come with HOA fees, special assessments, expensive insurance, or less storage.
A move to another state adds another layer. Taxes and weather matter, but they are only part of the decision.
| Option | Strongest Reason to Consider It | Main Tradeoff to Check |
|---|---|---|
| Stay in current home | Familiar community and workable costs | Repairs, stairs and future help |
| Downsize locally | Less maintenance without losing local ties | Fees, moving cost and smaller space |
| Relocate elsewhere | Family, climate, taxes or lifestyle | Insurance, health care and lost connections |
The table makes one point clear. Square footage should never be the only measure of whether a home fits retirement.
Before relocating, spend real time in the destination. Grocery shop, attend local events, drive to medical facilities, and experience ordinary traffic.
Check homeowner or renter insurance before falling in love with a property. Climate risks can materially affect insurance availability and cost.
Transportation deserves attention too. A beautiful subdivision may become inconvenient if every doctor, grocery store, and social activity requires a long drive.
Interstate moves also create consumer risks. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration advises getting written estimates and checking mover registration and insurance.
There is no credible universal rule that an interstate move now costs exactly $10,000. Distance, shipment size, storage, timing, and services can change the price dramatically.
The best protection is several written estimates from legitimate movers. Readers should also understand whether they are dealing with the mover itself or a broker.
10. Retire For Something, Not Simply Away From Work
The retirement date can become an obsession. Someone may spend years counting down to the end of commuting, deadlines, physical labor, or office politics.
But escaping a job is not the same as creating a satisfying life. The calendar still needs something to hold it together.
Purpose does not have to mean launching a business. It can be grandchildren, travel, volunteering, gardening, part time work, classes, mentoring, fishing, or community involvement.
National Institute on Aging guidance points to meaningful activities, hobbies, learning, relationships, and volunteering as ways people can support well being and connection.
The best time to test those interests may be before retirement. Someone can take a class, join a group, or volunteer twice a month while still working.
That creates continuity. Retirement then becomes an expansion of an existing life rather than a sudden search for a new identity.
The housing decision connects to this lesson too. A cheaper home is not automatically better if it places someone far from everything they enjoy.
A warm climate is not automatically better either. Social connection, access to health care, transportation, recreation, cost, and family proximity all affect daily life.
These common beliefs are worth testing before making a major decision.
| Common Belief | Reality | Better Question |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement automatically creates freedom | New obligations can quickly fill the calendar | What deserves the new time? |
| Downsizing always saves money | Fees and moving costs can offset savings | What is the full annual cost? |
| Warm weather solves retirement | Climate is only one part of daily life | How does ordinary life work there? |
| More leisure guarantees happiness | Many people also value purpose and connection | What gives the week structure? |
| Health can wait | Function affects travel, housing and independence | What can reasonably improve now? |
Pinkas’s larger message becomes clearer here. Retirement works better when it is planned as a life rather than just a financial finish line.
