Bending the Bucket List!

Perhaps you’ve thought about it all your working life – the bucket list you can’t wait to work your way through once you retire. Then, reality sets in. There’s the floating mortgage rate soaring in the three years before the big day arrives, the operation that can’t wait for a place in the public system and has to be managed privately, the major house repair you weren’t anticipating …  Suddenly, the bucket list needs to be modified – sometimes dramatically. Sure, you could get seriously down about it, or you could make adjustments where the meaningful takes precedence over the material. In which case, you could end up with a seriously satisfying list including some or all of the following:

Getting out there!

We live in a great country. If you can’t make it to the other side of the world, consider seeing your own country from different perspectives. Cycle from Cape Reinga to the Bluff on back roads and cycle trails. Walk Te Aroha in achievable stages. Do up a camper and be the support driver. Do it all with friends, or hook into some of the many commercially supported tours.

Close to home

The Pacific is full of adventure, and it offers the whole range of experiences from resorts to out-of-the-way islands few of your friends will ever have heard of. Get out the map and start plotting your close-to-home destinations and the experiences they offer!

Same but different

Your finances may have unexpectedly reduced, but you can still hope to see the world if you change your expectations. Instead of the 5 star hotels you were going to stay in, look for home exchanges, learn how to enjoy camping grounds, or take part in work-away experiences. Instead of buying or chartering that yacht you always dreamed of, put up your hand to crew – all care and no responsibility sounds good to most seniors!

Pass it on!

Time spent with young adult grandchildren can mean the world to them. And it’s a chance to pass on the stories, and the skills a part of their heritage. Let your bucket list include adventures with your older grandchildren – whether it’s camping on the side of the river while you teach them to fly fish, acting as their coach to help them achieve a half marathon running goal, or working with them to create an heirloom quilt – or their own wedding dress!

Must see’s

Perhaps your bucket list included a list of must see’s taking in everything from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the Grand Canyon. But how many of your mates have seen the astonishing sight of giant migrating eels heading over the boulder bank at Birdling’s Flat on a story night? Or sat in the front row of The World of Wearable Art Show, and gone WOW! Who do you know who’s visited, and stayed in, one of New Zealand’s several magnificent, historic, stately homes? Or spent a day at the internationally acclaimed gardens of Ohinetahi. There’s a whole list of world class destinations right here in New Zealand that deserve to be on every retiree’s bucket list.

Leave a legacy

For something completely different, try turning your bucket list on its head by embracing the words of John F Kennedy when he famously said: “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” Becoming a philanthropist can be one of the most rewarding adventures you could ever have in your retirement. You may choose to become a fundraiser for a cause, or to dedicate your time to one that already exists. Or even to start your own! Be the person whose skills are valued to the max, and mix with people who will become life-long buddies. Can anything beat it?!

Bucket lists don’t need to be fixed in concrete. They can adapt to changing circumstances, and the changes you make to the list can bring unfathomable rewards.