My 2025 Retired Life Goals: 5 Ideas for the New Year

Have you ever considered what goals might look like for retired life? Have you ever considered creating goals during retirement?

I have and I do!

Today I’m sharing my 2025 retired life goals: 5 ideas for the new year as well as my thoughts on creating goals during retirement.

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Goal Setting Before and After Retirement

I love to sit down at the beginning of each year and reflect on the previous year: what I enjoyed, what I’d like to do again and what I’d like to do differently in the upcoming year.

I also begin dreaming about what new things I would like to try or do in the new year. And then create goals for the new year based upon those dreams.

Since retiring in 2021, I have found that annual goal setting is a bit (a lot) different than when I was working.

So, before I jump into my 2025 retired life goals, let me explain how I see goal setting differently now that I’m retired.

Pre-Retirement Goal Setting

Before retiring, annual goal setting was a huge part of my work life. There were deadlines, lots of forms, required reflections, meetings with the boss, annual evaluation letters, etc.

It was actually a bit mundane but had a huge impact on how I spent my time as a university faculty member.

Outside of my work life, I also set goals for the year. Goals that were typically centered around my personal vision including early retirement, a thriving family life and personal health & wellness.

In pre-retirement, it seems like my primary goals focused on money, specifically balancing saving and spending with the goal of enjoying the present and planning for the future.

With my spouse, we would annually agree upon major planned expenses, how much we each would contribute to our retirement funds, and how much extra we would plan to but toward our mortgage (one of our primary goals was no debt including our mortgage before taking the retirement leap).

I also set annual goals related to our family life and my health and wellness.

Goal Setting as a Retiree

Now that I’m retired, I still embrace annual goal setting. Not resolutions, just goals for the year. Things I would like to do, learn, see, etc. that are aligned with my personal vision and values.

And now that I’m retired, goal setting is much more relaxed, fun and creative!

I have spent decades writing S.M.A.R.T. goals, but now I prefer a more relaxed approach to annual goal setting (Check out my thoughts on How I Embrace a Soft Life now that I’m Retired).

With one caveat, I still like writing my goals down…which is perfect since I am writing a blog post to share my goals with you.

My list includes 5 retired life goals for 2025. Each goal is new (something that I don’t currently do and something that won’t happen in the upcoming year unless I intentionally strive to make it happen).

So, without further ado, here are my thoughts and ideas for the new year.

Retired Life Goal No. 1: Learn to Make the Perfect Cup of Coffee

As a retired educator, I have a strong love for learning. And this year, I would like to learn how to make a great cup of coffee.

As you may already know, I love my morning coffee time.

But to be frank, the coffee itself isn’t that great!

I’ve known it for a while, but I’ve been frozen by indecision. I currently use a Keurig coffee maker. It was gifted to me, and I am the only one in the household that drinks coffee so a single-serve coffee maker made sense at the time.

But I have to believe there is a much better cup of coffee just waiting for me to create. And, once I figure out how to do it, then I can reap the rewards every single morning.

What I know: it’s time to upgrade my machine.

What I don’t know: which machine is the best option for me (feel free to drop a suggestion in the comments).

My plan, part I: A bit of research, both online and in person. Did you know that some kitchen stores offer to make you coffee using the different machines they sell. Sounds like a great place to start my in-person research.

My plan, part 2: And once I figure out which machine is coming home with me, then I plan on finding coffee beans that I truly love enough to enjoy every single day. Or better yet, a handful of coffees that I plan to rotate throughout the seasons.

I’m excited about goal 1 for my retired life in 2025! It’s achievable and supports one of my favorite daily routines…morning coffee time.

Retired Life Goal No. 2: Romanticize Dining at Home

When Bill and I made the decision to retire early, we agreed that we both preferred time at home over constantly seeking out fancy restaurants and a life of back-to-back vacations.

However, one of the things I enjoy most about traveling is the opportunity to eat different foods in beautiful settings.

In an effort to have my cake and eat it too, I have decided that one of my goals in 2025 is to romanticize dining at home on a regular basis.

Since retiring, I have explored this idea a bit by planning a few picnics around our property and having an occasional evening by the firepit. But I know there are many more creative opportunities to romanticize dining at home.

So, I am accepting the self-imposed challenge to explore the possibilities of dining beautifully at home. Come rain, snow or shine…let there by candles, linens and flowers alongside great food and company.

It’s time to put my thinking cap on and let the creativity flow.

Retired Life Goal No. 3: Create a Flower-Filled Home of Gorgeous Bouquets

Bring on the flowers! Seriously, the reason I garden is my love for flowers!

And since learning to grow my own flowers, I have managed to create an annual cut flower garden filled with gorgeous blooms.

My next flower inspired goal is not growing more flowers, but instead my goal is to create a flower-filled home of gorgeous bouquets.

Specifically, my goal is to be more diligent about cutting flowers and bringing them inside my home rather than letting them wilt on the stem outside.

The good news is that most of the varieties that I favor flourish when cut by producing more and more flowers.

It’s time to bring the flowers inside (… after I first take photos of them blooming outside),

Want to start a flower garden of your own? Check out my post for new flower gardeners here.

Retired Life Goal No. 4: Plan our Dream Trip to a National Park

Although Bill and I didn’t retire to constantly travel, we do enjoy a couple of annual vacations. And we also tend to plan them at the last minute.

However, last minute doesn’t work for national park lodging.

This year, one of my goals is to plan a dream trip to a national park, one in which we stay in park lodging and wake up in the park every morning with plenty of time to explore.

We have visited Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite and Acadia National Parks. Each park was incredible.

But we have never stayed in the lodges at one of the parks. We tend to wait to the last minute to book our vacations and have found that by the time we are ready to book our vacation that park lodging is already filled.

So, this year, my goal is to plan a trip to a national park including staying inside the park even if it means planning the trip for 2026.

It’s a bit out of our comfort zone to plan so far in advance, but it will be worth it.

Retired Life Goal No. 5: Healthy at 60!

My final retired life goal for 2025 is to do what’s in my control to be Healthy at 60!

In January of 2026, I will be celebrating my 60th birthday. And I would like to raise a glass to my health.

Last year, with the guidance of my primary care physician, I started my move towards a healthier me by losing 32 pounds.

But, according to the BMI chart, I am still overweight. So, the first marker of meeting my Healthy at 60! goal is to lose the additional weight needed to reach a normal weight on the BMI chart.

I have an annual appointment with my primary care physician in February to discuss continued weight loss and other health goals for the year.

Cheers to Healthy at 60!!! I got this!

Retired Life Goals: A Few Closing Thoughts

I believe in intentional living, in personal visioning, and in aligning behaviors with core values.

Each of these beliefs impact my approach to retired life including my desire to create retired life goals.

The list of my retired life goals shared today is intended as inspiration, not as a list of what your goals should be in retirement. I hope they inspire you to look forward to 2025 and approach retirement with intention.

Cheers to retired life, and as always, happy gardening!

X Penny Pennington Weeks

I also enjoy sharing our retired life at home in our country garden with you through the blog and newsletter (sign up below), Instagram and on Pinterest.

You may also like these posts about retired life…

How I Embrace a Soft Life Now that I’m Retired

Three Tips on Creating a Happy Retired Life

How to Enjoy Retired Life: Creating a Retirement Routine

Why you Need to Create a Retired Life at Home that you Love

My First Year of Early Retirement and Four Lessons Learned