Jerry seemed so eager to retire after a 35-year career. Jerry and his wife, Jean, moved to Florida. Later, in retirement, he came in for a visit. “If I knew this was what it was going to be like, I’d have never retired. I hate every minute. I hate it in Florida.”

Jerry was unhappier than ever. He thought retirement was going to mean his freedom. What it meant was that he abandoned the little bit of stability he had. And he didn’t have enough money to take his boat out fishing—and that’s his main hobby. He had a pension and a decent amount of money, but he and Jean still felt strapped.

Jerry’s strategy was to spend as little as possible and let the savings grow and also delay his Social Security so that they would have more later—or rather, so that Jean would have more later. He wanted to make sure Jean would be all right without him.

This is an often-typical retirement story. Americans are retiring by the millions, and many others are coming to see that it’s crucial to carefully plan for retirement. So many people pull up their roots in retirement and leave their whole social circle. They start anew, far from home. No longer are they near friends and family. No longer do they see their acquaintances at work. If their career has ended, they may feel they have lost a sense of purpose.

In addition to a whole new lifestyle, fear holds so many people back. Some even hoard, fretting unnecessarily, while others seem oblivious about very real dangers they are facing. It goes both ways. The point is that you may need help. Visit www.distributionland.com for a free chapter of Distribution Land, and start to understand what you need to consider first as you enter retirement. You need to be able to get a grip on what your financial state truly is. A professional advisor can work with you to help you pursue a pleasant and stable retirement in an effort to avoid a situation like Jerry, unhappy and unsure of your retirement future.