5. Consider lowering your investment costs. Do you have any idea what you’re paying in dollars and cents for your investments and/or investment management? If you’re like most people I see, you don’t have a clue. Recognize that each investment has its own internal cost structure. Usually this information is contained in small print in the back of the prospectus which most people never take the time to read. Additionally, these fees usually get skimmed off the top and you don’t even realize it. You get my point! Take some time and review your investments. Quantify what you’re paying. Determine if you’re getting good value for what you’re paying. Understand that every dollar you lower your investment costs by is another dollar in your pocket. Can you say ca-ching?

6. Hire a retirement coach? Make no mistake. Retiring from a successful career into your first "retirement" is unlike any transition you've experienced before. According to Retirement coach Lin Schreiber, www.RevolutionizeRetirement.com, “retirement is filled with challenges and pitfalls you'll need special skills to handle. Retirement coaching is not for everyone. It requires learning new skills, letting go of old ways of doing things, and facing your fears about aging and change. It demands flying in the face of what society says about how you "should" live this next stage of life.”

So, is retirement coaching right for you? If you’re eager to retire the part(s) of your life that no longer fit (including your work), and reinvent them; if you’re looking for a guide who clearly sees who you are, who you're capable of becoming, and all the amazing options that are open to you; if you’re ready to have someone listen to your ideas and ask questions that push you into a higher level of thinking and acting; and if you’re willing to be accountable for what you say you'll do to get where you want to go...then you’re a good candidate.