If you thought that preparing for a happy retirement just consisted of making sure that you have a dependable retirement income, then you are mistaken. No matter what your age, money is important, but it’s not everything. Here are seven things you should prepare well before you call it quits to make sure that your retirement can be the best that it can be.

Make sure you are healthy

You can’t travel in your retirement if you don’t have the energy to sight see, and you won’t be able to enjoy the company of your family and friends if you are always sick. You need your health to enjoy anything, but most people don’t think about it until it’s too late. Maintain a good diet and exercise regularly starting… NOW!

Keep close ties with your whole family

Family seems to become more and more important to us as we age, but many often neglect the people closest to them in pursuit of wealth. Don’t make this mistake. Make an effort to call your siblings regularly to check in on them. Take care of your parents, and do your best to create a loving environment for your children so they can grow up to be the best that they can be so that when you are retired, your family will be there for you.

Make friends

Our social support system is a significant source of happiness, and it’s even more important in our golden years. Having a social circle to hang out or have lunch with is crucial to a happy retirement. If you do it right, your twilight years will be as happy as those carefree younger days!

Nurture a hobby

If there’s anything you have more of when you retire, it will be time. There aren’t many better ways to spend your time than doing what you love, so start learning something that you will enjoy for the rest of your life.

Develop a good attitude

When we are young, we tend to have more ambitions, expectations and try to force situations that end up stressing our life and those around us. Now that you are preparing yourself for retirement, practice patience, learn to see the good side of things and see your life magically become better because you and everyone else around you are less stressed.

Own your own house

You will find tremendous comfort in knowing that you own the place you call home. In your twilight years, having to pay a mortgage is just more stress than you need to deal with. While you are preparing your retirement, work hard to retire that mortgage when you retire!

Get your retirement income in order

No brainer there. Learn to save money every month by spending less, and make more money so you can put more towards your latter years. Given enough years, spending less than you earn is all you need to become financially free.

Do all the steps well, and you will be living a happy retirement!

David is a guest blogger from MoneyNing. In exchange for sharing this content, the Allstate Community has compensated him via cash payment.