Time to rethink the 'bucket list'
It may be time to reassess your travel goals based on changes in your ability as you get older.
A growing number of travel experts and retirement planners are urging older Australians to rethink the classic “bucket list”.
Why? Because you may be saving the wrong trips for the wrong time.
The idea that is gaining traction is to replace the bucket list with “time buckets”. Instead of focusing on what you want to do before you die, the emphasis shifts to when you’ll be best able to do it.
It’s a concept that aligns closely with established retirement research, which shows later life is not one long, steady phase but a series of distinct stages.
Financial planners describe these as the “go-go”, “go-slow”, and “no-go” years. In the early “go-go” phase – typically in your 60s and early 70s – people are generally healthier, more active, and more inclined to travel, often spending more on experiences such as holidays and dining out.
But that energy doesn’t stay constant.
As people move into the “go-slow” years, activity levels tend to ease. Travel becomes less frequent or less ambitious, and lifestyles often shift closer to home.
Spending typically declines during this period, reflecting both changing preferences and physical realities.
In the later “no-go” years, mobility and health issues can further limit travel, with priorities shifting toward comfort, care, and staying connected with family and community.
This progression has a direct impact on travel planning – and challenges the traditional “bucket list” mindset.
The problem with a bucket list is that it assumes we’ll always be equally capable “someday”. In reality, research shows retirement spending and activity follow a curve: higher in the early years, then gradually tapering off.
That’s why many experts now recommend bringing forward physically demanding or long-haul travel plans, rather than postponing them indefinitely. The experiences that require the most energy – hiking holidays, international adventures, or fast-paced itineraries – are often best suited to the early years of retirement.
By contrast, later years may be better suited to slower, more relaxed travel, or even local exploration.
The “time buckets” approach doesn’t reject the idea of dreams or goals; it just organises them more realistically. It encourages people to match ambitions with their likely future health, mobility, and energy levels.
Of course, no two retirements look the same and nothing in life is guaranteed. Some people remain active well into their 80s, while others adjust earlier. But the broader trend is clear: retirement is dynamic, not static.
For seniors planning their next holiday, it’s a useful reframing. Instead of asking, “What’s on my bucket list?”, the better question may be: “What should I do now, while I still can?”
Related resources: Level 50, Retirement Success, Retirement Researcher
Photograph by Baker; E.J. Keller. - Report of the Smithsonian Institution. 1904 from the Smithsonian Institution archives. See more here.
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