Preparing for retirement can be a bittersweet time. Leaving behind the working world means leaving behind a lifestyle, losing regular contact with people you like, and leaving behind the comfort of a steady paycheck. Furthermore, transitioning from working for a living—to living off retirement savings—can simply be intimidating. This report reviews seven things you may want to consider doing right away—especially if retirement is right around the corner.

1. Get organized.

First and foremost, you want to get organized. This means taking inventory of all the investment accounts and savings that you are going to be relying on to covering living expenses during retirement. For example, you may have multiple old 401K investment accounts at multiple former employers. You may have been squirreling away additional savings in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). Or perhaps you have a brokerage account that has been fund and successful, but now becomes dramatically more important as it can be an important part of funding your retirement.

By take inventory of all your existing investment and savings accounts—on a consolidated basis—you can get an accurate and holistic view of what you’ll be working with in retirement. Getting organized is very important.

2. Set a retirement budget.

Next, you’re going to want to have a closer look at your budget. Specifically, will your spending habits change when you retire? Will you be spending more or less money each month? How much monthly income are you going to need to cover your retirement lifestyle?

3. Don’t forget Uncle Sam.

A lot of people forget to consider the tax consequences of living off your retirement savings. For example, eligible withdrawals from a traditional IRA are taxable, whereas withdrawals from a Roth IRA may not be. Further, there are steep tax penalties if you forget to make the Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from your retirement accounts. Further still, have you considered any social security benefits you may be receiving? How about estate and potential gift taxes? There are a lot of tax considerations for retirees that often get overlooked. As you prepare for retirement, don’t forget Uncle Sam.

4. What is your investment strategy?

Will your current savings and investment portfolio cover your retirement spending needs? For example, do you prefer dividend stocks? Bonds? Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)? How much cash do you like to keep on hand? How will you react when the market gets volatile? When an unexpected expense occurs? Developing an investment strategy that you are comfortable with AND that covers your living expenses (so you don’t run out of money) is a critical part of planning for retirement. What is your strategy?

5. Consider working with a professional.

As you prepare for retirement, it can make a lot of sese to work with a professional. Not only can they provide important expertise (to help you avoid critical mistakes), but they can give you peace of mind so you can sleep well at night. As you consider working with a professional, here is a report we put together that may be helpful to you: 10 Things to Look for in an Investment Advisor—Plus 3 Big Mistakes to Avoid!

6. Implement and monitor your strategy.

Once you have developed an investment strategy that is right for you—you can’t always just set it and forget it. Markets change. Tax laws change. Life events happen. And investment performance can warrant portfolio rebalancing (so you stay on track). Once you’ve got your investment strategy down, then you need to actually go out and implement it, and continuously monitor it so you stay on track.

7. Sleep Well at Night—Enjoy Your Retirement!

One of the best ways to sleep well at night (and to enjoy your retirement) is to work with an investment professional to help you develop a plan and then implement and monitor your strategy. You’ve worked extremely hard to get to this point—and it can give you great peace of mind to simply work with an investment professional.