When Can I Retire? Andrew Allentuck
Chapter 1 Retirement: The Destination and the Trouble of Getting there
What keep people working is fear of poverty. A survey in 2007 showed that 44% of respondents said they were not worried about outliving their financial resources while 33% said they were worried. The remainder, presumably, did not care enough to have a firm opinion.
Another survey in 2007 shows 2/3 of Canadians now in their early to mid-forties will have difficulty as retirees paying for basics unless they increase their rate of savings or are prepared to keep working past age 65.
Life expectancy and Health Expectations - Planning for retirement is more than about just money, it's also about health. Life expectancy is going up but health expectancy is not keeping up.
Risks for the future - To minimize /control spending -
1) establish a way of life that minimize unexpected and large bills, like manage upkeep to avoid major expenses. Small repairs are often less costly than repairs deferred until breakdowns happen.
2) avoid debt as it can threaten financial security
3) unexpected cost - long illness and hospitalization, sue for an injury, etc
How financial planners see Retirement - the earlier you retire and the more completely you retire, the greater the odds of winding up poor at the end of life. Financial planners add 5 years to the conventional life expectancy of 77 for men and 82 for women and then assume in their calculations. What assets to buy - stocks, bonds, real estate, cash and commodities. It is not enough to stay in cash to catch the inflation. Diversification helps to minimize risks and improve return. It is always good to educate yourself.
Chapter 2 - The Big Gamble:Setting Up a Retirement Plan
The decision to retire is one of the biggest gambles, especially when you are retire young. If it turns out badly at the end, it may bot be possible to correct the mistake.
Challenges for planning - many of the things we want to predict are really not readily knowable.
Uncertainties of Retirement
1) Value of Assets - House, investments, currency, etc
2) Returns from savings and investments - volatility of the market
3) Health and costs - will the government continue to pay for it
4) Reliability of income - CPP, OAS
5) The state of your life - how is the lifestyle
6) The state of the world
7) Your state of mind about retirement
8) Employability
9) Inflation
Timing Retirement - time creates two very distinct meaning in estimating how much money one needs to retire.
1) Money to cover the length of the retirement period
2) Time to save for retirement
Large potential retirement spending
1) Shelter - mortgage, property tax, maintenance
2) Social spending - entertainment, travelling
3) Taxes
4) Medical, dental and drug expenses - depends on health
5) Other discretionary spending
Life is more than money. But people who are going to be the most free to enjoy life will be those who have no substantial debts and littel or no exposure to the cost of rising interest rates. They will be people who have set their incomes in retirement to be adequate for their expenses and who have financial reserves for unexpected cost. Whatever plan is devised, build in wiggle room - that means extra income and extra wealth. Achieve cash flow in excess of expenses and add a cushion for the unexpected. When you have that, you are ready to retire.
Chapter 3 - The Decision Point
Planning to retire is both a matter of mapping out cash flow and expenses for the future and hope that what you know today will still be true and right tomorrow. The longer the planning period, the more that can go wrong.
Building income security:
1) annuities - fixed amount of money every month
2) dividend paying stocks
3) government bonds
4) GIC
Reasons Not to retire
1) Lack of incentives - meaning to life
2) Aloneness
3) Loss of identity
4) Giving up your status
5) Losing perks - financial benefits
6) Loss of financial safety nets
7) Lack of pension
8) Cost of replacing job-related transportation and accommodation
9) Can't afford to retire
10) Concern about risk
Reasons to Retire
1) You can afford to quit work
2) You have to go - compulsory retirement
3) You want to be near friends and family
4) You have the opportunity and desire to take a buyout
5) Your pension and savings are so big that you might as well retire
6) You want to reduce stress
7) You want to use retirement assets already in place
8) Health concerns
Chapter 4 - Budgeting for the future
Financial planning is as much an exercise in imagination as it is pencil work. Retirement may be a continuation of a way of life or it may mean living a different life altogether.
Plan for retirement in stages because life will change:
- below 65; go-go stage - active and spend more in travelling; fear of running out of money
- 65 to 75; slow-go stage - normal spending will decline but health costs may rise
- over 75; no-go stage - less mobile but don't know how long it will be
A balance of components - the amount of spending depends on style of retirement. The more money you have for retirement, the lower the fraction of it you are likely to spend. The wealthy can diversify their assets more easily than the not-quite-rich. Diversification lowers their risk in any one investment and increases their chances of their fortunes growing larger.
Controlling expenses in Retirement
If you find expenses are greater than you had foreseen, you hae to cut discretionary spending (travel, entertainment, etc). With more time to spend, you can try thinking of value for each dollar (get bargain sales/careful shopping/looks for best deals).
Emergency funds
Having a cash reserve make a differnce between living as one planned. 3 to 6 months income for emergencies to avoid borrowing to pay unexpected bills.
Review and Sensitivity
Good plans have to be changeable. Sensitivity component to review:
1) Give up driving
2) Downsize of shelter
Chapter 5-6: Where will the Money come from?
1) Public pensions - OAS, GIS, CPP, QPP
2) Employment-based pension - defined benefit and defined contribution plans
3) Individual saving plans - RRSP, LIF, LIRA, LIRIF
4) Insurance-based pension - life policy
5) Tax-free savings account
Chapter 7: Managing Retirement Assets
One Basic Fact - If it goes wrong, there is less time to make up for losses
Assets management is really a form of risk control. As you grow older, the value of risk reduction becomes apparent. The reason - there is less time to make up losses if an investment sours. One cannot predict how any stock or even any sector may perform in a certain time period, so diversification among many stocks, sectors, and assets types is essential. A well-diversified portfolio may have stocks, bonds, and perhaps some real estate. As well, the investor has to be aware of tax issues that affect cash flow.
Chapter 8: What are you going to do with all those years?
Retirement at any age requires 3 things - 3M
1) Money - enough of it
2) Motive - a reason for retiring; and
3) Meaning - a sense of fulfillment in the time away from work
Useful retirement plan should be:
1) Fulfilling - you need a desire to do things and a plan to do them in succession as you age
2) Affordable - a life of cruising works only if there is a budget to support it
3) Engaging - the retirement plan should provide a way to make meaningful use of the free time you will have on your hands
4) Adaptable - if one plan does not work out, there should be another to take its place
Another option is to live outside Canada.
Showing posts with label Retirement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Retirement. Show all posts
Monday, April 6, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Rags to Retirement
Rags to Retirement - Gail Liberman and Alan Lavine
Stories from people who retired well on much less than you'd think!
1. Living it Up South of the Border - The retired couple moved to Mexico. It is a new language and a new culture but they can be just themselves. The cost of living is cheaper but there are some other challenges. The lifestyle has improved with less money. Few things to consider:
i) If possible, learn the language before you move
ii) Understand the tax situation of the country
iii) Evaluate the climate and activities of the area
iv) Research how widespread crime is
v) Evaluate a country's health care system
Other criteria to pick a place to retire:
i) weather
ii) cost of living
iii) affordable housing
iv) cultural programs
v) health care
vi) health care
vii) leisure
viii) pollution
ix) crime
x) transportation
xi) political stability
xii) health hazards
xiii) access to technology
2. Another one living in a boat as owning a house is too expensive
3. Another bachelor lived in Florida. He lived within his means and never run up a credit card. He does not drive and take public transportation. He lives in federally subsidized housing, restricted to senior citizens on limited income.
4. To prepare for retirement, it is important to shift to low-risk investments that are sure to pay you monthly income. Low risk options to consider:
i) Treasury securities
ii) Bank deposits
iii) Money market mutual fund
iv) Short-term government bonds and bond funds
v) Insured Municipal bonds
vi) Fixed annuities
5. Another couple live in RV and get the money for retirement by selling their house. They paid cash for their truck and trailer, they have no debt.
6. Always buy a house and don't rent.
7. The younger you are when you start planning for your retirement, the more money you'll have and the earlier you can retire. Those who are motivated, who apply good discipline to savings. They can retire young. They have not given up work entirely. They do little work they choose. They have more free time to manage their investment and they believe bear market happen every 5 years on average. They avoid difficult bear market and money still grows. They try to stay in good health, getting in at least two hours of physical activity daily. They goal to find the city to live is a city of less than 50,000 people that was clean and that had low crime and no snow. They wanted a good public library, discount movie theaters, bowling, tennis, hiking, cultural activities, and beautiful scenery. They also aimed to be relatively close to a large city.
"One huge mistake people make is they spend an inordinate amount of time figuring how much money they're going to need," says retirement planning expert John F. Wasik. "You can make one or two decisions to make it affordable at an earlier age - like relocate your home"
8. Getting good health
i) Don't smoke
ii) Don't drink alcohol excessively
iii) Keep your body weight, lose the extra weight
iv) Exercise regularly
v) Brush and floss your teeth daily
vi) Get an annual physical check-up
vii) Use sun block
viii) Check out services at dental and medical schools
ix) Buy generic drugs
x) Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, as well as foods that are high in fiber
xi) Avoid eating junk food that is high in fat and cholesterol
xii) Get a good night's sleep
xiii) Be spiritual healthy too
SUMMARY
1. Find a cheaper way to live - sailboat, RV, lower cost countries
2. Cut your medical expenses - exercise and eat properly, or live in lower medical cost countries
3. Plan for your retirement at a young age - have longer time to save and grow your money
4. Obtain a job with great retirement and/or medical benefits
5. Set goals for yourself - have meaning
6. Become more social - getting together with friends and family is a cheap, yet extremely fulfilling form of entertainment
7. Taking advantage of free or low-cost sources of entertainment - Libraries, museums
8. Make the most of federal benefits to which you might be entitled - federal subsidized housing, social security, suplemental income
9. Do it yourself - repairs, meals, etc
10. As you near retirement, invest conservatively - not to lose money
11. Cut taxes as much as possible
12. Get rid of your car
13. Consider downsize your house or reverse mortgage - get extra money for retirement
14. Maintain a positive attitude - thinking postively can get you through the worst of times
Stories from people who retired well on much less than you'd think!
1. Living it Up South of the Border - The retired couple moved to Mexico. It is a new language and a new culture but they can be just themselves. The cost of living is cheaper but there are some other challenges. The lifestyle has improved with less money. Few things to consider:
i) If possible, learn the language before you move
ii) Understand the tax situation of the country
iii) Evaluate the climate and activities of the area
iv) Research how widespread crime is
v) Evaluate a country's health care system
Other criteria to pick a place to retire:
i) weather
ii) cost of living
iii) affordable housing
iv) cultural programs
v) health care
vi) health care
vii) leisure
viii) pollution
ix) crime
x) transportation
xi) political stability
xii) health hazards
xiii) access to technology
2. Another one living in a boat as owning a house is too expensive
3. Another bachelor lived in Florida. He lived within his means and never run up a credit card. He does not drive and take public transportation. He lives in federally subsidized housing, restricted to senior citizens on limited income.
4. To prepare for retirement, it is important to shift to low-risk investments that are sure to pay you monthly income. Low risk options to consider:
i) Treasury securities
ii) Bank deposits
iii) Money market mutual fund
iv) Short-term government bonds and bond funds
v) Insured Municipal bonds
vi) Fixed annuities
5. Another couple live in RV and get the money for retirement by selling their house. They paid cash for their truck and trailer, they have no debt.
6. Always buy a house and don't rent.
7. The younger you are when you start planning for your retirement, the more money you'll have and the earlier you can retire. Those who are motivated, who apply good discipline to savings. They can retire young. They have not given up work entirely. They do little work they choose. They have more free time to manage their investment and they believe bear market happen every 5 years on average. They avoid difficult bear market and money still grows. They try to stay in good health, getting in at least two hours of physical activity daily. They goal to find the city to live is a city of less than 50,000 people that was clean and that had low crime and no snow. They wanted a good public library, discount movie theaters, bowling, tennis, hiking, cultural activities, and beautiful scenery. They also aimed to be relatively close to a large city.
"One huge mistake people make is they spend an inordinate amount of time figuring how much money they're going to need," says retirement planning expert John F. Wasik. "You can make one or two decisions to make it affordable at an earlier age - like relocate your home"
8. Getting good health
i) Don't smoke
ii) Don't drink alcohol excessively
iii) Keep your body weight, lose the extra weight
iv) Exercise regularly
v) Brush and floss your teeth daily
vi) Get an annual physical check-up
vii) Use sun block
viii) Check out services at dental and medical schools
ix) Buy generic drugs
x) Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, as well as foods that are high in fiber
xi) Avoid eating junk food that is high in fat and cholesterol
xii) Get a good night's sleep
xiii) Be spiritual healthy too
SUMMARY
1. Find a cheaper way to live - sailboat, RV, lower cost countries
2. Cut your medical expenses - exercise and eat properly, or live in lower medical cost countries
3. Plan for your retirement at a young age - have longer time to save and grow your money
4. Obtain a job with great retirement and/or medical benefits
5. Set goals for yourself - have meaning
6. Become more social - getting together with friends and family is a cheap, yet extremely fulfilling form of entertainment
7. Taking advantage of free or low-cost sources of entertainment - Libraries, museums
8. Make the most of federal benefits to which you might be entitled - federal subsidized housing, social security, suplemental income
9. Do it yourself - repairs, meals, etc
10. As you near retirement, invest conservatively - not to lose money
11. Cut taxes as much as possible
12. Get rid of your car
13. Consider downsize your house or reverse mortgage - get extra money for retirement
14. Maintain a positive attitude - thinking postively can get you through the worst of times
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Live well, Retire well
Live well, Retire well - Patricia Lovett-Reid
PATH is 4 step guide to a successful and financially predictable retirement:
1. Picture yourself in retirement
2. Arm yourself with the right financial and planning tools
3. Transition into retirement with style
4. Harmony: Put it all together and well balanced
PICTURE YOURSELF - Ask yourself questions:
1. How old will you be when you retire?
2. What kind of leisure activities do you see yourself doing?
3. What kind of, and how much travel do you see yourself doing?
4. How big a role will family activities play in your week-to-week activities?
5. How big a role will friends and social activities play in your week-to-week activities?
6. Do you see yourself mostly alone?
7. Do you see yourself and your spouse mostly alone?
8. Do you see a full slate of social activities?
9. What kind of work - volunteer or paid - do you see yourself doing?
10. Where do you see yourself doing all the above? Where you are now or in some other geographic location?
11. If you see yourself in some other place, where do you think it will be?
12. Will you live there full-time, part of the time, or will you try to evenly split your time between two or more places?
Your pre-retirement planning strategy
1. Attitude - Make sure you begin with a positive attitude; at the very least have an open mind. The more open you are in the process, the faster it will take hold and become easily achieveable in your mind.
2. Set realistic goals. Be specific about what you want to accomplish, whether it's keeping the exact same lifestyle you have now, downsizing or even upsizing.
3. Picture your retirement. Find a quiet place and begin a dream about what would make you and your spouse happy. Visualize the result over and over so it starts to feel like a comfortable reality. If you haven't talked to your spouse about your picture, or learned what his or her retirement picture is, now is most definitely the time.
4. Calculate your retirement number. Focus on the contribution number that makes the picture achievable.
5. Establish a strategy. Develop a financial and lifestyle plan to achieve the number
6. Arm yourself. Learn about your investment options and then choose the investment, savings and protection tools you need.
Your at-retirement strategy
1. Pre-planning. Cover all contingencies. Make the transition a smooth one.
2. Tax strategies. Convert RRSP and investment income to annuities and RRIFs.
3. Portfolio composition. Remember to apply the concepts of asset allocation and diversification.
4. Creative options. Reverse mortgages, part-time work, expectation adjustment, tax planning
5. Structure. Structure you days and weeks and make your attitude adjustment a reality
6. Close to home? Do you want to live close to friends and family or move to your dream location?
Your in-retirement strategy
1. Budgets. Simplify your life: Map out monthly budget that works for you
2. Integration of income. CPP, OAS, RRIFs, and so on.
3. Taxes. Not just income taxes but gifts and investments
4. Estate Planning. Leave a legacy without leaving half to the taxman
5. Work. To work or not to work
ARM YOURSELF WITH THE INVESTMENT KNOWLEDGE YOU NEED
Accumulate, grow, protect and enjoy
1. Pay yourself first - Saving for your investments (Accumulate)
2. Investments (Grow) - 4 Pillars to investing:
i) Risk
ii) Return
iii) Cost
iv) Time
3. Assets allocation and Diversification - Periodic rebalancing of portfolio
4. Insurance (Protect)
5. Understand the Tax implication (Optimize your return)
Top 10 investment mistakes:
1. Putting all eggs in one basket (Risk with diversification)
2. Putting all your money in safe, incoming-generating investments (Return to low)
3. Chasing performance
4. Procrastinating (Time to grow)
5. Failure to adopt asset allocation (Risk)
6. Misjudging your risk tolerance (Risk)
7. Timing the market (Time to grow)
8. Not knowing what you own (Knowledge)
9. Understanding the impact of compounding, taxes and inflation
10. Not setting quantifiable, realistic goals
10 Strategies to save tax dollars
1. "Buy and hold" - defer tax
2. Maximize RRSP - defer tax
3. Split your income with your family members - lower tax
4. Invest in your home - tax free
5. Dividends - lower tax rate
6. Borrow to invest - deductible tax expenses
7. Maximize RESP - tax at lower rate and receive grant from government
8. Maximize tax deduction - lower tax
9. Maximize employee benefit
10. Employ yourself - more tax deduction
TRANSITION TO RETIREMENT
Prepare a to-do list: travel, music, education, etc
1. Keep your option open - phased in retirement by doing less hours, part time work
2. Reinvent yourself - move to other job or work that is different
3. Take the plunge - start your own business
4. Open your mind - continue education, learn something you like to
5. Help those in need - volunteer to help people
6. Live it up - build a social network and meet new people
7. Delay retirement
HARMONY
1. Estate Planning - begins and ends in a Will
Life is an open road. It is the best story never told. Secret to a happy retirement is to make a big deal out of everything in your life.
To retire well,
1. Invest in making friends.
2. Invest in your health.
3. Invest in safe investment (minimize your risk)
The Rich are different from us
1. They save regularly
2. They live frugally
3. They know where their money is going
4. They avoid debt
5. They maximize income
6. They own appreciating assets
7. They get professional advice
PATH is 4 step guide to a successful and financially predictable retirement:
1. Picture yourself in retirement
2. Arm yourself with the right financial and planning tools
3. Transition into retirement with style
4. Harmony: Put it all together and well balanced
PICTURE YOURSELF - Ask yourself questions:
1. How old will you be when you retire?
2. What kind of leisure activities do you see yourself doing?
3. What kind of, and how much travel do you see yourself doing?
4. How big a role will family activities play in your week-to-week activities?
5. How big a role will friends and social activities play in your week-to-week activities?
6. Do you see yourself mostly alone?
7. Do you see yourself and your spouse mostly alone?
8. Do you see a full slate of social activities?
9. What kind of work - volunteer or paid - do you see yourself doing?
10. Where do you see yourself doing all the above? Where you are now or in some other geographic location?
11. If you see yourself in some other place, where do you think it will be?
12. Will you live there full-time, part of the time, or will you try to evenly split your time between two or more places?
Your pre-retirement planning strategy
1. Attitude - Make sure you begin with a positive attitude; at the very least have an open mind. The more open you are in the process, the faster it will take hold and become easily achieveable in your mind.
2. Set realistic goals. Be specific about what you want to accomplish, whether it's keeping the exact same lifestyle you have now, downsizing or even upsizing.
3. Picture your retirement. Find a quiet place and begin a dream about what would make you and your spouse happy. Visualize the result over and over so it starts to feel like a comfortable reality. If you haven't talked to your spouse about your picture, or learned what his or her retirement picture is, now is most definitely the time.
4. Calculate your retirement number. Focus on the contribution number that makes the picture achievable.
5. Establish a strategy. Develop a financial and lifestyle plan to achieve the number
6. Arm yourself. Learn about your investment options and then choose the investment, savings and protection tools you need.
Your at-retirement strategy
1. Pre-planning. Cover all contingencies. Make the transition a smooth one.
2. Tax strategies. Convert RRSP and investment income to annuities and RRIFs.
3. Portfolio composition. Remember to apply the concepts of asset allocation and diversification.
4. Creative options. Reverse mortgages, part-time work, expectation adjustment, tax planning
5. Structure. Structure you days and weeks and make your attitude adjustment a reality
6. Close to home? Do you want to live close to friends and family or move to your dream location?
Your in-retirement strategy
1. Budgets. Simplify your life: Map out monthly budget that works for you
2. Integration of income. CPP, OAS, RRIFs, and so on.
3. Taxes. Not just income taxes but gifts and investments
4. Estate Planning. Leave a legacy without leaving half to the taxman
5. Work. To work or not to work
ARM YOURSELF WITH THE INVESTMENT KNOWLEDGE YOU NEED
Accumulate, grow, protect and enjoy
1. Pay yourself first - Saving for your investments (Accumulate)
2. Investments (Grow) - 4 Pillars to investing:
i) Risk
ii) Return
iii) Cost
iv) Time
3. Assets allocation and Diversification - Periodic rebalancing of portfolio
4. Insurance (Protect)
5. Understand the Tax implication (Optimize your return)
Top 10 investment mistakes:
1. Putting all eggs in one basket (Risk with diversification)
2. Putting all your money in safe, incoming-generating investments (Return to low)
3. Chasing performance
4. Procrastinating (Time to grow)
5. Failure to adopt asset allocation (Risk)
6. Misjudging your risk tolerance (Risk)
7. Timing the market (Time to grow)
8. Not knowing what you own (Knowledge)
9. Understanding the impact of compounding, taxes and inflation
10. Not setting quantifiable, realistic goals
10 Strategies to save tax dollars
1. "Buy and hold" - defer tax
2. Maximize RRSP - defer tax
3. Split your income with your family members - lower tax
4. Invest in your home - tax free
5. Dividends - lower tax rate
6. Borrow to invest - deductible tax expenses
7. Maximize RESP - tax at lower rate and receive grant from government
8. Maximize tax deduction - lower tax
9. Maximize employee benefit
10. Employ yourself - more tax deduction
TRANSITION TO RETIREMENT
Prepare a to-do list: travel, music, education, etc
1. Keep your option open - phased in retirement by doing less hours, part time work
2. Reinvent yourself - move to other job or work that is different
3. Take the plunge - start your own business
4. Open your mind - continue education, learn something you like to
5. Help those in need - volunteer to help people
6. Live it up - build a social network and meet new people
7. Delay retirement
HARMONY
1. Estate Planning - begins and ends in a Will
Life is an open road. It is the best story never told. Secret to a happy retirement is to make a big deal out of everything in your life.
To retire well,
1. Invest in making friends.
2. Invest in your health.
3. Invest in safe investment (minimize your risk)
The Rich are different from us
1. They save regularly
2. They live frugally
3. They know where their money is going
4. They avoid debt
5. They maximize income
6. They own appreciating assets
7. They get professional advice
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The New Retire-Mentality
Planning Your Life and Living your Dreams ... at any age you want - Mitch Anthony
Traditional view of Retirement - we should do what we don't enjoy to accumulate the money we need someday do what we want.
"Once we become adults, we often lose track of life's simple pleasures and of our own personal goals. We take a wrong turn or two, then spend a good part of our lives doing things we'd rather not - while not doing many things we'd enjoy. While we may obsess about how unhappy we are, we don't focus clearly on what we can do to change the situation: on how we can invest our time, energy and, yes, our money to consciously create the life we want." - Marc Eisenson, author, Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life.
But we should be living the life we want and don't put the money cart ahead of the life horse. Be creative and a new mind set, you can both find and fund the life you really want.
People think retirement is a spectator sport and watching from the sideline. Life is more exciting if you are in the game! Liberty is about do what you want when you want to. Because I value freedom so much, I exercise the necessary discipline to maintain it.
Traditional retirement is unnatural. Even if you can afford to retire, the worst thing you can do is withdraw completely from the race. People are happier if they are busy doing what they love. Rethink what Retirement mean to you.
Recent study conducted by Gallup and Paine Webber - Retirement Revisited reveals details of what investors want to do after they retire. 85% said they want to continue work in some for. Respondents' answer fell into the following 5 categories:
1. I want to work as long as I can (doing what I do now) - 15%
2. I want to become an entrepreneur - 26%
3. I want to find a new job - 34%
4. I want to find some balance between work and life - 10%
5. I want the "traditional" retirement - 15%
"Retirement is changing. Many individuals are retiring from their career professions only to take on new work. These changes point to the need for reshaping our ideas and institutions associated with retirement and developing new perspectives on the nature of work." - Dr. Phyllis Moen, Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center.
If there is no finish line, we will begin to focus on doing working today that capitalizes on our gifts and gives expression to our deepest-felt desire. Instead, we can begin to make choices that are not based on money but on doing work that brings us a sense of purpose and satisfaction.
Work may always be a part of your Life. Work provide great intangible rewards to our mind and spirit, etc.
How one ages successfully
"No one but me will define what my life will be" - Paige. An attitude to help to live longer.
A sense of Mastery to describe how individuals must believe in their ability to influence events and control their outcomes to be positive and productive in their later years. A person who takes a passive approach to life and lacks the ability to take action will experience a lack of productivity at any age. If people are willing to try new things in their mature years, their self-reliance and effectiveness can flourish to all-time highs.
"I've noticed an interesting phenomenon with my retired friends who have become ill and/or died a short time into their retirement. The physical malady almost always seemed to be preceded by a mental one - boredom. They are disengaged from the part of their being that gave them satisfaction their entire life. They'd try to fulfill themselves on the golf course or through some exotic travel but kept coming back to the same problem. They felt too young and useful to be 'goofing off' all the time. If they didn't respond to this problem with some meaningful pursuit, they just seemed to get sick, and sometimes they died. For these people, a life of ease was really one step from a life of disease." - Art, retired attorney, 70
"The only thing that has ever made me feel old is those few times where I allow myself to be predictable. Routine is death." - Carlos Santana.
"I am long on ideas but short on time. I expect to live to be only about a hundred" - Thomsas Edison
One way to keep these powerful internal forces alive in our life is to continue being engaged in work and activities that place a demand on our physical, mental, and creative resources.
It is only when we start looking backward and talking about life in the past tense that we know the process of old has begun in our life. "I don't ever look back; he might be gaining on me."
3 indicators of successful aging are:
1. Avoiding disease and disability
2. Maintaining mental and physical function
3. Continuing engagement with life.
First key to aging successfully is to take an interest in yourself. Those who succeed are self-respecting enough to keep their bodies fit, their minds challenged, and their hearts engaged. There are many paths one can :
1. Maintaining a social network of friends and associates
2. Continuing education and mental challenge
3. Exercising your body
4. Giving to others and being needed
Researchers concluded that new retirees need a social network more than they did when they are working.
"Much of whatwe think of as aging is really just a by-product of inactivity and poor nutrition, and it's not hard to change that." - Miriam Nelson
You don't have to be 65 do do what you want to do
" A wealthy businessesman was horrified to see a fisherman sitting beside his boat, playing with a small child. "Why aren't you out fishing?" asked the businessman. "Because I caught enough fish for one day," replied the fisherman. "Why don't you catch some more?" "What would I do with them?" "You could earn extra money," said the businessman, "then with the extra money, you could buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters, and catch more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. With the nets, you could catch even more fish and make more money. With that money you could own two boats, may be three boats. Eventually you could have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me." "Then what would I do?" asked the fisherman. "Then," said the businessman, "you could really enjoy life." The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and asked, "What do you think I am doing now?"
"It's not important to run on the fast track but on your track. Pretend you only have 6 months to live, and make 3 lists. Things you have to do, things you want to do, and things you neither have to do nor want to do. Then for the rest of your life, forget everything on the third list." - Robert Elliot
Boxes of Life
1. Up to age 22 or so - Education
2. Age 22 to 62 - Work
3. 62 to death - Leisure
The desired life course is one integrates all of these aspects of life into a balanced approach to everyday living. A great life is one in which we are constantly learning something new, engaging in work that challenges and fulfills us, and reserving time for rest and relaxation. It is a most unnatural life that tries to squeeze these 3 activities into one box of the lifeline. Happiness and fulfillment for a lifetime come when we learn to fluidly integrate all three.
"Fear not that your life will come to an end but that it will never have a beginning." - John Henry Newman.
"One day my daughter asked me to come out and play. I said, 'No, Honey, Dad's too busy.' My daughter said, 'You're always too busy' and went out to play. That night I kept turning it over in my head. Why do I work hard? Answer: to get freedom. Why do I want freedom? Answer: to spend time with those I love. When am I going to have this freedom or make getting it a priority? Answer: probably about the time my kids are gone. I realized I had put myself in a vicious cycle of motion and money and had everything turned upside down." - Ted
Meaningful life - a life full of meaning. There are many aspects of our life that give us a sense of fulfillment - family, achievement, exploration, freedom.
7 intangibles
1. Happiness is wanting what you already have - things won't make us happier. "Money won't make you happy, but neither will poverty." Happiness is a state of mind and not a state of material ownership.
2. Fulfillment is optimizing the use of your abilities - doing things that you love to do.
3. Balance is walking the tightrope between too much and not enough - work, family and leisure - when we get them in balance we enjoy life. There is a fine balance to be achieved in attending to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual sides of our being.
4. Satisfaction is improving the quality of our efforts and relationships - constantly striving to improve key relationships in our life, and if we are living in a thoughtful, self-examined life, we will feel a sense of satisfaction
5. Security is possessing the freedom to pursue our goals - a sense of security when we know we will have the freedom to continuing pursuing those goals in work, family and leisure.
6. Significance is making the best use of time - to feel they are making contribution that is signficant.
7. Success is the satisfaction of reaching our goals - a sense of success start with first having a goal.
Your life is not about making money - your money is about making a life. These 7 intangibles cannot be bought, but you can easily sell them out.
You can adjust your current situation to make a more balanced life. Being willing to shift circumstances if it can help you procure a more balanced lifestyle (trading the amount of money make to a balanced lifestyle). Living within or below your means to move faster to make it financially vitable. Forming a plan to use the money you have to purchase the life you want.
"I have come to the conclusion that more retirements will fail for non-financial reasons rather than for financial reasons" - Michael Stein, author, The Prosperous Retirement
The Prosperous retirement wheel - money is at the hub of Stein's wheel, but eight spokes come out from this center - physical health, mental health, diet, exercise, social relations, personal relations, intellectual stimulation, and spiritual balance.
"Many people are so occupied with getting out of a career trap that they seem to care little about what happens after they leave their jobs. Despite the fact they have planned other aspects of their lives, they seem to feel retirement will take care of itself. The opposite is often true." - Edwood Chapman
Future retirees need to be asking what they want to do with their life during retirement, and what the personal implications of retirement are for them. Baby boomers are looking for a meaningful role in their later adulthood. Money is important to them, but so is the quality of life in their retirement. People have to make plans to occupy their mind, time, and energies in retirement.
In all stages of our life, we need to understand what matters most to us and create strategies so we can concentrate most of our time in the areas we care about.
Traditional view of Retirement - we should do what we don't enjoy to accumulate the money we need someday do what we want.
"Once we become adults, we often lose track of life's simple pleasures and of our own personal goals. We take a wrong turn or two, then spend a good part of our lives doing things we'd rather not - while not doing many things we'd enjoy. While we may obsess about how unhappy we are, we don't focus clearly on what we can do to change the situation: on how we can invest our time, energy and, yes, our money to consciously create the life we want." - Marc Eisenson, author, Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life.
But we should be living the life we want and don't put the money cart ahead of the life horse. Be creative and a new mind set, you can both find and fund the life you really want.
People think retirement is a spectator sport and watching from the sideline. Life is more exciting if you are in the game! Liberty is about do what you want when you want to. Because I value freedom so much, I exercise the necessary discipline to maintain it.
Traditional retirement is unnatural. Even if you can afford to retire, the worst thing you can do is withdraw completely from the race. People are happier if they are busy doing what they love. Rethink what Retirement mean to you.
Recent study conducted by Gallup and Paine Webber - Retirement Revisited reveals details of what investors want to do after they retire. 85% said they want to continue work in some for. Respondents' answer fell into the following 5 categories:
1. I want to work as long as I can (doing what I do now) - 15%
2. I want to become an entrepreneur - 26%
3. I want to find a new job - 34%
4. I want to find some balance between work and life - 10%
5. I want the "traditional" retirement - 15%
"Retirement is changing. Many individuals are retiring from their career professions only to take on new work. These changes point to the need for reshaping our ideas and institutions associated with retirement and developing new perspectives on the nature of work." - Dr. Phyllis Moen, Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center.
If there is no finish line, we will begin to focus on doing working today that capitalizes on our gifts and gives expression to our deepest-felt desire. Instead, we can begin to make choices that are not based on money but on doing work that brings us a sense of purpose and satisfaction.
Work may always be a part of your Life. Work provide great intangible rewards to our mind and spirit, etc.
How one ages successfully
"No one but me will define what my life will be" - Paige. An attitude to help to live longer.
A sense of Mastery to describe how individuals must believe in their ability to influence events and control their outcomes to be positive and productive in their later years. A person who takes a passive approach to life and lacks the ability to take action will experience a lack of productivity at any age. If people are willing to try new things in their mature years, their self-reliance and effectiveness can flourish to all-time highs.
"I've noticed an interesting phenomenon with my retired friends who have become ill and/or died a short time into their retirement. The physical malady almost always seemed to be preceded by a mental one - boredom. They are disengaged from the part of their being that gave them satisfaction their entire life. They'd try to fulfill themselves on the golf course or through some exotic travel but kept coming back to the same problem. They felt too young and useful to be 'goofing off' all the time. If they didn't respond to this problem with some meaningful pursuit, they just seemed to get sick, and sometimes they died. For these people, a life of ease was really one step from a life of disease." - Art, retired attorney, 70
"The only thing that has ever made me feel old is those few times where I allow myself to be predictable. Routine is death." - Carlos Santana.
"I am long on ideas but short on time. I expect to live to be only about a hundred" - Thomsas Edison
One way to keep these powerful internal forces alive in our life is to continue being engaged in work and activities that place a demand on our physical, mental, and creative resources.
It is only when we start looking backward and talking about life in the past tense that we know the process of old has begun in our life. "I don't ever look back; he might be gaining on me."
3 indicators of successful aging are:
1. Avoiding disease and disability
2. Maintaining mental and physical function
3. Continuing engagement with life.
First key to aging successfully is to take an interest in yourself. Those who succeed are self-respecting enough to keep their bodies fit, their minds challenged, and their hearts engaged. There are many paths one can :
1. Maintaining a social network of friends and associates
2. Continuing education and mental challenge
3. Exercising your body
4. Giving to others and being needed
Researchers concluded that new retirees need a social network more than they did when they are working.
"Much of whatwe think of as aging is really just a by-product of inactivity and poor nutrition, and it's not hard to change that." - Miriam Nelson
You don't have to be 65 do do what you want to do
" A wealthy businessesman was horrified to see a fisherman sitting beside his boat, playing with a small child. "Why aren't you out fishing?" asked the businessman. "Because I caught enough fish for one day," replied the fisherman. "Why don't you catch some more?" "What would I do with them?" "You could earn extra money," said the businessman, "then with the extra money, you could buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters, and catch more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. With the nets, you could catch even more fish and make more money. With that money you could own two boats, may be three boats. Eventually you could have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me." "Then what would I do?" asked the fisherman. "Then," said the businessman, "you could really enjoy life." The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and asked, "What do you think I am doing now?"
"It's not important to run on the fast track but on your track. Pretend you only have 6 months to live, and make 3 lists. Things you have to do, things you want to do, and things you neither have to do nor want to do. Then for the rest of your life, forget everything on the third list." - Robert Elliot
Boxes of Life
1. Up to age 22 or so - Education
2. Age 22 to 62 - Work
3. 62 to death - Leisure
The desired life course is one integrates all of these aspects of life into a balanced approach to everyday living. A great life is one in which we are constantly learning something new, engaging in work that challenges and fulfills us, and reserving time for rest and relaxation. It is a most unnatural life that tries to squeeze these 3 activities into one box of the lifeline. Happiness and fulfillment for a lifetime come when we learn to fluidly integrate all three.
"Fear not that your life will come to an end but that it will never have a beginning." - John Henry Newman.
"One day my daughter asked me to come out and play. I said, 'No, Honey, Dad's too busy.' My daughter said, 'You're always too busy' and went out to play. That night I kept turning it over in my head. Why do I work hard? Answer: to get freedom. Why do I want freedom? Answer: to spend time with those I love. When am I going to have this freedom or make getting it a priority? Answer: probably about the time my kids are gone. I realized I had put myself in a vicious cycle of motion and money and had everything turned upside down." - Ted
Meaningful life - a life full of meaning. There are many aspects of our life that give us a sense of fulfillment - family, achievement, exploration, freedom.
7 intangibles
1. Happiness is wanting what you already have - things won't make us happier. "Money won't make you happy, but neither will poverty." Happiness is a state of mind and not a state of material ownership.
2. Fulfillment is optimizing the use of your abilities - doing things that you love to do.
3. Balance is walking the tightrope between too much and not enough - work, family and leisure - when we get them in balance we enjoy life. There is a fine balance to be achieved in attending to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual sides of our being.
4. Satisfaction is improving the quality of our efforts and relationships - constantly striving to improve key relationships in our life, and if we are living in a thoughtful, self-examined life, we will feel a sense of satisfaction
5. Security is possessing the freedom to pursue our goals - a sense of security when we know we will have the freedom to continuing pursuing those goals in work, family and leisure.
6. Significance is making the best use of time - to feel they are making contribution that is signficant.
7. Success is the satisfaction of reaching our goals - a sense of success start with first having a goal.
Your life is not about making money - your money is about making a life. These 7 intangibles cannot be bought, but you can easily sell them out.
You can adjust your current situation to make a more balanced life. Being willing to shift circumstances if it can help you procure a more balanced lifestyle (trading the amount of money make to a balanced lifestyle). Living within or below your means to move faster to make it financially vitable. Forming a plan to use the money you have to purchase the life you want.
"I have come to the conclusion that more retirements will fail for non-financial reasons rather than for financial reasons" - Michael Stein, author, The Prosperous Retirement
The Prosperous retirement wheel - money is at the hub of Stein's wheel, but eight spokes come out from this center - physical health, mental health, diet, exercise, social relations, personal relations, intellectual stimulation, and spiritual balance.
"Many people are so occupied with getting out of a career trap that they seem to care little about what happens after they leave their jobs. Despite the fact they have planned other aspects of their lives, they seem to feel retirement will take care of itself. The opposite is often true." - Edwood Chapman
Future retirees need to be asking what they want to do with their life during retirement, and what the personal implications of retirement are for them. Baby boomers are looking for a meaningful role in their later adulthood. Money is important to them, but so is the quality of life in their retirement. People have to make plans to occupy their mind, time, and energies in retirement.
In all stages of our life, we need to understand what matters most to us and create strategies so we can concentrate most of our time in the areas we care about.
Future Retirement Strategies
Future Retirement Strategies for Productive People - David Bond & Diane Bond
It is important to plan for your retirement as retirement is not short. You still have another 15 - 35 years to go. It is much better to stay physically and mentally active. It can be done through learning new skills, exploding new areas, and do something meaningful. You still have a lot in your tank to contribute.
In order the transition for full-time work into a new phase, a good plan will be helpful.
1) Self assess : what skills, talents, experiences you have and what kind of interest, hobbies you like to explode or develop; what things you likes or dislikes. After the self assessment, you should validate those with some good friends.
2) Answer some big questions :
i) what role does work play in your vision of an ideal life after retirement?
ii) how much leisure time do you really want, and how do you want to spend it?
iii) are you going to move to other city, country?
3) Exploding the options and make your choice : detail the goal from the above and decide what to do next. Draw your own time line and work on it.
It is important to have a plan. This plan concerns what you want to do and how you want to live. It creates a roadmap for the future. As future is uncertain, it is important that it should be flexible and adjust when necessary. It is a personal plan that requires thought, honesty with yourself and trust in those who know you best. Also, this plan allows you to prepare ahead.
Develop your hobbies or volunteer interest you think will bring you satisfaction.
It is important to plan for your retirement as retirement is not short. You still have another 15 - 35 years to go. It is much better to stay physically and mentally active. It can be done through learning new skills, exploding new areas, and do something meaningful. You still have a lot in your tank to contribute.
In order the transition for full-time work into a new phase, a good plan will be helpful.
1) Self assess : what skills, talents, experiences you have and what kind of interest, hobbies you like to explode or develop; what things you likes or dislikes. After the self assessment, you should validate those with some good friends.
2) Answer some big questions :
i) what role does work play in your vision of an ideal life after retirement?
ii) how much leisure time do you really want, and how do you want to spend it?
iii) are you going to move to other city, country?
3) Exploding the options and make your choice : detail the goal from the above and decide what to do next. Draw your own time line and work on it.
It is important to have a plan. This plan concerns what you want to do and how you want to live. It creates a roadmap for the future. As future is uncertain, it is important that it should be flexible and adjust when necessary. It is a personal plan that requires thought, honesty with yourself and trust in those who know you best. Also, this plan allows you to prepare ahead.
Develop your hobbies or volunteer interest you think will bring you satisfaction.
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