Hmm. I know a fair number of people in their late 60s and early 70s. I'm saving for retirement because there's a reasonable chance I will be physically incapable of working sometime at that point - on average people spend the last decade of their lives with chronic ill health. It's a sort of insurance policy.
I changed my job because my old one was making me anxious, tired and not happy - and I used to love it. My new job is going really well, but I've realised that it's likely that at some point I'll fall out of love with it. I suspect that change is in the future, and that will probably limit my earning potential. Happiness is more important than money.
bubelah
· 5 months ago
Wow! Steve, great post! People should not live in the dreams of some distant future, even though everybody should save for retirement. But you have your life now too. We have built a fantasy that we want to retire early, which means NO work for most people. Thanks to imporoved longevity the average retirement (after age 65) is about 20 years. You think that 20 years of free time is a dream come true. It's NOT. I also believe that when old people are unoccupied with anything they are more likely to feel disoriented and depressed, have more time on their hands to concentrate on aches and pains. Working in retirement is good for your health and early retirement can be harmful, especially if retirement means a more sedentary and less intellectually stimulating lifestyle.
Akemi Gaines
· 5 months ago
It's so interesting to see how this blog has grown out of the typical personal finance blog. I totally agree we need more holistic perspective. For example, fear of retirement is often not about having insufficient funds -- it's about health concerns, uncertainly about one's social worth, etc. But people close their eyes on these more "complicated" issues and focus on money.
¢entsiblelife
· 5 months ago
Love this idea. My husband and I were talking about this the other day since we don't have anywhere near the recommended retirement savings.
We have this idea that we will continue on the standard path we're on for a few more years, and focus on repaying debt, and saving money, and then totally change our lives by moving across the country.
I see my parents who are 65 and 67 and their struggles and I think hell no! My Dad retired at 62 and then went back to work this year. It's a rough job, with long hours, but pays really well. It's a young man's job.
Mom is without any kind of social circle, and struggles to keep busy.
My ideal would be to have both of us working part-time at our own businesses/consulting by age 40 (7 years from now). Then we can spend more time with our kids as young adults, travel, and expose them to the world in a way most kids can't experience.
It's all about balance. We struggle constantly with money versus happiness, and raising our family with the experiences we want them to have versus throwing money into savings.
I want to have a meaningful work life, and a wonderful home life, and "retirement". I'll let you know how that goes. :)
Eric
· 5 months ago
Awesome post. I came to this realization over the last couple of years and I am still working on it. I save money but I also spend. I love spending time with my kids (always have so thats not new:) but I work 9-5 Monday to Friday. I want to retire early but I keep saying that when I retire I want a job at the golf course or hockey rink - so is that retirement? I've started to go more with the flow and not worry about having the 2mil in retirement savings. I take my life now as it is with a great family, good job, money in the bank and some retirement savings. These are my golden years!! (I'm 35)
Eric
earnwhatyouspend
· 5 months ago
This is excellent - and captures exactly what I've been thinking about lately ... so much of financial advice focuses on your future self to the detriment of the you here-and-now. If you focus your entire life on earning enough money so you can be happy in retirement, you might arrive having realized you forgot to learn how to be happy in the first place. Like you said, it's not just the end game that matters.
fern
· 5 months ago
the very last paragraph was the best.
Enrique S
· 5 months ago
I had an epiphany sometime last year. Prior to that, all I could think about was having enough money for retirement. I set up spreadsheets to track my progress against my goal. I changed my attitude towards retirement after talking with a retired relative. His hobbies became going shopping and going to the doctor. He was a vibrant man prior to his retirement. I also read a quote that said, in effect, people live a longer, more fulfilling life if they have somewhere to go each day. I realized that I actually liked to work. I climb the walls when I don't have anything to do. I made up my mind then and there not to seek a conventional retirement. I may change my mind, but for now, I'm planning on keeping busy in some fashion.
All Comments
I changed my job because my old one was making me anxious, tired and not happy - and I used to love it. My new job is going really well, but I've realised that it's likely that at some point I'll fall out of love with it. I suspect that change is in the future, and that will probably limit my earning potential. Happiness is more important than money.
People should not live in the dreams of some distant future, even though everybody should save for retirement. But you have your life now too.
We have built a fantasy that we want to retire early, which means NO work for most people. Thanks to imporoved longevity the average retirement (after age 65) is about 20 years. You think that 20 years of free time is a dream come true. It's NOT.
I also believe that when old people are unoccupied with anything they are more likely to feel disoriented and depressed, have more time on their hands to concentrate on aches and pains. Working in retirement is good for your health and early retirement can be harmful, especially if retirement means a more sedentary and less intellectually stimulating lifestyle.
My husband and I were talking about this the other day since we don't have anywhere near the recommended retirement savings.
We have this idea that we will continue on the standard path we're on for a few more years, and focus on repaying debt, and saving money, and then totally change our lives by moving across the country.
I see my parents who are 65 and 67 and their struggles and I think hell no! My Dad retired at 62 and then went back to work this year. It's a rough job, with long hours, but pays really well. It's a young man's job.
Mom is without any kind of social circle, and struggles to keep busy.
My ideal would be to have both of us working part-time at our own businesses/consulting by age 40 (7 years from now). Then we can spend more time with our kids as young adults, travel, and expose them to the world in a way most kids can't experience.
It's all about balance. We struggle constantly with money versus happiness, and raising our family with the experiences we want them to have versus throwing money into savings.
I want to have a meaningful work life, and a wonderful home life, and "retirement". I'll let you know how that goes. :)
I save money but I also spend.
I love spending time with my kids (always have so thats not new:) but I work 9-5 Monday to Friday.
I want to retire early but I keep saying that when I retire I want a job at the golf course or hockey rink - so is that retirement?
I've started to go more with the flow and not worry about having the 2mil in retirement savings.
I take my life now as it is with a great family, good job, money in the bank and some retirement savings. These are my golden years!! (I'm 35)
Eric