The term retirement does not even make sense anymore. Well, that is for the people who have designed their lives around the concept of ‘live first work later.’ I think the term retirement became powerful when a majority of the workers went to jobs they disliked. It gave them a final time to look forward to not doing it anymore. But, what happens when you build a job you love doing?
Isn’t there a study somewhere that illustrates the number of people who go back to work after retirement because they are too bored to enjoy retirement? For the people working toward financial independence and getting away from the traditional nine-to-five grind, retirement doesn’t seem to fit anymore.
For those who view retirement as sitting on a sandy beach somewhere and not having to punch back in after lunch, couldn’t we develop work or income to allow us to do that now? If we all created income-producing work we loved to do as much as we love to sit on the beach, then the word retirement doesn’t make sense.
Let’s look at some steps to take toward financial independence and away from the ‘retirement’ mindset.
Retirement Step #1; Accept the fact that maybe retirement doesn’t make sense.
We used to trudge around in our jobs dreaming of the time when we get to retire. I think it’s the fact that we hated to work at our jobs so much, the thought of not having to go back (retirement) was the one thing we held on to. What if we loved our jobs so much that we didn’t want to stop doing it?
There is also the fact that pensions are going dry, retirement accounts aren’t panning out, and social security has become a joke. More and more people every day are working well into their retirement years. And, they are doing it with jobs they don’t enjoy because they can’t afford to live. So many people bought into the retirement dream, they never planned much until it arrived.
What I’m saying is to start now by accepting the fact that retirement might not be an option and you need to start building multiple streams of income to keep you going well into your retirement years. The young strong blue-collar kid in his twenties might not move as quickly when in their forties. This is why it is important to embed it firmly in your mind now before it’s too late. There is no such thing as retirement; plan to develop your income streams now while there is still time.
Retirement Step #2; Figure out a plan to eliminate retirement from our vocabulary.
Ok, the big thing growing up was everyone was talking about their retirement plan. It was something the adults talked about. They talked about 401K’s, IRA’s, pensions, and social security. When you were eight it all sounded grown up and very impressive. Now, that I’m in my forties, I don’t see it as impressive anymore. The only term I deem worthy of dinner table conversation is IRA. For the rest, we might as well be talking about unicorns or space aliens.
401K’s are going broke and being mismanaged. Pensions are something Grandpa used to have. And social security? Just turn on the nightly news to find the latest hot debate whether there will be one at all. So, we need to figure out our plan. The plan will be similar to the above with just a couple of different twists. Now we need to talk about independent businesses, consulting, investments in the line of IP, or income-producing assets.
And, these terms won’t only be for the super-rich or business savvy. These will be terms thrown around at blue-collar tables of families with just average incomes. Here is another twist. We need to get educated and do it on our own. We don’t need to hire an overpriced money manager to design the rest of our lives. We need to do it alone without allowing anyone else to screw it up. We need to start constructing a plan for our future.
Retirement Step #3; Get going on that plan; you don’t need to wait until you are 65.
Here is the thing. You don’t need to wait until you are a certain age to ‘retire.’ All you need is a good plan and some multiple streams of income and you can retire at any age. Most of us get caught up in the mindset that you can only retire in your sixties. The fact is if you have a couple of passive income-producing investments and some location and time-independent businesses, you can retire whenever you would like. You don’t need anyone telling you when you can retire.
Could you set up some businesses you could comfortably run from your home, or anywhere in the world for that matter? Then you could just leave your job permanently and never have to go back. You can call it retirement if you’d like. The way the world is going, our old-fashioned way of thinking about retirement is gone. Social security mandates the point at which we can start to draw funds. If social security is gone? Does the time mandate matter? The earlier we get started, the earlier we can step away from our jobs and start enjoying life. Getting out of your nine-to-five job is easier than you think. If you’re struggling to see yourself without a job, you might just need to have the path clear in your mind.
You don’t need to win the lottery or even have a million dollars in the bank. You just need a clear path and an easy-to-follow plan to get there. This is what this site is all about. Browse around and you will find a bunch of articles and resources to help you put together and ultimately achieve that plan.
Til next time,
Kevin