The Journey to Retirement Begins With Self-Discovery
April 29, 2013If you’ve ever talked to a financial planner about retirement, you probably know the retirement planning process spends a lot of time focusing on important questions like the following:
- How long will you live?
- How much will retirement cost?
- How much will I need to save to reach my retirement goals?
- How much of your retirement nest egg can you afford to spend each year?
- How can I get my retirement plan back on track? Save more, live well on less both now and during retirement.
While I’ll focus on these specific questions in next week’s blog, perhaps the first question that should guide our financial planning decisions in the present as we fast forward to our retirement years is “what do you look forward to the most in retirement?” The answer will determine what you’re planning for and can help motivate you to take the necessary steps to make it happen.
But that doesn’t mean you have to wait until retirement to start addressing that question. While I’ve always lived by the mantra that I’m “growing older but not up,” there’s something about seeing your kids getting older and those gray hairs starting to come in that can inspire a good ole fashioned bucket list of things to do in life before it’s too late. So I figured why wait until retirement to accomplish my so-called bucket list and created a 40 x 40 list of things to do by the time I reach my 40th birthday in just under two years. I consider it somewhat of a pre-retirement guide to help me make sure my priorities are in the right place and that I’m making the most of my time, talents, and resources.
Most of the things on the list were life experiences or personal goals across seven key focus areas. In no particular order, my list of 40 things to do (a.k.a. the “Dreamatorium”) included goals and experiences related to family, physical, spiritual, intellectual, social, career, and financial aspects of life. (I quickly recognized a common theme that when I removed consumer products from the list and simply focused on things that matter the most to me, my plan had more purpose and meaning.)
I already kicked things into gear (bad pun intended) by scoring a goal in a recent soccer game (#14 on my list) before my knees force me into retirement from sports. (Thankfully, I only had a few minor injuries and one trip to the ER with a severe concussion from that sometimes brutal yet beautiful game.) Some other action items like shooting a round of par in golf may be a little more difficult but it’s good to set lofty goals and maybe, just maybe, I can use the list to justify a few extra trips to the golf links.
In the next few weeks I hope to cross a few more items off the list:
– Take a trip to Hawaii with my wife (first extended vacation without the kids)
– Volunteer with my kids
– Give a financial planning presentation in a different language (well, I don’t actually speak Korean but I will have a translator on an upcoming visit to Seoul)
– Go on a beach camping trip
– Teach my children how to fish
– Spend an entire weekend without checking email, surfing the Internet, watching tv, or looking at my smartphone (not quite ready for this challenge so procrastination may be in order for this item)
So many things to do, so little time to get them done!
The journey is just beginning, so I hope to share some things that I learn along the way. Because whether or not I reach these goals, I can guarantee the journey will be more important than the destination itself. After all, the main purpose of this list isn’t about simply trying to check 40 things off a piece a paper. It was created to hit the pause button in a fast-paced life schedule in order to help assess my priorities for my life both now and in retirement. No matter what age you are or what stage of life you’re in, I encourage you to do the same.