Do you need a Retirement Plan?
It depends what you mean by retirement plan. If you are intending to see a financial advisor and let them invest your money in shares then No!
If you are prepared to create your own Wealthy Non-Traditional Retirement Plan then yes.
What is a Wealthy Non-Traditional Retirement Plan? It is a Vision and Strategy document – that might not sound exciting to most people. It’s a Business Plan – oh dear its getting worse…. It’s a plan that you create to ensure that you can enjoy the next 40 -50 years of your life in style. … Better?
Start with this question – What would you do if you never had to work another day in your life? Some people will want to stay working either because they love what they do or out of fear of what they might do next. Some will plan a series of holidays before returning home bored!
Consider this – exponential life expectancy means that you are going to have the whole of your life to live all over again. If you could travel back what would you advise yourself to do? What decision would you change? Now imagine that you get a visit from your future self, imagine what they would say!!
Modern retirement as a concept, and employment process, is not fit for purpose. The government pension will not be enough to feed you let alone pay for holidays. What if you could start taking small actions now that would compound into a wonderful second life that could start in the next few years?
The first place to start is to get really clear on what you would do if you did not have to work just to pay the bills. Whether you decide to spend more quality time with your family and friends, or on your own, whether you give up work or start a new business, whether you work part time or create a community-based project, you are perfectly placed to decide – you can always improve your ideas or even change your mind.
The next step is to increase your personal financial education. Some people are completely unaware of even the basics like managing credit cards and general debt, others fall prey to repeated over spending. I do meet clients that are in control of their finances, but then they frequently don’t have a plan beyond the next few years of work. Others are sufficiently cash rich that they spend what they want but have no idea how they want to live over the next twenty years or more.
One client I met with, has enough income from their investments that with a little care, could mean they don’t have to work, they are in their early 50’s. After working together on a plan, they have realised what is important to them, recognised where they are spending money just to fill a void and the stress that comes with that. They now have a new plan. We are meeting again in 60 days to review progress and course correct if needed. As we stood to leave they said “This has been the best investment of time and money I have ever made!”
Everyone needs a vision of the future and then a clear grasp of their own personal financial circumstances, and that is the goal of the Wealthy Non-Traditional Retirement Plan, discussed in The Wealthy Retirement Plan: A revolutionary guide to living the rest of your life in style.
Consider these questions as read the extract.
- Do you understand your personal financial circumstances, including how much you spend and on what?
- Have you considered what you would do if you were not working?
- Are you doing what you love or love what you do … and if not what would you rather be doing?
- When is the right time to start your own Non-Traditional Retirement Plan – a plan to love the rest of your life in style?
