What if you stopped thinking about how you’re going to spend your money in retirement and started thinking about how you’re going to spend your time? It’s a simple but essential paradigm shift that puts retirement planning instantly into perspective and makes budgeting into the future easier.
Imagine you have a wide open calendar…completely blank squares you can fill in with whatever activities you choose. No more Monday morning sales meetings. No more obligatory cocktail parties or dinner with clients. You are only as booked as you want to be and your only obligations are to family and friends. You can use your time to learn a new skill, improve your fitness level, travel to far-off places or simply silence your cell phone and indulge a little self-reflection. Now, fill in that calendar with some of the things you really want to do. Dream big and be specific.
Instead of saying, “I’d like to travel when I’m retired,” try “I want to spend two weeks abroad for each of the next five years and a couple of weeks in Arizona every February.”
Voila! You’ve identified goals and have something to build your financial plan around. The day-to-day activities are even easier. Add piano lessons every Friday. Investment Club on Tuesday morning. Yoga class (yes, we said yoga!) Monday and Wednesday. Stick that calendar on your fridge and start looking forward. Because the key to a successful retirement is time AND money well spent.
For help in planning your golden retirement calendar, take the Fit-To-Retire assessment today!
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