Can't Afford to Retire Until 7 Years After You're Dead Think Again

Five Strategies for Having Enough Money for Your Dream Retirement (While You're Still Breathing)

Most people think that's all retirement is about -- having enough money to sit on the deck, play golf, and visit the grandkids. But that's the old model -- not today's retirement. I believe you can revolutionize your retirement even if you can't count on 80% of your current revenue when you stop working. (That's the secret number according to many retirement experts.)

Someone who turns 65 today can expect to live until age 83, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. So, even if you stop working at the normal retirement age, you've got nearly two decades to fill with things that really matter to you. And, if you give up traditional employment sooner, you've got even more years to enjoy the 'third half' of life. Today the average retirement age is an astonishing 57.

I said 'enjoy,' and I mean it. To do that, you need to put yourself squarely in the driver's seat -- decide when and how you retire and who you will be. Don't let someone else's definition determine your retirement.

So, begin by putting the money issue aside entirely. That's right. Just forget about money and take a good hard look at the life you want to be living. Start journaling, brainstorm with friends and family, and dream a lot. For inspiration, download the Retirement Re-Tool Kit Ebook at http://www.RevolutionizeRetirement.com/revolutionize.htm and follow link after link of ideas and tools to help you plan the perfect retirement for YOU.

OK. So money does have something to do with it. Now's the time to figure out exactly how much you have and what you'll need. Maybe you'll discover that you have enough money to do everything you want to do. Congratulations!

But what if you don't? Will you need to work until seven years after you're dead? Or can you still create the retirement of your dreams? Of course you can. Here are some ways to make that happen.

First, sharpen your pencil and reconsider how much is enough? Maybe you don't need to stay in the big house and take care of all that stuff. Perhaps you'd love to simplify your life by living out of your RV as you travel the country. What could you downsize or let go of to buy yourself a more carefree existence?

Second, consider supplemental income. Wait a minute, didn't I just say you were going to stop working? Well, there's work. And, then there's work.

Larry was an art teacher in an urban high school for his entire career. In retirement, he followed his passion for painting and also volunteered at a national art society near his home. His experience, enthusiasm and organizational skills so impressed the Director that Larry was offered a part-time position as Assistant Director. Although he has less time for his painting, the supplemental income allows him the luxury of another passion -­ regular trips to Italy.

Maybe you've been passionate about your hobby all your life -- making woodcarvings, gardening, or playing bridge. What about a part-time job as a gardening assistant during the summer, selling your work at craft fairs, or getting certified as a bridge instructor?

Think about what you love to do, the best times in your life, what you never had time for when you were raising children and working full time. If you love animals, become a pet sitter. Consider working in a day care center, if small children delight you.

Try seasonal employment. That's what Betty and Bob do. They say they're 'rewired,' not 'retired.' Each winter they close their Maryland home, pack up her home-based marketing business, and head to Snowmass, Colorado. For the next two months, they work for the ski corporation -- alongside college kids from Australia and a few other couples their age. He parks cars and slings skis on busses; she helps families plan their vacations at the resort. The minimum wage they make covers basic expenses, they each get a season's pass worth $1,799, and they only work a few days each week. The rest of the time they follow their passion ­ on the ski slopes.

Seasonal employment is available at National Parks, community facilities, and as travel hosts to exotic places. Furthermore, there are lots of Web sites that specialize in senior employment listed in the Retirement Re-Tool Kit Ebook.

But if you really want to make the most of the 'third half' of your life, consider packaging what you know and sharing it with others. That's what Miriam did. After 30 years of a successful therapy practice, she traded her East Coast home for a West Coast apartment. With her savings and a handsome settlement from her ex-husband, she lived the good life. Then one day the money was gone. Already in her seventies, she picked herself up, buffed up an old passion, and began writing psychological thrillers. Today, Miriam is making more money than she did during her other career ­ and she's having a lot more fun.

What will it take for you to let go of your outdated beliefs about money and retirement and get inspired to revolutionize the 'third half' of your life?

Remember, money is merely one of the 15 'must haves' for a thriving retirement. While taking charge of your life, having dreams for the future, and a purpose that pulls you out of bed in the morning are not as tangible as, say, $1.3 million in assets, they're just as crucial.

Lin Schreiber, is a Speaker and Certified Retirement Coach, and the author of '88 Tips for Planning a Healthy, Happy, Enriching Retirement Life' available at http://www.RevolutionizeRetirement.com.

In the past most people never retired. They died. The average life expectancy was much less than it is these days, and there were no financial planners around to help people save up enough to quit work. As recently as the 1960’s, if you did manage to save up enough money to retire, you’d be lucky to live another 5 or 6 years before you kicked the bucket. This made financial planning for retirement a little easier because you really only needed enough income for a few years.

Nowadays, if you retire, chances are you can live forever. Well, it can seem like forever…especially if you haven’t saved up enough money. It is a daunting task, attempting to set aside enough money to supply an income for 25 or 30 years, in the 15, 10 or 5 years you have before you retire. We say this because most people don’t get really serious about their retirement planning until they hit 50…and realize they had wanted to quit work at 55!

This is the standard model that has been followed since we began living long enough to bother with retirement savings. You set aside enough cash to cover things off at some future distant time. You build the nest egg and then hope it lasts, and the financial planning community is right there to help you. And yet this is not how the most successful people in our community do things at all!

Still, most people are busily trading their time for their money. As an employee, you are limited by how much time you can actually devote to your job, and you are limited by how much time you want to devote to your job. Time you give to your workplace is time you don’t get for yourself. It’s similar for self-employed people such as our selves. The more successful we are as financial advisors, the more ‘in demand’ we become, and the less time we have.

Retirement looks pretty good when you’re an employee, or a self-employed person. You’ll have the money coming in, and the time for yourself. The problem is that it is an awful long way off. Is there another way?

The first time Rick read ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’, he just got irritated. After all, this was the book that pointed out how he was locked in the self-employed cycle where success leads to less free time. And he likes his free time. However, author Robert Kiyosaki also proposed ‘an out’. It’s called passive income. Passive income is income you have coming in to the household that you don’t really work for anymore. The key is that it is designed to happen in the near future instead of the distant future.

Since reading his books we have begun to change our financial plan. Instead of continuing to organize our finances around future income for a distant ‘retirement’, we are re-orienting things toward near-future passive income and ‘financial freedom’. We have been doing this by purchasing income-producing real estate and by looking to start internet businesses.

The success of our new ‘passive income’ plan remains to be seen, but it is interesting to note how changing our end result from retirement to financial freedom has completely altered the path we’re taking. These two goals are NOT the same. When you build a retirement nest egg you are looking to draw an income from it at some future time. When you are looking to attain financial freedom, you are looking to purchase or create assets which provide you with ‘passive’ income right away.

Should everybody be changing their financial plan? Of course not. For one thing, many people hate the idea of being landlords, and many others don’t have the stomach for business, let alone the technology business. Retirement planning is still needed. RRSP’s, mutual funds, and other longer term savings programs still have their place. There will always be employees and self-employed people who rather like what they do and are quite okay working until their retirement age.

All the same, if you are wondering if there might be a better way to ensure your future financial wellbeing ‘sooner’, perhaps you should pick up a copy of ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’… and get irritated. Either way, it will probably turn out better for you than it did in the past.

In the past most people never retired. They died.

Rick Hoogendoorn has been in the financial services business since 1991. Cheri Crause is a certified financial planner in Victoria, BC. .
www.chericrause.com
rick.hoogendoorn@shaw.ca