A lot of people teaching about how to build financial freedom these days are talking about building wealth for the sake of retirement planning. Yet, considering that the majority of people never get the opportunity to retire in comfort, the question comes to mind: “Is retirement really the best goal when it comes to achieving financial freedom?”
Timothy Ferris addressed this question in his book “The Four Hour Work Week,” where he suggested that retirement was “fool’s gold” because the objective was to work and save money and invest in hopes that you would one day be able to quit. So is retirement still a worthwhile goal or is Tim Ferris right?
Let’s look at a few things to consider before you set retirement as your primary objective when it comes to building wealth and financial freedom.
An Honest Look at Your Nine to Five
Is your goal to retire motivated by your disgust for working? If so, and if you hate your job or if you feel that you have no sense of fulfillment or purpose in it, you’re better off focusing your energy on making a career change instead of on retiring after 45 years of doing something that you don’t like.
There are several reasons for this, the first being the impact which work stress can have on your physical health. Did you know that the majority of heart attacks occur between the hours of 7 and 8 am on Monday mornings? This is just a glimpse of how work stress can affect your mortality and your quality of life.
Many people never make it to retirement age because of stress related illnesses or end up to sick to enjoy it when they do. Not to mention that a lack of fulfillment in your job can cause overspending in an attempt to make up for the lack of excitement and personal fulfillment. This is not to mention that fact that you’re spending most of your life now doing something which you don’t enjoy just so that you can hopefully stop and learn to enjoy your life when you’re done…in spite of having spent so long doing something you don’t like. If you dislike your job, retirement is not the answer and it’s time to start working on an exit strategy.
What Will You Do When the Time Comes?
When the time comes for you to retire, what do you plan on doing? If you don’t have a clue right now, than you have nothing to inspire you because there’s not a lot to look forward to. Personal growth expert Steven Covey says that you can retire from work but that you should never retire from meaningful projects. It’s essential that your later years have a purpose and that you have something to inspire you to stay focused and to keep your creative juices flowing.
Your body will respond by keeping itself healthy for longer and you’ll have a lot more to look forward to, which will create inspiration to work harder on your retirement planning. So give these things serious consideration as you work on your plans for achieving financial freedom and retirement planning.
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