Many of us recognize that we will be a bit short of money when we would normally stop working, so we prepare for our “final careers”. Rather than addressing our lack of preparation now we believe that a few more years in the workforce later will bail us out. If we can just find that easy job doing something we really enjoy, a few more years of work will be quite manageable.
Here’s the problem:
- Finding that perfect gig can be much more difficult than we expect;
- That final career may not be as enjoyable as we imagine it will be;
- Our health may not allow us the extra years we need to ultimately make ends meet;
- The changing health insurance landscape may force our employers to set a forced retirement age.
Solution?
- Get serious about setting money aside today. The savings we have later will more likely be the result of how much money we set aside now than the return we get on our money;
- Focus on diet, exercise and stress management. Our best laid plans can be wiped out by bad health;
- Test the characteristics of our dream final career for fit before we depend on it for our retirement comfort.
Advice:
Plan now for adequate financial resources, test activities we might enjoy when we finish our current careers and mostly discipline our diet, exercise and stress so that we will have good health to truly enjoy our post-work time. The small steps we take today will reap huge rewards later.
If you need help in these areas, or just want to talk about where you are and how prepared you will be, contact us at Czajkowski Dumpel & Associates, Inc. – we are here to help!