Most Americans are told all their lives to save for retirement. We're taught that if you just save enough money, everything else about your retirement will work out fine. I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but that's a lot of bull crap. I don't care if you've saved $500,000, or $5,000,000 or $50,000,000, the amount of money you have is not the most valuable asset for retirement.
The most valuable asset you can have in retirement is your time. Period. In order to maximize this most valuable resource, you need to carefully plan the non-financial aspects of your retirement. Below are 9 reasons why. It's not an exhaustive list, but it's a good place to start.
Here are 9 Reason a Non-Financial Retirement Plan is Important:
1. You don’t know what you don’t know. Working with a coach or guide can help retirees- or soon-to-be-retirees, discover all the blind spots in their retirement planning in order to create and effective, comprehensive retirement plan that reaches beyond just money.
2. Less stress = better health. A well-planned and informed retirement plan can lighten the stress felt during this crucial transition. There will be inevitable, un-planned-for-hiccups along the way, but when you have a good plan, these hiccups become just that, hiccups, instead of threats that can derail a successful retirement.
3. Keep more of your money. If you been diligent planning your savings and investments to ensure a secure retirement, it’s important to have a post-retirement financial adviser who is an expert in helping you plan and execute how you allocate, withdraw, and spend your money, and stop giving too much money back to Uncle Sam.
4. Context can help you make better career and financial decisions.Developing a long-term mindset and eye, and a stable of quality advisers, can help you plan your later career, and your transition to retirement, be smoother, less stressful, and more fulfilling.
5. Happy marriage, happy life. A well-thought out retirement plan, developed by both partners, can help make post-retirement years the best years of the marriage. This is even more important if there is an age difference that affects when each spouse retires. A good plan prevents money issues and stress from ruining a marriage.
6. Forced early retirement won’t be as scary. If you plan and start executing you financial strategies early, and you develop a strong non-financial plan well before retirement age, if the unthinkable happens, you’ll be better prepared to handle whatever comes up.
7. You won’t be a burden. Our retirement years are supposed to be fun and rewarding. With proper planning, both financially and non-financially, you won’t be a burden on your kids, or your spouse.
8. You can be a super-cool grandparent. With good plans, and a well-executed strategy, you can create the resources and freedom to keep you and your spouse feeling fulfilled, energized and happy. That translates into having what it takes to be super-cool grandparents.
9. Build a powerful legacy. Good financial plans mean you can include a legacy of charitable giving that can last long into the future. Good non-financial planning, means you’ll be better able to build a legacy of shared knowledge, wisdom, and memories that will last long into the future.
If I gave you a detailed test on these reasons, and you scored a perfect 100, you're doing okay. You're not fully there, but you're doing okay. You've made a good start. That's the good news.
The bad news is, non-financial retirement planning can be complicated and confusing and frustrating, as well as fun, important, and deeply rewarding. To truly be prepared for a great retirement, you need to spend significant time discovering and planning your retirement. The best was to make sure you don't miss an important part of the puzzle is to work with someone trained to guide you through the non-financial retirement planning process.
If you'd like to see if I can help, please contact me.
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