Most People Start Thinking of Retirement Too Late

by BillT
(Cleveland, OH USA)

I am certainly one of those people who have started planning too late, did not save enough and now regrets this.

There are so many things that require your attention and financial resources when you are younger and retirement seems so far off. In fact most people still think of retirement as not occurring until sometime after they turn 60. But after you have worked for several years, get a little older and your family life is stable you start to think about retiring early.

Maybe we need to get away from the word retirement. That brings to mind a picture of an old guy stumbling around the house, looking for something to do, and eating dinner at 4 PM. What we really want is to be free of a stress-filled job that requires our attention 40 plus hours a week for 48 weeks a year or more.

We want the financial freedom to do the things we enjoy and perhaps take up some other employment as a way for additional spending power. We want to do this at an age where we are still vibrant enough to enjoy it.

If we could convince younger people that this is a goal they should be setting early in their careers it might help with the savings and planning. This is a much better picture than the one that comes to mind of retirement.