When it comes to retirement planning, most people understandably pay the most attention to one thing: Will I have enough money to retire when I want? That’s why so much time is spent on topics like 401(k)s, IRAs, RMDs, Social Security, and the stock market.
In other words, most of our retirement planning headspace is given over to our financial goals. But when it comes to enjoying a happy retirement, it’s equally important to prioritize planning for our personal goals as well.
And the best way to do that is to start sooner rather than later.
I’ll give you an example of what I mean — and why it’s so important. I once worked with a very successful man whom we’ll call Mike. One of Mike’s personal goals was to spend more time mountain biking. But in the run-up to retirement, he was so focused on earning and saving enough money that he never really had the time to hit the trail. Furthermore, he was reluctant to spend more money than he absolutely had to as he was so hyper-focused on building his nest egg.
Due to Mike's diligence, he was able to retire early. That meant he had more than enough time and money to do just about anything he wanted to do. But whenever I caught up with him, he told me he still hadn’t done much mountain biking.
“You have to be in shape to do it,” he would say, “and I’m just not in good enough shape yet.”
“I really need to get a new mountain bike, maybe one of those electric ones,” he would tell me, “as it’s no fun doing it with the old hardtail I’ve got. I just haven’t gotten around to it.”
There always seemed to be a reason Mike wasn’t enjoying the thing he wanted to spend most of his time doing. I suspect it all had to do with one thing: Inertia. He had gotten so used to not spending time on his personal goals that it was easier to simply not focus on them at all — physically, mentally, and financially.
Now let me tell you about another client whom we’ll call Cheryl. Cheryl’s great love is ceramics. She loves making pots, pitchers, mugs, and miniature sculptures out of clay. Sitting at a potter’s wheel with a lump of wet earth is her happy place. Her dream was to finally have the time and money to get the best equipment, hone her craft, and maybe even sell some of her creations at local markets.
My advice to Cheryl: Don’t wait. Start setting aside time to perfect your pottery now. That big, deluxe kiln you have your heart set on? Let’s start fitting that into your financial plan now. In other words, don’t wait until after retirement to do what you love.
Cheryl followed my advice. The result? When retirement finally arrived, she already had all the equipment she needed. She was already in the habit of devoting her mornings to sitting at her potter’s wheel. She already had a booth lined up to exhibit her wares at a local farmer’s market.
In short, retirement was pretty much exactly what she wanted it to be…because she had already made her life what she wanted it to be.
So, when planning your own retirement, my advice: Prioritize your personal goals just as much as your financial goals. Creating the lifestyle you want before you retire is one of the best ways to ensure you continue enjoying it after you retire.
