So much attention and advertising is given over to the financial aspects of retirement planning that the critical question is often ignored. That question is, “How are you going to spend your Time?”
Age 60 is a good tripwire for starting a detailed retirement plan. At that juncture, you still have some leverage and contacts in your work environment. You also have some flex time to explore options.
A solid plan answers three critical questions. Listed in priority order, these are -
1. How am I going to spend my Time?,
2. Where am I going to be spending my Time?, and lastly
3. How will I pay for choices 1 and 2?
Other than medical problems and wrinkles, the biggest gift you receive during retirement is Time. Unfortunately, few of us are prepared to receive that gift. There are abundant possibilities, and your choice is not limited to just one or two.
- Susan, a teacher, and Gerry, and HR manager, loved their neighbors and neighborhood, but they also had the itch to travel the world. Their resources, however, were limited. To prepare for retirement, she secured a part-time job at a travel agency, and he used his contacts to begin selling corporate insurance policies. They setup an efficient home office, and once retirement hit, they spent the first ten months making their business efforts work. Then, they spent a delightful month in Spain. With flexible work schedules, they now travel as the spirit moves them.
- Jeff decided he wanted to fish, and New England was the place he wanted to do it. To make that happen, he sold his home, and used the proceeds as down-payment on a lakeside cottage and two nearby college apartment houses. The rental income on the college apartments services all three mortgages, and he fits in his landlord duties whenever the fish aren’t biting.
These folks were successful, because they first figured out how and where they wanted to spend their time, and then did what they need to do in order to make that happen. They feel quite comfortable with their choices, but also continue to explore new possibilities. They are the engaged type of people that remain open to new adventures.
Following their lead, the best way to answer the three critical questions for retirement seems to be -
- If you love what you do and want to stay where you are, explore the opportunity of downsizing the job, e.g. working two or three days per week on a contract basis. The time to arrange this is while you are still very involved in the job, not one day after.
- Use the leverage of your current contacts to explore new activities, e.g. becoming an agent for one of your suppliers.
- Research, research, research to learn if you want to startup your own enterprise or buy into a franchise situation.
Certainly, retirement grants the opportunity to follow your passion. The questions remains, “How do you want to spend your Time?”
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