Buy the Latte! Retirement is a Lie
Here’s how to calculate the amount of money you’ll need at retirement: 1) Whatever you have now; plus 2) Ten million dollars.
That sounds like enough to make you feel safe, right? Financial advisors estimate that the percentage of Americans who can actually save enough money to afford a reasonable lifestyle for 25 years without working is about 3%.
Here’s the problem: over time, the retirement game has warped beyond any reasonable shape. It was invented in the 1930s along with Social Security, which set the retirement age at 65—because most people died at 63. It was only supposed to support the few people who lived beyond the average life expectancy for a few years. Now life expectance has risen to 78, so retirement should start at 80. Most people can save enough to last 5-10 years.
I spoke with a 50-something man the other day. He was burned out at his job and wanted to retire. But he was afraid. “I have enough money to last twenty years,” he said. “But if I live longer than that, it’s a problem.”
Living too long is a problem? No—the problem is working too hard and burning out. The problem is too much work and not enough vacation. The problem is not having work you love.
When was the last time you heard a movie star say, ‘I can’t wait until I have my pension funded so I can retire and stop making all these movies’? You never hear that. Because actors love their work. At ninety years old, they’re trying to convince insurance companies how healthy they are so that they can make a movie. They die onstage. They want to die working because they love their job.
The game of richest man in the world has been won already. Bill Gates is still working. The number two richest guy, Warren Buffet, just gave the number one guy all his money. He’s still going to work every day. The number three guy, Sheldon Adelson, is still working, too – he has a five-year plan in place to become the number one guy. He’s 83 years old! Why bother? you might ask.
Just for fun is the answer.
Find work that you love doing and you won’t want to retire from it. Retire to do what? Lie on the beach? For how many days would that be interesting? You only think you want to lie on the beach because you haven’t had a good vacation. So go to Hawaii or Cabo or the Caribbean or someone’s backyard in Malibu now.
And enjoy a latte on the beach while you’re at it.
Chellie Campbell
Author, The Wealthy Spirit and Zero to Zillionaire
Buy the Latte! Retirement is a Lie - To learn more about this author, visit Chellie Campbell's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Businesses - Evan Elite Authors |
|
The Evan Elite Authors program is currently in beta phase. For details please contact us.
|
|
|
Chellie Campbell
(Visit Chellie's Website)
Chellie Campbell is the creator of the
popular Financial Stress Reduction®
Workshops, and the author of The Wealthy
Spirit and Zero to Zillionaire, both
published by Sourcebooks, Inc. She is one
of Marci Shimoff's “Happy 100” in her
current NYT bestseller Happy for No Reason
and contributed stories to Jack Canfield’s
recent books You’ve Got to Read This Book!
and Life Lessons from Chicken Soup for the
Soul. She is prominently quoted as a
financial expert in The Los Angeles Times,
Pink, Good Housekeeping, Lifetime,
Essence, Woman’s World and more than 35
popular books. For more information, visit
her web site www.Chellie.com or email her at Chellie@
Chellie.com
|
|
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
