Good morning Dinks. I recently read an article in a group savings magazine that said financial planners should use the word savings instead of using the word retirement. This was weird to me because as a financial planner I always help people plan for their retirement and as a young professional I am always told to save for my retirement. But now I’m thinking maybe I should not be doing that?
The article said that people are actually afraid of being retired because it seems so final, kind of like the last thing people will do in their lives before they die is retire. We should be saving for our future. We should be saving for a time when we will no longer need to work. Maybe we just don’t necessarily have to call it retirement.
Are you afraid of retirement?
The word retirement for some people seems so final. It’s almost as if retirement will be the last phase of our lives and the truth is it will, but that’s doesn’t have to be a negative thing. Some adults spend more than twenty years in retirement and I think we can all agree that is a long time to be out of work.
Our years during retirement don’t have to be sad and spent planning our estate, they can be fun and spent planning to do all the things we couldn’t while we were stuck working five days a week. I know that I’m only 33 and as of right now I am looking forward to the day I retire and who’s to say that I won’t feel differently once I get there. But for now I am looking forward to retirement. I am looking forward
Are you saving for retirement?
I’m saving my money and planning for retirement because that’s what a young person should do if I ever want to retire some day. But what if I don’t plan to retire? What if I was a small business owner and planned to work my entire life until I physically couldn’t work anymore? If my home is valuable and so is my business I could sell both and retire happy, I wouldn’t have to save money every month for my future. If I don’t save month on a monthly basis into a retirement account then I wouldn’t have to think about retirement…or be afraid of it.
Some people don’t save for retirement because it’s too far away and they have other goals to plan for before they wave good bye to their job. The thought of retirement being 30 years away is a scary thought, but it can also be something to look forward to. Retirement can be our chance to really live the life we want to, travel to places we’ve never seen and do all of the things we want to experience.
I don’t think of retirement as being the last phase of our life is what’s scary. I think the idea of not being able to afford the life we want in retirement is what’s really scary. That’s why I save for retirement.
Photo by tax credits
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
Speaking from experience, I can tell you that retirement does not equal death. It equals life! However, you have to prepare for it and embrace it. If your entire identify is wrapped up in your job, you will not enjoy retirement. If you really don’t want to spend a lot of time with your spouse, you will not like retirement. But if you’ve prepared for it financially and emotionally, retirement if the most free time of your life. I give thanks for every day.
Hi Kathy, that’s great to hear. I think financially preparing for retirement has a huge role in how much people enjoy it. I mean no one wants to worry about money for the rest of their life. Thanks for sharing.
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