By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. —Benjamin Franklin
Okay, I didn’t interview any of these people, either for my podcast or this book, but they all knew something I’ve been saying on repeat for years: live life with intention. Most people cringe when told the importance of planning, but just like planning a vacation, if you don’t plan for your retirement, it’s going to arrive and you’re not going to have a clue. You plan for your vacations because you know that otherwise you may not be able to travel at the best time or to the most desired location. You may not be able to get airline reservations or get into a great hotel. If you leave it all to chance, the odds are stacked against you and your dream vacation might never get off the ground. Here’s the scary truth: People spend more time planning their next vacation than they do planning their retirement.
Retirement doesn’t have to be scary. In fact, planning for it can be exciting and fun. Learning about all your options, finding special places to go, and creating enjoyable experiences—there’s a lot to look forward to.
Many of you may feel like you’re behind in your retirement savings or don’t have a clear course of action. You’re worried it’s too late to start saving and planning. After all, you didn’t see your parents model a fun and relaxing retirement. I have some good news for you! It’s called the “Sweet Spot Solution.” It’s that wonderful window when your children are no longer financially dependent, when they’ve finished school and are on their own, you’re closing in on paying off your house, and you have discretionary savings available. For some of you, that may be five to fifteen years when you can “catch up.” The key is to capture it and make up for lost time. Finally, after spending so much on your children, the time has come for you to make up for lost ground and build for your own future. Now it is time to think about how you wish to live when you retire, address your finances, and begin to fulfill your dreams.
In a nutshell, the Sweet Spot Solution follows the same approach you would take to plan a dream vacation. First, decide where you want to go, then when, then how you wish to travel, and how long you plan to stay. Locate your options, determine how much each will cost, and make your decisions. Then figure out how to finance it.
After a lifetime of working, most baby boomers don’t want their parents’ version of retirement. They don’t want to slip away quietly, hibernate, or follow traditional routes. They want to pursue their passions, explore, experience, and blaze new trails. They insist on controlling their own destinies and setting their own standards, as they always have. You may not want to completely give up your job, what you’ve mastered over a lifetime, been praised for, and come to love. You may want to continue working, perhaps part-time, or even start a new career you’ve been dreaming about. Or maybe you want to travel, play golf, fish, volunteer, or just relax. And, after a few years, you may even itch for something different.
Regardless of the choices you make, don’t kid yourself—they all revolve around money. When I met with clients for the first time, very few had thought much about their retirement, and fewer still had made any specific plans. Instead, they had been grinding it out, living for today, and postponing the inevitable. When we talked about creating investment plans, they didn’t want to change their lifestyle now or later, so they cringed—and resisted.
The Sweet Spot Solution gives you the opportunity to:
- Retire now with a lower standard of living (this is for the person who desperately wants out of their job).
- Phase in your retirement so you work longer and begin to ease into retirement while doing work you enjoy.
- Delay full retirement—work full-time longer so that when you do retire, you won’t have to work at all.
Planning for retirement is essential, so don’t be afraid of it. The Sweet Spot Solution starts with six steps. It teaches those who haven’t saved or haven’t saved enough how to plan for retirement, build retirement funds, and address the emotional impact of the changes they’ll face. It shows those who have saved how to save more and surpass their dreams. And it will arm you with time-tested answers to problems that could throw you off course, show you how to anticipate these issues, and give you concrete ways to proactively create a worry-free retirement.
