The mind set we have about the word “retirement” is meaningful. What does it mean to you? When you hear the word “retirement” what emotional reaction do you have? Some synonyms for retirement are departure, leaving, withdrawal, giving up work, or stepping down. To some people, it may mean aging, uselessness, or the end of life.
To retire sometimes means going to bed and in that context, you could think of retirement as rejuvenation. You give your mind and body a chance to rest and refresh. Rejuvenation can mean transformation, renewal, rebuilding, revitalization, or reinvigoration.
Some people think about the lack of stress, the freedom to schedule your own day, and fewer deadlines as great benefits of retirement. Yet it may mean the lack of exhilaration and motivation.
There is a mature populace that has no desire to retire in the conventional sense. They enjoy their work and choose to continue to do it. For others, retirement is an opportunity to learn something new and take other paths.
Whatever you call the phase of life where you stop working or alter your work life, it is an adjustment. What if we adjusted our thinking about retirement during our working life? We all have dreams of what we love to do, where we want to travel, or an exemplary daily routine. With a plan, perhaps, we could piece these events in to the next 10, 20 or 30 years.
First it would help to let yourself brainstorm ideas about what makes life a joy to you and write them down or digitize these thoughts. What do you see that you could do within the next year? Then go on to what you could do within the next 5 years, etc. Schedule it. Put it in your planner or calendar. Tell the important people in your life about your plans.
Now, in order to be true to your calendar, you will probably have to plan how you will be financially fit enough to carry through. One of the best ways to make this happen is to have money automatically taken out of your checking account each month and sent to a savings or investment account. If you are planning a trip in one year and you know it will cost about $2,000, that means that you will want to save about $167 per month (or accordingly per paycheck). If you are still working, maybe you will want to save a sum that will allow you to take a year off work or a few months off to find another job. Then you are thinking of a sum of money that equals a salary. If you earn $40,000 per year, you would need to invest or save between $500-$700 per month for 5–6 years (depending how much you earn on your money) to be able to pay yourself a salary for one year.
Once you have started your savings, you are on your way to a joyous ‘worktirement, revigorment, revitalment, or rejuvment’ way of life. Enjoy!