#166 We’ve got retirement planning all wrong

After my last knee surgery, my doctor told me that I should NEVER AGAIN attempt to run like I have previously. That’s when it hit me, my best days physically are behind me. That was a sobering thought and a bit depressing. Thinking like this has a tendency to affect how we live and can very easily seep into every aspect of life; it could affect how I relate to my family, do my job, or how I view retirement planning. When it comes to retirement...are our best days behind us? Are we approaching a time where we are unproductive, broken, and tired? Dan Miller doesn’t think so! Listen to this episode of the Retirement Answer Man to hear why and to hear my guest Dan explain how to start living a fulfilling retirement now.

“We’ve got #retirementplanning all wrong #RetirementAnswerMan @DanMiller48days @48DaysTeam ”

Holistic Retirement Planning

With the current life expectancy and medical care, we will live longer and healthier in retirement than ever before. This is a great thing but it presents a problem. A problem known as the retirement crisis where many Americans will not be able to save enough for retirement. Because of this very real issue, our cultures main goal in retirement planning is to save and invest and hopefully have enough when we retire. Doing so is stressful and can cause our relationships to suffer. When all we can think about is working as much as possible to provide for the future, we forget to think of the present. When retirement arrives, you are worn out and may have damaged your relationships to such an extent that there is not much to live for. Dan Miller, my guest on this episode, thinks there is a better way to approach retirement planning. Don’t miss it!

Why wait for Retirement to start doing what you love?

Dan Miller believes that a retirement of ease and relaxation is short lived. Even if you have managed to save enough to lounge on a beach, you may be lacking in purpose. Our purpose is what drives us, what keeps us breathing. If we have built great financial assets and are able to live it up but don’t have a purpose, life becomes depressing. Dan is convinced that the key to a happy retirement is to fill it with financially productive endeavors that bring you joy and ignite your passion. Having these sources of income will relieve much of the stress we often feel in the years leading up to retirement and can save us from the heartaches of misplaced priorities. But why wait until you retire to find those things that make you happy AND earn you money? Dan says we shouldn’t wait, and in this episode, he gives a simple framework to help you find your passion and start pursuing it now.

“Why wait for Retirement to start #doingwhatyoulove? #RetirementAnswerMan @DanMiller48days @48DaysTeam”

Retirement isn’t a time, it’s a lifestyle.

Our culture thinks of retirement as a time when you are free of your lifelong career and hopefully have the financial assets to enjoy a lifestyle you couldn’t previously. While this is true in many cases, it doesn’t have to be. Dan Miller wrote a book entitled 48 Days to the Work You Love. Through this book, he teaches you how to find something that you are passionate about and turn it into a revenue stream. By making a switch from your current career to a job that fulfills you and that you work on your own time you can start living that retirement lifestyle now. Tune into this episode to hear Dan share stories of how people have done this.

Holistic retirement planning gives you power.

The binary view of retirement as a set time for which we have to plan and save can rob us of our joy and our ability to be creative. A holistic approach to retirement as a lifestyle gives you the freedom to pursue your dreams and passions and express your creativity. You could even start today. This does away with stringent and stressful retirement planning and gives you the ability to live.

“#Holistic #retirementplanning gives you power. #RetirementAnswerMan @DanMiller48days @48DaysTeam”

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

[0:27] My best days are behind me!

HOT TOPIC SEGMENT

[3:06] The problem with retirement.

[4:42] Our number one focus is on saving and investing.

[5:35] The numbers don’t work. We can’t continue to think of retirement as a time of inaction.

[5:49] Thinking of retirement in such a binary way stifles our creativity and ability to problem solve.

[7:09] What resources do we have to solve this retirement crisis?

[9:23] Most retirement advice you are getting falls short and limits your ability to create a great life.

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT

[10:16] Conversation with Dan Miller.

[14:00] Why would you wait for retirement to start doing what you love to do?

[17:45] If retirement is less of a date and more of a pivot into living your passion, how do you make that change?

[20:32] Examples of people following their dreams.

[25:11] You might have to change your expectations in order to do what makes you happy.

[28:35] Going through the process and finding what you love gives you control of your life.

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT

[33:50] Listen to Dan Miller’s podcast.

THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT

[34:30] We are more creative than we give ourselves credit for. Thinking holistically about life and retirement gives you back the power to create an awesome life.