Retirement can be a fun and rewarding phase of life, if you prepare for it correctly. Unfortunately, there are tens of thousands of elderly individuals that either discredit retirement, or simply can’t afford to properly anticipate the next stage of life. We’ve put together some pretty convincing reasons for young people to start arranging their withdrawal from the employed world as soon as they possibly can, so that when retirement does creep into the picture, they are prepared.
Spending Time with Your Family:
By the time most are ready for retirement, they’ll have sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, and likely a few grandchildren to keep them busy. Freeing up 40-50 hours from your schedule every week affords you the freedom to visit the ones you love as frequently (or infrequently) as you’d like, instead of having to only visit for holidays and birthday parties.
Go Anywhere You Want:
Ready to take that trip to the Grand Canyon, or spend a month in Italy doing nothing but sleeping late, drinking wine and eating delicious food? When you’re retired, there’s no job to rush back for after the weekend draws to a close! If you’ve prepared properly and have the necessary funds, there’s no limit to where you can go and how long you’re “allowed” to stay. If you want, you can even sell your home and buy an RV to travel around the country!
Live Where You Like:
Many people share the familiar desire to relocate somewhere better. Whether it is for more sunshine, less rain and snow, or to be closer to family, the ocean or a sports team you love, retirement makes it a reality. Choosing a place to live is a lot simpler and freeing when you don’t have a career to consider.
Open a Small Business:
Retirement has this cool benefit of allowing you to work, if you want to, and focus completely on things you care about. Start a small gift shop, open an ice cream parlor or run a Bed and Breakfast to meet new traveling friends. If you’re business-minded and smart about your investment, you can even make a little bit extra cash to add to that retirement fund.
Build Your Dream House:
Right now the value of property is so low, it’s never been easier for people to build, or re-build their own homes. Retired folks have the already mentioned freedom of location. Without cluttered schedules and the stress of a 9-5 work day, you can get started on building that “perfect home” you’ve always dreamed of. You can own 10 acres of land and get seven dogs, because you have the time to take care of all that. Or you can retire to a quite one bedroom cottage in the country; it’s up to you!
Retirement can be a great blessing in disguise, but you have to intentionally prepare for it from an early age. Start setting aside a portion of your income and saving every penny not already allocated to something vital, because when you’ve outgrown the work place you’ll need it. The more you save, and the more you think about it now – no matter what your age – the more freedom you’ll have to do all the things you’ve ever dreamed of.
Larry Shipley
writes for several financial sites. Read great articles,like this one on retirement planning, to get prepared for retirement.