Recently I reviewed my retirement planning with my financial planner. Yes, even financial planners need a retirement plan, and someone to help them think through that plan and execute it.
We can easily convince ourselves that we’re different. That we can do without help. But when it comes to thinking about retirement, even I need the perspective of someone who is not emotionally involved. I also need to know that another expert eye has checked my numbers.
Before my review, I set aside time to think about my future and to prepare the information for my planner to work with. It struck me then that as a financial planner it often feels easy to see alternative options when doing financial planning for clients, but when doing our own stuff, it is more challenging, primarily because our emotions get in the way.
Sometimes it is difficult to see beyond our current reality to a different one. We cannot even bring ourselves to imagine what that reality could look like. When you’re in the thick of school lifts or university fees, your next big project or promotion, it is difficult to lift your head to think about a distant future. To ask the questions you need to.
What will life look like when the children have left home, and you do not have a job to go to? Who will you spend your time with? What will you spend your time on? How much money will be enough for the life you have in mind?
Retirement planning needs your time and energy, imagination, and vision. Set aside that time and energy to think about these questions and those you’re not even considering, because before you know it, that ‘one-day’ future is here.
If you want to set aside time to do that thinking, and get the benefit of our input you can join our free retirement workshop next week.
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Kind regards,
Sunél
