Considering Possibilities for Later Life
Even if you are nowhere near the age of retirement, now is the time to start thinking about the possibilities you have ahead of you. After all, the path our lives take is not nearly as cut-and-dried as it used to be. In past decades, it was expected that we would work to a certain age, retire, and live a quiet life on whatever money was left. Nowadays, it’s a lot more complicated than that, and we have a lot to think about and plan for.
There is nothing wrong with going the traditional route of working and then retiring, but even if you do choose that, there’s the question of what you will do with all that time off. Do you want something high-energy that will keep you busy and independent, or would you rather go ahead and pre-book your place at a luxury retirement community where all your needs will be taken care of for you? You need to take into account health possibilities, as well. After all, none of us can guarantee that we won’t have some sort of accident or illness which may affect our decisions about how we want to spend our time. When you are making plans, flexibility is key. Be open for anything.
Also, what if you decide not to retire at all? People are sometimes leaving work at the age of 60 or even earlier, and then taking the opportunity to open their own businesses or actively work on investing their earnings. There’s no reason that you have to stop doing things at any particular point if you don’t want to, but again, that’s something to consider when you’re planning for your future. Decide what will become of your money and time if you do continue working, as opposed to what you will do if you don’t continue working. Your assets are another matter yet again — while you may enjoy having a large home at the moment, perhaps in your later years you would be happier in a smaller place, while using your home as an investment.
The point is not to pick one plan and stick with it, but to leave yourself open for as many options as possible. After all, although you know yourself, you can’t really predict with any certainly where your interests will lie several decades from now, or what your health and energy levels will be like. Keep in mind that at the age of 70, you might be ready to travel the world, or you might be more inclined to stay at home and work on your garden. Now is the time to start thinking about all the likely possibilities, and not just pigeon-hole yourself into a single option that may not suit you later.
The retirement years are actually a time to look forward to, when you can do anything you want to do and pursue any course of action that you think suits you. There is no reason that you have to follow a prescribed path then, any more than you do now, so don’t let what others are doing pressure you or influence your decisions. Your future is yours, and you can set it up to be any way you want it to be, no matter what sort of plans you have in mind.
