Retirement isn’t a number. It’s not an arbitrary age or predetermined net worth.
It’s about getting to the point in life where you can sustain the lifestyle you want to lead indefinitely. Where you’re choosing to work because you want to. Where you could quit at any time with no real consequences to your day-to-day.
One of the things I’m always coaching clients on is making retirement more specific and less arbitrary.
Lots of people come in with an age in mind or an amount they’d like to have saved up. But they haven’t given that much thought to where those numbers came from or whether they’re actually aligned with the life they want to lead.
In other words, most people would be better served by thinking more about their desired lifestyle. And getting really tangible, really specific, getting into the day-to-day details.
Because, fundamentally, I don’t believe retiring without a concrete plan is good for people. Doing nothing gets boring fast. You fall out of your routines. You lose your sense of purpose. You miss out on social interactions. You stop having a good reason to get out of bed in the morning.
If you want to retire, you need good answers to those questions.
What’s going to get you out of bed? How are you going to fill your days? How are you going to maintain your friendships and other relationships?
So, for instance, you might say you want to travel more. Well, where? How often? How much is that going to cost? Can you set up your life and finances to make that possible earlier in life?
Or you might want to volunteer more. Where, when, and why? Can you start with a smaller time commitment now?
The details matter. Far more than what age you’ll be or how much you’ll need to have saved. Those numbers shouldn’t be your starting point.
You don’t stop living when you retire.
So start with the life you want to live. With the specifics.
And then go about putting together a plan for how you’re going to get there.
You might find there’s no good reason to wait until you’re 65 to start doing lots of the things you want to do. Or you might realize you have no real desire to stop working altogether because your work gives you purpose and valuable social connections.
All of that learning starts with going beyond the numbers you have in your head and getting into the details of the life you want to lead.