SECTION 1
What retirement means to you?
The first step of retirement planning is defining, what retirement means to you?
Although retirement is a very common word, each of us have our own unique definition to retirement.”
According to www.merriam-webster.com, the definition of retirement is as follows;
In the practical sense, retirement is the period, when working for money is no longer a necessity, while your money and your assets are working for you to provide a regular and dependable stream of income.
It is basically having enough passive income (Income from sources other than salary, fees, profit), to pay for all your expenses.
It is a period everyone looks forward to do things they always wanted to but were unable to do them because they were tied with work and family.
While some adventurous souls might want to travel to the most exotic places on earth, a few may want to lead a nomadic life hopping from city to city or from a village to village.
Most of us would want to spend time with their family, friends and relatives during retirement.
Start with visualizing yourself in retirement.
Think about the activities that you would want to do like;
Waking up every morning and not having to go to work may be fun initially, but slowly it could be frustrating, hence it is important to identify how you can engage yourself in fulfilling activities during retirement
Think about it, when you are in a party, or in a social gathering, how do you introduce yourself.
My guess is, “I am so and so with xyz company”, when you retire, how would you want to introduce yourself?
Planning how you will spend your time in retirement will also provide important pointers as to how much money you'll need to support your desired lifestyle.
Whatever retirement means to you write it down. Define it in your own words. Give it meaning and purpose.