This is a cautionary posting….
Two years ago, on Valentine’s Day of 2008, I de-pledged from
my job for the sake of my sanity, and set out on this journey to figure out
what it is am supposed to do with my life. Early on, when people asked about my status, I happily
declared, “I’m retired!” It was a
cocky attitude for a 33 year old, but after being chewed out in front of my
peers by a vice president at work, I quietly calculated my net worth and
divided it by my monthly expenses, to determine how long I could last. Long enough, I decided. It would soon be time to go. So whether you retire at 33, 53, or 73,
here are a few things to think about.
Lesson #1: You
will have a lot of fun …for two months.
I remember at former co-worker’s retirement party when
another old-timer stood up an declared, “Congratulations, Lester! From now on, every night is Friday
night!” It’s pretty wild when the
only place I had to be, or chose to be, with consistency was church on Sunday
mornings. The rest of the week was
wide open to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I still couldn’t sleep past 7 AM (too hard-wired for
mornings, I guess), but the rest of the time was spent running, sitting in
coffee shops, and reading the pile of books I’d collected. But all of my friends were still
working, and before long, the times between 9 AM and 5 PM became pretty lonely. After about two months, the novelty of
free-time as a seemingly renewable resource wore off and the real search for
“what’s next” began.
Lesson #2: You
will get bored.
Take money out of the equation for a moment. If your basic bills are paid, it becomes
a matter of what you’ll do with your time. I’ve known entrepreneurs who’ve sold their companies and
pro-athletes who’ve retire with far more money than I’ve seen so far. In both cases, they’re driven to keep
going, to do something. I recently read an article about Brett Favre’s annual dilemma, and I
think it shows his heart.
“I asked Favre what he planned to do.
‘I have no idea,' he said. ‘I know I'm not going to
replace throwing touchdown passes by cutting down three trees tomorrow. I do
know this: I've gotten bored with everything in my life at some time. I love to
hunt, but I get tired of that. I love to work on my property, but I get tired
of that. We'll see.’”
Ref.: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/02/14/offseason/2.html
I love garlic mashed potatoes. They’re a treat.
But I don’t want to eat them everyday for the rest of my life. We all need variety, but more than
that, we need purpose and accountability.
Without them, we get mired in ourselves, which I don't recommend.
Lesson #3: You
will spend more money than you planned.
Now, add the money back to the equation. Unless you’re a former NBA player,
you’ll need to watch your pennies carefully. In my case, I still balanced my checkbook by hand with each
purchase or ATM withdrawal. I thought
I was frugal, and in a normal system, I am. But when you sit in a coffee shop all afternoon they
typically expect you spend some money to keep them in business. Then you go to lunch. Then you go buy a new pair of running
shoes because you’ve run more than normal and cut down the life of your current
pair. It’s no fun sitting around the house by
yourself with nothing to do, so a long drive is in order (at nearly $4.00/gallon
in 2008), or maybe a plane ticket to go see family for a while. Books from Amazon aren’t free,
either. Because you’re not chained
to a desk for eight hours a day where it is nearly impossible to spend money,
you’ll find yourself spending more. I’m a tightwad, but even I was surprised by the drain that I
allowed from my savings. Couple
that with watching a portion of my cash evaporate during the second half of ’08 and suddenly I was a lot more interested in going
back to work. I have yet to meet a
money manager talk about this.
They tell you that you’ll spend less in retirement. For me, it wasn’t the case at all.
Lesson #4: You
need to work.
The bottom line is men and women were created to work. Theologically, working in the garden
was the commission given to Adam and Eve BEFORE the Fall. I’m just telling you what the book
says. About half of the book of
Proverbs (I’ve had time to read it several times) directs people to work, to
avoid sleeping too much, or goofing off too much. Some is refreshing, but too much gets a man in trouble. We disdain work because we associate it
with cubicles and conference calls, bosses and bureaucracy. I’m with you there, but what would it
be like knowing when you wake up in the morning that you’re about to go to the
kind of work you were meant to do (and that yes, there will still be food on
your table). What could be better?
Lesson #5:
Re-wirement, not retirement.
A friend and former co-worker put this eloquently and coined
the term. Like her, I didn’t quit
because I didn’t want to work.
That’s never been the case.
I quit to find my purpose and my calling. There will likely be several steps in the discovery process,
but I accepted that journey two years ago, though at the time there was no way
I could have articulated it.
Despite actuarial tables, IRS laws, and Social Security
expectations, I never want to stop working, at any age. At 34 I’ve already had my
retirement, so God willing I’ll be working until the day I die.
In for the long haul.
JRH