For retirement planning, it is prudent to aim for a higher savings and longer time in retirement. It is precisely because we dont know how long we can live that we need to put in buffers in the amount to be saved.
The moment you aim low, you are setting up yourself to fail. When you have enough saved up and more, you can choose to live humbly or to reward yourself once in a while. When you dont have enough saved up, you have no choice but to live humbly all the remaining days of your retirement. It is a no-brainer which scenario we should plan for.
If you have prepared yourself well, each day in retirement can be and should be spent not worrying about money matters but to truly enjoy life. On the other hand, when you dont have enough saved up, you will be constantly worrying about money, worry about medical bill when you fall sick, worry about being invited to weddings, parties, funerals, etc.....
You will find yourself avoiding others. People will also start avoiding you and gradually you become isolated.
And the biggest irony is that the guy who saved more and wants to work longer actually has the real option of retiring early. On the other hand, the guy who planned for a humble retirement lifestyle may need to work longer to accumulate more, because he didnt plan and invest early.
Always planned for a higher goal while we are still able to.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
If you live a humble, simple life, you don't need much for retirement. If you are humble and mix with lower income groups of people, you don't need much to retire. Those who need a lot to retire are those who have friends who are of the upper echelon and they have to keep up with the Joneses. They cannot retire without a car as their rich friends will look down on them. They cannot downgrade from a condo to a flat as their friends will look down on them. They cannot stop playing golf as their friends will look down on them. So since they have to keep up with their high standard of living, they will need to work very hard, day and night until they reach 75. They will then die at 80 and hence will only enjoy their retirement for 5 years. They may just spend $500k over their 5 years of retirement and will leave their millions to their children. Their children will just squander all their hard earned money.
|