When Are You Retiring?

Have you put much thought into your retirement date? If you’re like most of the population, retirement is something in the distant future and you figure it’s not worth worrying about now. But, let me tell you, if you have this mind-set you might NEVER retire!

How much time do you spend planning that yearly vacation? A couple of hours? Maybe even a few weekends of sitting down and going through the travel arrangements? All in all, it may take you at least 10 hours of planning to ensure yourself a smooth, relaxing vacation. Why is it that we put so much more time and effort toward a one week vacation than we do for our own retirement!?

Quick, in the next 5 seconds, tell me what your plan is for retirement. What are you doing today that will ensure a healthy retirement in the future? If you can’t answer this question, your retirement will most likely be nothing like you imagine.

What Do You Want Retirement to Be Like

My wife and I are young, but we are starting to think about when we would like to retire. For us, retirement means doing what we love. We don’t necessarily have to be lying on the beach with an umbrella drink (as most would picture retirement), it’s more a matter of doing what we enjoy. So what is it that delights us, and how do we plan to accomplish it?

My wife loves to travel and would like to make a living with her camera (she loves to photograph weddings) and I would enjoy earning a large income through online ventures (blogs, niche sites, eBooks, and maybe even some speaking).

That is a very brief description of our “retirement”. Start thinking about yours! Would you like to sit back and do nothing for the rest of your life? Would you like to continue to work, but simply do what you love? Or, maybe it will be a combination of both! Whatever it is, make sure you know what you’re working toward (this makes like a little bit more fun too!).

So, What’s the Plan?

While having your desired retirement in mind is important, you must also have a plan to get there! For my wife and I, we are already working toward our ideal retirement.

With nearly all retirement plans, there must be somewhat of a large “pot of money”. This may be a 401(k), a CD, or perhaps some mutual funds of your own selection. My wife and I will not depend on this method for our retirement, but we do put 10% of my paycheck in my company 401(k) as a “just-in-case”. I have already begun my quest for retirement with my blog that provides others with useful tips for getting out of debt, saving money, and becoming wealthy. It’s a good start, and it earns quite a lot of money per month, but it’s certainly not going to allow us to “retire” from our day jobs.

In the course of the next few months, I plan to finish writing my eBook about college debt and will begin 2 new websites. Through these ventures, I will come close to replacing my “day-job” income.

Like me, my wife has already begun her quest for dream work as well. She owns a very nice camera, flash, and is developing her own studio within our house. She has photographed 3 or 4 weddings and has many referrals in the works. Soon, I suspect that her income will replace her “day-job” as well.

With the additional income and a paid-for house (all the extra income gets poured into the mortgage for the next few years), we’ll easily start living our dream life within 5 years. That gives us about 50 years of “retirement”! 🙂

This may seem like a pipe dream to you, but it really is possible and is already working! Figure out what it will take for you to retire and plan accordingly. It may not take 30 more years of work at a job you hate. Maybe it’s just a matter of starting something different, and it may even be something you love!

What’s your plan?