As I get closer to retirement, I’m getting really excited but there will be some “lambs” that will need to be sacrificed to make retirement work and last. So I’ve been taking inventory of things that I/we are willing to go without. Here’s a partial list:
Sacrifices
- Life in America – Probably the most significant sacrifice is leaving one’s own country. If there were another way to make retirement work in the U.S. we would do it but the truth is staying in America at the current rate of inflation and financial chaos including demographic decline will come at a very high price that most people haven’t even been fathoming.
- Family – While we’ll keep in touch with family with modern technology, we won’t be there physically for birthdays, weddings, funerals and other life events. We will eventually travel back to the US periodically but it won’t be the same.
- Material Things – The second most significant thing to sacrifice are material things. I’m a techno-gadget aficionado buying new laptops, monitors, TVs, mobile phones at least every other year but that’s all going to stop. I will be happy to stop carrying multiple cell phones for work and personal. My wife collects expensive porcelain figurines and jewelry and we agreed that those purchases would mostly stop.
- Income – The best place in the world to make money is the United States and while we’ll retain our rental properties and other financial assets in the US to continue to earn money, our jobs will come to an end.
Gains
- The World – By sacrificing high costs in America we will gain access to the world. The cost of living is almost lower anywhere in the world and while there are exceptions, it will afford us the opportunity to travel the world.
- Life Changing Experiences – Emptying out the material world in exchange for rich full experiences seems like a great compromise for us so we’re eager to leave “stuff” behind so we can gain full use of our senses again. Smelling Jacaranda trees in Sydney Australia during the spring is one experience I’m already looking forward to already.
- New Family – While we will be far away from family, we will be closer to friends we’ve made all over the world. One of our kids lives in Europe and we’ll join him periodically and his friends and family will become part of ours. We also have friends that live all over the world and it will be great to adventure with them when we can.
- Personal growth, social and community involvement – The world is changing rapidly and not necessarily for the better, we hope to take what we’ve learned and share with others to helpfully make a better world.
There are other things we’ll miss but we only get one life to live and I am ready to turn mine on MAX MODE and do the things that I want to do without sacrificing any more precious time.
Share The Wealth
Are you planning on sacrificing any sacred lambs during retirement? Let me know in the comments below.