How To Avoid Retirement Part 1
Ok, and how many of you believe the earth revolves around the sun?
I’m assuming that most of you raised your hands indicating that the earth does indeed revolve around the sun. So now, how many of you can prove that the earth revolves around the sun?
No hands?
I mean sure you could google it and some website could explain it, but you can’t really prove it. In the end, you would be taking it by faith that the website was correct… that somewhere, some time, someone proved it. But let’s not stop there what else have you believed by faith for most of your life? Are their really nine planets in our solar system? I realized recently that LOTS of what I believe are ideas that were taught to me somewhere along the line that I just believed. Our western education system is largely designed to teach us what to think, not how to think.
I’m not saying this is all bad. So far this whole thing where I mostly believe what I’m told has worked out pretty well. It would be exhausting to find proof for every little idea that we are taught. But one big one I’ve decided I just don’t buy is the idea of retirement.
Those who are disabled from work by age and invalidity have a well-grounded claim to care from the state
That headline right there is one of the very first historical mentions of retirement we have (according to Wikipedia which I am taking by faith is right!). A German Chancellor said that in 1883 but the idea didn’t really catch on until the 1930’s after the industrial revolution had produced and aged and tired workforce that was taking, jobs from younger, more productive people. Basically, factory workers were beat up and life expectancy was much shorter than it is today so people were shuttled off to the side to make room for young bucks.
But things have changed a little since 1935. Most of us are knowledge workers, not factory workers. Looking at screens all day doesn’t take the same tole factory work does. Furthermore, our life expectancy is increasing at a rapid rate leaving many retirees to figure out what the heck to do with themselves for 30 or more years! It’s no wonder that recent studies have indicated that retirement increases the chances of suffering from clinical depression by around 40 percent.
The John Gluch Retirement Solution
While I think retirement is an outdated idea I love the idea of financial freedom. Getting to a place wherein your investments kick off enough passive income to pay for your chosen lifestyle is a MUCH better goal that retirement. In parts 2-4 of this series on How To Avoid Retirement, I’ll dive deep into the topics below. If you’re anxious to get going, you can check out my one step plan to become a millionaire here.
For now, here’s my shortlist on why financial freedom is so far superior to retirement.
- It puts us in the now- Why slave away my youth for the theoretical promise of decades of leisure time later in life. Now is the only real moment that exists. Retirement as sold as this promised land to work towards depriving us of enjoying the journey. How would you change the way you live NOW if you took the idea of retirement off the table?
- You’ll get there faster than you think – When the goal is financial freedom you can remove the mental constraints requiring you to be 65 to be free. I’ll talk lots more about why I think our government produced deferred tax plans are making things much worse for us and delaying freedom.
- It puts you in control- So many of the central ideas of retirement are beyond our control. Waiting around to get to a certain age, putting money away in some account some guy in wall street manages and hoping he’s not the next Bernie Madoff. The path to financial freedom for me is much more tangible and within my control. We are using real estate to accomplish these goals at a much more rapid pace, and best of all I understand it.
