Wanting to go for an early retirement? But having doubts because of the misconceptions of retiring early. This article would guide you wisely.
The world is moving at a very fast pace and things are transforming every day. Before now, people think that retirement is meant to be at a good old age, but these days people are retiring at young ages. This early retirement has brought about so many misconceptions.
Though a lot of people find it difficult to achieve early retirement, that does not mean it would also be difficult for you. Other people are enjoying great financial independence in their early retirement.
Misconceptions Of Retiring Early
It is not wrong if you are thinking about early retirement. Do not be scared or discouraged by the disadvantages of early retirement you must have heard about, because it also has its amazing advantages too.
This article would show you some misconceptions people have about retiring early.
1)No more fun; just total saving
Saving money for your early retirement does not mean that you will not have money to catch your fun. You have to be happy even when you retire early, so, you should know that it is not all about the amount of money you have in your bank account. It has to do with how disciplined are you with how you spend.
The amount of money you spend is what determines how much you need. During early retirement, there is no need for so much amount of money.
Once you retire, you would not be getting your normal income as usual. So, you have to adjust your lifestyle to suit your retirement. Probably, you like eating expensive restaurants, you can adjust by eating in a less expensive restaurant or eat mostly at home. If you like buying books to read, you can adjust by going to the local library and read books for free or read free online books.
For, your sporting activities, there is no need to continue going to private sports clubs, you can start doing your sporting activities in public sports clubs. So, your lifestyle can be adjusted and you still catch your fun and do what you love doing.
2)There is a greater risk for younger retirees to go broke
This huge fear has deprived many people of early retirement. This is one of the misconceptions of retiring early and the fact is that, it is not a logical fear, because people will always endeavour to put effort to ensure that they do not get broke or run short on finances.
Nobody just wakes up with and decide on retiring and still retire that same day. It is normal for you to make out time to plan over the years about your early retirement. As the years go by, also learn how to be disciplined, cultivate the habit of saving and investing. So, early retirement planning is key to retirement.
Before you retire, you can experiment with an expected envisaged income that you will be getting after retirement whether it would be able to take care of you and your family. Such income would be coming from investments like municipal bonds, rental income, interest from savings, and many more. It is also good to have an emergency plan, just in case an uncertain event occurs. So, that the finances or investment you have set aside for such emergencies can help you at such moments.
3)Identity would get lost and depression would set in
Spending most of your life working, makes it difficult for you to even discover your identity in life, apart from your job or profession. So, take some time to evaluate your strengths, goals, hopes, and dreams for your future after you retire.
Have you ever pondered on how your boss and colleagues would cope without you if you retire early? Will they be able to survive without your skills and talents? For you to be working with them for many years means you are important and needed by them. But, do not feel bad leaving them or be carried away by your emotions because there could be great things you can achieve if you retire early.
Look inwards and you will notice fresh and exceptional things that you crave for and can become your identity if you focus on them. It could be a dream or hobby that is your cravings and that gives you fulfilment. You do not need to get scared of depression, because, in reality, depression would only come when you are restricted and not been free to achieve that dream that makes up your true identity. So, when you retire early, be proud and confident to tell anybody what you do that makes your true identity.
4)Due to inactivity and loss of purpose, early death might occur
One of the great misconceptions of retiring early is the fact that you might die young as a result of inactive and loss of purpose. You, dying young is far from the picture of early retirement, because early retirement comes with loads of health benefits. Come to think of it, the number of health challenges you face from working actively is numerous. They range from intense lower backaches, (which is due to sitting all day), teeth grinding, (which is due to stress), weakened immune system, (which is also due to heavy stress), and many more health challenges.
Stress is a major cause of most health challenges faced. So, early retirement helps in avoiding many health challenges. Those long hours you spend sitting down on a chair and stressing yourself out at work, would be all gone when you retire early and you will be free from it. You can now eat healthier, exercise more often, and meditate longer.
Purpose do not get lost during retiring early, it only gets redefined and clearer. You can then have more time to focus on living a long and healthier life so that you can watch your kids grow up to become reasonable and independent adults. You can as well focus on your dreams and long-term goals, and other things that drive you towards achieving your purpose.
5)Mind will be consumed by boredom
Once, you go into early retirement, you will suddenly observe that you start becoming disillusioned. Because you that normally used to working up to 9 -12 hours every day would just start sitting at home doing little or nothing daily.
So, no doubt, in the initial stage of your early retirement you will get bored. But, as times go on, and you no longer do things you hate doing, but rather begin to do those things that make you happy and gives you a sense of purpose in life. Boredom will naturally be driven away and the beauty that comes with early retirement would take over.
Disillusion and boredom will disappear once you begin to engage yourself in things that you like, and are also productive. All doubts would be cleared and you will enjoy yourself and become happy, as your mind becomes free from all forms of boredom.
6)It brings absolute and constant happiness
This is another great misconception, because in life nothing lasts forever, and early retirement is not an exception. Even the most amazing and outstanding things fade away with time. Note that, early retirement is not the key for permanent happiness.
As you go into early retirement, and you start doing fresh things that make you happy and reveals your true identity, you will be extremely happy and excited. But, as time goes by, you will notice that your happiness level would begin to reduce, and eventually fall back to its normal state. Thoughts of the unknown would begin to flood your mind. Questions would start arising in your mind. Was it a mistake that I went into early retirement? Was it the right thing to do? Get rid of such questions by looking for new and fresher discoveries that would keep you happier and give you a new sense of fulfilment.
There would never be an absolute form of happiness, because the world is filled with uncertainties and anxieties, which can’t exempted. The truth remains that in early retirement, your anxieties and fears only transforms. This means that you can’t get absolute and constant happiness, even in early retirement.
7)Need so much money to retire
There is no doubt about the importance of money in your life, but, that doesn’t mean that money is everything. You can retire early without having millions of dollars in your account and still have a splendid and amazing retirement.
You stand a chance to enjoy great benefits that come with early retirement if you started planning early for your retirement, frequent investment saving, and accumulation of money. There you have the advantage, if you have a good understanding of expenses and know how to regulate your expenses every month.
Absolutely, important for you to know that early retirement is not all about making more money. It is rather about living a healthy life, spending quality time with friends and families, giving voluntary support to the community, and make good use of your time to pursue and accomplish your personal goals that you set out for yourself.
These misconceptions of retiring early can decisive and frighten you from making up your mind to retire early. So, beware of them.
What do you think about retiring early? Kindly drop your comments.