Worrying about retirement?

If you are in your 30’s you most probably have in one time or another thought about your retirement and as you push forward to your 40’s and 50’s you began to somehow seriously consider your life when you retire.

Like me you may have started reading financial books, magazines, newspaper or surf the net for financial advice.

And most likely too you are confused with the all the information about money, saving and investment available out there!

Almost certainly you’ve been bombarded with all the many ways and means on how to build a substantial retirement fund so you could wallow in the life of leisure when you finally say good bye to your nine-to-five job. Or at least maintain your current lifestyle and live comfortably enough without the paycheck every 15^th or 30^th of the month.

Hah. If you indeed pay just the teeny weeny bit of serious attention to what you are reading then like most people you have probably stopped reading or turned your back altogether because the subject of investments just seem Greek to you. Or you may get the feeling like you can’t breathe with all the saving and things you need to do.

Oh yes, you may be at first excited with the idea of living a life of leisure in your retirement. But if you keep on reading you’ll find out that most financial materials out there are after you saving every possible nickel you could lay your hands on and putting it away and investing in some investment instruments your complex human brain can not fathom. My head spins, too, and for the life of me I can’t figure out how a person can still sleep at night with all the retirement must do’s one needs to look into.

In fact after reading numerous advices on financial preparations for retirement you’d feel as if you are under a piece of a really huge rock or sinking under water.

So much emphasis is put on life when you retire that people are advised, oh, almost harassed into living really, really tight and saving on anything and everything and putting away something, oh, everything otherwise you would live in misery when you get old! Talking about being driven to an early old age! And then when you have indeed stashed away a considerable old age fund you are further advised not to touch your capital and live only on the interest. Huh? Oh, yes I do get it that it is a wise financial counsel but I thought we are building a nest egg just so we could enjoy our twilight years. So when do we exactly spend the money we so carefully squirreled away that we probably forgot to live in the present? I hope not when we are six feet below the ground!

Now, don’t get me wrong, readers. I do care about my life when I get old. In fact I care so much that I try to live every day of my life like it’s retirement time!

I remember reading a survey about people’s outlook on retirement. A whopping 90% of those surveyed said they could finally live the life they want and do the things they postponed doing while they were younger.

Just what exactly are we doing in the meantime, say, in our 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s? That’s about forty years of our life doing all things other that the life we wanted? Ninety percent said so.

Goodness, forty years of preparation for a faraway tomorrow we are not even sure of!

If that is the case then please, please let us fast forward to retirement time so we could start enjoying our life. Yippee now I’m 60! I’m retired! Let’s see. Hmmn. What it is I most wanted to do? Oh my, I like to travel – it should have been what my life is about, what, 30 or 40 years ago but I’ve been real busy preparing for retirement so I could actually do this in my old age. Now let’s see. Where is that Voyager traveling bag I stashed away somewhere specifically for this purpose? Opps, it’s way up there in the topmost cabinet and for the life of me I couldn’t forced my knees to keep me steady so I could haul it!

Now, where to go? Hmmn, some place exotic. But what about my aching joints! Some place with super food but now I worry about my indigestions! So what now?

Now let’s do some research. Just where in the world is that naughty pair of eyeglasses! I can’t read anything in this outdated, mildew-eaten travel book I kept hidden for just in case.

I’m exaggerating a little there, yes, but you get the idea. Replace the traveling part with something that you indeed wanted to do and chances are it’s either no longer physically possible or just plain impossible. Unless of course all you really, really, really so passionate about life is sitting down in some rickety rocking chair and watching the world go by or burying yourself among the worms and warm soil and the scent of manure.

Me??? What I want to do is live that retirement life now. For now is the only guarantee I have. Now that I’m young and in the prime of my life I’d rather build a well of memories of the life I most wanted to lead. When I get old and can no longer do these things those lovely, jolly memories will be my comfort. Retirement is for another time. But now is my real life and so I chose to live each and every day like the gift it really is instead of looking forward to a life in retirement in a someday I’m not even sure of.

Oh, I’m sure some do actually take a cruise or two in their old age but you can’t have enjoyed it like you could while you are young and a little bit reckless, oh well, adventurous.

Yes. Do save. In fact you must. I do a lot of saving but I splurge too and I splurge more specially on things I decided early on I care to do for most of my life. For life is for living and living is for now. And now is the only thing we can be sure of. I do not want to live in dreams. I want to live the dream now.

Sure, retirement will come creeping sooner or later but if you do take care of your today tomorrow shall take care of itself.

• Start saving something for your nest egg without sacrificing your life at present.
• Ensure that your SSS or GSIS contributions are in order and if you borrowed against your contributions see to it that you paid everything before you retire. Better yet never get in debt or secure a loan.
• Upgrade your PAG-IBIG contributions to the maximum amount you can afford.   Remember these are forced savings which earned dividends. Besides you will not miss the money you do not see.
• Pay all your outstanding debts and keep out of debt.
• Be sure you are in good health and keep it.
• Get a health insurance coverage - the most comprehensive that you can afford. Take note that it must be something you could afford comfortably and not live like a miser just so you could meet your payment.
• Get a life and accident insurance. Apply same principle as above.
• Train your children to be independent and be responsible about their personal expenses.
• Plan to keep part-time job after retirement.
• Keep your friends and surround yourself with your loved-ones.
• Remember to keep life simple and do focus on things that would matter most to you in the long term.

And as cliché as it must sound do live each day as if it were your last. By doing so you are forced to focus on things that are truly important to you and discard those that only clutter your life.

Oh, I know I’ve been yakking on and on about the same issue but I do want to drive the point real hard that if you just zero in on living the kind of life you dream in the present you’d be careful about your money and concentrate on focused spending. You’d learn to save and eventually build some little nest egg for yourself – without sacrificing your present life.