What is your Plan B?
You may love your job and have no plans to retire anytime soon. The problem is leaving your job might not be your choice and the reality is retirement isn鈥檛 always a choice: your employer may decide for you, your health could dictate otherwise, or you may have a spouse that requires your assistance. You have to be ready to deal with what life throws at you.
So if you couldn鈥檛 do what you are doing today? What is your Plan B?
The first time I was asked what my Plan B was, I was having my annual medical. My doctor said, 鈥渢he importance of the question doesn鈥檛 lie in the answer but in the thought process itself.鈥� Preparing yourself for the expected allows you to get through a difficult or unexpected situation in a more controlled manner.
Taking control of your retirement can come down to two things, planning and your age. Yes, age. When it comes to age we actually have three numbers that matter.
- Our chronological age, in other words our actual age
- Our biological age, which may be aligned to our chronological age depending how good or bad our health is
- Our financial age, how much money we have saved relative to our chronological age
In other words I want my biological age to be much younger than my chronological age and I want my financial age to be much older. With financial age, the older the better and that can only happen if you have saved some money to bridge an emergency situation or fund retirement. Both can happen and having your financial foundation in place allows you to get through a difficult situation that much easier.
Why does this matter? The road to good health both physically and financially is tough work. There are no quick fixes and discipline is key to both. You may find yourself exploring career alternatives later in life. If you are forced to embark on Plan B and you want to be in the driver鈥檚 seat, ask yourself these questions:
- Do you have enough to retire if you were forced to?
- How often do you speak with your adviser about your retirement financial goals?
- Do you actually budget?
- How would you stack up your financial health compared to others your age?
If your financial health is younger than your actual age it might be time to grow up. Living day to day can be fun and you may love your job but life isn鈥檛 static - it is dynamic. We all need to have a Plan B just in case Plan A doesn鈥檛 go accord to plan.
