Know When To Alight

Dear Readers,

I'm pretty sure that like me, most of you have a set retirement date and amount of money you want to have at retirement in mind. However, can you honestly say that when you eventually reach that much awaited point in your life, you could just stop what you have been doing for say 20 years and start a 'new' life?

I wonder what I would feel at that time as a person who likes to have a large margin of safety. I guess I would wonder to myself as to whether I have sufficient funds to allow my family to live comfortably. I would also ask myself what I would do with so much of my time. I do have a list of things I would love to do now, but would it be the same 15 years down the road?

Anyway, what I wanted to say in this post is that, besides having enough money, there are other things to consider before alighting at your retirement stop.

• Friends - I'm talking about close friends that have been with you through the years. You having an early retirement does not mean that they too are having one. Will you have to look for new friends to participate in all the activities you planned for during your extra time in retirement?
• Health - Are you healthy? It affects everything, from the amount of money you will have to spend to the changes in your mood. Make sure that you are well covered insurance wise and also please eat healthily and exercise more so as to keep a healthy body. ( Note to self : Please practice what you preach)
• Family - Are your immediate family members supportive of your decision? Is your spouse going to continue working or is he/she going to retire early as well? I feel that everyone in your immediate family should be comfortable with the situation if you are to have a happy and early retirement.
• Career - Are you ready to leave your career behind? Something that you have been working hard for through the past decades of your life? If you are not, you could consider semi retirement first before the transition to a full retirement. Anyway, I feel that we should not let our careers define our lives. Straying a little bit from my point here but I was wondering, at the moment, if someone asked you what you do, without a thought, you would say Engineer or accountant or doctor. What happens when someone asks the same question after you have retired at a young age? Er, I do....things I like? I do..Life? Anyway, just a thought, no further thinking required. 
• Hobbies - What are you going to do during all that free time? It's not as easy to fill as you think. I once took a 1 week break and realized that it's extremely boring not to have a goal in mind. What's worse was that I was the only one I knew that was not working that week so in a way, I was alone. Perhaps a preview of early retirement if my wife continues to work. - I'll have to reconsider a full early retirement until my wife retires as well. Actually these days, I'm more inclined towards a semi retirement as my wife and I should be starting a business of our own real soon. Fingers crossed it works out.

So there you have it, some pointers to consider in order to make sure that you are ready when the time comes. I wish you all the best whether you are just about to start your journey or are towards the end of it.

As always, save more, spend less and invest wisely.