You may be very near or have entered your retirement years. Is that good or bad? Did you float to this time in your life without acknowledging that it is near? Did you see it coming and embrace it with gusto? How you feel now falls in one of two categories: I have planned for this moment, or I haven’t planned for this moment.
I Planned My Next Chapter
We should be embracing this time in our life where we see the end of one chapter and the start of a new chapter. A new chapter that allows moments of freedom.
I look forward to beginning that chapter in my life. I have planned for that blessed event – retirement. Or better yet, the Lord helped me plan for the blessed event. The steps in my life lead up to the moment when that retirement day arrives.
Does that mean retirement planning starts late in life or early in life? I believe retirement planning should start early in life. But does it? Are we too young to think about the latter years? Or, does it mean we are focused on other things in our life?
Retirement planning for me was something I thought about in my early years, as I had parents that focused on retirement, and I always wanted to be like them.
However, my plans just didn’t work out. Let me share with you how the direction in my life changed.
I was headed in a different direction in my 30s. I wanted to do what I wanted to do. I wanted to start my business as a Life Coach full time while raising two sons as a single mother. This was my thought after I completed my Doctorate.
What Did I Do?
I quit my job and started my Life Coaching business (Life Strategies Coaching Firm) full time. My sister, an attorney, told me not to sign a two-year lease for office space. I did anyway. How did this work out for me? Not the best. I managed to hold out for almost two years.
What was I thinking? That’s it – I wasn’t thinking, I wanted what I wanted. There is nothing wrong with having ambition. But as a Christian, we need to be in concert with the Lord on our journey in this difficult world. We are to walk with the Lord and not in front of him. I was in front, and nothing went as planned, regardless of how well I thought I had it figured out.
The Lord put a wrench in my plan by slowing my momentum. I could no longer support my business and my family, financially. I was back to searching for full-time employment. Lots of doors were closed to me as a Registered Nurse. No one would give me a job and not even easy jobs that should have been a coup. I was getting desperate.
Finally, the Lord Opened the Door!
The Lord opened the door, and I went through it. The income was poor and many of my family/friends said to find another job. But I held on, and I rocked that job. I knew I was where I was supposed to be, and I was at peace. I kept walking along that path with the Lord; he kept showing me the way. He showed me how to live a life trusting him to provide for me and my sons. Remember, I said the income was way below my usual pay grade.
He gave me good gifts. Somehow the money was always there to pay bills and fix things in the house.
That job led to many wonderful things, including longevity at one employer, excellent retirement benefits, and eventually, a good salary. Also, I gained expert knowledge to help me in my role as a Wellness Coach for my future business.
I Started Jumping Ahead, Again!
When I finally decided I was ready to retire and I needed to come up with a date, it never came to be. It kept changing from one date to the next. My eldest son would say, “Mom, you said four years, now it is six years.” The truth is, I did not bring the Lord into my retirement planning. I was running wild, again!
One day, I stopped and prayed and asked the Lord to help me. I stopped thinking about retirement, and I focused on the here and now. We are not promised one day to the next. When I finally settled into walking with him on this issue – one day, the Lord told me that I can plan for retirement. I had peace and a clear action plan with the Lord’s blessing.
What Does That Look Like
Make sure you have reduced your debt or plan to pay off your debt before you retire. Why go into retirement with mortgage, personal loans, and car loan payments?
- Plan to pay these off.
- Have a savings plan, 401k, 403B, or Pension. You should have been paying into these plans long before you reach retirement age 61-up. If you have not done this, reach out to a financial planner.
- Include Social Security and Medicare benefits.
- Make sure you include taxes and financial planning.
- Plan for keeping active during retirement. That could look like spending time with family, traveling, starting your own business, starting a hobby that you have always enjoyed, engaging in activities that you had always wanted to do, volunteering or many other things that you could do.
So, think about how you will accomplish these goals. And if you need help getting started, reach out to me and I will help you navigate this journey.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
How well in advance did you start planning for retirement? What did that entail in your case? What circumstances put your plans back?
