Do I Have Enough to Retire?
This is the most frequent question I hear because individuals find it hard to figure out what they will need and have in the future. There are just too many things to figure out.
The way I have addressed this is with a process. Anything that I have ever worked hard to accomplish, I succeed with a process. I succeeded in competing in the World Championship Aquathlon on the US Team (Aquathlon is a mile swim and a 5 kilometer run) this past September. I created a weekly schedule of the workout I would complete each week: day off on Mondays, then double on Tuesdays with lifting in the morning and track workout in the afternoon; Wednesday was a speed bicycle ride; Thursdays was a swim and back in the weight room; Fridays I would attend a spin class; Saturdays were meant for a long run or bike ride; and Sundays were back in the water for a swim. By creating a weekly schedule from January to the World Championships in September, I had a plan that I could rely on and that allowed me to feel secure knowing what I had to do.
The benefit is that I knew what I had to do and when. I was clear on the goal and what it took to get there. It also helped me to overcome the surprises when they happened. This included bruised ribs from a water skiing accident that kept me from training for three weeks. But having the process enabled me to absorb the hick-ups and make up the time.
I have always been a process fanatic. But it was not until I arrived in Denver, Colorado and met Townsend Wardlaw that I put my process to good practice. Townsend is a sales trainer for business owners and entrepreneurs. He taught me to use my strength of creating procedures to help people realize their retirement goals. Creating a retirement plan helps put people at ease about their future plans.
Creating a process can be difficult because individuals don’t have the experience, knowledge or interest. What is beneficial is creating the step-by-step order to build wealth, invest what you have, lower your taxes and prepare for the unexpected.
The way I apply this to my wealth is I have created a personal balance sheet for my wife and me. I update it the first week of each year. This lists out the assets and liabilities we have. The next thing I do is I project out how much we will save each year until we would like to retire and graph this. Last, I compare what our projections are to what has actually happened.
Call me silly, but I always get excited when I am updating our plan. I feel in control and have a sense of peace that what ever happens we can adjust and adapt to.
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