Life Planning
Life Planning
Gerald L. House MSM
“The Contrarian Investor”
As many of you know, I am not a fan of the term “retirement.”
However, this term still lingers throughout the financial service
industry. And, why not, financial
advisors continue to promote financial planning using the old typical investment
strategies because many people have succumbed to this thinking. Nonetheless, a couple of new terms recently emerged challenging the way people
structure their financial needs.
Life Plans and Holistic Planning
Actually, “holistic planning” recently morphed into the new term
“life plan.” This new term defines your
life according to various stages and goals you defined.
“Life planning is a guided process by which an
individual takes stock of his or her life, clarifies goals and challenges, and
identifies the steps needed to move forward. A life planning professional can
help address relevant issues and find resources - people and information -
needed for a successful transition”. (Life Planning Network, 2017)
The Team Approach
There are differences between life planning and retirement
planning. Life planning encompasses your
whole being not just your financial needs.
It is a more realistic method of incorporating methods and strategies to
meet your goals and needs. Life planning
involves several professional working together including financial advisors, investment
advisors, attorneys, CPA’s, and other counselors.
What is Financial Independence?
Let’s just be honest; most people want to live better than basic subsistence. Basic subsistence
means having the basics of food, clothing, and housing covered. (In the Military we called it three hots and a cot!) After all, nothing beats the comfort of
knowing your basic needs are provided. But, what about other comforts like eating
out once in a while, vacation time, and the ability to purchase items to
fulfill your want list?
It may be easier to think of financial independence as the ability
to cover two of the four bucket lists
goals. (Needs, wants, likes, and wishes) Erin Botsford refers to these buckets
as the house of security (Botsford,
2012) http://botsfordfinancial.com/
You are not useless at age 65!
Have you watched the movie Logan’s
Run? In the movie people are living
in a utopian society where everyone is young—no older than age 30. When you reach your 30th birthday, you must go to the carousel for a
re-birth. They are just killing everyone on their 30th
birthday. Those who do not go to the
carousel for the killing become runners whose
objective is to reach the sanctuary where
you can continue living.
Remember this movie the next time a financial advisor tries to
tell you how much money you need in retirement.
Sometimes I believe the government and financial service industry is in cahoots to control our lives. No, I am not some doomsday paranoid
psychopath. But, why is age 65 deemed to
be the magic number used for all the so-called retirement calculations?
If you want to get freaked out; read Atlas
Shrugged and then watch the movie Logan’s
Run.
Life after age 65
Unlike typical financial planning, life planning does not stop after you
reach the infamous age of 65. Some
people may want to continue to contribute to society in some fashion beyond
this magical age. Most seniors may still
enjoy their work and do not want to quit working once society tells them they
should. What a novel idea?
If you want unbiased and a fresh look at planning, take a contrarian view and reward yourself with
a new perspective. Develop your life
plan today.
As always, let me know if I can help.
Gerald
References
Botsford, E. (2012). The big retirement risk: running
out of money before you run out of time. Austin, TX: Greenleaf Book Group
Press.
What is Life Planning? (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2017, from
http://www.lifeplanningnetwork.org/index.cfm?action=whatislifeplan.whatislifeplanning
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