Attitudes towards Retirement

Hi:

A couple of ideas around retirement based on people's attitudes towards this looming event.

1. Do not be paralysed by fear and so do nothing.  If you believe what the newspapers and other news media tell you, you might think you may never retire.  Realistically look at your lifestyle and how much money you spend. Then look at taking one of the variables away from that equation, generally your accommodation expenses, and see how little it really takes to live if all you need to buy is food. If you live somewhere reasonably warm, you might live quite inexpensively.

 I find this paralysing attitude quite prevalent in Vancouver, which has some of the highest real estate in the world.  Around 56% of the population rents.  Many people seem stuck for years, waiting for the real estate market to collapse, or to get enough money down.  Yet young people are still buying, although often small apartments and getting in somehow.  Be more pragmatic.  If you can not get into the real estate game in your area, and you want to own property, you will need to move. That's it.  That's all there is.  High real estate costs have turned Vancouver into a city of have, or have-not's when it comes to real estate.

2.  If you can not have everything, or do everything, you need to make choices.  Again, I've seen people do nothing, because they want it all, or everything to be 100%, but have not put systems in place in their life to make it so.  Yes, I also would like to live in a large  million dollar waterfront home in a world class city, not have to work and travel extensively in retirement. Unfortunately, I do not have the capital to make that so.  We might need to move elsewhere if we want a big house, or stay in Vancouver in smaller digs.  But, unless we win the big one, we cannot do both.  Tough, but really, how tough is it?  Get on with it.  Make your decisions and move forward.  Don't stay in angst forever.

Mahara