Tag Archives: retirement

Retirement Is Dead: Why Time Affluence Is the New American Dream

Ever since I was 22, and started a “real job” the day after I graduated college, I was thinking about RETIREMENT.

I knew the time value of money was Uber-important, and the sooner I got $$ invested, and the longer it had to grow, the better my chances got of being a MILLIONAIRE!!! After all, who doesn’t want to be a millionaire? Sounds nice, but this actually isn’t the goal. The idea of being a millionaire is more about living a millionaire lifestyle than a number.

I started my journey simply with a 401K and an employer match and I think even had a Roth IRA on the side I was contributing $50/mo. to. I had very little real money, and zero wealth, but I was committed to the “Pay Yourself First” lifestyle and I’ve never stopped this behavior.

As time passed, and contributions continued, the nest egg slowly grew. I wasn’t directly thinking about it in terms of counting every penny, but I paid close attention to increasing contributions as my income grew. The snowball was slowly gaining size and momentum.

In my late 20’s or early 30s I met Gary Vaynerchuk in Las Vegas at a conference and it literally changed my life. The internet was in full bloom and I knew instantly the next frontier for me and my career would involve something in the digital media space. I already loved the marketing space and this next frontier was exciting!! I met a group of very young, but enthusiastic entrepreneurs and they too changed my perspective and life when I introduced them to the agency I was working at. A few months later they sold their business and we were off building a new team. It was some of the most “work” fun I’ve had in my life and I’m forever grateful for this lesson.

It Pays to OWN

After that, I figured out I was on the WRONG side of the deal. It was 100% my idea. My business plan. My introduction…but none of my money. I was working for someone who didn’t see my contributions to the enterprise the same way I did. It’s not their fault, but if I believed in myself change was needed. With a good deal of blind ambition and a little bit of ego, I leapt into the next chapter of my life. I began owning things, and by things I mean pieces of a business, or real estate, or other assets.

I re-read Rich Dad, Poor Dad and began thinking more in terms of creating multiple sources of income and operating in the (B-business) and (I-Investor) quadrants. That’s also when I created the FREEDOM DATE of 2027 (45 years old). I think I was 32 or 33 at the time and thought about the starry-eyed idea of financial freedom in my 40s. Was it a big idea? HELL YES it was. It wasn’t like I was wealthy in my early 30s. But I was gaining momentum and it wasn’t out of the question. So therefore, it was possible and I started to think about reverse engineering how to do it.

Well intentioned. Dead Wrong.

I think about my freedom fund, and freedom date much differently today. Although I’m still clinging on to the 2027 date, as I have documented and shared it so many places, I’m not going [peace out] and ride off into the sunset. This is why I say, [Well Intentioned. Dead Wrong]. The behaviors were correct, but the outcome shifted. Retirement is NOT the goal.

If we really wanted to retire today, I could. I could retire today!

How? Sell the house, and a car and a bunch of our stuff. Move into a trailer with minimal expenses and that’s it. Boom! Mission accomplished. < – – – – Doesn’t sound so great does it?

But if that’s the goal, why not do it?

This also would beg the question, “Now what?????”

Retirement by the end of 2027 isn’t the goal.

The goal is TIME affluence today!

Tim Ferriss talks about this extensively in his best-selling book, The Four Hour Workweek. Ferriss describes the “New Rich” (NR) as people who abandon the traditional “deferred-life plan” (work hard now to maybe enjoy life later) and instead design lifestyles that maximize freedom and fulfillment now.

The next chapter of my life and pursuit of time and location affluence looks like this. I’ll be working in a multitude of places and hopefully on a multitude of things. It could be at home. It could be the beach in Florida, the desert in Scottsdale, or a rented cabin on a lake in Northern Michigan for a week or two.

It looks like a couple golf trips a year and a couple great trips with my family to the mountains or to the beach. I’m thinking more and more about experiences and building a life story worth telling. All the while, staying fit and strong enough to attack life’s adventures with my kids (6 & 10). I don’t want to only exist to be their means of transportation…I want to be an active participant in their journey.

The lifestyle of working 40+ years in one place, and retiring in our 60s is nearly extinct. There is a newer and better path, if you choose to take it!

  • Traditional Path: School → Job → 40 Years → Retirement
  • New Rich Path: Skills → Leverage → Freedom → Now

Cheers to being in pursuit of the new rich lifestyle and living a life on your terms!

Tomorrow is a Myth

Settling into a 8-9 hr. car ride, I had much time to think while leaving the Ozarks in far Southern Missouri.

I’d spent the last three days along with three of my best friends at Big Cedar Lodge, where we played golf at Ozarks National, Payne’s Valley, and Top of the Rock. It was just awesome. Any expectations we had, were exceeded. The service. The views. The food. All excellent. We capped off the night with dinner at Osage Restaurant with a sunset view of the lake, and were welcomed to bagpipes walking off the 9th green at Top of the Rock’s charming par 3 course. Again, awesome!

Action Speaks Louder than Words

I have to give enormous props to my wife here for pushing me to make this trip happen. I’ve talked about a big trip with “the boys” for a couple of years, but always said “tomorrow” we’d get the details together.

Tomorrow is a Myth

With her strong encouragement, I worked with focused action in February to secure lodging and tee times on the resort to make it a reality. Schedules aligned for the four of us and we had a date and venue secured. Thank you Beth!!! Thank you. Thank you.

In our travels home in a euphotic state, we obviously already started planning our next adventure. What Top 100 courses should we tackle next? Where should we stay? When are we going? Who is coming?

I’ll confess I’ve spent most of my professional life, or post college graduate life, planning for the day I’d retire. I’ve also spent considerable energy thinking about expediting that retirement timeline into my 50’s and even 40s. I’m grateful I’ve done this, because having a plan and working a plan bares fruit. But as much as it will be incredibly valuable to have set a plan for “tomorrow”, In Missouri I received a slap in the face about the power of TODAY!

Life Events

We’ve all seen the individual “reborn” from an experience reminding them of their mortality. Maybe it’s a diagnosis, maybe it’s a car accident, maybe it’s a medical event. These people are said to have, “A new lease on life” and embrace their remaining days with immediacy and vigor. Trips are taken, goals are crushed, and words that remained unspoken, pour out with deep authenticity and meaning. Death waits for us all. How will we meet it?

I’m reminded of the Dylan Thomas Poem, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night…”Rage, rage against the dying of the light!”

A Lifetime of Memories

As I arrived back home to hugs from my family, I took a deep breath and texted my buddies. I thanked them for their comradery, friendship and for making the trip to create memories that would last a lifetime. A lifetime not promised tomorrow.

I’m incredibly blessed.

PS – If you’re thinking of going to play Payne’s Valley, or Ozark National, or Buffalo Ridge, or Top of the Rock…do! Do it now! You won’t be disappointed in any facet of your experience.

Changing Views on Retirement

When I started out in my working career I’ve always thought very intentionally about retirement. You know, that mythical creature we’d all hope to reach by the ripe ole age of 65!! I might look something like the picture above (PS – Thx Snapchat Filter)

I began as most do, with an employer sponsored 401K and began socking away money for a day that “could be” 40+ years from when I started. Initial learnings of OPM (Other People’s Money) became apparent as my contribution was “matched” by my employer. I supplemented this work 401K plan with a ROTH IRA contribution. Post tax dollars invested for a similar “someday” but these dollars would not be taxed as they grew or when they would be redeemed. Decent start for someone early in their 20’s…or so I thought.

All that seemingly remained to accomplish my goal of retirement would be to:

  • Continue to grow earnings & investing with consistency over time
  • Reduce expenses and debt (this almost always makes sense)
  • Hope the market continued to grow as it had the last 90+ years
  • Don’t die…

Don’t Die?

Killer Strategy (no pun intended!). When saving for “Someday” the importance of don’t die took on a new light when I got into my 30’s and continued growing personal income. I began to question the ideals behind saving and investing (buy, hold, pray) during the best years of my life, so I could retire somewhere in Florida to ease my arthritis and work on my shuffleboard game in my 70’s at a measurably slower pace of life.

The goal isn’t to stash away money for 40-50 years so that some day when I’m 75 and have limited mobility I can be as free as a bird (from expenses). It takes too long!!! What if I wanted to retire 10 or even 20 years sooner? How could that happen?

Mindset Shift

Through an introduction of some terrific business friends, I read, listened to and re-listened to The 4-Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferriss. The “new rich” as he’d described saw retirement not as the end goal, but more a means of being throughout life. Scheduled “mini-retirements” were necessary to live life to the fullest now vs. saving it all for a future someday (the end). This began my learning journey of my 30’s.

Concepts like: Business Ownership, Monthly Cash Flow, Time Management and Target Monthly Income (TMI) became common place in my retirement planning while learning from the “new rich.”

The Rich Don’t Work for Money

I dove back into the classic Rich Dad Poor Dad and the classic teaching from Robert Kiyosaki. I started asking simple questions of the wealthy. How did they get there? What do they do? More importantly…what do they OWN?

Assets like a 401K, IRA, or Roth IRA weren’t accessible until 59 1/2 years old (without substantial early withdrawal penalty) and they’re subject to high tax. As I grew in my knowledge, I also became more aware of taxes on the impact of wealth creation and wealth preservation. Would taxes likely be higher 30 years from now….I’d venture a strong HELL YEAH, at this one!

I’m an incredibly visual person and so at 38I drafted this visual to unlock the answer to the question,

“What would it take to retire at 45?”

What would it take to require at 45?

Pretty simple answer. Produce monthly cash flow from investments that exceeds > current expenses. Period. End of story. Invest in assets which produce cash flow. [From: Rich Dad Poor Dad]

There’s a critically important point to make here. I’m 99% sure I won’t retire at 45 to a john boat, weekly fishing expeditions, morning coffee with the boys, and afternoon golf (daily). But, that doesn’t sound too shabby does it?

Back in 2013 I started what I call “Dream Bucket 2027” which is my plan to freedom at 45 years old. I sometimes interchangeably call this mission the “Freedom Fund” as I’m talking about it and investing in assets.

Familiar with the F.I.R.E. Movement?

Financial Independence Retire Early. If you’re not familiar with Mr. Money Mustache, this would be a good side track for you and another POV on early retirement if that’s the mission you’re on. His “mustachian” philosophy is that of aggressive saving and passive index fund investment and aggressively limiting and/or eliminating expenses for financial freedom. Different path, but similar destination in mind.

Where do we go from here?

Today I continue investing in cash flowing assets (primarily real estate) and I feel well positioned given the recent explosion of inflation. I’m also doing a great deal of learning about TAXES and how the wealthy navigate this space (legally)to keep more of what they earn. If you’re wondering why the wealthy don’t pay taxes, consult the IRS Tax code. The tax code is simply a series of “incentives” from the government. The wealthy understand how to use the code. Tom Wheelwright does a terrific job with his TAX FREE WEALTH books and content on this subject.

Nothing Happens without Income Growth

I’m certain there are differing opinions here, but I’ll make this very simple. The first step to any retirement or freedom journey is to MASSIVELY increase your income. A person can live very comfortably and with large steps forward with their income many options will become available. I recommend following Grant Cardone for income explosion inspiration and concepts. I’ve read a few of his books and they’ve been helpful on my journey.

As I move from my 30s to my 40s in 2022, I look back at all the learning I had in my 30’s and how different it was from the learnings of my 20’s. I’m looking forward to further mindset shifts in my journey and I look forward to updating the readers on my DREAM BUCKET journey.

Earn Your Comfort

I used to think the goal of life was to seek or retire into comfort. Some would do this at 45, others maybe 75…but retire nonetheless. Comfortable. In the meantime during the pursuit, I’d take some time out of every week to be…comfortable.

I’m now convinced this couldn’t be further from the truth.
The goal of life is continued progress. Working through hard things, for the benefit of personal growth and progress.

Someday when I do retire, I want to arrive there knowing it was EARNED.

“We must all either wear out or rust out, every one of us. My choice is to wear out.” — Theodore Roosevelt

Unearned or continued comfort is called laziness. Reminds me of the Seven Deadly Sins and the sin of Sloth.
But sloth isn’t only laziness, it is also carelessness, unwillingness to act, half-hearted effort, or becoming easily discouraged by possible difficulty.

When Everything is Satisfaction

Too much of a good thing, connects my thoughts to the often used analogy of the “rich kid, with a cocaine habit!” Everything given to him, such that he works for nothing, appreciates nothing, is motivated by nothing because there was no struggle to achieve what was gifted (in this instance, money and time). Instead of work and progress toward a goal, he focuses his efforts and energy on a substance that gives him that lonely “high” he’s searching for. That comfort and release he’s been so desperately looking for. When everything is satisfaction and easy, satisfaction is unearned and empty.

Friday Feels

There is something really wonderful about a Friday evening after you’ve made the most of a week kicking ass Monday through Friday. Earning the opportunity to have a great dinner, or a cocktail, or simply to put your feet up, feels infinitely better when reflecting on progress of a week vs. just moving through the motions.

Challenge Comfort with Progress

Tony Robbins says, “Progress equals Happiness!” This is exactly what I think “earning comfort” looks like. Progress, reward. Progress, reward. Progress, reward. Say it out loud. It FEELS DAMN GOOD! It feels like momentum. This is exactly why successful people continue to be successful oftentimes in greater magnitudes. They’ve generated tremendous momentum and they literally can’t be stopped. Successful people generate too much momentum and have reservoirs of progress to tap into when they hit a lull.

Rich Roll Said it Best

I shared this in my last post, and I think it’s worth sharing here again. Rich Roll on happiness.

Rich Roll says the following: “We’re in a culture that is driving everybody toward this idea that happiness is purchased through luxury, comfort and ease. And the truth could not be more different from that reality. If you want to find peace with yourself, self understanding, self knowledge, self esteem, all of these things are going to be found through: sacrifice, getting uncomfortable, re-evaulating what your normal is and putting yourself in situations you don’t want to f*cking do” “RICH ROLL PODCAST – EPISODE 413”


The Answer in Children’s Eyes

I’ll leave you with this. My son is currently learning how to read real books and it’s an exciting engagement every night we dive into a book (< – – – insert challenge). We work with him every week on learning new words from school, but this isn’t about learning “level 3 words” as much as it is about feels to me. The reaction a child produces when they learn something new is astounding. You can literally see the spark in their eyes, and their physiology changes in an instant due to the challenge just conquered. The world is theirs for a moment! More importantly, momentum is earned and stored to tackle the next phase of learning and the next challenge.

We’re all evolved children. You need that spark. I need that spark. We must combat boredom with progress and earn our comfort.