I have come to hate the word Retirement. To me the word means you work for 40 years or more and hope to have enough money to be able to stop working. You don’t get to enjoy life until you are old enough to not be able bodied as you use to. Is life all about going to school, hoping you get to work in a job field that you love if you are lucky enough and then be 65 just to relax and enjoy your later years. Also, this word means you have to stop working or you are not retired. I have come to love the words “financial independence” to take its place. You get to work towards not having to rely on your job and paychecks and start doing things you love and not fearing what your passion is will not make you enough to pay the bills.
This is a mindset shift. It is beneficial to shift to this thinking younger rather than later. Reframing from retirement to financial independence allows us to better prepare for what we want for our future. We cannot delay saving for our later years. Start putting away the funds with your first job and if that has already passed, start now. The earlier you begin the better prepared you will be when you get there. Do not depend on government programs to bail you out as a lot of people do and continue to have to work.