“I have enough money to retire comfortably for the rest of my life. Problem is, I have to die next week.”
–Anonymous
“When I was young, I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old, I know that it is.
–Oscar Wilde
As quoted in “Money: Master the Game,” by Tony Robbins (pp. 406 & 410, respectively)
So I am re-re-reading “Money: Master the Game,” by Tony Robbins, which I have mentioned before many times. I find that it continues to fascinate and inform me, even on the third read!
In Chapter 5.3 “Freedom: Creating Your Lifetime Income Plan, Tony Robbins describes how the first man widely believed to reach the top of Mt. Everest… died on his way down! He uses this story to illustrate the problem with planning for retirement if you run out of money once in retirement. He also emphasizes how the point of investing, ultimately, is income to live on for the rest of your life.
As Robbins writes,
We all need an income that we can count on. Consistent cash flow that shows up in our account every single month, like clockwork. Can you imagine never worrying again about how you will pay your bills or whether your money will run out? Or having the joy and freedom of traveling without a care in the world?
“Money: Master the Game,” p407
Ever since around the time I first read this book, I have been fascinated with the possibility of using proper planning to create peace and plenty in one’s financial world. I have taken to heart Robbins’ (and many others’) advice to save often, and save early as a means of building one’s money machine (a concept he talks about in my favorite video of his).
Reading this part of the book today, I was reminded of an article I saw today on my phone claiming (er, complaining?) that 401ks aren’t working for most people. It also states that 50% of all working families don’t save anything for retirement.
Yikes!
I don’t know what other people’s story is, but I know for a fact that I’m not going to sit around and merely hope that everything is going to work out financially for me and my loved ones. I’m going to do something about it! To me that means: allowing in as much income as I can, saving and investing as much as I can, and using the best possible investment instruments I can.
I’m not going to wait for someone else to drop down that golden parachute. Instead, I’m going to build one myself.
🙂
Maybe I’m a natural do-it-yourselfer. But I like the idea of creating my own financial well-being (er, or should I say… allowing the Universe to manifest it, and enjoying the process as it unfolds). I’m okay with that.
Let’s get on with this…