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I’ve become infrequent with my blogging but it’s not with that intent but much rather to write when I really have something to say that others find cute or meaningful rather than preaching a lifestyle that everyone should emulate.
This time I’m writing because my husband and I are mid-50s now and we’re both pensioners. We were taught our whole lives to save, save, save but with little guidance on when is the right time to spend and how. We’ve been through the Transition Assistance Program from the military, but that’s typically for the person who wants or needs to work during the next chapter in their life.
We’re finally at the point where I love doing real estate, absolutely love it! It’s my passion. I do as little or as much as I like but mainly where I think I really have a purpose rather than the type or amount of income.
But, now we’re looking to change our lifestyle a bit with no children so generational wealth is not the primary concern. We like to think about upgrading our home and our condo and a nice car and vacation. So, we’re now shopping around (a little late probably) for advisors to more or less help us with our spend plan rather than the savings aspect of our lives. It’s fun but scary now that we’re in that part of our lives we’ve been looking forward to, but now what do we do?
As a realtor, I spend my days looking at properties through a strict lens of return on investment, future resale value, and market trends. I help my clients navigate those exact numbers to meet their specific financial objectives. But standing in our own shoes right now, the rules feel completely different. We aren’t trying to make a calculated investment move for twenty years down the road; we are making a lifestyle choice for right now. Experiencing this firsthand has completely opened my eyes to how emotional and scary it can be to shift your real estate goals from ‘wealth building’ to ‘pure quality of life.’ It’s a completely different way to buy and sell, and we are right in the thick of learning how to do it.
I just want to relate to others who might be going through these same things. I don’t want to tell anyone what to do. But I hope this helps those who are seeking the same answers, so other people can look at their circumstances, goals, and resources earlier. We want to learn through our ignorance.
Through this process, we quickly realized we do not want an advisor selling us products or services. Instead, we are specifically looking for a fee-based Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) who focuses purely on a spend plan and cash-flow distribution rather than asset management.
We are also doing some of our own reading to figure things out. If you are looking for unbiased resources to think about your own goals, the government actually offers great reading material without a sales pitch. The U.S. Department of Labor has a helpful booklet called Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning to map out a budget. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) also hosts a Planning for Retirement hub and research on early retirement spending challenges.
We are still figuring it out. If you are navigating this same mental leap, how did you handle it?
