Stay on track with your retirement vision
Q: My ex-husband and I are happily divorced and together have successfully managed to get our three children to adulthood. I now see my retirement on the horizon and have a tentative plan, but I get easily distracted by well-intentioned advice from other people. My parents and my ex have each navigated their retirements well and happily share their ideas about how I should retire - without any prompting. My employer has also hinted about me retiring in the near future, and friends want me to quit working, just like they've done, so we can do things together. I may sell my large family home, now that the kids are gone, and live in a smaller community. But even my kids seem to have a plan for what my retirement should look like and tell me to keep the house, so there's lots of room for family gatherings. And my mom and dad want me to downsize but stay local to help them out. How can I keep myself focused on my own goals and the things I'm trying to achieve in my retirement?
A: Bear with me as I tell you the story of a unique experience that easily translates to life skills and retirement planning. Years ago, I was invited to train at a race car performance school. Although I had no intention of ever becoming a race car driver, the program was fantastic education for everyday drivers, like myself, teaching the fundamentals of car control, road handling and traffic safety, as well as advanced high-performance techniques.
Braking and steering at various speeds and on dry and wet roads, we learned the proper responses to bring the vehicle safely back under control during challenging driving conditions, such as a blown tire or an oil slick. (Especially helpful skills to avoid the grey squirrels that routinely scurry across our Hamilton streets!)
It was a thrilling experience, building my confidence and ability behind the wheel, and to this day I still remember - and practice - the defensive driving strategies I learned. But the greatest lesson was one that can easily be translated into life and retirement planning: The instructor in the passenger seat would have us negotiate a curve on the track with a fake wall, then flip a switch to mimic loss of traction (like an ice patch). Inevitably, I would stare at the wall coming directly at me at almost 200 km per hour - instinctively looking exactly where I did not want to go - and crash into the fake wall!
Repeatedly, my instructor would gently turn my head back to the track - to where I really wanted to go - and calmly say to me, Don't look at the wall; look to where you want to go!"
Similarly, I encourage you to ignore the symbolic walls that may look like hazards and, instead, look toward your own future, to where it is that you ultimately want to go. Ask yourself: How much longer would you enjoy working? What do you want your future retirement to look like? In what geographic area would you like to live and in what kind of home? And how physically close do you want to be to parents, children and friends?
I'm confident you can handle these important decisions because you have successfully managed your career, parenthood, friendships and being a support to your mother and father. So, keep your eyes on your chosen path and your goals. You will be able to negotiate the road ahead much better and, by ignoring the inevitable distractions and focusing on your own vision for the future, you can better steer toward and through the retirement you want for yourself.
Securely in the driver's seat, you'll even be better prepared to safely manoeuvre whenever that metaphorical grey squirrel crosses your retirement path.
Thie Convery, R.F.P., CFP, CIM, FMA, FCSI, is a wealth advisor in Dundas, and diligently watches for the ever-present darting Hamilton grey squirrel. Her column appears bi-weekly in The Hamilton Spectator. Thie invites your questions at TheSpecMoney@gmail.com or by visiting ConveryWealth.com.