This last year, I have been fortunate enough to step back a bit from work and focus on moving to a new house, and a new state, and all the renovations and paperwork involved in that. I kept some projects, but definitely didn’t have a full week of work commitments.
It made me feel a bit guilty from time to time. Not bringing in as much income, not hopping up to the sound of an alarm and ‘getting busy’, not hustling from one thing to another. I wish I could have relaxed a bit more while taking this pause, particularly around being able to fully fund this year of reduced income.
I have worked in one form or another for about 30 years already - from part-time work in high school, to now, running my own consulting biz. And more than likely, I will have at least another 20 years of work ahead.
It made me think about why our financial goals are all about retirement, or saving for emergencies. If you have worked in a company or government, you more than likely were told, sometime in your 20s, to start contributing to your retirement account, make sure you max out the company ‘match’ in your 401k, or focus on getting 6-months of emergency funds built up. And preferably all of the above.
I’m glad I did all of that. Despite the rockiness of the markets over the last few weeks(!), I will likely have a decent retirement when I get to that point. But I’m not even close to that yet. I’m here now - on a slightly different path than I was a few years ago.
Instead, I wish that someone, in my 20s, had said to me something like:
“Sometime in your life, you will want a break. Or a change. Or a new career direction. Or time with your kids. Or a business. Or a backyard farm. Or a trip somewhere wild. You will want to follow your heart and soul somewhere different for a while. You will want to ‘create’ again. Or create something new. You will want some time back.
Yes, you should save for retirement, and your future kids’ college, and your emergency fund. But as your tiny paycheck grows, try to put away some money into your ‘life’ fund too. It can be for fun or refuge, change or play, but it will definitely be for growth. At some point, you will want to step back and fund a life-change in some way. You will know it when it comes, and you will want to listen to its call.”
I am grateful that I have been able, even vaguely, to step back from work a while, but just as investment plays an important role in our planet’s next chapter, so it does in our own little personal next chapters. Not just the ‘retirement’ chapter.
So true......!