Planning for Retirement - like it’s a Big Vacation!

January 25th, 2007

Here’s a good post that spells out a really good way of looking at retirement, at least I thought so. I feel like I spend a lot of time hooting and hollering for people to bag it all and buy a house or a condo in Panama or Mexico or in some of the other countries we are looking at. But to do so realistically we really are asking people to make a serious commitment and it’s not something anybody does lightly. As RC asks in his post, would you take a vacation without making the necessary plans to do so?

A financial advisor can do a much better job in forecasting what it will take to get you where you want if you have established a game plan. If the numbers don’t support your plans then you can adjust your plans until you have a working solution.

I happen to think that housing and living expenses in Mexico or Panama, being as low as they are, often constitute the perfect “adjustment.” And RC’s other post from today, about environment, really falls into our expertise. Your environment really should be at the top of your considerations, not only for later during retirement, but for now when you are trying to think about it. That said a vacation and a look around Mexico or Panama’s beautiful open spaces might really allow you to bring some of the good life back home.