How Much Money Do I Need to Retire? or What’s My Number? Part 7
What if it doesn't look like your financial plan is coming together as you wish? Do you feel like you can’t get there from here?
You can’t get there from here…At least not as we had planned
I’ve mentioned that my wife, Diane, and I enjoy traveling. In particular, we enjoy traveling to Europe and the Caribbean. One time, we traveled to Milan, Italy, and planned to visit Milan and areas north of Milan, including part of Switzerland. Because Diane is an excellent travel planner, we decided to do this trip on our own. For some places, such as seeing Milan and traveling to Switzerland, we booked day or half-day tours. We found these to be excellent, and I would highly recommend them.
We did, however, decide to visit the Italian lake region on our own. First up was a trip to Lake Como. We strategically planned our trip to stay at a hotel near the train station in Milan, using it as our primary method of transportation to get where we wanted to go. Lake Como was no problem; it was an easy connection. If you have never been to Lake Como, let me just say it is stunning. We booked a half-day lake tour and stayed in a boutique hotel on a cliff overlooking the lake. There are few things better than sitting on the hotel balcony overlooking Lake Como, watching the sun go down, enjoying a local wine. Yes, this is why we work so hard!
This was all well and good until our next stop, Lake Maggiore, another beautiful Italian lake. As you look at the two lakes on the map, they are pretty close to each other. As we were making our arrangements to get there, we did not understand why everything said we needed to take the train back to Milan and then go to Lake Maggiore from Milan, a trip of several hours we had not planned for. Then we realized that, even though the lakes are close to each other, a 13,000-foot mountain separates them!
At first blush, one might be tempted to say you can’t get there from here. Well, that would be the easy thing to say, but the fact is, you can get to Lake Maggiore from Lake Como; the journey is just going to be longer than planned! It may be the same with your financial journey. You may discover, like we did, that the journey is not as easy as we initially planned. But we could still get from here to there; it just took us longer than we thought. And we did get to Lake Maggiore, and it was stunning! And, well worth the extra effort. I think you understand the analogy.
Maybe we need to do something different
If you were taking the class with me, either virtually or in-person, you would find the class is broken up into four sessions, and is spread out over 4 weeks. This is by design, as each session builds on the previous session. If you have been following these blogs since their inception in July 2024, you may have noticed that they generally, when I’m not detouring with other subjects, align with the format used in the classroom: In the first session, we discuss the goal process. In the second session, we discuss financial goals. The third session focuses on professional goals, the fourth session on personal goals, and a final review concludes the class.
The week break between each session is to allow students to think about, ponder, and use quiet and prayer time to determine what they want and start planning it out. Most students have an idea of what they want out of life before they arrive; they just need some help figuring out how to do it. A few students use the class as a prompt or as individual accountability to put together a plan that they know they need. Both of these groups of students complete the class and begin their new journey.
Even by the end of the class, a few students are still unable to decide on what they truly want in life. By the third session, they should have their financial template completed, but they do not. They tell me they “want to work on it later.” I fear that later never comes; they have wasted their time and mine, and will likely be less than satisfied throughout life trying to figure it out. There is a final group of students who enter the class with lofty plans for their lives, but find themselves in a position and time in life where they are unable, at least without significant life changes, to reach their desired goals. This group of students faces the same problem Diane and I encountered in Italy: trying to get from Lake Como to Lake Maggiore directly. “We could not get there from here.” At least not as we thought by looking at a map.
Now, as happened with Diane and me, we were able to get to where we were going, but we had to take the long way, a way we had not planned. Students in this final group are unable to reach their desired destination on their current path.
Tempered expectations
Are you currently in this situation? You’ve heard me say that we must temper our expectations. That means we need to be honest with ourselves, properly assess our current situation, and determine what we can realistically do to reach the best possible outcome. Remember how Afterburner Success Partners came about: I was in my early twenties and wasn't happy with the path I was on, realizing I couldn't reach my goals without taking a different approach. So I did. As I was young and early in my career, I was able to make practical adjustments. My plans were lofty, but not so lofty as to be unrealistic, and over the course of about 40 years, I was able to make them work out as I wanted, when I wanted. Oh, sure, I would have preferred to be financially secure at 40 rather than 56 (six years ahead of my original plan), but that would not have been possible for me, at least not in my chosen career field. Had TikTok been available in the 1980s, and I were an influencer, then perhaps I could.
If you can’t get to where you want to be because of your age and the choices you have made in the past, that does not mean you can’t do better. It just means you need to temper your expectations. You may need to make some drastic changes to get where you want to, and that’s a decision you will have to make. I had to work extremely hard for over 40 years to achieve the outcome I wanted. Looking back, I would have changed very little. I’ve enjoyed the ride, and I’m happy where I ended up. Oh, well, I guess there was one thing I would have changed. I would have gone to college when I was 18 rather than live in my parents’ basement, hot rod my 1969 Chevelle, drink beer, and chase girls. Sure, it was fun at the time, but that decision put me way, way behind in life. Consider that for a moment and ask yourself if you need to do something significantly different. If so, then get after it!
There is one final thing. If you’re stuck on putting your template together in a way that makes you happy, one of the services we offer at Afterburner Success Partners is individual consulting. For an hourly fee, I can work with you, and hopefully, we can get you to a place where you are satisfied. If you think this might be something you're interested in, please email me at dave@absuccesspartners.com, and I’ll get back to you.
What now?
In an ideal world, you would be able to complete your lifetime financial plan with all the information you have been given. But I realize that you may be stuck. So, before you give up, over the next few weeks, I’ll share with you a few techniques you can use to help. To get you from here to there. My advice about seeking help is still valid, but there are still a few tools available should you need them.
That’s all for this week!
How Much Money Do I Need To Retire? Part 7
Afterburner Success Partners
What’s in it for me?
We all want financial security, don’t we? Rather than leave it to chance, let’s get on a path so we can know for certain! And that’s what’s in it for you this week!
Call to Action
Have you completed your financial template? If not, do you need more time or do you need help? If you need more time, then be sure to take that. If you need professional help from a financial advisor or tax professional, then seek that as well. If you would like to work with me one-on-one, that is also a viable option. In any case, take action today!
Recommended Resources
Your financial professional, tax advisor, accountant, mentor, or family are all resources available to you. If you’re interested in working with me, please don't hesitate to let me know. Throughout the course, I use various media to motivate students to succeed. I’m going to recommend one that I usually show toward the end of the class now. Click on the link in Note 1. What are you going to do with what you have?
Up Next
How much do I need to retire or what’s MY Number part 8
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
Denzel Washington: Fail Forward: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfQohyQmFsc