The Personal Finance Podcast - 12 Reasons to Never Retire (Even When You Have Enough Money)

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Starting point is 00:00:49 Countertop wipes and fly traps Hey fruit flies Your baby boom ends here Save the Everyday with Amazon On this episode of the Personal Finance Podcast, 12 reasons to never retire, even if you have enough money. What's up, everybody, and welcome to the personal finance podcast. I'm your host, Andrew, founder of MasterMoney.com. And today on the Personal Finance Podcast, we're going to be talking through 12 reasons to never retire even when you have enough money.

Starting point is 00:01:40 If you guys have any questions, make sure you join the Master Money newsletter by going to MasterMoney.com. slash newsletter. And don't forget to follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or whatever podcast player you love listening to this podcast on it. If you want to help out the show, consider leaving a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player. Now, today, we're going to be diving into 12 reasons to never retire. And I'm going to talk through a ton of different thoughts here. We're going to do some dreaming here today about your retirement and how I want you to start to think about the structure of your retirement. Because a lot of times when we understand what we want in life and when we understand what we want to do in retirement,

Starting point is 00:02:19 we can make sure our money reflects those specific goals. Now, in this episode, this is one and I have been thinking about for a long time because on this podcast, we talk a lot about financial independence. We talk a lot about retiring early. But here's the thing. Just because you reach retirement age doesn't mean you absolutely have to stop working. Sometimes what you want to do is to continue to work, but do things that you actually love. So today, I want to kind of reframe the word retirement. I want to reframe the way that you think about retirement because it doesn't mean that you need to just shut the door on productivity. What it really means is that you can design life on your own terms. And so this can be something like you're volunteering for the causes

Starting point is 00:03:04 that you believe in. Or you are spending time working the job you always wanted to do part time. or you're helping out in an industry that possibly has been your passion for your entire life. There are so many different options that we're going to be diving into in this episode, but pursuing work that you love can be really, really good for a lot of people. Now, for me specifically, I have thought about this a lot, and it is going to be something where I don't think I'm going to ever be able to stop working fully, meaning I always need something to do. If I am doing nothing, I get really bored very quickly.

Starting point is 00:03:35 And so I'm always going to need activities to do. I am always going to need things to do. Now, you might be the type of person who for decades and decades worked 80 to 90 hours per week. You put in your time and energy and you just want to stop, you just want to rest and relax. More power to you. There's nothing wrong with that whatsoever. But I also want to lay the case for the other side for folks who really need something else to do. Even if it was something like a low-risk business that you've always wanted to start,

Starting point is 00:04:02 you could start a low-risk business within retirement. And so here's the way I'm thinking about this currently for me. is first, I want you to break up your retirement and faces. So what a lot of data shows is that when you retire, the first couple of years are where you spend the most of your money and most of your time doing things you always wanted to do. So a lot of folks, they will spend a lot more time in their hobbies. Maybe you love golf or fishing, and so you spend more time golfing or fishing. Or maybe you want to always travel the world.

Starting point is 00:04:29 And so a lot of people will do a lot of their traveling on the front end of their retirement because they are more able. They have a lot of their cash on hand. and so they're looking to go and do those bucket list items. And so what I call this is there is some gap years there, meaning at the point in time where you decide to retire, I think it is well worth it and you earned it to be able to take some time to rest. I think it is healthy for a lot of people to take months and months to rest,

Starting point is 00:04:56 figure out what you want to do with the second half of your life, and in addition, be able to put a plan in place. This also allows you to think clearer. This is going to allow you to actually get that full, rest and recovery that you've always and probably desperately needed for years and years and years. And so what I call this time frame is the bucket list years, meaning it is one, two, three, four years that you take early on in retirement that allows you to get that full rest, that full relaxation. And during that time, you're trying to figure out, well, what am I going to do with the

Starting point is 00:05:25 rest of my life? The rest of my life, I don't want to just sit on the couch. I don't want to go to sit on a beach all day. How am I going to make an impact or how am I going to make a change in people's lives? Maybe you want to invest in the next generation. Maybe you want to start that low risk business because you want something to do. What are you going to do moving forward to make a big difference? And so today in this episode, what I'm going to be doing is I'm going to go through 12 different reasons why I think you should reconsider just laying on a beach all day. I'm going to go through these 12 reasons and I'm going to back it up by data because there is a lot of statistics out there that show why this is actually very important for people when it comes to a number of

Starting point is 00:06:02 different things, including your health and longevity. So health and longevity are a huge portion of what we're going to be talking about today. And so I'm really, really pumped for this because I think for most people, they need to reconsider how they are going to think about the second half of their life. And so today we're going to tackle and dive right into it. So if that's something you're into, let's get into it. All right. So number one is working supports cognitive and emotional well being.

Starting point is 00:06:27 So in 2021, SSM Population Health did a study. And they found that postponing retirement preserves cognitive. function for all genders, education levels, and job types. So this is a big thing for a lot of folks right now. I am reading this book, and I'll reference this book a couple of different times in this episode. But I am reading this book on longevity called Outlive. It's by Dr. Peter Atia. If you've never heard of Dr. Peter Attea, he is absolutely fantastic, has a bunch of wonderful information if you're interested in health and living longer. And this book is something that really dives into some of the big horsemen, meaning heart disease, can't,

Starting point is 00:07:06 answer. But the third thing people think less about is things like cognitive decline. And so this is something where I think a lot of folks out there aren't actually putting a plan in place to make sure that they preserve their cognitive health. So let me give you an example of this, okay? Because I think work challenges your brain in a number of different ways. One is it helps you problem solve. So when you're working, you are problem solving all day long. If you own a business or you're doing a job, you are problem solving. Problems are being thrown at you all day and you are solving those problems. But secondly, it also allows you to be planning because you're planning out your days. You're planning what you should be doing within your work. And so these are really good things that

Starting point is 00:07:46 protect you against cognitive decline. And so let me give me an example of this. Okay. So my grandfather owns a small wine store and he has owned that wine store for about 25 years now. Before that, he owned grocery stores and he has been a business owner his entire life. He came over here from Italy. He's an Italian immigrant. And so he has been in business for himself his entire life. He is almost 90 now and still has the cognitive function of someone who would probably be in their 40s or 50s. And the reason for that, and I believe this is truly the reason for that, is because he continued working. Now, he is not the healthiest individual anymore. He owns a wine store.

Starting point is 00:08:21 He's really into wine. He eats a lot of Italian food. And so bodily function wise, he is not the healthiest individual in the world. But his mind has not gone. So he still does all his accounting. If you ask him questions about, you know, specific numbers, he will be able to do it at the top of his head. he is really, really with it still in his late, late 80s. He can tell you anything about all these different wines, goes through the different grapes,

Starting point is 00:08:43 can tell you all these various things. And I think the real reason behind this is because he has continued to work throughout his entire life. And he loves everything about working. He loves being there every single day. He loves the day-to-day talking to customers. He loves having conversations with people. And this is something where it has tremendously supported his cognitive health. Now, my grandmother, who was his wife, didn't work for a portion of her life, especially towards the end.

Starting point is 00:09:09 And so we would see a massive cognitive decline in her because she was not doing anything, but kind of staying home, watching TV, just kind of hanging out. And so we saw a cognitive decline pretty quickly because of that. And this is two sides of the coin when it comes to your brain health. I think it is so incredibly important to think through your brain health as you start to decide what you're going to do in retirement. So here's a big thing also in Outlive by Peter Rattia. There are two separate ways that we want to live. There is lifespan, which is how long you live, and there is health span. Health span is how positive are the last few years of your life?

Starting point is 00:09:42 Where a lot of people, they start to struggle to even tie their shoes. They start to struggle to do basic cognitive functions. They start to struggle to be able to move around like they used to. And so focusing your time and energy on making sure your health span is tremendous is going to have a massive benefit for you. And so for a lot of folks out there, making sure your cognitive, function is a huge portion of your health span. You want to be able to move around. You want to be able to think. You want to be able to do the things that you always wanted to do in the past.

Starting point is 00:10:10 And so I think this is really, really important. So even creative part-time roles can provide mental stimulation. And I think that is one thing a lot of people need to know. You don't need to be working a full-time job. You can work one day a week somewhere, but it gives you that structure. It gives you that part-time cognitive function that allows you to actually use that mental stimulation. Now, obviously, in retirement, I also encourage a lot of folks out there to make sure you're continuously reading. So I had another grandmother on my other side, my mom's side, who lives past the age of 100. And a lot of it was, she would exercise a lot, but she would also be reading constantly. And so those two things, I think, tremendously helped her live longer, but also

Starting point is 00:10:45 have a great health span towards the end. And so this is really, really important for most people, is to have these cognitive replacement activities if you do retire. So even if you are deciding, I'm not going to work anymore, I did my time, I'm done. I don't ever want to think about work ever again. but just having those replacement activities, I think can be really, really important. Number two is continued work is actually linked to better health and longevity. So a study by the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that one extra year reduced mortality risk by 9 to 11% even in those with health issues. So work often requires movement, schedule adherence, and socialization, which are all tied

Starting point is 00:11:25 to longevity. A lot of this is tied to cognitive health, but it also keeps you moving around more. but purposeful engagement helps regulate stress hormones and maintain physical health. Now, let's get real here. A lot of our jobs out there, they are not good for our stress hormones or our health. And so what you could do is if you're looking to make sure that you can preserve your health and longevity long term, you can take a less stressful job either in the current organization that you were at and or that you could do something that you absolutely love.

Starting point is 00:11:54 So one example of this is that I think you could go and let's say you love golf. I love golf. Maybe you love golf. I'm a terrible golfer, but I still love the game. And so if you love golf, maybe you're someone who also loves taking care of their lawns, okay? And so if you love those two things, being something like a part-time greenskeeper could be one of the most fun things for somebody out there who loves the combination of those two things. Low stress, you're just out there making sure the golf courses look good. You're getting up early in the morning, making sure the sprinklers are working properly, making sure the greens look good, making sure the fairways look good. And so all of this kind of stuff can be super beneficial for someone who is interested in golf and landscaping and all that different kind of stuff and wants to be outside. Maybe you work in an office all day throughout your entire career and now you want to be outside. You can really find your purpose.

Starting point is 00:12:41 And purpose is what's super important here. Now, Blue Zones Research, if you don't know who Blue Zones Research is, they are the folks who have looked at Blue Zones, meaning the areas in the world where people have lived longer than everyone else. And in these areas, they found that purposeful activity actually extends life expectancy. So your life expectancy could be extended by you actually working more. And I think that is a really, really interesting thing, which leads me to number three. Because purpose is a longevity superpower. Every single human being in this world needs a purpose. You absolutely have to have a purpose, a reason to wake up every single day.

Starting point is 00:13:18 You have to have something that you are striving for or looking to attain. If you're not, you're dying. You're going backwards. You need a purpose. If you're sitting here right now, you're like, I have a job and I have no purpose. You need to find that purpose because that purpose is what is going to absolutely change your life. In fact, a 2019 study of 7,000 adults, age 51 to 61, found a strong sense of purpose, lowered mortality risk over 16 plus years, 16 plus years by making sure that you have a purpose.

Starting point is 00:13:47 So purpose can come from a mission-driven career. It can come from mentoring other people, meaning, other people in your life that you are trying to help along the way and or creative endeavors can also lead to purpose. So there are a number of different things. So let's say, for example, you retire and you always wanted to write a novel, okay? And because you always wanted to write a novel, that is a creative endeavor that also gives you purpose and allows you to wake up every single day and get to writing, okay? Or maybe you've always wanted to help people with personal finance, for example. This is the reason why I'll probably never retire. And so every single day, you wake up with that purpose to help other people with

Starting point is 00:14:21 their finances so they can reduce their stress and anxiety around their family and everything else that they do day in and day out. Or maybe you just want to go work in a mission-driven career. You love what you do. Maybe you're an attorney who wants to do some pro bono work. You're a retired attorney, and now you want to do some pro-bono work to help people out. That is another mission-driven career that can help you moving forward. A second part of that study found that people with purpose handled setbacks better and they recovered faster from even being sick, which is absolutely incredible. And purpose doesn't need to be grand. So for some of you, maybe you're retiring and your purpose is going to be spending more time with your grandkids. You're going to help your

Starting point is 00:14:57 kids save on daycare costs and you're going to be spending time with your grandkids and watching your grandkids a couple days a week or maybe full time, depending on what you really want to do. Or maybe it's creative art. Or maybe you like to solve interesting problems and help other people solve interesting problems. Or maybe you want to be a life coach and help people through their lives as they go on their day to day. All of these things are amazing. But having a purpose is one of the most important things that you need to be doing. Number four, is social engagement from work protects against isolation? So a 2025 business insider longevity report found that social isolation can increase mortality risk by 29 to 77%. That is a massive, massive differentiation. And so we as

Starting point is 00:15:37 humans, we need social interaction. So all of you introverts out there, you need to recharge after social interactions. That makes complete sense. But you still need that social interaction. It is actually good for our health to have social interactions. Now, you may think about this from time to time, but after you go and hang out with somebody that you haven't seen in a long time, that you really enjoy being around, like that you really, really enjoy spending time with, you feel good after that interaction. And the reason for that is because you need to have these social interactions. So workplaces provide built-in network for conversation, collaboration, and even belonging. Now, do all of these interactions need to be in person? No, they don't always have to be in person.

Starting point is 00:16:14 and a lot of you who work remotely, you're still working with people on Zoom calls or you're still talking through and having conversations with people. And that collaboration allows you to have that feeling of belonging. Also, retirement can cause social circles to shrink rapidly. This happens a lot when you stop working because you're not going out and doing specific things, especially if your friends are still working. So if you're not working, but your friends are still working because you retired early, it can cause those social circles to shrink rapidly. And really, you're going to have to find a new friend group if you don't do that. So another big thing.

Starting point is 00:16:46 And then volunteer or group-based work can also be an alternative if jobs aren't appealing to a lot of people. So if you're like, I'm not getting a job, I'm not going out and getting another job, then going out and volunteering or spending time at your church or spending time in clubs or hosting different events, those can help you kind of get some of that social interaction when it comes to retirement. Now here's the beautiful thing about retirement that I want most people to note. This is all up to you.

Starting point is 00:17:10 You have the flexibility to do what you want in retirement. And so when it comes to this. this, this is the beautiful thing about making sure you get your money right, is in your working years, during your accumulation stage, if you get your money right, you can make choices about your life and really decide on all of these different decisions. That's why it is so incredibly powerful to make sure that you nail it early on, because financial freedom can absolutely change your life and you can do the things you want. You can work on the things that you want. You could spend your time and energy doing things that you actually love. And that's why we love talking about personal

Starting point is 00:17:44 finance because it allows you that freedom. It allows you the freedom to decide on all of these different things. You get to choose who you hang out with day in and day out. If you don't like who you hang out with, if you don't like Karen and over at HR, if you don't like Bob over in accounting, you don't have to hang out with them anymore. Guess what? You've got enough money to say, hey, guys, peace out. I'm not going to stay here and hang out with you guys anymore. I'm going to go do what I want day in and day out. I'm going to go find a job that I love so I can find purpose so that I can increase my health, all these different things that we are. currently talking about right now. And so making sure that you understand why we are talking about

Starting point is 00:18:19 this stuff and that you have the power of choice. You have free will to make these decisions when you get to retirement age is really, really powerful. Number five is that continuing to work helps you keep structure, mental stimulation, and personal momentum alive. So research on post-retirement adjustment shows a drop in life satisfaction when structure disappears. And I think it is very important to make sure that you still have structure in place in retirement. So some of you out there who may not be as type A as me may be excited to not have as much structure. And again, that is great.

Starting point is 00:18:53 But you still need some sort of structure like you're waking up at a certain time. You're going out and get your exercise in. You're going to go spend time and have a coffee with friends. You're going to go, you know, do whatever you want to do day in a day out. But at the same time, just having that structure, having that day to day of what you're doing every single week is really, really important. So a schedule is going to help you regulate your sleep, you're eating, your exercise, all I'm very, very important for health. In fact, it's very important for longevity as well.

Starting point is 00:19:19 And without structure, many are going to experience boredom, restlessness, and depression. I know for me, I would get so incredibly bored if I did not have structure. And even part-time work or those volunteer days can help maintain some of those healthy rhythms. And so just having a couple of days a week where you're doing very specific things can be extremely helpful in the long run to your longevity and your health. All right, number six is that work is going to facilitate personal growth and continuous learning. So being lifelong learners is a very, very important thing because lifelong learning and up skills are associated with higher life satisfaction and reduced cognitive decline.

Starting point is 00:19:57 Now, this is from the National Institute of Aging in 2020. And so work environments are going to expose you to new skills. They're going to expose you to new ideas and challenges. Now, this is one thing I've noticed a lot with the baby bloater generation. I don't like the fact that some baby boomers, specifically folks like my parents, for example, did not keep up with technology fast enough as it was evolving. I think it is very important for most people to understand technology and actually keep up with technology as time goes on.

Starting point is 00:20:26 I really don't think it's that funny when people can't handle technology at a certain point of time. You were alive when the technology was created. You should have been following along this entire time. Why? Because it leads to opportunities. But it also is going to help you in a certain point. a lot of different environments. And so I think for most people, work environments are going to expose

Starting point is 00:20:43 you to those new skills. They're going to expose you to those new technologies. They're going to put you into workshops that are going to help you with sales skills. They're going to put you into workshops that are going to help you with public speaking. It's going to help you through a bunch of different challenges and a bunch of different environments. And so because of that, it keeps you adaptable in a fast changing world. And I think that is really, really important for mental flexibility. If you get to a point in time where you feel like the world has passed you by, that is not a good place to be. And for most people out there in the older generations, I see this over and over and over again. So if I were you, if you were younger, like I'm in my 30s still right now.

Starting point is 00:21:14 So I have committed myself to making sure I do not want this world to pass me by. Because I don't think that's a good feeling. And secondarily, I don't think you can thrive in a world when that world passes you by. And so because of this, I have committed myself to making sure, oh, I understand everything about AI and what is going on going forward. Or I understand everything about technology and what is happening. At least have an understanding of how to use it and what it's for. because that I think is really, really important for a lot of people, and it helps you with that

Starting point is 00:21:40 continuous learning over time. Retirement without active learning risks stagnation. You do not want to be stagnant in this life. You want to have that purpose. You want to be continuously learning. It is very important. Again, reading is going to be a huge factor in this. So I just think that most people who are in retirement need to make sure that they have a fantastic reading plan. I think they should be reading at least once every single week, reading articles every single day, making sure that you are exercising that brain, memorizing things, trying to get out there and just keep the ball rolling because this is going to help you with your continuous learning and this is going to help you with your personal growth. Let's take a break and then we'll jump into number seven. So lately, I've been noticing

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Starting point is 00:24:57 I want to help my kids and I want to give back to the community. Ooh, then it's the vacation of a lifetime. I wonder if my out of office has a forever setting. An IG Private Wealth Advisor creates the clarity you need with plans that harmonize your business, your family, and your dreams. Get financial advice that puts you at the center. Find your advisor at IGPrivatewealth.com. Now, number seven, I think is a fun one because I think this is a lot of really cool stuff that you could do.

Starting point is 00:25:27 with this, but extra income, even if it's modest, strengthens your financial security. And I think this is something that a lot of people later on in life can look into. Now, it depends on your tax situation because you don't want to bake into your social security and a lot of other things, yada, yada, yada. But at the same time, I think most people in retirement should try to find a way to make a little extra money for fun. Now, this is something I really enjoy doing. And so maybe you don't enjoy trying to do that. But I think there's a lot of fun and cool things that you can do. So adding $10,000 a later in life can significantly reduce sequence of return risks in retirement portfolio according to Morning Star Safe Withdrawal Studies.

Starting point is 00:26:04 And so what this means is that let's say, for example, that you have a portfolio in place and you're drawing and living on that portfolio. Well, if you've found an additional $10,000 per year that you can live off of, that's going to significantly reduce the amount that you have to pull from that portfolio later on in life. And so, for example, if you live on $80,000 per year and $10,000 of it comes from additional income, part of it comes from Social Security, the amount that you have to be able to that you actually have to draw from your portfolio is going to be $40,000 per year.

Starting point is 00:26:31 So when there are down years, that sequence of return risk can be dramatically reduced based on a lot of different studies. But part-time work can also extend savings longevity, meaning your savings is going to last you a lot longer. And it's going to buffer against market volatility. All fantastic things and things we want to make sure that we are currently doing. Even small earnings can be fun spending without tapping in a principle. So one thing I love about this is extra income. A lot of people I know who are following strategy. is like what we're talking about here. They will utilize that extra income for fun money. So they'll use it for the fun things they want to go out and do. They'll take their families on vacations. They'll go and

Starting point is 00:27:05 spend time on experiences. And I think that is a very powerful reason to go and try to make some extra money. Now, in retirement, I think the best way to do this is one, you can go get a job. That's nothing wrong with that whatsoever. But number two is you could start a business. And in that business, you could have write-offs and all these different things that can help you with your tax situation. And so if you start a business, like a side hustle, for example, I know people who go and resell books. They'll go to thrift stores, look at those books and then go resell those books, or they'll go out and find things that they enjoy. Maybe they like to bargain hunt and they resell on eBay. A lot of great things that you can go out and do, but small earnings can add up to a lot when it comes to fund spending.

Starting point is 00:27:44 And even just consulting a few hours a week can be financially impactful. So maybe you were in a career where you can do some consulting work and you can help out by doing the things that you used to do, but just doing it in a few hours a week. You can work from home. You can spend time doing some of the stuff that you love or the stuff you were doing for a very long time. And so consulting, I think, is another great way to help people out. Now, we can give you a bunch of retirement side hustle ideas. If you want an episode like that, please shoot me a message and we can talk through that. But I think there is a lot of data out there that shows that it just helps your retirement portfolio if you can earn a little bit of extra money.

Starting point is 00:28:17 Now, number eight is it is easier than ever to find lifestyle-friendly work. So a 2003 study by Pew Research found. remote and hybrid work doubled since 2019, and self-employment among older adults is at a 20-year high. Now, this is fantastic news because now the internet provides flexible, home-based, and location-independent jobs working from home if you want to or if you want to go out and spend time out in society day-to-day, you can also do that. And you can scale hours up and down as needed. So in examples of this would be like freelancing or teaching online or coaching or creative production, all of those are great retirement jobs that can help you earn a little extra money.

Starting point is 00:28:56 Now, number nine is that a study found in the 2022 Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization that many retirees regret early exits due to loss of purpose and social ties. So number nine is there are tangible regrets when people retire too early. Now, for a lot of people in the fire movement, so if you don't know what the fire movement is, that stands for financial independence, retire early. And a lot of people within the fire movement, the reason why they are, suing fire is not so they can sit on a beach all day. It's because they want to spend time doing what they love. And so they'll retire early so they could spend more time building

Starting point is 00:29:30 relationships or they could spend more time doing work and tasks and jobs that they absolutely love. And so I think that is why, and one of the most powerful parts of that movement, is that a lot of people want so they can do the things day in and day out that they want. And so the fantasy of retirement for a lot of people doesn't always match what reality is. A lot of times you're thinking about, oh, I'm going to be traveling. I'm going to be golfing every day. I'm going to be playing pickleball every day. And all those different things are absolutely fantastic. But they can get boring over time if you're doing the same thing day in and day out. They can get mundane. And so if you don't have those social interactions, it is really,

Starting point is 00:30:06 really important to make sure that you find ways to do that. Loss of identity and community can also outweigh the relief from work stress. And so when you retire, making sure you have community in place of other folks who can also spend time doing the things that you love to do on the days that you want to do them. Meaning if you have friends who are still working, then you need to make sure you find other community members out there who you can spend time with who maybe are retired and can do the same kind of things.

Starting point is 00:30:31 And then also test drive retirement first by reducing hours before quitting entirely. I love, love, love this option. And I've seen a lot of people do this. So for example, years ago, the dentist I used to go to before he retired, he would kind of take days down one at a time until he finally got down to one day a week. And when he got down to one day a week,

Starting point is 00:30:49 all of a sudden he realized the other four days of the week, he was pretty bored. And so he started to come back and he would actually work three days a week instead of down to one because he realized he didn't like it. And so now he, I think he's still practicing. And he's, you know, well within his 70s or 80s because he realized, oh, retirement was not as fun as I thought it was going to be. And so I'd rather continue working because I enjoy the work I'm doing. And I think that for a lot of people can be a really, really beneficial way to think about this. Now number 10 is people need to realize this. It's okay to keep working. It is not mandatory to retire.

Starting point is 00:31:21 A lot of people feel like they feel obligated to retire because they finally achieve the goal. But the Social Security Administration data shows more Americans are working into their late 60s and 70s by choice, not necessity. And so culturally, we've been programmed to see retirement as a finish line. It is not a finish line. It is a point in time where you are starting the second half of your life. And I want you to realize that, that you can do some amazing things in that second half of your life if you take care of your health and if you take care of your cognitive ability. Those two things alone, making sure that you are exercising, making sure that you are spending

Starting point is 00:31:56 time working on your balance and stability. And making sure that you are spending time on your brain can absolutely change your second half of your life to be as amazing as the first half. And so I want you to think about this. And many people out there genuinely enjoy work and don't want to stop. And so because of that, for a lot of you out there, you don't have to have this as a finish line. It is not something where like everyone in the world is going to look at you funny if you start working or continue to work.

Starting point is 00:32:21 And they're going to think, oh, he's broke. He didn't actually have enough money to retire. He just said that, you know, that is something where I don't want you to think, don't worry about social pressures. Don't worry about, you know, all the other extra things that come along with it. Instead, redefining work to make it sustainable long term is what you really want to do. And that's what we're trying to do here is redefine work to make it sustainable if you want to do it. Again, if you want to lay on a beach all day, more power to you. You earned it. But at the same time, if you want to continue work. I don't think it's the finish line. Number 11, work can amplify your positive impact. So for a lot of you out there, you have causes that you believe in, including me, that could make a huge positive impact.

Starting point is 00:32:59 There was a study done in 1992 that shows that helping others boost life satisfaction and mental health in retirement. And so work can be a platform to mentor. It can be a platform to build. It can be a platform to teach others about solutions and improve people's lives. Secondly is retirement doesn't end your ability to contribute. You can contribute and you can help other people. So maybe you want to work in causes you believe in.

Starting point is 00:33:22 Let's say, for example, you want to work with something like the Tim Tebow Foundation. The Tim Tebow Foundation is something I absolutely love, mainly because they do a couple of different things. But one of the big things that I absolutely love that they do is they fight against child trafficking. Meaning they will literally send teams in like SWAT teams in to various areas of the country and other countries to go get children who have been taken away from their parents and bring them home. That, my friends, is a massive, massive cause. And it is a cause that is a way bigger problem that a lot of people think. And so being able to work towards causes like that can be so powerful within your life. Maybe you want to volunteer at your local church. Maybe you

Starting point is 00:33:59 you want to spend time volunteering for cancer patients. You know what causes truly matter to you. You know what causes are really, really important to you. Maybe there's social causes. Or maybe it's just giving back to your local community. All of these can be really, really important. and your retirement is the time to give back. You're going to have way more satisfaction by doing something like that than just by sitting around on a beach all day. And then number 12, and this is one I love, and I think it is really important for a functioning society to do this,

Starting point is 00:34:25 is that you can inspire younger generations. And so it is very, very important for older generations to teach younger generations and inspire younger generations. There was a social learning theory study done, and it found that younger generations who actually had someone who was a, role model in their life, meaning someone who actually stepped in and was a role model, made them more resilient, it gave them more purpose, and their work ethic and life choices were

Starting point is 00:34:51 drastically improved. And so because of this, you can literally change people's lives just by inspiring younger generations. And so continuing to work shows children and grandchildren the value of lifelong contribution and counters negative stereotypes of aging. In addition, it reinforces the mindset that life can stay active and engaged well into, later years. And I think all of these can be super, super important for a lot of people. If you want to be a role model to your kids or you want to be a role model to your family about work ethic, working hard, making sure you make the right life decisions, this can be something where if you continue working, it can be very, very powerful for them to see you working. And I

Starting point is 00:35:29 think that for a lot of folks is a huge, huge winner, especially if you have a family. So those are the 12 reasons that I have to never retire. If you guys have any other reasons that I miss, Make sure you leave a comment down on YouTube or Spotify or wherever else you can leave a comment right now. I would love to hear some of your other reasons. And if you plan on working past retirement, also leave a comment down below. Would love to hear why as well. Again, if you want to ask any questions for any of our money Q&A is coming up, make sure you join the Master Money newsletter and send in your question.

Starting point is 00:35:59 Again, Master Money Academy is on the way. We have our beta group already launched and running right now. So we are really, really excited for that. our founding wealth builders are a really, really great group, and we're excited to jump right into that. So again, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for investing in yourself. That's exactly what you did by being here today. I truly appreciate every single one of you. I hope this got you excited for retirement in the second half of your life. Even if you're younger, it's fun to think about this kind of stuff to make sure you have the right plan in place. Thank you so much for being here,

Starting point is 00:36:29 and we'll see you on the next episode. When a country's productivity cycle is broken, People feel it in their paychecks, their communities, their futures. What does this mean for individuals, communities, and businesses across the country? Join business leaders, policymakers, and influencers for CGs' national series on the Canadian Standard of Living, productivity and innovation. Learn what's driving Canada's productivity decline and discover actionable solutions to reverse it.

The Personal Finance Podcast - 12 Reasons to Never Retire (Even When You Have Enough Money)

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