Shuffle off to the Shuffle
Efficient Wealth Management has created a new coaching program called The Gratifying Harvest. The program helps you enjoy your future by carefully harvesting cash flow from your lifetime of savings or preparing you to do so. We thought a column devoted to this pleasing idea would be great.
It is your after party, so what are you going to do? Giving back to the community or supporting others may be the answer for you.
I am a director of the Tim Horton’s Southside Shuffle, Port Credit Blues and Jazz Festival. The festival coming up in September is the 14th. Not one of the fourteen festivals would have been possible without the efforts of the volunteers. As a board member, nothing has amazed me more than the large number of hard working volunteers that make the whole thing possible. The festival runs for three days each September, but many of the volunteers are working the 364 days since the last festival. There are planning meetings to participate in, seemingly insignificant items to prepare, thankless tasks to be done and even training sessions to endure. Yet they still come. Ask why and most will tell you that it is a pleasure to be involved WITH others. They have the time and it is rewarding knowing that the fruits of their labours will be enjoyed by their community and themselves. The retired volunteer members have decided to hold an after party and make sure there is music to dance to at it.
As a retirement specialist, many clients come to me initially to talk about their finances. They are concerned about whether they have enough savings to retire on or they are concerned about their investments and how they are currently being managed. They are focusing their retirement decision on their wealth. Few though are pondering what they will do with themselves after retiring from their work that has consumed each week of their life since they got out of school many decades before. It sometimes takes multiple meetings just to get them thinking and planning on what THEY are going to do after there is no workplace to go to. They have yet to realize that their after party is about them, not their money.
Most of us have to go to work, so we can generate funds to pay for the necessities of life. If we are fortunate enough to earn some extra, then the simple luxuries add to our comfort. So we trade our time for some earnings. It is about the earnings or we would choose to do something else with our time. Even the fortunate that have found a role that they love, most would do more of some things and less of other things if not for the money. So it is about the pay cheque in one form or another. Retirement comes and, of course, the greatest angst is about the money. Why not? It has always been about the money. Well, this is the awakening. If you can retire, by definition, you have established a source of funds independent of your further efforts. In other words, you have arranged your affairs through savings, a pension plan or even government subsidies, so you no longer need to earn to still pay for the necessities and the luxuries you desire. For the first time in many years, it is NOT about earning the money. The day you give up your livelihood, you lose your earnings, but you have planned for their replacement. However, you also lose the demand on your time. Should you not plan for this replacement as well?
As I wrote before, there are many ways to begin your after party. Sometimes it is about becoming a snowbird or embarking on a new career. To some, it is about having the time to watch the grandchildren and enjoy their youthfulness. It can be about falling in love and embarking on a very different personal life. To many, it is about having the time to give back to the community or support others. Whatever it is going to be, your after party needs to be planned and prepared for just like the finances.
Our role at Efficient Wealth is to inspire, give you the confidence you need to think anew, help you plan your after party, assist you in determining how to slice the cake and then serve it to you and your guests. We call this helping you harvest your savings in a gratifying manner thus The Gratifying Harvest slogan. One of the most satisfying parts of my work is telling people, yes, you have the resources to retire. It is a joyful moment invariably. I am even more pleased when they are able to articulate the activities they are looking forward to being involved in. I know then that they will truly be enjoying their after party.
If you are interested in volunteering for the Southside Shuffle, please go to our website at www.southsideshuffle.com and follow the links to the Volunteer area. See you there, September 7, 8, 9.
