The paradox of spending

Recently I've been reading a book about Italian fables and fairy tales. The feature that stands out in so many of them is money. But not simply money as we might understand it, rather it is extravagant amounts of gold, silver and jewellery. What's that got to do with retirement? First, let’s step into the real world of today.

When people think about superannuation in Australia they think that there is a two-part story: accumulation followed by pension. Or to put it differently, saving followed by spending.

It's commonly said that people in pension phase fear that they'll run out of money. In other words, they'll spend too much too soon. Funnily enough in my retirement coaching practice I meet many clients who are concerned about how to spend their time in retirement. How do they express that?

Questions come up such as:

·      Will I be bored?

·      Can I be useful?

·      What if I waste time?

The last one is particularly interesting as it comes up so often in coaching conversations. Can you hear the themes underneath: I want my retirement to be: 

·      Meaningful

·      Productive

·      Planful

which may not be so different from how people want to spend their money in retired life.

If this resonates and you’d like to discuss your feelings about how to spend TIME then email me: jon@64plus.com.au

Dr Jon Glass Retirement Specialist and Coach

64PLUS