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It’s Ok..Neither do I, but that doesn’t mean I’m not preparing for retirement.
I’m a competitor, a fighter, and someone that enjoys challenges so the thought of retiring, not working and sitting on the beach or playing golf for countless days on end is NOT appealing to me. So no, I don’t picture myself retiring or being comfortable retiring from working because I truly love what I do and enjoy the gamesmanship and challenges.
I recently went on a mini vacation to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, a coastal town in South Carolina. The weather is pleasant there during winter and early spring, and is packed full of retirees, wealthy stars, and vacationers.
Hilton Head Island has long been known as a popular place to retire: there is an overabundance of golf courses and tennis courts; there are bakeries, fast casual Mexican restaurants, and seafood restaurants galore. Many of the residents can be found riding their bike up and down the sidewalks, on the beach or on the golf course but for those who’d simply like to remain at home, many of them have backyard pools where they can soak up some sun and drink a few beers.
It is a place, where retirees break the ice upon meeting one another by asking, “At what age did you retire?” (“Just before I turned 60,” was a common refrain.) During the busy season—the season between spring and fall—the streets become crowded with visitors who’ve come from near and far to soak up the scenery and relax. Retirees walk up and down the beach unbothered by the vacationing family who has two hyperactive little kids.
I experienced nearly everything I’ve mentioned here during my short stay in the coastal community: the walking on the beach, the expensive seafood restuarant, the local dive bar, the bike rides on the sidewalk and the views from the golf course, I tried to picture myself in my sixties and back in Hilton Head, living this particular life, and I just couldn’t see it. I decided that maybe I’m just not ever going to retired.
There is a reoccurring experience I have almost every time I go into Walmart when I’m back home in Charlotte area of North Carolina, when I noticed an older man or woman greeting me at the entrance or ringing up my goods at the register. You know the people I’m referring to. They’re mostly kind, welcoming and have a loving grandparent vibe exuding from them but at the same time you sense that they’re not happy and wish they didn’t have to be doing THAT job, and I think to myself….I don’t want to be that kind of “retired” either.
The truth is that I don’t have a clear picture of the kind of retired person I see myself becoming. At 32, I’ve got plenty of time to think about it. I’ve joked with friends and loved ones that I will be the person who makes his career putting together transactions and then will one day take my show on the road, get an RV and travel the country with my now fiancée, but as long as there is cellular service I’ll still be orchestrating deals.
But just because I don’t see myself “Not Working” doesn’t mean I haven’t already laid the foundation to have an income that is passive and residual and not dependent on me working to make a very comfortable living. So, if you’re in the same boat and can’t imagine yourself “retiring”, please don’t be selfish. You need to plan for you and your family’s future and start making investments that will leave them and yourself in a much better position 15-20 years from now. So if you want to learn more about investing and how to passively make a very comfortable living with little risk visit Swing Real Estateat www.swingrealestate.net
Sir Ashley is an author and real estate investor who buys houses and helps families obtain housing even though they may have been turned away by a bank.