Retirement Vs. Financial Independence: What's the Difference?
I get a lot of questions from clients about why I talk about financial independence as opposed to retirement. Financial advisors are always talking about some kind of impossible to lose money scheme or crash-proof retirement plan or bullet-proof plan or strategy or something like that.
The reality is most of our clients are looking to pursue financial independence, not retirement.
Differences Between Retirement and Financial Independence
Retirement is for people who work longer than they want to work at jobs they most often hate, and the goal is to be able to maintain a lifestyle. It's probably one they're already living. They'll try and maintain just until their birth certificate runs out of steam.
Retirement is for people who are going to maintain a current standard of living throughout the years they have left. Summed up, they hope to have enough money to make it to the grave without becoming a burden on their children or society.
Planning for Financial Independence: Retirement on Your Terms
We encourage our clients to pursue financial independence. What that means is that our clients want to take control of their financial lives. They want to be able to maintain the standard of living that they choose.
Geographically, it might be in the same area that they are earning their money right now... Frequently though, they will move geographically once they retire or stop working.
Many of our clients also go on to work as consultants. Some take on passion projects with organizations or causes that they're passionate about.
In both cases, those pursuing financial independence aren't just thinking about when they can turn off the lights - they're planning to be financially independent enough to pursue the things they've always dreamed about. They're aiming to be free to pursue them:
- Where (geographically) they want to pursue them
- When they want to start
- For as long as they want without the pressure of having to continue for financial reasons
- With the people they want (family, friends, organizations, etc.)
There's a different mindset and a different financial set of problems and opportunities that go along with being financially independent versus retiring. Our clients are pursuing one, not necessarily the other.
If you're looking for financial independence, not necessarily just a retirement plan, perhaps Vizionary Wealth Management is a firm you should be talking to. Please feel free to give us a call. Here at Vizionary Wealth Management, we're always here with perspective for the decisions ahead. I look forward to hearing from you soon.