Maybe a sojourn in the Dominican Republic could become part of your...
perfect "Retirement Plan"
So what do think makes the 'perfect retirement plan'? – To move to somewhere the sun shines all day, where the costs of living is low, the landscape is beautiful, pastimes are plentiful, and people are friendly? Sounds good! But too often the reality is much less
enticing.
Due to poor retirement planning, money is tight, confidence to 'move away' from 'where, what and who' you know reduces, days are spent in gloomy rooms, absorbed by trashy 'day-time-TV' and early evening 'soap-operas', and you sit there hoping maybe today the phone will ring, or the door will knock, and break the monotony of 'the final countdown'!
A Rude Awakening!
When you are young it's hard to begin to think about the 'last phase' of our
lives...we feel all but 'immortal', we are robust, confident and full of 'hopes and
dreams'! A sensible 'retirement plan' is the last thing on our minds. Somewhere in
our 'subconscious' most of us probably hope for a long - healthy - stimulating
retirement! 'Heady' days when we can say we've "done our bit"...and it's time to put
our feet up and allow ourselves to relax and enjoy life to the full!
For many people they hit a point in their lives when suddenly the concept of
'retirement' becomes a looming reality. Maybe this occurs when we reach milestones
like the BIG FOUR-OH! If we manage to blot out the thought for a while it comes
back with a vengeance by the time the even bigger FIVE-OH comes around (and we
are not referring to 'repeats' of that famous Hawaiian detective series!!)
A Retirement Plan Becomes Essential
So the need to develop a proper 'retirement plan' will become a reality sooner or
later for all of us. This is becoming even more important these days, for as the 21st
century gets well underway, it is increasingly likely that many of us will live on for
considerably more than our 'three score and ten'!
No doubt those of you in our own generation (without being too specific...that is
within 25 years of retirement) should be becoming concerned about the all too
frequently re-iterated reminders from our respective Governments, that by the time we
reach retirement age...there will not enough 'State money' in-the-pot to go around
(no matter that we've been contributing all our working lives!!!) – DEPRESSING
ISN'T IT?
What this does mean is like it or not – we need to consider how we are going to
make provisions to ensure that our 'declining years' are not spent entirely in
miserable poverty! We need to formulate a realistic 'retirement plan'...but what does
this involve?
The Four "P's"
Let's consider some of the key issues that can help us lay a foundation for making
headway with planning for retirement that is going to be as enjoyable and fulfilling as
we can make it...The framework we are going to use to formulate a sensible
retirement plan is what we have called the FOUR P's:-
PURSE – Just how much money do you need to retire in reasonable comfort!
PLACE – Planning where we would like to spend all or some of our 'golden
years'!!
PEOPLE – Planning to ensure that we can be with people we'd like to be
with - and that we have planned for people we care about!!!
PASTIMES – Planning to keep ourselves stimulated, active
and healthy – both mentally and physically!!!!

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