Using the benchmark of age sixty-five as when most people plan on retiring, or exiting the workforce, the question is:<\/p>\n
The U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare tracked people from age twenty to sixty-five and found:<\/p>\n
These statistics appear to verify that:<\/p>\n
Either they planned on retiring poor or they did not pay attention to their financial plan.<\/p>\n
Looking at these statistics, the question is:<\/p>\n
Taking these U.S. government statistics, one can add further dollar distinctions to those statistics, based upon year 2000 dollar valuations.<\/p>\n
Upon retirement at age sixty-five, the income without working<\/strong> falls into these categories:<\/p>\n The unfortunate reality is that only one out of 100 Americans<\/strong> will reach the affluent level or higher when they exit the workforce.<\/p>\n Chances are that thirty-six out of 100 will be dead<\/strong>, as the U.S. Health and Education statistics state. These thirty-six will exit this earth prior to exiting the workforce. <\/strong><\/p>\n That means that the fifty-nine out of the sixty-four people remaining will exit below the affluent level. <\/strong><\/p>\n Only five go beyond that level.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We punch the clock every day thinking that our efforts will bring us closer to that golden nest egg. Closer to the dream our parents, college education and yes, even our government leaders promised.<\/p>\n The truth is that the dream of a comfortable retirement is mostly an illusion.<\/p>\n It is an illusion unless we make the decision to do something about it.<\/p>\n Investing in your 401K, frugality, living within your means, minimalism and a positive outlook will take you far. But there is also the brutal truth that most of us who are wage earners wake up every day and give away our most valuable assets.<\/p>\n We dedicate our youth, our time, our energy and our innovation to improving the retirement plans of our employers. We get some broken down promise of “security” in exchange. \u00a0Something that seems just fine until we realize that the security we were promised is also just a means to an end.<\/p>\n The challenge and the call is not to give up and throw in the towel, but to consider using time wisely to accumulate assets that will be of value later on. \u00a0Passive income streams that will support a future you, portfolio streams that are taxed at a better rate, income that is not dependent on an employer, or punching a clock, or taking a second job.<\/p>\n The above statistics came from\u00a0Robert Kiyosaki’s book Retire Young, Retire Rich<\/a>, and like the 4-Hour Workweek it is a call to action.<\/p>\n It is also a good companion to the ideal of a 4-Hour Workweek. It has proven to be an influential book in my arsenal, and as I flip each page I gain a better perspective on life, on time<\/a> and the future (and present) me that seems so fleeting.<\/p>\n Define your future self, define your retired self, define your present self and make a decision today to own it, because as Seneca in 64 AD so eloquently declared:<\/p>\n\n
Some Perspective<\/h2>\n