Have you ever considered what your goals are pre-retirement and post-retirement? I believe that our goals while we are working full-time are different than after we stop working full-time. It has become very apparent to me that many Americans live to work (versus work to live). That means that most of us work very hard so we can earn enough money to pay our bills, put food on the table, shoes on our feet, buy a few nice things, and take a few trips throughout our lifetime and save for retirement along the way. Is that truly what life is about, making money to pay our bills and save enough money so that we can “retire” (aka stop working) someday in the future? Shouldn’t there be more to life? 

I believe that money is simply a means to an end. Meaning that money is a tool that allows you to achieve something else. Money in the bank really does not provide much value, it’s what you do with the money that creates the value of money. So, what is it that you are working toward? I personally work very hard for several reasons; part of that is because I love what I do and really like helping clients to live the best life they possibly can, but it is also to provide for my family and to create the life that I want for myself, my wife, and my kids. So, I work not just to make money so that I can sit on the money but truly for the ability to use the money to create memories and life experiences with my family and friends.

So, is the goal for you to accumulate the most money possible in life? Or maybe the goal is to accumulate as many memories as possible? I understand that it requires money to go places or do things and to buy things. However, when you look back on life, do you think about the things you bought, or do you think about the experiences you had, and do you think about the people you were with when you had those experiences? I truly reflect on prior vacations, experiences, and life’s journey with friends and family. As a matter of fact, when I see old friends that I don’t get the opportunity to spend a lot of time with, we tend to talk about our experiences and memories that we shared together earlier in life.

What makes me sad is when I see people who focus on saving as much money as possible, skip out on life experiences, and then spend all their money on medical costs and end-of-life care. On the flip side, I love talking to people who spend their wealth enjoying their life and creating memories with their friends and family. That is a true gift and a legacy in my opinion. Let’s face it, when you are gone, you can’t take the money with you and when you leave people behind, how do you want them to remember you? Do you want to be remembered by how much money you left them, or do you want to be remembered by the experiences that you shared together and the wisdom that you imparted on them? I believe these are very important questions that we must ask ourselves. We all make choices every day on how we spend our time and our money. This is why I live for today, and to plan for tomorrow.