Why I Never Want To Retire

I never want to retire. I never thought I would even think these words. But here I am, sharing them with the rest of the world.

I guess I can be thankful to the economy for making me understand that I do not ever want to retire. I graduated in 2008 December and I am still searching for work. Until October I was immersed in my CPA studies. However, right after that, I retired. At the very least, I experienced what it is like to be retired.

Most people associate retirement with not working anymore and engaging in activities that you really like. On top of that, by the time you are retired you do not have to worry about paying a mortgage,or  a car loan. It seems that all there is left is to receive your pension and social security payments and enjoy life. Seems like a pretty good deal, right?

For a long time, I thought that it was great. Why wouldn’t you want to retire? Many reasons why.

Since October, I did not have to worry about paying for my housing, for the car or for food. I was and still am living with my parents. So far so good.

Somewhat.

The only problem was that I had very limited income. I would get an allowance from my parents for each month, but it was just enough to go out to a couple of movies or go to the city, not much else. In a sense, my financial situation mimics that of those who are actually retired.

Most of retired individuals depend on fixed income coming either from social security payments, pension or both. Fixed income means that over time they will be able to purchase less and less because of inflation. That fixed income would have to cover food, traveling and leisure expenses. Oh, and don’t forget health care expenses. In reality, it might mean that you would have only enough money to buy food and get around the city. Trips and vacations might be completely out of picture.

On top of the financial issues, you have to figure out what to do with your time. When I was done studying for my CPA exam, it felt like freedom was awaiting for me. I had no worries (except finding a job) and no other commitments. I could read, watch TV, play computer games, watch movies and hang out with my friends and family. I did that. I did that for about a month.After a month, all of the above became extremely boring. I got to the point, where I was literately sick just of the idea of watching TV, movies, reading books, playing games or even hanging out with friends. I just had enough – in one month.

Can you image if you had 20 years ahead of you?

Sure, if I had money, I could travel the world, go out, engage in hobbies, learn new things and so on. Yet, you have to remember that when you are retired you are living on fixed source of income and chances are that you might not have enough money coming in to cover all that you want to do. Plus, I am sure that living just for your own pleasure would get to you and you’d get bored of that too. I am just grateful that I do not have worry about any health issues unlike those in the retirement age group.

One interesting thing started happening naturally. I wanted to go and work towards a goal. I wanted to work with other people. I wanted to be challenged. I wanted to create. Of course, along the way, I was looking for work and it was becoming increasingly frustrating not being able to find anything.

It occurred to me that action and purpose driven life is what our lives are about.

There is absolutely no reason to want to retire because retirement will probably bring nothing more than extreme boredom and might cause you to be depressed. So instead of working to retire and then having a life of leisure and boredom, let us all find something that drives us, something that we are passionate about. Let us work towards our dreams and goals while we are still physically and mentally capable.

Let us travel the world while have the strength and the clarity to enjoy it. Let us not wait until we are 70 to do that. Life is meant to be lived, not wasted away. Do you really want to wait 50, 40, 30 years until you can do what you really want to do? Why defer life until you cannot enjoy it to its fullest? Life is meant to be active, life is meant to be moving and kicking, it is not mean to be lived to retire.

So go figure out what it is that you really want to do NOW. Otherwise, you will end being retired and trying to figure out what your life is really all about with limited health, limited money, limited mental capacity. Don’t wait! There is nothing glorious or comforting about retirement, it is not a goal to be achieved. Think about it. Now you know, why I never want to retire, ever again.

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Image: Oberazzi