Do You Have The Personality?
Early Retirement
By Larry A Ferstenou
Copyright © 2004. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted here by permission.

Can you name the one long-term goal that nearly everyone looks forward to? If you guessed retirement, you're right. It's the day we gain the freedom to do the things in life that are more enjoyable than working for a living. For some it might mean working a part-time job that is more fun and less stressful. For others it may mean volunteering, pursuing favorite hobbies, traveling, spending more time with family and friends, or probably a combination of those. But one thing is for sure: reaching the point where we can leave the daily grind behind and take control of our own lives and schedules has wide appeal.

While being able to one day retire is the goal of virtually everyone, early retirement is the wish of many. In fact, over the past 11 years that my wife and I have been early retirees, nearly every working person I've talked to has expressed a desire to leave the workforce years before they turn 65. It's a great goal, but one that is getting harder rather than easier to achieve. With the decline in traditional pensions and Social Security's pending insolvency, retiring early is becoming increasingly dependent on acquiring a sufficient net worth. For most, building that net worth will necessitate a well-planned savings/investing effort implemented years in advance.

If exiting the rat race years before your 65th birthday appeals to you, then here's a question to ponder: Do you have the personality to get you to that point? That may seem like an odd question, but not all personality types approach goal fulfillment in the same way. To find out if your personality is more or less suited to achieving early retirement, the American Savings Education Council offers a short, interactive quiz that can provide insight into the kind of planning and saving personality you have. It's easy, only takes a couple minutes, is non-threatening, and it's free. To take this interesting quiz go to:

• www.asec.org (a new window will open).
• Click on "Savings Tools."
• Click on "Retirement Personality Profiler" and take the quiz.
• You might also enjoy The Ballpark Estimate Pre-Retirement Planning Worksheet and some of the other financial planning calculators.

The Retirement Personality Profiler (RPP) and other tools are meant to be fun, informational and motivational. They can provide insight into your current situation and help you to see where changes in your thinking or actions might be beneficial in fulfilling your long-term goals. To make the most of the RPP, take it more than once while varying a few answers so you can see how a change in attitude or strategy can alter your profile. Then use that information to help you plan for the future.

If you derive a high level of satisfaction from your job or career, then by all means, continue doing what makes you happy until you no longer have that passion and drive. But when the time comes that going to work day after day is a chore, not a joy, you will want to be in a financial position to do something about it. When that time comes, will retirement be feasible for you?

My wife and I were able to retire early (and stay retired) because we were motivated, simplified our lives, lived below our means, and invested wisely. If retiring early appeals to you but you need help in one or more of those areas, there are articles and books widely available that can provide the inspiration and strategies you need. You can find a variety of helpful, free articles in the archives of this newsletter. Over the past year I've written several which should be useful. To read those articles and others, visit our Newsletter Archives. For books that can help you achieve your long-term goals, try your library; or to purchase books you can keep for reference (or for great holiday gifts to help friends and family achieve their goals), click here and choose from the topics at the left.

About The Author

Larry Ferstenou retired eleven years ago at age 42 and is the author of You CAN Retire Young: How To Retire in Your 40s or 50s Without Being Rich (American Book Business Press, 2002). For more information visit the You Can Retire Young web site.

Web Site: www.youcanretireyoung.com