We Are All Chasing Financial Goals That Are MEANINGLESS. Do THIS Instead
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You ever feel a little tired and maybe a little defeated and asking yourself you know what are we doing this for why are we saving this money are we ever going to have this brighter future and how do we get there and I think you know saving for retirement reaching financial goals
Is a marathon it’s a long-term game and so in today’s video I’m going to share with you some ideas to keep up the excitement to keep up the enjoyment so that you don’t feel like you’re un necessarily sacrificing today for an uncertain future and I recently read an
Article uh on MoneyWise by a money personality his name is ramit sethy you might have heard him he’s on the news occasionally he has a YouTube channel and I thought this article with r meat was really powerful because you know one of the things that R meat talks about is
The necessity to be super focused on what you’re working to achieve and I think that can give us energy not just the goals that we have for ourselves in 20 or 30 years but also the goals that we have for ourselves this year as I record this it’s it’s cold and dark
Outside um it’s the middle of winter and you know thinking about what do you want to do in the summer what what is a financial reward that you can give yourself maybe that’s a vacation with your family so in this interview ramit shared that you know like me he’s in
This space he’s asking people lots of questions and one of ramit’s favorite questions to ask people is you know what are you doing this for what’s it all for what are you saving money for and you know I have to admit I felt uh guilty as charged when when he shared the most
Common answer because you know what it’s an answer I would have given them as well which is you know we we want to do what we want to do and we want to do it when we want to do it that that’s what he said in the article for me personally
I would have added two other things so I’d have four things on my list what I want to do when I want to do it from where I want to do it and working with whom I want so for me that’s what Financial Independence means but you
Know that’s a lofty goal you know not it’s not so far out for me now right I’m almost 60 but for folks that are in their early 50s in their late 40s or you know even 58 59 you’re still it depending on when you’re planning on retiring that’s really a long time so
Ramit’s advice and I completely agree with this is get spefic specific what I want you to do R didn’t talk about it but what I want you to think about doing is actually painting a picture in your head you know what does it look like let’s use my example of summer vacation
And actually ramit um used a similar example in this article so let’s go with his actually and for his he says that he likes people’s goals to fit them like a glove that when he asks somebody you know what are you saving this money for and yes there’s 401 K and there’s all
These different there’s health savings accounts that I talk about a lot there’s the the the match that our employer gives us there’s the Roth IRAs the regulars the 401ks blah blah blah but I think it’s really powerful to also pay attention to your heart and what’s in
Your heart what are the goals that are important for you so getting back to ramit’s example he asked somebody this question um you know why are what’s it what’s it for what are you saving your money for and he loved the response because it was very specific and it
Painted a picture in R meat’s head uh and that is for this individual this person wanted to go on a two- week summer vacation in Italy with their spouse their kids and their parents and his goal was one of those days to sit at a restaurant drinking good Italian wine
Next to the Coliseum and watching the sunset right can you can you kind at least in my mind I could see that image taking place uh and I’ve I’ve been to the Coliseum and I can tell you you better have reservations uh before you go to Italy for that restaurant because
It’s obviously it’s quite crowded there but the idea of painting a picture and you know we all have different images in our head of what we want to do not just for our summer vacation but what does retirement look like so I I want you to
Get specific with that and you know to the extent you enjoy journaling it might be something worthwhile to kind of you know for a couple Bas just think about this question not just what your short-term goals are but your long-term goals and again one of the challenges
With retirement is it’s so far away so are there Milestones along the way so that you can be sure to enjoy the journey I’ve talked about things like many retirements you know I I think the American model the world’s model of retirement I think it’s broke right I
Think the promise is false work 40 years and then someday you’ll be able to enjoy your retirement well you know the reality is our bodies start breaking down and I do want to talk some to to folks that are doing physical work uh in their job right I’m lucky I go to an
Office every day but if you’re a carpenter if you’re a trades person a plumber uh there’s a lot of jobs a car mechanic um post office employee you know you’re on your feet all day you’re working and it’s at some point the aches and pains of your body make it such that
You know what you have to retire but at that point you’ve got these aches and pains in your body how are you going to be able to enjoy that Italian trip that that I just talked about I hope so right but really thinking about enjoying the
Journey and one of the things I like to talk about is many retirements is there a way instead of waiting 40 years in order if travels on your schedule instead of waiting 40 years to get there is a is there a way you can do that now
Uh is there a way you can do that every couple years maybe if your company offers a sabatical or you know use all your vacation at least it’s it’s almost half of Americans don’t use all their vacation it’s crazy so I want you to enjoy the journey as well and I also
Want to to share again that you know we’re none surprise surprise none of us are going to live forever and unfortunately if you’re 60 years old you likely have less than a th000 weeks remaining of healthy active time so not only do I want you to think about
These Milestones along the way but I want you before you get to the age when you can retire before you get to the Financial Freedom that you can retire along the way I want you to be thinking about what that looks like I want you to start getting excited by it because
Every day counts when you get to that number and you know for many people the right answer is not just a number but also an age you know I’m going to work till the the the first or the the latter of these two happen you know either I
Hit a certain age or you know maybe I’ve saved 750,000 or 2 million or 5 million whatever your number is um and and really make sure if you don’t do it the first of be sure to have a safety net at the end because what can often happen is
You keep pushing back it’s one more year you you go in and you tell your boss hey it’s time for me to retire in your boss is like you know what can we do to keep you can we give you a special assignment a special bonus um and then you you fall
Victim to the four most dangerous words to any retiree which is one just one more year excuse me I don’t want that to happen to you so I want you to start thinking and visualizing what this looks like to you now I also I’ve got a video that I think
You’ll find helpful which is uh seven things to stop doing as you approach 50 and 60 years old in order to enjoy the journey more I want you to think about watching it because it’s super powerful don’t wait till you get there start thinking about this now I’ll see you in
That video up here and thanks for watching this one bye-bye
31 Comments
I really love the way you deliver such clear, simple and uncomplicated narrative. Love your content Azul. BTW, I'm in the top 0.1% of net worth and maybe don't need your advice…but it's spot on….. keep up the great work 👍
If you want to see the sunset 🌇 go to Santorini, Greece 🇬🇷. The Coliseum is overkill.
The scam-comments are starting to get really annoying! They appear on every video now.
The first thing I wanted was to be able to afford to live safely. The 2nd is to make it more comfortable. Whether I will be able to travel as I hoped, and spend my days entirely how I wanted remains to be seen.
Retire at 55 has been my montra for many years. Start saving sooner saving more over time and spending less. Trying to live my best life traveling the world. What an awesome life it will be. Thank you for making it happen.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. (King Solomon : Ecclesiastes 1)
Azul, Many thanks for all of this. Sage advice.
And I know you've said this repeatedly, but it bears repeating: Live your own life. Don't compare yourself to others. Comparison will make you miserable and it feeds greed and jealousy.
One of the commenters bragged of making $42K a week in stock trading. Good on him. If he's good at what he does, then kudos. But don't go chasing his shirt tails. That will only make you miserable. Been there. Done that. Not doing it any longer.
Take care!
J
My hubby saved, are debt-free, and retired in our 50's. We paid off our first mortgage in 1991 and never had one after that even though we upgraded our housing several times. We always knew we wanted the option of retiring early. I am a nurse and although I loved my career, I couldn't imagine standing on my feet all day and lifting patients into my late 60's or 70's!
Great messages as always Azul!
For me what I want is to get back to some of the things I was doing when I was younger. I used to do silversmithing but quit that to get an engineering degree. I don't regret that decision but I'm about done with engineering and I want to do creative work again – not that good engineering isn't also creative, but not in the same way.
Thanks for continuing updates 👍🏻 I'd rather trade the stock market as it's more profitable. I make an average of $25,500 per week even though I barely trade myself.
My long-term goals, are now short-term goals, as retirement is approaching quickly in just one more year. Two at the max.
I was fortunate enough to travel all over the world when I was 29. I’m 53 now and other than a beach getaway I have no interest to travel. All I want is to be comfortable and not worry about dining out or paying the bills. I like sports cars but could never justify the maintenance so I’ll just rent one for a week while on vacation.
Something I found that I agree with "Happiness in retirement is a choice and one which each of us is wholly responsible for. Factors which greatly influence this include a positive mindset, living purposefully, self-worth and compassion to self / others."
But I would add "Happiness during life is a choice and one which …"
Money, while important, and we should strive to save sufficiently for retirement, falls to third place in my ordering of priorities: 1) Happiness. 2) Health. 3) Extra money to do the things I want to do, when I want to do it, where I want to do it, with the people I want to do it with.
You only have one life. Time is precious. Sacrificing 40 years for 10-15 years of enjoyment is not a good rate of return. 😢.
I don't ask why am I saving this money. I ask what is stopping me from doing what I want. Money is still the biggest constraint.
<>> Investing in cryptocurrency, like in other method of investment needs to be done strategically, linking back to the financial goals of the investor.Given that this method of investment is still very nascent, there are different strategies that investors can choose from, but the ones given are not just popular but also successfully, tried and tested.
The sad thing, here in the USA, is the unknown costs of medical care. If we had Medicare For All, retirement might be a lot simpler.
Thanks Azul, love watching your well made excellently presented content. I’m early fifties, worked hard, saved and invested in early life. Now I work when I have too 33% of my time, spend an equal amount of the remainder either at home with family or relaxing. We all have a picture in our heads and your knowledge and experience is really making a difference in my transition to full time retirement in the next yr or so. I would strongly recommend to your viewers, island hopping around Greece, it can be done frugally, even mykonos and santorini if you do your research.
I’m 55 I’ve been to 30 countries all while being employed using vacation hours at a job I love. I get 8 weeks a year, I use it 😅 I’ll save some countries on the bucket list for retirement
What truly meaningful financial goals have you set? Share your insights and let's redefine success together. Ready to elevate our financial journeys!
Amazing content, You remain the best!! It's been year since I found ways to improve my finances and by working with a renowned professions, I was able to attain financial freedom. I have to say; "As long as you can achieve whatever you place your mind on".
I'm finally biting the bullet and retiring at the end of Feb, and my wife will be retiring in May 2025. She's 3 years younger than I am. We have each been working as "white collar" employees for over the 40 years you mentioned (so thankfully no aches and pains), and we have managed to build a very comfortable nest egg in our retirement accounts. We are debt free except for our 2.5% mortgage that we will never pay off because it's such cheap money. The long 4-decade journey of working is over soon for us, and we've come out of it pretty well I think. We saved enough to get us through our retirement, and we'll both get good SS benefits. We also have a good amount in our HSA accounts.
We plan to enjoy cruising, driving around the US in our C8 Corvette to see all of the places and things we've never seen (including seeing the MAGNIFICENT Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 and hearing his wonderful baritone voice this year somewhere!), spending time with our 8 grandchildren in three different states, and just hanging out at home at our pool, doing landscaping, etc. We are thankfully both in good health, but you never know what life is going to throw at you. We want to enjoy our retirement over the next 10 "go go" years, before we get to old to do that anymore.
Long-term health care costs are a concern because of the ridiculous healthcare environment in the US – but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I currently have $12K/yr in our retirement cost projections allocated for healthcare, but that amount will likely rise in the future.
many wealthy individuals maintain their wealth by being frugal with their spending and consistently investing their money. On the other hand, some people who are struggling financially may prioritize impressing others with their spending rather than focusing on long-term investments,,
Azul Wells' insights have been a game-changer for me! His practical approach to financial management has empowered me to take control of my money and work towards a debt-free life and a fulfilled retirement._
I aim to reallocate my $2 million portfolio. What's the most effective strategy to hedge my portfolio and generate profits?
Most Americans find it hard to retire comfortably amid economy downtrend. Some have close to nothing going into retirement, my question is, will you pay off mortgage as a near-retiree, or spread money for cashflow, to afford lifestyle after retirement?
My wife and I retired in our mid-50s and have never looked back! We've traveled to 46 countries and taken 12+ cruises. We're in our mid-60s and cutting back to just a few trips a year. I run a fishing channel on Utube, and we spend a lot of time on the beach! I agree, retire as early as you can and start living what you worked and saved for, freedom! Tight lines!
I listen to Ramit until he talks about not to buy a house then I move on.
In these uncertain times, it's more important than ever to have a solid understanding of how to manage your finances, invest wisely and navigate economic downturns. But my primary concern is how to grow my reserve of $240k which has been sitting duck since forever with zero to no gains, sure I'm all in on the long term game, but with my savings are lying waste to inflation and my portfolio losing gains everyday, I need a remedy.
In 2024, Don't set new year financial goals without consulting a financial adviser. Their expertise ensures a solid plan for success. Building wealth involves developing good habits like regularly putting money away in intervals for solid investments.