So, let’s talk about our 40’s! What should you be doing to prepare? Don’t underestimate the power of this decade – you’ve still time and you’ve still got a lot of living to do!
1. Define where you’re at
This one can be a little confronting, but it’s necessary. Depending on where you’re at now and what you’ve previously done in your 20’s and 30’s, will define your starting point. You’ll either be thinking “gee, I feel like I’m just getting started” (and possibly looking back with a little bit of regret), or you’ll be in a great position to be able to leapfrog to the next level within the next 20 years. Whatever your position, it’s never too late to make progress and decide you want to enhance your life. Living the life you want over the next 20 years is a choice and it’s achievable.
2. Understand your true values
Now I found that when I hit my 40’s, I wanted a better understanding of my truth. I wanted to dig deep and really understand what my real values were and what was important to me in life. Often we’ve gone through our 20’s and 30’s with a little bit (or a lot!) of ego driven decision making and tried to shoot for the things that really weren’t that important to us (probably more important to the ‘Joneses’). Think about what the next 20 years will look like on the same path you’re traveling, and then think about the next 20 years doing what truly resonates, what brings you joy, what inspires you, what motivates you.
2. Assess your career
Do you want to be in this same job for the next 20 years? Do you want to be earning the same money? Is it able to financially service your dreams? Is it able to allow you the time to live the life you want to live? Do you want to travel with family? What does your ideal job look like? If you see yourself just grinding through the next 20 to 30 years without any enjoyment, you are in the wrong job.
3. Get off the hamster wheel
So by your 40’s, you have probably started your own family or are starting a family, and you’ll likely have a mortgage. Sounds like the standard ‘Australian Dream’, right? Not always. Hopefully you’re not stuck going around and around on the ‘hamster wheel of life’. Family, stress, mortgage, stress, repeat. Unfortunately, a lot of us are. If that’s you, it’s time to look at ways to get off it. This is no way to live.
4. Take action and check yourself from the neck up
Now here’s the big one. Pull your finger out and TAKE SOME ACTION. Regardless of the position you’re in, you need to take action. Don’t look back through the rear-vision mirror, look forward with confidence. Now taking action comes in a variety of ways. I’ve often spoken about having a regular savings plan, contributing to Super, putting money away for your children’s fund, paying down your mortgage as soon as possible, but at this point it’s time to take it to another level. You want to be increasing your assets, reducing our taxes, those sort of things. Don’t fall into the trap of increasing your bad debt, or increasing the ‘toys’ in your life. If we’re doing that we definitely need to give ourselves a check from the neck up. Stop delaying and you’ll start reaping the rewards sooner than you think. Don’t wait until the kids are up and out of our home because for a lot of people by the time that happens we’re well into our 50’s and we’re less than 10 years from retirement and putting far too much pressure on the performance of our assets to do what they need for a safe, reliable, enjoyable retirement.
If you need some clarity about where you can head with your current financial situation, lock in a Clarity Call with me, John Pidgeon.
