Does retirement feel too far away?

Imagine waking up 20 years from now with enough money to retire… comfortably. How does that make you feel?

What if it was 10 years from now?

Tomorrow?

The reality - most people plan to be poor when they retire. Not literally, with the intention of being poor, but the expectation is to have less money than you were earning while you were working.

But, retirement doesn’t have to be an age. Its a dollar amount. This is your Financial Independence Number ( will be referenced as FIN from now on). This is the amount of money you would need to retire and never run out of money.

Let’s say Sally is 25 and wants to retire by age 40.

First thing we’ll need to ask, “How much money would you like to have available to you annually once retired?”

Sally currently makes $100,000 and expects to make about the same or more. She does not want to reduce her lifestyle during retirement. So, she would like to have $150,000 available to her annually.

Next, calculate how many years she has remaining before her desired retirement age. 40-25= 15 years. Sally has 15 years to accumulate enough money for retirement.

Lastly, how long will Sally enjoy retirement? Mortality tables suggest most people enjoy retirement until age 85.

So, 85(age at death) - 40(retirement age) = 45. This means Sally will enjoy 45 years of retirement - and she needs 45 years worth of retirement money. How much is that?

$150,000 × 45 = $6,750,000.

Yeah, most people definitely don’t think that far ahead. What about you? How does seeing Sally’s number make you feel?

Go ahead and calculate your FIN. What age do you want to retire? How much money do you want access to annually? Remember, we don’t want to run out of money and have to return to work.

If you’re young, you have time on your side. If you put your money to work FOR you, you can reach your goals that much faster.

If you’re playing catch up, that’s okay! We just need to add a little extra to make up for lost time.

Not sure where to start? That’s okay!

Click here to schedule your one-on-one meeting with me. We’ll come up with a plan that best suites your current budget and future needs.

PS - Keep an eye out for my finance freebie! I’ve been working hard on this one😉

Ariana - The Wealthy Tea