Happy Friday Reader ☀️
One of my best friends in the world got married on Monday and it really got me thinking.
My friend Josie knew what kind of wedding she wanted.
She wanted an outdoor wedding, in the mountains, alongside a beautiful river (not sure if she knew there would be 30-pound turkeys running around, but they were there).
She wanted messy BBQ, not an expensive five-course meal.
And she specifically wanted her dad to walk Hank (her dog) down the aisle (with him standing proudly in the front row throughout the ceremony)!
There were no fancy champagne toasts. There were no microphones for speeches.
There wasn’t even assigned seating. Just two long tables where everyone ate together.
It was a beautiful wedding. But blue jeans were just as appropriate as a tuxedo.
And I think that was the point.
This wedding wasn't at all about perfection.
It wasn't about every single detail being perfect.
What was more important was how the day felt.
Josie knew how she wanted that day to feel.
She knew everything wouldn’t go exactly as planned.
She knew there would be surprises.
And she knew there would be many things that would simply be out of her control.
And there were.
But none of that ruined the day because the bigger vision was still there.
And that really got me thinking.
Planning for retirement is no different.
There will always be unexpected challenges.
You will certainly have to make adjustments in retirement (and probably more than once).
The uncontrollable events are inevitable.
But you'll deal with them as they come up.
You'll make the necessary adjustments along the way (and things will be fine).
But there's an even bigger lesson in all of this.
Retirement isn't really about money, or even creating a perfect retirement plan.
It's about answering one simple question:
How do you want this second chapter of your life to look and feel?
To me, this is by far the most important aspect of retirement planning.
As much as I love talking "the numbers" with people, nothing brings me more joy than listening to peoples' vision for retirement.
The family vacations, the wine tours, the golf lessons, the unexpected spoiling of grandkids, the skydiving excursions (not me), and even the new retirement home where you host large family dinners.
These are the things that really matter.
And these are the reasons we start saving and planning to begin with.
Matt
PS: I’d love to hear what you want your own retirement to look and feel like. Just hit reply -I read and respond to every one.