Are You Running Through The End Zone?

Anthony J. Ogorek | Ed.D., CFP®

Anthony J. Ogorek | Ed.D., CFP®

Sports can be a great way to teach life skills such as the value of teamwork or the relationship of hard work to excellence.  They can also offer insights for people considering retirement.

 

Let’s take football as an example.  Scoring is accomplished within a fixed timeframe, typically 15 minute quarters, with the exception of an occasional overtime period.  Your game clock is your life expectancy.

 

According to Social Security, the average life expectancy listed on their Periodic Life Table for a male is 76 and 81 for a female born in 2017.  It is important to realize that these tables only predict that half of the people will have passed by their life expectancy age.  If we assume an average life expectancy of 80, the 4th quarter starts somewhere around age 60.

 

In football, you don’t get extra points for running through the end zone.  Do you know anyone who has crossed the goal line of financial independence, yet continues to work for more “financial security points” by metaphorically running through the end zone?  Essentially that is what pre-retirees do when they stick around another year or two solely for additional financial perks.

 

Take a cue from the tech entrepreneurs who have helped to define our age.  They are almost to a person, dropouts from prestigious colleges who saw their future and seized it.  They bet on the future, with little regard for what a degree could offer.  If the next phase of your life is calling and you have already crossed your financial goal line, resist the urge to run through the end zone.  Time waits for no one.

PLEASE SEE IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION HERE.

Submit a comment below!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Comments:

Jon ORourke July 13 2021

An apt analogy
Ogorek Wealth Management, LLC

Ogorek Wealth Management, LLC