My friend Jim likes to torture his friends with emails that showcase his exotic vacation du jour. We scowl at Jim because we’re usually viewing these wonderful images during our workdays. We envy his perfect “alpha boomer” lifestyle.
Alpha boomers are a subset of the baby boomer generation. They are financially secure (or on the path to being so), usually have no dependents, love dining out and are avid travelers. In short, they are fully engaged in life. While they appreciate the idea of being financially free by age 60, that’s just the start of another exciting chapter, not “retirement.” Welcome to Jim’s life.
Here are three tips on how to become a Jim.
1. Simplify Your Investments
Jim has bought and sold 10 buildings in his life, expending much effort. Now his portfolio consists of publicly traded liquid investments that he can tap as needed. He’s got a lot more time for his exotic vacations.
Resist the urge to hold on to energy-sucking real estate investments just because they generate income. With a little due diligence on the front end, you can convert them to other growth-oriented or income-producing investments that require minimal ongoing effort. You may also end up with greater diversification in the process.
2. Simplify Your Business
When my company’s health insurance changed, I asked Jim to be my doctor so I could keep my primary costs in-network. The first thing Jim did was set the ground rules for being a patient.
I learned that virtually all of Jim’s patient correspondence is done through a web portal and by email. Every task that doesn’t require Jim’s personal touch is handled by someone on his team, and his office is paperless.
The stunning level of efficiency (at least by primary care physician standards) has allowed Jim to spend more time traveling without having to reduce the number of patients he can serve effectively.
3. Plan Now for Part Time Later
Most careers allow for some kind of “slowdown” option. Whether it’s a consulting gig, dropping to part time, letting go of your least favorite clients, or mentoring a younger employee to run the day-to-day operations, there’s probably a way. Your financial planner can run some what-if scenarios to see how much you could reduce your work hours in your 60s and 70s in order to travel while enjoying your career at the same time.
4. Retire the Word “Retirement”
Maybe it’s time to retire the word “retirement.” As Jim so eloquently puts it, “Retire from what? To what? Brain rotting? I’d rather keep my credentials and education going while enjoying a prime batch of excellent patients.” The only adjustment Jim has made is that he now uses square roots to share his age. Happy eight squared, Jim (I’m rounding down). And keep those vacation emails coming. They motivate me!
