Use of the term “nest egg” as a reference to something put
aside for later has been traced back to the seventeenth century. It is a common expression now for retirement
savings. Unfortunately, too few people give
much thought to the first prerequisite for having a secure nest egg: having a
nest.
That lesson always comes home to me this time of year as
spring songbirds show up at the feeders in my yard, and I start seeing signs of
their nest-building in the trees and shrubs nearby. Without fail I also find cracked and crushed
bird eggs lying on the ground. For some
reason, the egg was not secure in the nest and was lost.
In the same way, the financial nest egg that so many people
spend a lifetime accumulating is too often lost due to a poorly engineered
nest—the non-financial aspects of your life, such as your happiness, your
health, your relationships.
How might your nest egg tumble and break?
Improper incubation (Health):
“If you have your health you have everything.”
It’s a cliché and perhaps not literally true, but without health you are
definitely poorer and will likely drain your retirement account much more
quickly and not enjoy doing so.
Cultivating good health habits NOW will serve you well later. No, the extra sleep you may grab in
retirement cannot reverse the ill effects of your too-short nights now. Yes, that added weight is harder to lose as
you age. And sitting around the house
all day in proximity to a stocked refrigerator instead of being somewhere on
the job will not help.
Not singing your song
(Happiness): Will you be happy not
being employed? If you are seeing
retirement as an escape from
something you dislike rather than a transition to doing something you enjoy, then you will not likely be happy and
fulfilled in retirement. Develop a
hobby, or pick one up that you abandoned years ago. Start volunteering for a cause you believe
in; don’t wait until you are out of the workforce. Or maybe start laying the groundwork for a
second career. Work in retirement?! It’s
not work if you enjoy it. And if you
were late getting started saving for retirement, a part-time gig can make your
Act II more financially secure.
Failure to fly (Spending):
For decades you diligently built that
retirement account. Now do you have a
plan to spend it? Or are you too scared
you will run out of money? Our attitude
toward money is shaped largely in childhood and the teen years or sometimes by
a traumatic event in adulthood; and if
that has left you saddled with insecurities about money it will freeze you into
inaction, unable to transition from saving a nest egg to pleasurably spending
it. Will you become a miser and just
stay at home? Will you hug that nest egg
so close that you crush it and leave yourself and those closest to you unhappy?
No flock (Relationships): Reporter Billy Baker at the Boston Globe wrote an article last month
about men becoming more isolated and lonely as they move into middle age and
beyond because they don’t give attention to friendships. Will leaving the workplace spell the end of
whatever outside-the-home interpersonal relationships you have? It’s a vital consideration. Mr. Baker cited medical experts who rate
loneliness as a higher risk factor for early death than smoking or obesity. Die early and that nest egg falls out of your
nest—and into someone else’s.
Click here to read Mr. Baker’s article.
That last point hits home for me since I fall into that
demographic. Guys, read the article (you,
too, ladies, if you want to help your partner; just be cautious because your
guy is likely to be sensitive about it).
Why do women generally outlive men?
Is it at least partially because they are better at maintaining relationships? Are we men too macho to admit that we need each
other and are lonely without company? Hold
on to your friends, or reconnect with ones you’ve not seen in a while. Never throw away a good friendship.
Until next time,
Roger
“Sometimes you can
become rich by being generous or poor by being greedy.” Proverbs 11:24 CEV
“Just as iron
sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other.” Proverbs 27:17 CEV
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