A few months ago, Beth and I were meeting with our financial planner to go over lots of boringly important (or importantly boring) stuff like retirement accounts and life insurance and blah blah blah. It’s not the first time we’ve thought about it, and it won’t be the last. But I noticed a very interesting difference this time around.
In the past, when we’d think about retirement planning, my subconscious thought process was basically this: get good life insurance so that when I die young, Beth and the kids will be taken care of financially. Not that I was expecting to die in my 30s or anything, but I definitely didn’t have high hopes of getting to 65 or 70. It’s like they say, you don’t see many 400-pound 80-year-olds.
But this time was different. As we talked about retirement, I found myself very interested in making sure we have enough money when I’m 70 and 75 and 80, because, for the first time, I expect to be around then. It was a startling thing for me, almost a slap upside the head, and it was a big moment for me in my Health Journey™ as I realized how my mindset has changed.
Other than robbing Beth of millions in potential life insurance collections, it’s a pretty awesome thing. And according to her, she’d rather have me around than the millions, so I guess it’s a win/win.
I’m glad you plan to be around, too! Dad and I really ought to start some financial planning, though…