carolinaman wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2017 6:54 am
2015 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 13, 2017 1:34 am
I agree with this. I am living this right now.. I have been working long hours this year and I have done it at the expense of my workout schedule. But to add even more weight to the argument, I would point out that 5 years in your 40s or 50s (for some even early 60s) is nothing like the 5 years in your 80s or 90s. The state of your body, your mind and its senses is no where NEAR the same. Is it wise to be sacrificing those high quality years so you can "enjoy" your low quality ones?
Before retirement, I never let anything get in the way of my workout, regardless of my work schedule. Then again, I have been working out since I was 20 years old. Once, when I was overloaded with work and personal responsibilities, a friend told me to simply skip the gym for a while. My response was that the gym remains non-negotiable. In life, there's what you say and then there's where your shoes are. If you are really committed to your physicality, you won't need to read some hokey blog post (I'm looking at you, Seth Godwin) to do what you need to do when you need to do it
whether you feel like it or not. This includes prioritizing your health, your workouts, and your diet. It's all a matter of Intention.
I do not at all subscribe to the physical limitations people put upon themselves as a result of aging. When friends told me one's metabolism slows down after age 50, my response is that mine sped up. When these same (overweight) friends state it's harder to get off the floor after age 60, I tell them I spring off the floor as easily as I did at 20 (did so today at the gym), when they tell me one's energy levels decline as one gets older, I tell them how I regularly go dancing, dancing intensely for four hours straight without ever needing (or wanting) to get off the dance floor. I have no intention of having "low quality years" as I age. In fact, recent research has shown that aging athletes experience extended healthy lifespan into late age, going into decline only in the last year or so. My intention is to follow their high performance health lifestyle by continuing my lifelong attention to diet, exercise, and optimal health. Aging is a mental disease, a socially contagious one at that, and I believe one must inoculate oneself against it by taking responsibility for one's choices.
I agree with the above excellent advice to track spending for at least 5 years before retirement. Personally, my weekly spending fell by about 25-50%, probably a result of reduced commuting expenses, drycleaning, and all those Mochas I had to bribe myself with to keep working.
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I commend 2015 for doing all that he does to take of himself. However, despite those efforts, when people reach their 60s and above, medical conditions and physical limitations tend to occur with almost everyone. It is a rare person who will not have some physical challenges as they approach old age. I have always exercised, tried to eat a sensible diet, drink very little alcohol and do other things to care for my health. I feel that I am very fit - for a 73 year old person. I can still play 18 holes of golf walking and do many other things other people my age cannot. I feel blessed to do that. I jogged for many years but can no longer do so because of lower back issue and bad knee from a soccer injury many years ago. It seems every time I tackle a major home improvement project, I incur some issue. Wrist tendinitis, elbow tendinitis, shoulder issues as well as lower back. These are usually resolved with cortisone and PT. But I never experienced these issues until the past 5 years or so. I have to pace myself nowadays and not try to be superman.
People who intend to retire near normal retirement age (60s) and who plan a vigorous retirement to include lots of physical activity, need to realize they may have limitations in doing all of that.
I will conclude with this story. I went to my urologist a few years ago for annual checkup. His first question was "how is your stream?". I thought for a moment and said that it was ok, but it was not like it was 25 years ago. He replied "do you have anything that is working like it was 25 years ago". I hate a doctor with a sense of humor.
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I agree we each have a different physiology, but I think what we can each do is choose to not settle. Not settle for the traditional viewpoint that aging equals loss and decline. Through conscious choices we can extend our
healthspan as much as possible. I believe aging does equal loss, but what we lose is all those things we thought we had to be, do, have when we were younger. This is why I believe even if one were to slightly underestimate what was needed in retirement, the psychological and emotional gains from aging will more than compensate for not doing as much discretionary spending as much as we would like. This not to say I advocate miscalculating how much you need to retire, however!