| When we think of retirement we usually conjure up images of exotic and frequent travel, lazy days in the sun, finally having all the time you want to do the things you have dreamed about for so long. Everyone has his or her ideal of what retirement is or should be. So, we set out to our jobs and carefully plan our 401K and other investments so by the time we reach 65 we can finally settle down and really live out those golden years with the thought of not having to get up at any particular time in the morning or having to go anywhere unless we want to, or better yet, the ability to go wherever we want, whenever we want and have the money to fund it. Ah, the golden years! At this point we hear the blood-curdling screech as the turntable arm and needle are dragged across the vinyl version of Vivaldi’s 4 seasons that was just playing as I enter with a reality check.
If we take a moment to think about it, most people that retire either die prematurely or they get so damn bored they go back to work, or worse yet, they just hack it out driving their spouse or each other crazy 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Yes, there are those who retire to the ultimate dream of retirement living and have a wonderful, productive life giving those golden years a spit shine – but these cases are the very rare minority. While most of us want to believe we will be the exception, statistics as well as real life show that 90% of us won’t be, and a fair percentage of those that are the exception will become so at a cost in terms of relationships and things important that may negate the very value of the sacrifice they made. So, life can be a beautiful teacher if we will only take the time to look at the lessons all around us.
We want to make it perfectly clear that Barbequia is about responsibility in financial matters and that includes preparing for that stage in life, the so-called golden years, in one way or another, so your needs are met and you are not an unnecessary burden on others. We do not mean to imply that we advocate being stupid about the inevitable arrival of old age. With that said, let’s take a look at those around us, the vast majority of retirees, and the facts that surround as well as the activities that comprise the retired lifestyle. I once lived on a street where I was literally surrounded by retirees. While I thoroughly enjoyed the neighborhood and the great neighbors who became my friends, they are also the poster folk of middle-class retirement. Each household had its unique routine, but in general days were spent reading the morning paper, sitting on the porch, talking to the neighbor for hours about the latest headlines on CNN or the pipes on that gal on the Lawrence Welk Show the night before, the cost of health care or the pain of their afflictions. The 5th wheel or RV sat in the drive ready for the next of the 1-2 trips a year to see the kids or the Grand Canyon. The Cadillacs, Town Cars and Buicks came and went as groceries were purchased or for trips to the doctor or the rec center. Some folks were tethered to oxygen tanks, others mulled around the yard looking for weeds to pull or worked in their flower and vegetable gardens. Looking at my grandfather and father’s retirement days, both having amassed a sizeable net worth during their working years, they both seemed to follow a similar pattern, spending a bit more on stuff, and in my Dad’s case, spending time between new business ventures and going to the cardiologist. Not exactly what I think they intended retirement to be. My point is that by the time most people retire, they are too old and sick to do all the things they dreamed of while they were socking away their money and planning this great retirement.
The Barbequian philosophy on retirement is retire when you HAVE to, but live life to the fullest doing what you love NOW.
A friend named Ray who lives in Langley, BC Canada illustrated this philosophy to me through his example. Ray loves to fish, tend his garden, barbeque meals in his back yard, spend time with his kids and his wife and they all enjoy skiing. I met Ray when he was in his 40s; the Mexican Government referred him to me for assistance with his interest in foreign investment. While we determined there were better ways to invest his money more securely, we spent most of our time having fun. We went water skiing, fishing, we went to see the sights of Mexico City and we developed a great friendship. When I had the opportunity to go see him in Canada, he took me to see the sights there; we went to the air show, to the coast, we went fishing and we spent just about every evening in his back yard enjoying a cold beer and a wonderful barbeque with his family. One night all his kids were there with their significant others; other nights, it was just Ray, Gloria and myself, but every night was a wonderful evening spent talking about a variety of subjects enjoying the pine trees and the forest feel of his back yard. At times during the day, the phone would ring, Ray would be in his home office for a while and take care of whatever the issue was and other times Ray would have to excuse himself and he would go to a job site. I said to him “I thought you were retired”? He said, “You assumed I was retired, but I won’t retire until I’m ready to die. I live like I’m retired by doing what I love now, while I still can”. He went on to explain that if he had a conventional view on retirement he would plan it so he could spend time with his family, go fishing, skiing, barbeque in his back yard at least 3 times a week and play with expensive sound and video equipment. The problem he said is that if he waited until he retired, his family would be off in their own lives and probably not terribly close to him and Gloria and he didn’t see the sense in waiting to do the rest either since it was what he loved to do now. So Ray decided to be retired his whole life and work so he could be. Ray loves nice audio and video equipment and he loves to be with his sons, so they have a business installing home theatre systems in multi-million dollar homes. He makes enough to pay his bills, do the things he loves – today – and put a little bit away every month for when he can’t do everything he loves anymore. Ray is the embodiment of Barbequian retirement.
A person I know has tried every MLM out there and now works with a start-up company attempting to create wealth in order to be able to retire and spend their days in Alaska hunting and fishing. Another person I know is hell bent on saving enough money to buy a nice houseboat and retire on Lake Powell. The logic of this approach eludes me, as anyone that has been to Alaska knows that while it is beautiful, unless you are a very special kind of person, you can only handle it for so long. Then throw in endless death and destruction in nature and it would get real old even for the people that host hunting shows on cable TV. If you have spent any time on a house boat, you know that after the second week, not only are you stir crazy, but you are ready to kill everyone else on board. The Barbequian approach to these scenarios would be to adjust your job and lifestyle so you can spend 2 weeks every year of your life in Alaska or on a houseboat and not get tired of it.
My personal Barbequian retirement consists of spending every weekend possible camping in the rain forest or staying at a hotel on the coast of Oregon walking along the beach with my partner and my dogs, collecting sand dollars or catching Dungeness crab and shell fish for dinner. When I’m not in the forest or at the coast I am in the original Barbequia – the back yard – enjoying a meal prepared on the barbeque, good friends, great conversation and a glass of wine or a cold beer. Other times, I may venture to the waterfront, the Saturday Market or any of a number of festivals or concerts in the park hosted by our fair city. I have no need to buy stuff, but I love to enjoy food and people, both of which are in abundance at most of these activities. I can spend hours traipsing through the forest or along the banks of the Wilson or Clackamas rivers chasing faeries, swimming with the salmon, or just meditating in one of the most beautiful environments on earth. This is what I love to do and I am not willing to wait until I am too old or sick to do it, so I adjust my lifestyle.
I live in a home like Simon, which is very affordable, comfortable and suits all of my needs for shelter and is a place I love to come back to. I work in simple jobs so I can have days off during the week to avoid the crowds at the beach and enjoy the quiet of the forest. I reserve the right to change jobs at any time and I live free of fear of being fired or laid off because my needs are modest, my skill set varied and ample, my work ethic is strong and my attitude is one of “it’s just a job and I was looking for one when I got this one”. I live within my means and I budget according to my priorities, which I discuss frequently with my spouse, as these priorities, like all in Barbequia, change from time to time. We live our bliss today while we save for tomorrow by living within our means. As we add this aspect to those already discussed, Barbequia takes shape as heaven on earth without the delusion of what may be, based on when we retire. Life is about experiencing the joy of it every day in every way. Those who wait to do so when they retire will find that they never learned how.
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