This newsletter will help open your eyes to the real, accessible, modern-day version of retirement that we are taught to ignore.

How do you currently picture retirement?

Many people picture it like this ↓

Or at least that’s how Edward Jones, one of the biggest financial advising firms in the country, wants you to envision it.

Yes, the people in the picture look like they’re having a grand time. I’d even say I’m jealous.

My frustration stems from their age.

The Old Standards

Retirement, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is “the action or fact of leaving one's job and ceasing to work.”

When people retired, they were completely quitting their job and focusing on the non-work-related activities that they couldn’t do while working full time.

The lens we have been given to look at retirement through is tinted to make us see retirement as something you finally achieve when you are 60+.

This stems from a capitalist society that is built around everyone working hard to further the economy.

If we just let people stop working early, it would all fall apart. Right?

Modernizing

Let’s get this old- into the 21st century.school mindset

We are in a digital age where we can communicate with people across the world, whether for work, socializing, or traveling.

Individuals have more leverage than ever to create their own content and make a living off of it.

Freelancing/part-time gigs are becoming more and more popular, allowing for more income flexibility.

Combining all of these new occurrences allows us to redefine retirement as a time to pursue our interests and passions, not simply to stop working.

Everyone’s view of “retirement” will be unique, and that’s okay.

If retirement means no more work to you, then that’s great. If it means continuing to work off and on or an hour or two a day (like me), that’s okay, too.

The important thing is to assess your options.

How This Changes Things

Ok, great, retirement doesn’t have to mean you stop working. So what?

So what is that since you don’t need to be financially prepared to live indefinitely without working, you can retire earlier.

Retiring at 40 with enough money to live until you’re 100 is daunting.

“Retiring” at 40 to work 3 months out of the year and live until you’re 100 is far more realistic.

A common representation of this is the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement. Built around quitting a traditional job early in life to pursue passions and earn more flexible income.

(This is an old-ish Instagram post, so please forgive the hideous colors)

These popular FIRE methods are far from the only methods, and each is infinitely customizable to your situation.

Hopefully, this gets the ball rolling on your journey toward a fulfilling retirement.

See you next week.

-Evan

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