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Retirement has been a dream of mine for years, unfortunately when I sat down and took a measured tally of my retirement savings; I was shocked. Not only will I not even have enough money for retirement - in order to have an adequate income upon retirement I would need almost a million dollars in savings. How am I suppose to save money when I exist on poverty level wages? How am I suppose to save money when I barely have enough money to meet my existing expenses?

I sat down and thought it through - was it really worth the effort of saving money for retirement? The stress of going without tiny luxuries I want and maybe even some minor medical treatment I need?

My family has a long life span of at least seventy years. That is an incredibly long time! Some of them even survive until they are ninety. With so many years, why doesn't retirement matter? Don't I want to be able to stop working? I guess that depends on my job. So the question quickly shifted towards - don't I want to have the option to work or not? Retirement would give me more control over my life!

I hate work! I hate it! The feeling hasn't dissipated much over the last ten years despite all my cultural conditioning. I need something to look forward to! I need financial freedom so that I can at least switch jobs when I choose without having to worry about starving or losing my home.

Some of my family has no retirement savings and they are basically wards of the state. In our Western culture, children abandon their parents to senior residences and old folks homes. Wouldn't you rather be in a nice home than a shoddy one?

We constantly hear stories of pension plans collapsing and corporate boofonery. Thus, you must safeguard and diversify any retirement savings you have. Maybe investing in real estate or hiding your money off-shore will have benefits!

The best laid plans are sure to have goof-ups and let-downs. Road blocks and bumps are expected along the path of life. But, if you can clearly keep your actions focused on the goal, I believe anyone can achieve their retirement dreams.

The more you save, the more options you have. If you don't save any money you will need to depend on social security, your children, and charity. You will need to depend on the money your aching joints and tired mind can bring you between your fits of coughing. You may even have to work until you die - who wants to do that?

The promise of retirement is the promise that one day you will be free from the slavery that is capitalism. It is the promise that eventually you will be able to freely make all the choices in your life that your employer and the economy has been making for you.

Maybe retirement is only a dream for many people, but from my own experience I know that retirement is worth planning for because it is the final phase of your journey through life. Through careful planning you can ensure a smooth transition from work to old age. It will help to ensure that you can enjoy your final days of life on your own terms.

On a final note, there is an inverse relationship between your retirement age and your life expectancy. The earlier you retire, the longer you are expected to live. That's a fact!

Learn more about this author, Sir Roy Redford.
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