Golden Years – The art of retirement satisfaction

Published on Friday, the 18th of December 2009

There was an interesting article recently in which Eric Schurenberg Editor-in-Chief of BNET.com and Editorial Director of CBS MoneyWatch.com asked, 'What's the best route to a rich retirement?' An old chestnut of a question, the answer to which, most of us will have sat down to try and figure out some time or other. There was an interesting article recently in which Eric Schurenberg Editor-in-Chief of BNET.com and Editorial Director of CBS MoneyWatch.com asked, 'What's the best route to a rich retirement?' An old chestnut of a question, the answer to which, most of us will have sat down to try and figure out some time or other.

What does it take to be able to just walk away from the rat race, the business jungle, when you've had enough, safe in the knowledge that you've managed to secure your and your family's future? How can you turn your back on the early starts and the late finishes, the cut and thrust, and leave the building at a time of your choosing and with enough cash in your pocket to go and do exactly the sorts of things that you really want to spend your time doing?

The secret to a wealthy retirement

In his attempt to uncover the single best thing that you can do to assure yourself a prosperous retirement Schurenberg offers a number of option including the financial advisor's favourite – to start saving substantial amounts from a young working age. 'Save early and save generously,' they recommend. And of course this is wise advice. The sooner you start to save, the more money you will have in the pot and even more importantly the sooner your professional advisor can start to give your capital a little muscle. With the right kind of guidance your nest egg will soon be developing a healthy physique and with a fair wind will be enticing you towards a secure retirement long before you'd ever dared aim for at the outset. Sound advice indeed, but not THE $64,000 piece of advice.

Neither was the 'living within your means' option so much favoured by the likes of Mrs Thatcher and Mr Micawber. Again whilst hard to argue with such sage advice, after all, who wouldn't want to live in happiness rather than misery all for the sake of sixpence, we still haven't quite got to where Schurenberg was headed.

Stay healthy? Yes, once more that's good. Healthy, happy and prosperous are synonymous in anyone's book. But no, the single most important thing that anyone can do to deliver them-self a wealthy retirement is, as simplistic as this might sound, make more money.

You may live within your means (as relative a concept as this is), and you may be as fit as a fiddle (though remember that health isn't the exclusive right of the wealthy) but the only way you're going to accumulate the necessary funds is to make sure that you have a paycheque that not only reflects today’s needs, but has a serious eye on your future aspirations too. How can anyone start saving young and ambitiously without the funds to do it?
'The best way to retire with a lot of money is to make a lot of money while you’re working.' says Schurenberg.

He's right. He's talking about doing all you can in the here and now to build your earning opportunities. Not pie in the sky when you die, or long term investments, or flights of artistic fancy. He's talking about getting the cash in. Now. So that by the time your human capital has expired your financial capital has accumulated to such a degree that you are left to follow your heart’s desires and to see out your days in comfort.

How can you earn more money?

Schurenberg suggests that the decisions you make in the formative stages of your career, whilst not making or breaking your financial future, can have a significant impact. He uses the example of a college student who in a single decision, to major in English as opposed to pursue a career as a bio-chemist, in effect burns $700,000 - the amount of extra money they would have made in their working life. This analysis is comparable also to research by American Academic Scott Shane who believes that entrepreneurs in failing to look at the bigger picture and 'go where the money is' are drastically increasing their chances of business failure. Growth and performance of a company, says Shane, actually matters less on entrepreneurial ability than on the business chosen.
20 years ago 4% of all start-ups in the computer and office equipment industry made the Inc. 500 whist 0.005% of start-ups in the hotel and motel industries made that list, and 0.007% of start-ups in food and beverage. The mathematical, and commercial consequence is that you have been 840 times more likely to hit the Inc 500 if you started a computer company than a motel.

There are plenty of other things you can do to maximize your income.

Some other things to try

Define your differential. Once you have a clear concept of your unique offering you have the basis of your message and your success. Maintain your focus and your inspiration. Use this clarity as your strength in tough times. If your vision is strong, you are well placed to reap the rewards of your efforts. Shane advises that for new businesses especially that they should 'focus on one product or market.'

Plan, innovate, add value, continually evolve your skills and knowledge, stay close to your customers and try to ensure that your systems and processes are repeatable and scalable. Showing rock solid reliability by getting things right consistently has huge in-built value.

Always have a view. A clear overview on the health and welfare of your company is essential. Being able to quickly and easily access and act upon information clearly represented through management accounts, such as cash flow, budgets, profit and loss is vital to stay ahead of the profit game.

Take strong professional input. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is important. Learn to delegate and outsource. Clear and informed tax advice for example will not only save you from paying unnecessary taxes and help maintain your bottom line but boost it too with moneymaking guidance and support.

So there you have just a few ways that you or Eric Schurenberg for that matter might cut costs, increase income and find a way to stick an extra zero on the pay cheque in preparation of a long and luxurious retirement.

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