Retirement is a transition, not a destination!

Retirement is a multi-phase journey. But also remind yourself that time isn’t always your friend— getting older means doing as much as you can as quickly as you can (never put anything off!)

“Longevity is only a luxury if you can afford it”

It’s a shame that too many people think that they don’t have to worry about their bucket list until they’re older or in retirement. Bucket lists aren’t just a theoretical list of items that people in retirement homes sit around talking about but never actually do. Your bucket list should serve as a life creed to live by and aspire to. They should be inspiring us and driving us to push our limits and live the most rewarding and memorable lives possible. You don’t want to be in your 80s and have to live with the regret of not starting your bucket list sooner. Here are 5 reasons that I won’t be saving my bucket list for retirement, and neither should you:

1. Some things are best done when you’re younger

You don’t have to be retired to start checking items off of your bucket list. If you have the energy and interest today, then start planning for your activity sooner rather than later.

2. There are no guarantees in life

So “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”

As morbid as it can be to think about, death is waiting for all of us. It could be 60 years down the road or it could be tomorrow. I would hate to miss out on life-changing opportunities today because I am saving all of my money for tomorrow. I want to live in the moment as much as possible. I’m not advocating that people should go blow all of their money on fun things because the grim reaper is lurking around the corner. You should absolutely be responsible and have a nest egg building for retirement. Even though you should plan for tomorrow, it’s still important to acknowledge that tomorrow may never come.

3. There’s more to life than saving money

Your retirement goal should be to have enough money to live comfortably and pursue your passions. You want to be set financially when you are no longer working, but you don’t want to live the first part of your life as a pauper either, by saving all of your money for retirement. It’s important to strike a good balance between saving enough money for a comfortable retirement as well as remembering to live in the moment.

4. You should never stop adding to your bucket list

Bucket lists should change along with you. As you go through life, you should be crossing things off of your list and adding more and more items to it. Update your bucket list every year. Bucket lists aren’t just for Morgan Freeman movie characters dying of cancer. Don’t wait until you think your life is over to start checking things off of your list.

5. Working on your bucket list now will actually help prepare you for retirement

If you’re living in the moment now, you will be able to scratch at least a few items off your list every year. Your bucket list can be used as a tool to plan for retirement if you use it to figure out which activities mean the most to you. As you update your list annually and draw closer to retirement, you’ll be able to better understand how you want to focus your time and money in your retirement years.

Are you living in the moment?

Ask yourself if you are living the life you want to live. Are you happy with your life, or are you single-mindedly pushing for retirement and money security at the expense of your happiness? Save for retirement and earn as much money as you can, but not at the expense of your sanity. Don’t forget to live your life for today, because there might not be a tomorrow. Not all of the items on your bucket list will be things that you will be able to do this year or even in the next few years. Understand that there are no guarantees in life though, so you certainly won’t want to be waiting until retirement to get started.

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