Do you ever wonder why some people get to live a life they love while others struggle? Do you ever wonder why two people with the same start in life often have very different lifestyles. Ironically part of the answer lies in an offhand comment made by my tour guide during a walking tour in Budapest. But before we delve into the answer we need to dig a bit deeper into the question.
Figure Out What You Want
What do you want in life? In the introduction I asked why some people get to live a life they love and others don’t. That doesn’t mean anything if you don’t know what you love, i.e. what lifestyle do you want? I am not talking about what Social Media, Friends and Family etc think is an ideal lifestyle – I mean your version of a lifestyle you love.
For example, the amount of people I know in business and property circles that are working towards a ‘laptop on the beach’ lifestyle. They want to retire to the sun and operate their property portfolios from their laptop – good for them. But that’s not my dream lifestyle, far from it. I love going on holiday and I do frequently but I also love coming home. I like living in my Windmill and I like my routine at home. I like having things to do (and with three young children there’s no shortage), I like having a business to work on and a portfolio to analyse and improve. I like my life. I remember saying that to somebody that was chasing the ‘life on the beach’ dream and I think she was shocked that not only was that not my goal but I was also comfortable to articulate it. In fact, it made me wonder how many people actually sit and think about what they want in their lifestyle.
“I’m going to do what I want to do. I’m going to be who I really am. I’m going to figure out what that is.”
Emma Watson
So in the first instance, figure out what you want. You can use others as an example but the only person that can really articulate what you actually want to spend your time doing is you. And it doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive, if you can design a lifestyle that fulfils you then you are onto a good thing. And if you want to really make the most of this exercise then go into the details; what does a day look like for you.
Identify What You Have
Once you know what you want we can then start to drill down and see how that fits into reality. This in itself may be a sobering exercise but stick with me as there is light at the end of the tunnel. What are your plans for retirement? What financial resources will you or do you have access to? And in its simples form – is it enough to cater for the lifestyle you want? If not, don’t panic. Let’s head back to Budapest and an offhand comment that really hit home and reminded me of an important principle…
Identify where it will go further
The offhand comment my tour guide made was that in Hungary you can get a house for c£10,000 and for c£40,000 you can get a really nice house and live a very nice life. (Note; I am not sure how accurate these prices are but the principle still applies). He said that a lot of people in other parts of Europe retire to the Hungarian countryside because they can make their money go further. And that’s the point I am trying to make and often so many people miss; You can earn in once place and spend in another and often get a lot more value for your money.
To illustrate this point further let me share a story about my cousin who was desperate to get onto the property ladder but lived just outside London and his deposit just wasn’t sufficient. At the same time I lived in South Wales and property prices there were much lower and well within his affordability levels. When I suggested he live out his dream of owning a house and getting onto the property ladder with all the benefits it brings in Wales or somewhere else he said it was a no go, he couldn’t leave London. I explained that he could buy in say Wales, rent out the property and use the rental profit towards his rent in London and get the capital growth benefits, mortgage history etc he so desperately wanted. But he couldn’t quite see it and instead never made it onto the property ladder until he moved location several years later.
Sometimes this requires a little out of the box thinking and in this article I am simply trying to get you to think about where you earn money and where you spend it – are you getting the best value possible? When the tour guide mentioned property prices in the Hungarian countryside it got me thinking … in retirement how would I spend my time? If it were walking in the countryside, pottering, travelling etc then why have a base in an expensive area?
The Critical Question
You can earn in one area and spend in another. And there is usually more than one way to achieve your goals or skin a cat as the saying goes. If what you have or are on track to have when you retire isn’t sufficient for the lifestyle you want then you either need to see if you can get that lifestyle another way or make changes now to what you have to ensure you do have the lifestyle you want.
Either way, life is too precious and you are worth too much to settle. If you want help finding out what you have and how you can make it work for you then I am
in the process of creating a complementary resource that will help you with this exercise. Check back soon for my complimentary resource and I will post the link here or you will find it on my main website page (www.kellylemon.com)
Kelly Lemon
