Speaker 1: Let me ask you a tough question. Tough one. How
much money do you actually need in retirement to be happy? Happy?
Not rich, not famous, but happy, just happy. It's a
question that so many people ask themselves over and over,
especially the closer they get to retirement. And for years
we've heard numbers thrown around. You need a million dollars
to retire. No, now you need two because of inflation.
I've heard you should have ten times your salary saved.
Oh my goodness. But for many people those numbers really
can feel overwhelming because what happens if you don't reach them?
Does that mean you can't have a happy retirement? So
today I want to explore something a little bit deeper,
because after talking with retirees, traveling and meeting people from
all over the world, I've noticed something interesting. Happiness and
retirement often has very little to do with the exact
number in a bank account and everything to do with
how you design your life. I'm Marien Debranski. This is
Life Starts at Retirement. I produce a retirement lifestyle video
once a week. Please join our Facebook group. It's massive now,
it's thirty five thousand people. Facebook dot Com, slash group
slash life starts at retirement. I please consider subscribing. Okay,
So for decades the retirement conversation has been dominated by numbers,
at least in my life. I used to go into
my spreadsheets, I check in my my savings account and
see what was in there. For years, I had these targets,
I had investment returns, I had withdrawal rates, and honestly,
these things are certainly important, but they certainly don't tell
the whole entire story. Because happiness doesn't come from a
specific dollar amount. It comes from something far more personal.
It comes from your lifestyle, from your expectations, from your relationships,
and how you choose to spend both your time and
your money. You know, because two retirees can have the
exact same savings, they could experience completely different levels of happiness.
One might feel secure, grateful, and excited about life. The
other can be anxious, restricted, and worried about the future.
The difference isn't always the money. Often it's a mindset. Now,
if you've watched any of my videos, you'll know I'm
a guest lecturer on cruise ships and I'm so fortunate.
But one of the things that I've been fortunate I
guess to experience is meeting retirees from many, many, many
different countries, and it's fascinating to see how different, how
differently I guess, people live. Some retirees travel the world,
Others stay close to home and enjoy their local community
somewhat large houses. Others downsize into smaller spaces and feel
completely content. But something I've noticed again and again is
that many of the happiest retirees aren't necessarily the wealthiest ones.
They are the ones that have figured out what really
matters to them. They understand their priorities, they've built their
retirement around those priorities, and they don't care so much
what other people's idea of retirement looks like. Now. I've
also noticed that one of the biggest obstacles to happiness
in retirement, sadly, is comparison. It's easy for us to
look around and to think, oh, they travel more than
we do. Oh they have a nicer car than we do.
Oh their house is bigger, they have way more money
than we do. But comparison comparing yourself to anyone can
really quietly steal the satisfaction from your own life. Retirement
isn't a competition, there's no scoreboard. The goal isn't to
outspend your neighbor. The goal is to create a life
that is remarkable in your situation. Sometimes happiness comes from
the simple little things, a morning walk, coffee with friends,
time with your grandchildren, learning something new. Those things often
cost very little, but they bring enormous joy. Now. I
read a study recently about happiness and something that surprised
me that appeared over and over and over again. It
was that beyond a certain level of financial security. So
when you can sleep nights and you have that basics
mat the financial basics mat more, money doesn't dramatically increase
your happiness. What does increase your happiness are things like
strong relationships, meaningful activities, good health, a sense of purpose,
and connected to others. So money can help support those things,
but it certainly can't replace those things.
Speaker 2: You can have a huge, huge.
Speaker 1: Bank account and still feel lonely. You can have expensive
things all around you and still feel unfulfilled. Happiness and
retirement comes from how we use our resources, not simply
how much we have in the bank. Now, let's be honest,
that doesn't mean money isn't important. It absolutely is. Financial
security provides something very valuable, peace of mind. But once
you have your basic needs covered, your housing, your food,
your healthcare, maybe your transportation, the foundations. Once those are met,
then go enjoy your retirement. You have the freedom. If
you have a little bit of money, you can travel,
you can pursue hobbies. If you don't stay home and garden,
meet friends for a walk every single day. Whatever it
is in your situation that you love to do, do it,
support your happiness, have a purpose, volunteer, whatever it is.
Because many, many, many people spend years chasing what they
believe to be that magic retirement number. Oh, I'll be
happy when I reach this amount. But the problem is,
if they weren't happy before, if they weren't positive before,
chances are they're not going to be happy now. And
they're not going to be happy. They're not going to
be positive now because retirement is one of the few
stages of your life where we really have the opportunity
to redesign our daily routines. We're no longer tied to
a career schedule. We have the ability to choose how
we spend our time. Some retirees discover new passions, some
invest more time with families, some volunteer others, travel or learners.
The possibilities are endless, and yes, money can help with
some of these, but it's not the be all and
the end all. In fact, I have a video or two,
maybe even on inexpensive things to do in your retirement.
I'll click them and I'll put them in in the
comments so you can check those out. Happiness comes when
your choices align with what truly matters to you, not
what it looks like to impress others, not what your
social media suggests. Although I love looking at that, your
version of happiness will also look different from anyone else's
version of their happiness, and that is perfectly okay. In fact,
more than okay, it's exactly the way it should be.
So how much money do you actually need to be
happy in retirement? Well, I think the honest answer is
enough to feel secure. Anything over and above that is
a bonus, and you can live your entire life life
and do whatever you want. Happiness comes from how you live.
It comes from your relationships, It comes from your experiences.
It comes from purpose, It comes from gratitude and the
ability to enjoy the time you have. Retirement isn't about
reaching that perfect financial number. It's about building a life
that feels remarkable in all the ways that truly matter.
And sometimes the happiest retirees aren't the ones with the
biggest bank accounts. They're the ones that understand that happiness
was never just about money in the first place. I'm
Marian Dbranski. This is Life Starts at Retirement. I do
produce that retirement lifestyle video once a week and again.
Please consider joining our Facebook group, Facebook dot com slash
group slash Life Starts at Retirement.
Speaker 2: See you in the next one.
Speaker 1: Be