Passage Two
Some people want to make and save a lot of money in order to retire early.
I see people pursuing higher paying and increasingly demanding careers to accomplish this goal.
They make many personal sacrifices in exchange for income today.
The problem is that tomorrow might not come.
Even if it all goes according to plan, will you know how to be happy when you are not working
if you spend your entire life making money?
More importantly, who will be around for you to share your leisure time with?
At the other extreme are people who live only for today.
Why bother saving when I might not be here tomorrow, they argue.
The danger of this approach is that tomorrow may come after all.
And most people don't want to spend all their tomorrows working for a living.
The earlier neglect of saving, however, makes it difficult not to work when you are older.
You maybe surprise to hear me say that if you must pick an extreme
I think it's better to pick the spend-all approach.
As long as you don't mind continuing to work, assuming your health allows, you should be OK.
At least, you are making use of your money, and hopefully deriving value and pleasure from it.
Postponing doing what you love and being with people you love until retirement can be a mistake.
It may never come.
Retirement can be a great time for some people.
For others, it is a time of boredom, loneliness and poor health.