2865: [Part 2] Traditional Retirement Is Dying. This Is How I’m Preparing for a Future Without It. by U-Ming Lee

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[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_00]: This is Optimal Finance Daily. Traditional retirement is dying.

[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_00]: This is how I'm preparing for a future without it.

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Part 2 by Yu Ming Li of yuming.medium.com.

[00:01:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm your host and personal finance enthusiast, Diania Merriam.

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_00]: Today's post is actually a continuation from yesterday.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_00]: So if you're new here, it'd be best to listen to yesterday's episode first.

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_00]: But if you're all caught up, let's hear Part 2 and continue optimizing your life.

[00:01:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Traditional retirement is dying. This is how I'm preparing for a future without it.

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Part 2 by Yu Ming Li of yuming.medium.com.

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_00]: What to do? Resist the temptation to chase short-term trends. Instead, consider the very long-term.

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_00]: For content creators, this might mean accumulating a portfolio of substantial content

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_00]: rather than chasing what's hot. Many creators tend to chase trends,

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_00]: hoping to catch the mysterious algorithm's attention, increasing traffic to their work.

[00:02:21] [SPEAKER_00]: However, trends are by definition transient.

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_00]: NFTs were hot for a while. Then they weren't. Then came the metaverse. Now it's chat GBT.

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Flitting from one trend to the next in search of a dopamine rush of a viral article is a lot

[00:02:41] [SPEAKER_00]: of fun at first. But it's no basis for a long-term writing career. Instead, accumulating

[00:02:48] [SPEAKER_00]: substantial content based on deep expertise in a specific niche provides a much more stable

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_00]: foundation for the long run. Anyone can pump out shallow work in large quantities.

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_00]: With chat GBT, churning out superficial draws has never been easier. However,

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_00]: deep expertise built on a foundation of meticulous thought and substantial

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_00]: experience is much rarer and thus more prized.

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Develop your social skills to blend into your community.

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_00]: We're conditioned to believe that the market can serve all of our needs. This belief is

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: more prevalent in introverts like myself, who naturally seek ways to avoid social interactions.

[00:03:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Market-based solutions work well for many things. But they have severe limitations when

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_00]: addressing some of our most pressing needs. Child care, health care, and senior care are

[00:03:49] [SPEAKER_00]: three examples that come to mind. I'm sure you don't need me to regale you with stories about

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: the exorbitant prices and poor quality that people are forced to endure for these services

[00:04:01] [SPEAKER_00]: simply because they have no other option. Also, we've allowed ourselves to believe that

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_00]: individuals whose primary purpose is to earn money and buy things to entertain ourselves.

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Everything else is secondary. According to the dominant neoliberal philosophy that

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_00]: pervades much of modern thought, all these non-essentials can be outsourced

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_00]: to external service providers. As a result, modern society has lost its sense of community.

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_00]: We believe we can let our money speak for us, neglecting to learn essential life skills such

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00]: as cooking and cleaning in the belief that we'll be good little value-maximizing machines

[00:04:45] [SPEAKER_00]: if we pay others to do these things. This is complete nonsense. Besides, when these

[00:04:52] [SPEAKER_00]: non-essentials include care like health care, child care, or senior care, no amount of money

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_00]: can completely replace genuine care provided by family or members of the community.

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Dealing with life's vicissitudes will be much easier for everyone if we all deal with them as

[00:05:13] [SPEAKER_00]: a community rather than individuals. But if you spent the majority of your life in a hyper

[00:05:19] [SPEAKER_00]: individualistic bubble, as many of us have over the last few decades, this is easier said

[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_00]: than done. Developing social skills will be crucial as we navigate this new no-retirement age.

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_00]: We'll all need to brace ourselves for the fact that we'll almost certainly be working

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_00]: in some form or another until circumstances force us to stop. When that point comes,

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_00]: it would be advantageous to have accumulated significant social capital that can be drawn

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_00]: down on. And if you haven't built positive relationships with the people around you and

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_00]: developed a true community, you won't have much of this precious social capital.

[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_00]: Final thoughts. I've only scratched the surface of this vast subject, but suffice it to say,

[00:06:08] [SPEAKER_00]: retirement is something that must be planned for. Especially if one intends to coast into

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_00]: retirement rather than crash into it without a plan and rely solely on luck to keep going.

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Creating such a plan requires a lot more careful thought,

[00:06:24] [SPEAKER_00]: but a few no-brainer actions can be taken to ease the transition.

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Number 1. Get life insurance. Life insurance seems like a waste of money, especially when

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_00]: you're young, and illness, disability, and death all seem like distant possibilities.

[00:06:42] [SPEAKER_00]: Nonetheless, commit to life insurance so you'll always have something to fall back on if the

[00:06:47] [SPEAKER_00]: unexpected occurs. Number 2. Take a very long-term view of your career development.

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Develop capabilities that will last a lifetime rather than chasing the next fad. Deep expertise

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_00]: and areas that interest you, or going out and living deep and sucking out all the marrow of

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_00]: life to paraphrase throw, imbues you with substance that will rub off on your work,

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_00]: making it valuable. And number 3. Develop your social skills.

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Learning to contribute and live in a community is a recipe for a more meaningful and sustainable

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER_00]: life than one addicted to work and acquiring meaningless trinkets. You just listened to part

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_00]: 2 of the post titled, Traditional Retirement is Dying. This is how I'm preparing for a future

[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_00]: without it, by Yu Ming Li of YuMing.Medium.com, and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Buy low, sell high. Buy low, sell high. It's a simple concept, but not necessarily an easy

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_00]: concept. Right now, high interest rates have crushed the real estate market. Prices are

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[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_00]: dot com slash OFD. This is a paid advertisement. I agree with Yu Ming on the importance of

[00:08:55] [SPEAKER_00]: community. As the old saying goes, your net worth equals your network. But there are

[00:09:01] [SPEAKER_00]: many reasons why we should invest in relationships other than to leverage for

[00:09:06] [SPEAKER_00]: income one day. The biggest reason is because it feels good. Relationships provide a lot of

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_00]: satisfaction, and the desire for fulfilling relationships is in our DNA. We are social

[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_00]: creatures after all. For better or worse, we're influenced by the people we surround

[00:09:26] [SPEAKER_00]: ourselves with. So to be really intentional on who we let influence us is a fast track

[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_00]: for meeting our goals, financial or otherwise. If you want to be a runner, join a running

[00:09:39] [SPEAKER_00]: club. If you want to own a business, volunteer at an event for local business owners.

[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to pursue financial independence and early retirement, get in the room with other

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_00]: people doing it. This is a big reason why I created the Economy Conference, which is a party

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_00]: about money designed for the fire movement. Hanging out with other people pursuing financial

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_00]: independence drastically improved and expedited my path to FI. Our next event is scheduled for

[00:10:12] [SPEAKER_00]: March 21st through 23rd of 2025 in Cincinnati, and you can learn more at economyconference.com.

[00:10:22] [SPEAKER_00]: And that's another episode of Optimal Finance Daily in the Books. I'll be back with more

[00:10:26] [SPEAKER_00]: for you tomorrow. So have a great rest of your day, and I'll catch you on the Sunday

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_00]: show, where your optimal life awaits.