Masters Series: Don't Ever Retire

Don't Ever Retire

By Dr. David Eifrig, Jr, editor, Retirement Millionaire

 

Starting today, I want you to look at retirement in a completely different way.

 

Erase the dangerous information you've been spoon-fed since you were too young to know the difference about your money, your health, and how things work in America.

 

This dangerous information feeds dangerous beliefs... beliefs like "Go to a good school and get a job with a big corporation, and it takes care of your retirement"... "Buy mutual funds and everything will be fine by the time you retire"... or "Wall Street will take care of your money"... Can you really believe politicians and their promises that Social Security will take care of you?

 

Notice that phrase that keeps coming up? It's among the scariest phrases in the English language... especially when Wall Street and Washington D.C. get involved. Here it is again:

 

"Take care of..."

 

Starting today, I want you to realize Wall Street and Washington are not here to "take care of" you. Both are in the business of false promises. Both are in the business of selling fear so they can collect huge amounts of money from you and me.

 

They are the world's best at what they do. Wall Street calls the money it collects from you "fees." Washington calls the money it takes "taxes." And most Americans just pay up... after all, they're being "taken care of." I want you to end this sort of thinking.

 

With your subscription to Retirement Millionaire, you join me on a search for truth that I started more than 35 years ago in Minnesota. You see, I went to America's top colleges with the people who run the institutions I just mentioned. I worked many years for the most respected firm on Wall Street. I traveled the world on our clients' dime.

 

After "retiring" from Wall Street, I went to medical school at the University of North Carolina and became an eye surgeon. I have published research in the top medical journal in my field. I've seen and experienced the worst of the U.S. health care system.

 

I made a lot of money on Wall Street... enough to pay for a good retirement. Slogging through 10 years of medical school and training was no picnic. But as an eye surgeon, I can easily make $500,000 a year.

 

And yet, in 2007, I retired for a second time... to write this newsletter.

 

I decided to write this monthly newsletter because I realized too many of my friends and family – and worse, the general population – are being lied to over and over. Every single day.

 

Whether it involves investing or medicine, we are inundated with lies from the government and the vested interests that control it. Most of what they've told you is pure B.S. Most of it is deceitful marketing from some ad agency. They truly don't care about you and all they want is your money. "We the people," has become "us, the suckers."

 

What do I want? I want to share with you a better way to live, work, travel, save, and take care of your health.

 

Don't ever retire.

 

Yes, that sounds ridiculous – a retirement letter telling you not to retire...

 

But don't ever retire!

 

Too many people work and save all their lives only to retire and discover they are bored... literally to death. Many succumb to depression and disease (even terminal illnesses) because they are unprepared for the mental shift in retirement.

 

In fact, a shocking study in 2005 showed people who retire at age 55 die twice as fast as those who keep working. So don't stop working, and don't retire.

 

Of course, when I say, "don't retire," I don't mean you need to be chained to your desk until they carry you from your cubicle feet first. Let me show you what I mean...

 

Dick and Meredith started golfing and gardening in their early 50s. They told me they wanted to be active as they approached retirement. She plays golf with the ladies group on Thursday, he with the men's on Friday. Saturday or Sunday, they usually play with another couple and follow that with a casual lunch or dinner with friends in the clubhouse.

 

Another couple, Tom and Terri, do their own things but are increasing their activities the closer they get to retirement. He plays tennis, and she runs and does yoga. She organizes a book club. He follows the local college teams by volunteering as a basketball and baseball coach – coaching makes him feel like part of a community, which motivates him and makes him feel younger and more alive. This year, the school made him the junior varsity coach and is paying him a nominal amount. Talk about fun.

 

Or take my good friends Chris and Brenda of Mutt Lynch Winery... Although in the wine business for 30 years – Brenda had been a winemaker on the side for 10 years – they wanted the business to be their main jobs. They figured it meant less money. But over five years, they slowly left their corporate jobs and turned their love of wine and winemaking into a viable business that they now do in "retirement."

 

They have twins, a dog, and their own life. And they love it. Finally, they have their own winery and spend half the amount of time "working" as they used to. And they're actually making the same amount of money as before.

 

It is critical to discover things you like to do and start doing them now. If you find something you love to do, occasionally you can make a little money from it, like Tom. The key is the joy you derive from the activity, but if you net a little income... all the better.

 

This will also help you plan for expenses and income needs for your hobbies. As you imagine life into your 70s and 80s, the cash will be there to support you. Most importantly, finding things to do in retirement now gives you time to discover what it is you want to do as you age.

 

In the newsletter, I promise to give you ideas and ways to explore and test yourself in retirement. If you've never taken an RV through a national park for a vacation, I've got a way to do it for less than the cost of a night in a hotel. I'll help you figure out what to do with your time, money, and health in retirement so your transition is a healthy and happy one.

 

Perhaps you'll do what I do, grow tomatoes by the pound and trade with neighbors for peppers, apples, and nuts. Or you might find your vegetables are worthy of the local farmer's market. No matter what, an opportunity is waiting for you... maybe even one that supplements your income.

 

Remember, your government isn't the safest investment to count on for retirement. And your doctor doesn't really care about your health like you and your family do.

 

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

 

Dr. David Eifrig

 

 

Editor's note: Retirement Millionaire is required reading if you're thinking about retirement or are retired. Each month, Dr. Eifrig presents simple ideas for improving your health and wealth… while keeping your money out of the hands of the U.S. government. Get access to his nonconventional income investments here.

 

Doc also recently published a book called High Income Retirement, which details how to safely earn double-digit income streams on your savings. It's an excellent primer for anyone looking to generate consistent profits… whether you're retired or not. Claim your copy here.