On... Tap Dancing to Work

Recently I overheard my relatives  talking about retirement plans. It went something like, “You’re going to be retiring in 5 years time. Have you planned on what you’re going to do next?”….. I would think that it’s quite obvious that when you reach retirement age - you retire? Well, it depends. Some choose not to whilst others don’t have a choice. Whichever it is, when is it a good time to start planning for it? I would say the earlier the better.

Warren Buffett coined a term - Tap dancing to work. That’s basically how he feels when he goes to the office, not with reluctance but with joy. And if you’re enjoying your work that much, then it isn’t really work, is it? He has been investing since he was 10 years old. In that case, you can probably say he retired at 10, and his next 70 plus years of investing was just having fun.  

IF we plan-to/have-to work past retirement age (about 65? in Australia), I assume (given a choice), most people would choose something that is enjoyable and less stressful. Some of course, would choose financial returns (regardless of stress, etc.) as their main criteria (although its hard to imagine you would prioritise money over all else when you don’t have that much longer to live). Starting early means you have a safety net to try things (that you like) while having a regular income. If you start something (at retirement) and expect it to work straight away, I suspect you may be a tad overconfident.   

I stumbled into the world of investing/trading by chance …. and I must say these days I’m tap dancing to work. I hope to be financially independent (see post) in 20 years time. And if I’m not, well at least I can continue tap dancing to work. With 20 years of practice and experience, I’m more likely not to stumble mid dance.