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“We are all ignorant; just about different things.” — Mark Twain.
“The maturation of every investor starts with absorbing almost everything and ends with filtering almost everything.”
—Ian Cassel
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Sometimes Life Offers the Option to Learn While Learning!
While attending a recent retirement planning financial conference I had the opportunity to observe the people in attendance. Most of the people in attendance were close to or retired and were an average demographic cross-section of the pre-retirement United States population. With such a diverse group there were differences in age and level of financial knowledge.
But, what struck me as I followed the actions of the group was not the age and demographics of the attendees, but their interactions with others present.
Most of the people in attendance had never met personally, and some people were more outgoing (extroverted), while some people were more reserved (introverted). More than being introverts or extroverts, my observations revealed that the behavior of the subgroups in the crowd mirrored the behavior of people as they mature. This is stated in a positive manner, as it is normal and healthy for people to mature. I classified the group into three separate and distinct subgroups: retirement-planning infants, retirement-planning adolescents, and retirement-planning adults.
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What Does That Mean, and How is This Information Important? What, if Anything, Does This Information Have to do With Having “Enough?”
Each subgroup ( infants, adolescents, and adults) will be referenced concerning enough money, enough work, and enough to do in retirement.
Infants: Infants are like sponges and happily absorb everything!
Adolescents: Adolescents know everything, and are happy to share
their status with anyone who’ll listen.
Adults: As people age and mature they gain knowledge and understanding of life. Adults also come to realize how much they still have to learn.
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Infants–
- Infants and money– many people at the conference were self-proclaimed retirement-planning “newbies”, or retirement-planning infants. This group was aware of all the great information that surrounded them and felt it was their responsibility during the conference to absorb as much of the information as possible. This group was not vocal but, just like infants, they were happy to look at, listen to, and absorb all the new retirement information to which they were being exposed.
- Infants and work– most people approaching a new job are excited about working and the new opportunities that a job or profession will provide. These “infant” workers are happy to stay quiet, ask work-related questions, and learn as much about their new job, environment, and co-workers as possible. They want to absorb everything around them that will make them more valuable to employers and others. Other than asking numerous questions, they are generally easy to work with and a pleasure to be around.
- Infants and purpose in retirement– retirement planning “infants” can’t wait to jump into retirement. They haven’t planned anything and just want to let retirement “happen.” They are unconcerned about how each day will be spent and are primarily happy to have arrived at retirement. Much like an infant in a crib, they remain fixed in one position. They are not proactive, but react to what occurs daily. Like infants, they accept what each day provides, even though every day provides the same routine and surroundings that are limited and unchanging.
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Adolescents-
- Adolescents and money– thankfully, at the conference, there were only a few retirement planning “adolescents” in attendance. These adolescents were happy to let you know how much they knew, whether you wanted to know or not! Everyone knows “that guy!” There’s one in every group. He’s the guy that always has the new hot stock pic. His portfolio never has any losers. He knows more than the financial pundits, and his newest moneymaking scheme is going to make him a new multi-billionaire. He’s always the smartest guy in the room.
- Adolescents and work– during a person’s working lifetime they will encounter working “adolescents.” Everyone almost certainly does! These are the people who know more than all their coworkers and all of their superiors. They find it hard to understand why they are not in middle or upper management. In many cases, they have work experience with multiple companies where every job ends with their being terminated or quitting because of work disputes (it’s hard to remain at a low-level position when you know you’re smarter than everybody else but, no one else recognizes your superior abilities.)
- Adolescents and purpose– this group arrives at Retirement without planning any retirement-related activities. This is done purposely because they feel very confident that they know what they will do once retired and exactly how their life will unfold. Being the smartest person in the room means they do not need to seek advice from anyone. Planning is not necessary because they are savvy and smart and will continually pivot from one position to another as personal conditions change. They feel their knowledge and advice will be needed by others less intelligent. Guiding the less fortunate will be their purpose in retirement! Happiness comes from knowing everything!
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Adults–
- Adults and money– there were a large number of “finance” adults present at the conference. Like finance “infants”, they were there to absorb new information. Unlike finance “infants”, absorbing information is only one of their focuses. Most are well-versed in all aspects of finance and have spent hundreds if not thousands of hours becoming educated in all aspects of finance. But unlike finance “infants”, their silence stems from the knowledge that there is still much to learn. In addition to absorbing new information, they willingly share their vast knowledge base. They were not boastful or loud and quietly fulfilled their obligation to share knowledge with anyone who requested help. The road to financial adulthood, just like normal adulthood, is filled with bumps and potholes. Financial adults realize that they don’t have the answers to every question and that financial adulthood requires much hard work and effort over a lifetime.
- Adults and work– most people don’t understand how long it takes to fully comprehend and create a comprehensive knowledge base in most forms of work. At the point I graduated from dental school, I had over 20 years of formal education. Dental school was a gradual transition from primarily didactic education to primarily clinical education. When I graduated, I felt that I was competent to successfully treat all dental problems. I quickly found out that even though my skills were adequate, my experience level was lacking. Most clinicians feel it takes approximately 20 years of clinical experience to gain the knowledge necessary to treat complex restorative cases. Even at the 20-year mark, it’s hard to know what you don’t know! Mature adults realize that learning is a lifetime process. I’ve always told patients that I continue to “practice” Dentistry in hopes that someday I will get everything perfect. Early in my career, I spent considerable time and money on continuing education courses. One of these institutions is called the Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Education and is staffed by well-respected experienced clinicians. Many people work at a job or profession for many years and have gained considerable job experience. Most of these people are leaders in their respective fields, and most are very humble.
- Adults and purpose– adults are aware of the fact that happiness and purpose go hand in hand. Even the most intelligent and mature adults are sometimes unaware of the necessity for pre-planning in retirement. In many cases, people are not prepared for the immense social, psychological, and financial changes that occur when a person retires. Mature adults may be more adequately prepared to handle these retirement changes but, even the most mature person is not always prepared for such massive changes to all aspects of their lives in such a short period. Pre-planning for retirement, specifically pre-planning for hobbies and purposes to engage in during retirement, is the best way to defend against the depression and disappointment that are sometimes experienced in retirement. Retirement provides an opportunity to explore areas that are important on an individual basis and also provides an opportunity to volunteer and “give back.”
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This was an enjoyable weekend with a great group of people. Viewing myself as a retirement planning “adult,” I was there both to learn and help!
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Given the opportunity to evaluate ourselves using the information provided above, someone may find that he/she may not have fully reached maturity in all three areas that comprise the Three-Legged Stool of Enough. Self-reflection can be the first step towards positive change. A person must first determine their present stage of development, decide if they want to remain at that stage, and continue the process of maturing if they have chosen to continue growing. Life is a continual process of change and renewal.
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Final Thoughts
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- Retirement planning is like life because potential retirees go through retirement infancy, retirement adolescence, and strive to become mature adult retirees.
- In all three areas of ENOUGH, the obvious strategy is to become a mature retiree in as little time as possible.
- Mature retirement planning means that you arrive at Retirement with the understanding that learning is a lifetime process.
- Part of the maturing process is realizing what you don’t know, and that there are always new things to learn.
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