I recently spent 2 weeks holidaying in New Zealand. It’s a great country to travel in with spectacular scenery around every corner, friendly people, good food and wine and a language you can almost recognise. For the adventurous, most towns also offer about a dozen ways to kill yourself including jumping off bridges, buildings and out of aeroplanes, paddling through freezing rapids, riding in speedboats driven by madmen and climbing mountains that sensible mountain goats wouldn’t.
One of our many interesting experiences was a 3 hour trek at the base of NZ’s highest mountain, Mount Cook. We were following a popular track up to a glacier and there were people from dozens of different nations sharing the outdoor experience.
It was interesting to note the difference in preparation for the trek amongst various people. Many of them clearly understood what a 3 hour trek up a rocky valley near the snow line involved and they wore hiking boots, suitable clothing and carried food and water. Others dressed for a walk to a pub in shorts and sandals with a mobile phone in their back pockets. A few were dressed for partying with elegant shoes, nylon stockings and expensive dresses. I doubt that many of these young ladies would have made it past the first kilometre. Clearly they had no idea what the trek involved and no one had made the effort to enlighten them.
While it’s taking a long time to get to the moral of this story, the point I’m trying to make is that this trek is a good example of the importance of being properly preparing for an event that you know is going to happen.
A lot of people know that they are going to retire, but they do very little to prepare for what will be a major change in their lifestyle. Talking to your super fund or a financial advisor about investing your superannuation is NOT having a proper retirement plan. Just thinking about your money is a bit like going on a bush walk in a pair of party shoes. Organising your money is important, but there are a whole range of lifestyle issues that are just as important. Unfortunately most financial advisors don’t want to tell you much about them.
If you want your retirement years to be happy and satisfying, you need to thinks about issues like – staying fit and healthy, having good relationships with those close to you, having a purpose in your life & being involved with your community.
We have produced a number of books that can help you to really enjoy the next stage of your life. Just check out this website.
Bushwalking in high heels
