If you are thinking of retiring but worried you aren’t ready, flipping your perspective may help nudge you more quickly toward the best years of your life. Turning your thinking upside down enables you to see things in a new and different way. A fresh approach can change your attitude and help spark creative ways of approaching a problem – even a problem like how to retire or feeling worried about retirement.
Your attitude toward anything in life is all based on perspective. If you are worried about retirement, maybe you just need to change your approach. Albert Einstein is credited with a saying that shows how a flipped perspective changes how you think:
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.”
Many people are frustrated and worried about retirement. Looking at it from a different vantage point can change and dramatically improve your feelings about and even how you prepare for your future.
If you are thinking about retirement, here are 9 ways to change your perspective and get going toward your goals:
1. Thinking of Retiring? Shift Your Thinking from “Money” to “Time”
The currency our society values most is money. In a paper published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, researchers found that 64% of the 4,415 people surveyed valued money more than time.
However, the researchers also discovered that the people who chose time were, on average, statistically happier and more satisfied with life than the people who chose money, even controlling for existing levels of available time and money.
Another study found that people who were extremely worried about retirement finances found themselves to be much happier once they retired, largely because they had greater control over their time. The ability to control your own time is how many people are now defining retirement.
You may be less worried about retirement if you focus a little less on money and more on how to spend your time.
There is good reason that a gold watch is the symbol of retirement. Time is golden.
2. From “How Much Do I Need?” to “What Life Do I Want”
Rather than obsessing over hitting a magic number, start with the life you want to live — then plan the finances around that. Purpose, joy, connection, and time are what people actually want in retirement. Let those drive the plan, not just the spreadsheet.
Use the Boldin Planner to plot your future spending and how that will change over time. Use that budget to dream of the life you want and let those goals dictate how much you need.
3. From “65” to an “Age that Makes Sense for You”
Should 75 or Even 85 Be the “New 65?”
Most people want an “early” retirement. But early is relative to the common perception that retirement is “supposed” to happen at age 65 or before.
However, retiring in your sixties is a relatively new phenomenon. For most of our history, people either worked until they died or until they physically could not labor any longer. And, nowadays people live very long lives – well into their 80s and beyond. Never mind the fact that age 65 today is a healthier and more robust age than it was just 10 or 20 years ago. Lifespans are expanding and older people are doing more than ever before – just look at some of these amazing accomplishments by people in their 80s and 90s.
Maybe 75 or even 85 should be the “new 65!” And, by shifting your perspective in that way, you could actually consider 65 an early retirement date.
Use the Boldin Retirement Planner, a comprehensive retirement planning calculator, to see what happens if you delay or move up your retirement date. You might also find a longevity calculator useful. Here are the 12 best longevity calculators available online.
Why Not Retire in Your 40s or Before?
On the flip side of the idea that “85 is the new 65,” there are lots of people practicing something called “extreme retirement” or Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE). They are retiring in their 30s or 40s.
These people decide that they value financial freedom more than they want to spend money. While working – often in two jobs – they live extremely frugally and save as much money as possible. When they retire, they continue to watch their pennies, but they are free from work at a very young age. Many continue to earn money doing things they enjoy, but they don’t feel the stress of having to earn money today to pay for things tomorrow.
Other people enjoy a few years of a retired lifestyle in the prime of their youth, before they even start working. Think of all the kids who took a gap year or signed up for the Peace Corps.
Are you past all that? In midlife people take sabbaticals – essentially a mini temporary retirement.
4. From “Maintaining Today’s Lifestyle” to a “Bold New Way of Life”
Most financial advisors assume that we need to maintain our lifelong spending habits when we retire. While this IS true for most of us, many people redefine themselves in retirement and can dramatically reduce spending.
We don’t need to keep the status quo when we retire.
What you need to spend to be comfortable while working and raising children might be very different from what you need to spend when you are retired. And, if you retire somewhere less expensive than where you live now, then how much you need to have saved could be a very different number.
Can you change your perspective on what you need to spend to be happy in retirement? Use the Boldin Planner to see what happens to your finances if you reduce spending. It is easy to get started and once you have set up the basics of your retirement plan, you can add details, make changes and instantly see the impact on your future.
5. From “What You Are Doing Now” to “New Adventures”
If you are thinking of retiring, it is important to realize that your future doesn’t have to mirror your past. Let go of the idea that retirement is a “winding down” and start imagining it as a reboot — a chapter where your time, energy, and choices are finally your own.
Retirement isn’t just about stopping what you’re doing now — it’s about creating space for what comes next. Instead of focusing on what you’re leaving behind (a job, routine, or identity), shift your perspective to the adventures you’re stepping into. Whether it’s travel, volunteering, starting something new, or simply having time to explore your interests, retirement can be a launchpad, not a landing pad.
Retirees are embracing the idea that retirement is a new start – a time to try new things and live the life they want.
- Second careers are exploding in popularity
- Retirees today are adopting new hobbies
- Volunteer opportunities are popular
- And more..
Many New Beginnings: You may actually have many new beginnings in retirement. Retirement is not just one phase. Most of us will actually have quite a few different transitions after we stop working.
6. From “All or Nothing” to “Phased and Flexible”
Once upon a time, long long ago… we set a date and planned a big party for retirement. You went to work one day and then never again.
However, retirement doesn’t have to be a hard stop. Many people find that gradual retirement — cutting back hours, consulting, or starting a side business — is not only more financially sustainable but also emotionally healthier. It’s not failure to keep working; it’s freedom to choose how you work.
Retirees today often transition into retirement either by going part time for a few years or finding a retirement job.
7. From “Avoid All Risk” to “Manage the Right Risks”
Retirement planning isn’t about eliminating risk. It is about having flexibility built into your plans so that you can thrive when things go wrong — and things will go wrong. The big risks include: Inflation, outliving your money, and unexpected health costs. And, these threats can be bigger threats than market volatility.
Some risk is actually necessary
Some growth-oriented risk is necessary to preserve long-term purchasing power. You need your money to outpace inflation. Being too conservative too early increases the risk of outliving your money.
8. From “Spending is Dangerous” to “Spending is Living
When you are thinking of retiring, you are probably having a hard time thinking about spending your nest egg. People often fear spending their retirement savings, even when they’ve saved enough (or more than enough). But money is a tool, not a score. Changing your mindset from hoarding to intentional spending can lead to a more fulfilling retirement experience.
You have spent your whole life working and saving money – paying down your mortgage and putting some away for retirement. Retirement IS the time to spend it. This is a HUGE perspective shift and something that people find problematic.
Some of the most popular articles on the Boldin definitely suggest that many people are far more comfortable with saving not of spending:
9.From “Strongly Held Beliefs” to “New Perspectives”
Flipping your own perspective on strongly held beliefs about money, retirement, or life in general – can be an incredibly valuable and transformative experience. While it may initially seem counterintuitive or even uncomfortable, challenging your own convictions and considering alternative viewpoints opens up a world of opportunities for growth, understanding, and personal development.
- Start by figuring out what you believe in when it comes to money. You may not be aware or conscious of these beliefs.
- Next consider alternate ways of thinking. How might changing your approach improve or hurt your financial future?
Need help? Consider these questions about your attitudes toward wealth and money. See if you want to maintain these beliefs.
10. From “Financial Rules of Thumb” to “Do “What is Right for You”
Many traditional financial “rules of thumb” — like needing exactly 80% of your pre-retirement income or withdrawing exactly 4% per year — are just rough guidelines, not hard-and-fast laws. Your situation is unique: your lifestyle, goals, health, and values are different from anyone else’s. Instead of stressing over whether you perfectly match a generic formula, focus on building a plan that fits your real life. A personalized approach is almost always more powerful and accurate than trying to force your future into a one-size-fits-all model.
The truth is, what matters most when you are thinking of retiring is whether your resources align with the retirement you envision — not someone else’s version of success. Maybe you need more, maybe you need less. Maybe you want to work part-time, travel for a few years, or prioritize time with family. Forget the rigid benchmarks and focus on creating flexibility, confidence, and clarity around your own needs and dreams. Retirement readiness isn’t a number — it’s the ability to live the life you want on your terms.
11. “Retire Before Paying Off Your Mortgage” to “Use Your Money Smartly”
One particularly strong held belief is that you must pay off your mortgage before you retire. However, it is not always necessary — or even smart. If you have a low interest rate and a solid retirement income plan, keeping your mortgage can free up cash for other priorities like travel, investing, or building a stronger emergency fund. Retirement is about managing your whole financial picture, not just eliminating debt at all costs.
12. From “Relying on Financial Advisors” to “Increasing Your Financial Know-How”
If you are at a certain age or income level, everyone seems to have a financial advisor. And, while professional advice can great, it can also be:
- Incredibly expensive (especially if you have healthy savings and are paying for assets under management instead of a flat fee)
- Not available to everyone (especially if you don’t have a lot of assets)
- And, recommendations from an advisor do not always align with your own personal goals and values
- You know what everyone should strive to get for a secure and happy retirement? Financial know-how.
Building your own financial knowledge empowers you to make confident, informed decisions — whether you work with an advisor or not. When you understand the basics of taxes, retirement income, investments, and long-term planning, you’re less likely to be misled, more likely to ask the right questions, and better able to align your money with your life goals. Financial literacy isn’t just for experts — it’s a tool for independence, clarity, and peace of mind.
If you want to work with an advisor, Boldin Advisors offers guidance from CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. Book a free discovery session to learn more.
13. From “Don’t “Living Month to Month” to a “Plan for a Lifetime!”
Sure, all of us should have had a detailed financial plan our whole lives. However, most of us got by living month to month or year to year and that was mostly fine while we were working and earning money.
In retirement we must learn to get by for a very long period of time with lots of unknowns on a relatively fixed set of resources. This is why having a new perspective on financial planning is so critically important. A personalized and comprehensive retirement plan is necessary at this stage of your life.
14. From “I’ll Figure It Out Later” to “Start Planning Today”
Procrastination is a common defense mechanism when something feels overwhelming. But even a rough plan today — pressure-tested and adjusted over time — can bring huge peace of mind. Waiting for clarity is often more costly than taking imperfect action.
The Boldin Planner is powerful software that puts you in control. It’s almost like having a financial expert at your fingertips. Research shows that people with a written financial plan do 2.7 times better financially. They’re also 54% more likely to live comfortably in retirement. That’s not luck, that’s taking control of your money. The Boldin Planner has been named the Best Financial Planning Software of 2025 and the company was selected as a Top Innovator in UpLink’s Prospering in Longevity Challenge and named to the FinTech 100 by CBInsights.
Updated April 28, 2025