Planning for Happiness Regardless of What Life Throws at You

Welcome to this episode of the Happiness in Retirement podcast! I'm your host, Bill Del Sette, and today we're diving into a crucial topic: planning for happiness in retirement, regardless of the uncertainties life may throw your way.

In this episode, I challenge the common assumption that the future will align perfectly with our plans. Many of us believe that if we can predict how long we will live, what the markets will do, and how our health will hold up, we can create a foolproof retirement plan. However, the reality is that life is inherently uncertain, and good retirement planning isn't about making accurate predictions; it's about designing a life that remains fulfilling even when the unexpected occurs.

I emphasize the importance of resilience in planning. Instead of seeking certainty, we should focus on creating flexible plans that can adapt to life's surprises. I discuss the different phases of retirement— the go-go years, slow-go years, and the later years— and how our experiences in retirement are rarely linear. I encourage listeners to reflect on their assumptions about retirement and to consider how they can build a plan that allows for adaptability.

Throughout the episode, I share insights from research, including a fascinating study published in the Canadian Journal of Aging, which highlights that lifestyle planning is a stronger predictor of retirement satisfaction than financial preparation. I stress that while financial security is important, it is equally vital to consider how we will find meaning and fulfillment in our post-work lives.

I also touch on the idea that success in retirement should not be defined by whether everything goes according to plan, but rather by our ability to live a life that works for us, even as circumstances change. I encourage listeners to embrace flexibility and to view retirement planning as a series of experiments rather than a one-time decision.

As we wrap up, I invite you to reflect on your own plans and consider where you might need more flexibility. Remember, good planning gives you choices and the ability to adapt, which is far more valuable than striving for precision in an unpredictable world.

Thank you for joining me today! If you have any questions or want to reach out, feel free to contact me at [e-mail]. Don't forget to subscribe and listen to us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Until next time, remember that you don't need certainty; you need a plan that supports the life you want to live. Here's to a happy, healthy, and financially secure retirement!

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The happiness in retirement podcast is a holistic financial planning show that teaches you how to maximize your wealth and your happiness, and its for anyone who wants to squeeze all the juice out of their life - and their money.

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SPEAKER_00:
Welcome to the Happiness in Retirement podcast, where we help you turn your retirement dreams into reality. Each week, we'll dive into smart financial strategies, lifestyle tips, and expert insights to help you build a fulfilling and secure retirement. Whether you're planning ahead or already enjoying retirement, this is your go-to place for inspiration and practical advice. So sit back, relax, and let's make your golden years the best years.

SPEAKER_01:
Hello, and welcome to the Happiness in Retirement Program podcast. I'm your host, Bill Del Sette, registered life planner, certified financial planner, and principal at Del Sette Capital and Management, a registered investment advisory firm. Because the road to retirement should be an adventure, not a survival strategy. Well, today's topic for this podcast, and I'm really excited about it, is planning for happiness regardless of what life throws at you. And I want to set the context for the podcast first by recognizing a truth that many of us assume something. that simply isn't true. And that is, we assume the future will cooperate with our plans. The markets will behave, health will hold, priorities will stay the same, and life will more or less follow the script. we wrote earlier on in life. But anyone who's lived long enough knows life doesn't work that way. So today, I want to explore a simple but very powerful idea. Good retirement planning isn't about predicting the future. It's about creating a life that still works when the future surprises you. Now, I want to say that again, because this is the crux of good planning wherever you are in life. Good retirement planning or good planning in general at any stage in life isn't about predicting the unknowable future, but it's about creating a life that still works when the future surprises you. And I guarantee you that it will. So many people will say to themselves, maybe not out loud, I want to be happy, but only if my current circumstances are great. And you have to accept first and foremost, that life is inherently and fundamentally uncertain. When you do accept this, you can lead the best possible life, regardless of what it throws at you. And there's some great research to back this up that we'll get into. So let's start by asking a reflective question. When you think about retirement, what assumption are you quietly making about how the future will behave? Maybe it's that you will only live 10 more years if you're a bit of a pessimist, or maybe that you're going to live 50 more years. You're very much an optimist, or maybe that the markets will cooperate. You will earn X percent a year or that you will always be healthy or that you will never divorce, whatever it may be. But there is this myth of prediction and traditional planning often starts with prediction. How long will you live? What will markets return? How much will you spend each year? What will inflation be? And they're reasonable questions and we have to make assumptions, but chances are those assumptions are going to turn out to be wrong. Now, this does not invalidate planning. You see, if we think that we can just model a future well enough, we'll feel safe. But the funny thing is, again, every single one of the assumptions in your financial plan will be wrong in the long run. Inflation won't average 3%. You won't live to be exactly 80 or 90 or 100. Your portfolio won't return exactly 6%. Maybe more, maybe less. Who knows? You see, it's as if life looks at our spreadsheets and says, fair enough, I'll behave, right? Isn't that the assumption? Certainly. Not the case. Another good question to ask yourself is where in your planning are you seeking certainty when what you really want is confidence, right? I mean, we can't control so many things, so many things. So really what we're looking for in a plan is confidence or a confidence level in your plan. So how does retirement actually unfold? Most people don't experience it as a straight line. Certainly we know that. We experience retirement in phases. There's the early phase, what we call the go-go years, where Maybe it's about energy and freedom and travel and projects. And then there's this middle phase or the slow-go years, more about routines and relationships, maybe caregiving for someone. And later a phase where simplicity, health and support matter more. And that's assuming no surprises. Which phase do you imagine yourself in first and how confident are you that you will stay that way or it will stay that way? Hmm, markets surprise us, bodies surprise us, family dynamics surprise us, sometimes even success surprises us. So the question isn't, how do we eliminate uncertainty? The better question is, how do we plan with uncertainty in mind? You know, the Stoics believe that the point of life is to make your happiness the least dependent on outside circumstances. Wow, that's powerful, right? Make your happiness the least dependent on the outside world, on outside circumstances. Buddha said, always do your best, but don't ever be attached to the outcome of your efforts. Wow, try that out. Do your best, but don't be attached to the outcome. You know, this idea of attachment, right? In his book, The Seven Habits, Stephen Covey wrote about being proactive, working on things you can control, which he calls your circle of influence. But many people instead focus on things outside of their control, right? What's the point of that if you can't control it? You know, if you're worried about something you can control, then there's no reason to worry. And if you're worried about something that you can't control, there's no reason to worry. That's a quote by the great Zig Ziglar. I believe good planning involves shifting the sails when the wind changes direction, because certainly nothing is certain. Can you spend a little less to get you through? When the going gets tough, as it inevitably will, bear markets come and go. Does your estate plan account for changes in your life? Do you have a good asset protection plan? Considering things like early death, lawsuits, disability, and maybe even long-term care. Maybe an asset protection plan that I hope you will never, ever need, by the way, but you'll be glad that you have it if you do. So we wanna go from certainty to resilience in planning. And this is where good retirement planning shifts. Instead of chasing certainty, the unknowable future, we design for resilience. Resilience means, for instance, flexibility in spending. How about optionality in work and lifestyle or emotional readiness for change or a plan that can bend without breaking you? Here's another good question to ask. If something unexpected happened next year, what part of your plan feels most flexible. And what part feels most fragile? A resilient plan doesn't panic when life deviates from expectations. In fact, we expect that to happen. So we have a plan that adapts. That adaptation is not a failure of planning. It's the goal of planning. Now, why does life design matter more than forecasts? Here's a really important point that I've learned in all my years of doing this kind of work. People don't struggle in retirement because their spreadsheets were wrong. They struggled because their lives weren't designed with enough intention. They retired from work, but never fully thought about what they were retiring into. Now, a fascinating recent study of 748 adults published in the Canadian Journal of Aging and featured in a recent Wall Street Journal article examined the factors contributing to retirement satisfaction, highlighting that lifestyle planning is a stronger predictor of success than financial preparation. Wow. The research indicates that while many retirees focus on their financial wealth span, how long their money will last, fewer than half adequately prepared for the social and psychological shifts of post-work life, including, most importantly, finding meaning. And by the way, meaning is one of the very things we cover in life planning, and it's why at Del Sette Capital Management, we are big believers in life planning, planning for your life and the things that matter most. So maybe some questions to ask yourself are, how will you spend your days when you're retired? Who will you see regularly? What will give you a sense of usefulness or meaning? Very important question. Money supports these answers, but it can't replace them. I'll say it again. Money supports these answers, but it cannot replace them. Last podcast, I did was about finding happiness in the small things, going for a walk, reading a book. Relationships matter so much as well. So in planning, flexibility beats perfection. And one of the most freeing ideas in retirement planning is this, you don't have to get it right the first time. In fact, you're probably not going to get it right. Retirement works best when it's a series of experiments, not one irreversible decision. So where might you be pressuring yourself to make a permanent decision when a small experiment might be enough? Here are some examples. Maybe try living on a retirement budget before fully retiring. How about test travel instead of committing to a location? Maybe renting out that Airbnb for a couple of weeks or a month. Trying different locations. How about easing out of work instead of stopping cold, maybe going to part time or maybe doing something completely different in retirement. So flexibility creates confidence, not because the future of known, certainly it's not, but because you trust your ability to respond. So let's reframe success in retirement. If success in retirement is defined as everything goes according to plan, most people will feel like they failed because chances are things aren't going to go according to plan. Great book that I recommend by a gentleman, his name is Michael Singer. The book is called The Untethered Soul, highly recommend it. And he writes about how people want to be happy, but only if. I want to be happy, but only if my return is 10%. I want to be happy, but only if my wife or my husband doesn't leave me. I want to be happy, but only if, you know, it's beautiful and sunny every day, whatever it may be, you fill in the blank. But the real question. And let's keep it really simple as do you want to be happy or not? That's really the question because we are all going to have circumstances that we don't like. And if there's any a time when you want to be happy, it's when those circumstances come. It's easy to be happy when your circumstances are aren't great. So really. Great question by Michael Singer. Another gentleman by the name of Dan Gilbert. He wrote a book. I highly recommend it. It's called Stumbling on Happiness. He also has my favorite TED talk of all time. Google the Surprising Science of Happiness TED talk. Google it. Surprising Science of Happiness. Dan Gilbert, G-I-L-B-E-R-T. Watch it. It's fascinating. And he found out in his research that if An event occurred more than three months ago will, chances are, with very few exceptions, have very little impact on how happy you are today. I'll say it again, if it happened more than three months ago, whatever the event was, In all but a few circumstances, it will have very little impact on how happy you are now. He also talks about something called impact bias, the tendency to overestimate the hedonic, think happiness, impact of future events and how humans adapt to changing conditions. Really fascinating. Did you know that? According to Gilbert, recent paraplegics are just as happy as lottery winners after a year. So if someone wins the lottery a year ago or someone becomes a paraplegic a year ago, after a year, on average, they're just as happy. It's just amazing research. And so when we take this into consideration, the impact of current events, current circumstances, you can kind of take, I don't want to say with a grain of salt, but just know that in all likelihood, they're going to have little impact on your future happiness because according to Gilbert, we actually manufacture happiness. Read his book called Stumbling on Happiness and watch that TED Talk. Okay, what if we design success as I'm still living a life that works for me even as things change? Well, then that's achievable. Right? That's really how we should frame financial planning and retirement planning. And again, according to Gilbert, you'll be just as happy after three months anyway of whatever the event may be. And so when you accept that life is inherently and fundamentally uncertain, you can lead the best possible life. You want to have a plan with flexibility, regardless of what life throws at you. you will adapt. So how would your definition of a successful retirement change if adaptability mattered more than precision? Good planning gives you choices. Good planning gives you time, or this time affluence concept, margin of error, and perspective. And those things matter far more than accuracy. We just, so many things we don't have control over. Talk about Stephen Covey's circle of concern versus circle of influence. And so we want to focus on the things that we have control over or this proactivity as he calls it. How much we save, how much we spend. Maybe reducing spending a little bit when the markets don't cooperate, or how about when they do cooperate and maybe we have too much money and our goal isn't to leave a big nest egg, but to spend it. How about spending a little more, finding things that give your life meaning and spending your money on those things. And you see those things matter far more than accuracy. Of course, we all want to have good returns and some people think that financial advisors, investment advisors can predict the market and some advisors think they can predict the market. But as I like to say, the market timers hall of fame is still empty. The Market Timers Hall of Fame is still empty. Nobody can predict the future. So we want to be able to adapt as conditions change. Be proactive in your planning. Okay, so how do we bring this all together? Let's take a moment first and maybe consider some questions. What part of your life needs more flexibility? Where are you looking for certainty where you're not going to find it? What part of your plan needs more margin? Margin for error? And what would help you trust yourself to adapt when the future surprises you? Because it absolutely will. Good retirement planning isn't about predicting the future. Good financial planning isn't about predicting the future. It's about creating a life and a plan that still works when the future surprises you. And again, it's about creating a life and a plan that still works when the future surprises you. I just got to say that again because That, I think, is one of the most powerful statements about what financial and life planning should be all about. Because life absolutely, as you know, will surprise you. Just know that regardless of those surprises, if you have a plan that's flexible and if you can be happy regardless of your current circumstances, then you're going to have it made. Thanks for listening. If you have any questions, please reach out Bill at happinessinretirement.com. Again, subscribe, listen to us on Spotify, Apple, podcasts. Check us out on our website, www.delsetti.com. And we'll see you next time. Again, thanks for listening. And just remember, you don't need certainty. You need a plan that supports the life you want to live. See you soon.

SPEAKER_00:
All information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. There is no representation or warranty as to the current accuracy, reliability, or completeness of, nor liability for, decisions based on such information, and it should not be relied on as such. Del Sette Capital Management, LLC. Del Sette is a registered investment advisor. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Del Sette and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. For additional information, please visit our website at www.happinessinretirement.com. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, and it should not be relied on as such. It should not be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell a security. It does not take into account any investor's particular investment objectives, strategies, tax status, or investment horizon. You should consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor. That's it for today's episode of the Happiness in Retirement Program podcast. We hope you found some valuable insights to help you create the retirement you deserve. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who's planning for their future. For more tips and resources, visit happinessinretirement.com or the Del Sette Capital Management Facebook page. Until next time, here's to a happy, healthy, and financially secure retirement.