When it comes to retirement, “How much is enough?” is really the core question many of our clients face.

It’s a question that can cause a significant amount of anxiety.

Why?

Because retirement is one of the biggest changes we’ll ever experience. When we think about retiring, our emotions touch everything from a loss of identity to financial insecurity—and the natural anxiety that comes from an unknown future.

But before you get too worried trying to answer “How much is enough?”, here are a few things you should know.

True happiness in retirement comes from finding your calling in the next chapter of life, spending time with the people you care about, and feeling spiritually fulfilled.

1. It’s unique for every person

I’m sure you’ve read a statement somewhere that sounds something like this: To comfortably retire, you need _____. That number might be $1 million, $2 million, or $10 million.

Statements like those are a myth.

Why?

Because everyone’s vision of retirement is different. Some people want to travel more than others, some people have big philanthropic goals—heck, some people may want to begin a whole other career or start another business.

Human beings are wonderfully unique.

That’s one of the reasons I love working directly with people on the vision they have for their lives. There is no “one size fits all” model for a comfortable retirement. If there were, it would make my job a lot easier—but a lot less rewarding.

2. Understand the cost of your lifestyle—and what it means to be truly prosperous

How much does your current lifestyle cost you?

t’s not an easy question to answer. Your business may pay for travel, entertainment, your vehicle, and provide other perks and benefits that—if you want to keep them—will come out of your own pocket once you retire.

If you own your business and plan on selling it, you’ll need to know what assets can generate the type of income you need to fund your chosen lifestyle.

However, having done wealth planning my entire adult life, I can tell you something: The amount you spend per year in retirement and your happiness are not correlated. Some of the least happy people I know spend the most money, but that’s a subject for another article.

True happiness in retirement comes from finding your calling in the next chapter of life, spending time with the people you care about, and feeling spiritually fulfilled.

3. You need a strategy

Success in business is the result of strategy and planning.

Successful retirement is no different.

In retirement, you can live the life you want, create a legacy for your family, and support causes and charities you believe in—but doing all of that requires creating a retirement strategy that will support those choices.

Because retirement is a shift in identity, too many people put off creating that strategy—and the longer you delay creating your strategy, the fewer options you’ll have.

In other words, fear and uncertainty can sometimes help create the outcome we most fear.

Putting off planning for retirement because you fear losing your identity—or because you’re afraid the answer to “How much is enough?” will be “Too much”—means you lose opportunities to create the type of retirement that isn’t a retirement at all, but is actually a chance to do the things you never had time for during your career.

At Trinity Wealth Advisors, we work with you to figure out the answer to “How much is enough?” that is unique to your goals, your values, and your lifestyle.

Retirement isn’t an end—it’s your chance for a second act.

And we’ll work to put a strategy in place that gives you enough to make your second act as great as your first.