Liv Is Ready [& Willing] to Retire Penniless by Age 60. I Am [Really] Confused.

I learned to accept 1 fact — Not everyone cares about retirement

Liv is my friend’s friend.

She is 46 today and works as an early childhood educator in Melbourne. I had the chance to meet her while on a business trip. She is one light-hearted chatterbox.

Liv laughs a lot, too.

My friend told me this before. He has many friends who are incapable of planning for their retirement. They don’t earn enough. They spend too much.

Liv’s name popped out.

And so, I observed her while in the café.

It turns out that I could be too presumptuous about retirement.

Money Solves Problems. Not Enough Money Creates Problems.

DS, my friend, is fond of saying the above.

I concur.

With time, it became clear that Liv was suffering from not enough money. I will spare you from her casual laments.

These are the extracts.

“I am so glad there are not enough early childhood teachers here. They won’t fire me. I get to keep my salary.”

“Oh, I use my credit card quite often. There are times when I can only make the minimum payment.”

“I must be one of the blessed ones in this country. I earn enough to pay all my bills.”

“I am too tired to hustle after work. I need my rest. I cannot be working all the time!”

“I don’t have excess to save. Retirement? Well, it is alright. I’ll pass.”

These are passing comments [or laments] throughout a 3-hour-long conversation. It was littered with life struggles, and Liv was letting off steam.

I get it.

Really. I do.

But I have many questions.

I struggled [really hard] to find a non-invasive money or retirement-related question to start the ball rolling. I did not want to offend.

I mulled for 30 minutes before I found one.

I Asked Liv About Her Car

Liv went on and on about her car.

“Your car looks gorgeous! Is it expensive, Liv? Do you spend a lot of the upkeep?”

I started with praise. It does look pretty on Liv’s Instagram account. I gave her shiny metal steed credit for its aesthetic appeal. She was happy.

“Really! See! Prince is so handsome! Yeah, this is my 3rd. The previous ones are Oo-kai and functional, but they look cheap. You know, Hyundai and Honda. It was love at first sight with this Tes!”

Right. I sensed it.

DS, our mutual friend, turned his head at me and raised his eyebrows. It was a quiet message.

“See what I mean?”

I ignored him.

Liv did not notice. She went on about her handsome car.

“Well, he was expensive. I took a car loan that chewed 40% of my monthly salary. It is not a problem. I will eventually pay it off.”

I remembered feeling cold rivers forming and running down my back. My polo was getting wet.

40%? That’s…

Of course, I held my tongue.

It was not my place to comment. Or offend.

The thing is… I did not know how to continue this conversation. I am not a car fan, and Liv is [obviously] head over heels with her steed.

Fortunately, DS saved me.

He popped a question on investing.

“Invest for My Retirement? I Have No Money.”

This is the part when my brain ceased to function.

I could not bridge the gap.

Why would she not have the money to invest? She commits 40% of her income to her car. She has the money… no?”

“I see no point, DS. Retirement is so far away from me. The car is different. I use it to commute to work and other cities over the weekend. This is money well spent.”

DS, a retirement advocate as I am, did not give up without a fight.

“How is retirement possible many years later when you have an empty piggy bank or investment account? Investments produce money, you know. It will be your source of comfort when you are older.”

His words are like music to my ears. It sounded like Gospel Truth.

However, it fell on deaf ears.

“I know what you are saying DS. But I am busy experiencing life and enjoying it. This is something I cannot do with wobbly knees and weak legs. What is the point of having money in old age and ill health?”

Wow.

That’s fresh.

At least… to me, it is.

I decided to hijack their conversation with this question.

“Liv, does it not bother you that you might be broke, without salary or money, when you have retired?”

Her response made me realize that she is a duck and I am a chicken. We are not speaking the same language even though we speak English.

“Aldric, I am already broke now. What difference does it make?”

That hit me hard.

I was speechless.

I thought [and genuinely so] that people would do their best to be better with money management and retirement planning. Rarely have I met someone like Liv.

Don’t get me wrong.

She is a nice person.

But she sounds so… resigned.

And I wonder.

Is retirement no longer a common goal we work towards as fellow human beings?

The Close

Liv, in her [own] way, shook me.

It was an assault to my core. I thought we cared about money, financial health, and our retirement. I thought so.

She proved me wrong.

Liv has no intention to do so. She wants to live in the moment and experience the world before her knees give way.

Yes, I get that.

Surely there is room and pennies for investment planning?

Her answer, to me, is no.

And that… was shocking to me.

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