3 simple reasons you shouldn’t retire early

Read the following sentence in your best Jeff Foxworthy voice:

“If you love playing shuffleboard while wearing Sansabelt shorts and suspenders, you might be ready for retirement.”

Well that was fun. But seriously . . . who’s ready to retire? I’d like to spend my retirement years sitting on a beach somewhere with a cold drink in my hand, only taking breaks to go to the movies (no chance Moviepass will still be around though).

As tempted as you might be to retire early, there are definitely a lot of things you should think about before deciding to take the leap. Here are a few to consider…

You might die earlier: Working can take a toll on a person, especially if you’re doing hard labor. But the truth is, it also keeps you going. If you don’t have a plan to stay active after retiring, you need to come up with one.

Your social life might suffer: If you don’t have a lot of friends outside of work, it’s going to be quite an adjustment when you’re no longer seeing those people every day. You could always try and be more involved with your church or at the country club, but the truth is, there’s no replacing those people that you’re used to spending more time with than your family.

You might run out of money: A large percentage of people won’t be ready to retire at 65. So if you’re planning on hanging up your suit at 58, you need to be sure that you’re prepared. We’re living longer and longer these days so even if you don’t think you’re going to live to be 95, you need to be sure that your finances will at least last you into your late 80s.