The Cash Flow Clock: For Retirees - Book - Page 58
The Cash Flow Clock
There are hundreds of books that discuss the best ways to track your
expenses and follow a budget. There is no need to repeat their advice here.
It should be relatively easy to figure out how much we will spend to cover
our basic needs. But retirement should not be about simply getting by. It
should be about using our assets to maximize our quality of life. That
doesn’t mean we should spend just because we can. We should spend on the
things that provide the most value to us. That is different for each person
and each family.
Once we know we can provide for ourselves and still have enough left over,
then we should use our assets to improve the lives of our loved ones and our
community. This is not about spending less. In many cases, it is about
spending more, as long as it improves the value of our lives.
It is not about spending for the sake of spending. It is about investing in our
family. It is not about leaving a bunch of money behind when we die. It is
about building a legacy for the world around us while we are still around to
be able to participate and enjoy the process.
It all requires cash flow. The Cash Flow Clock helps us build and maintain a
plan that will meet our spending needs as efficiently as possible.
This is why the Cash Flow Clock is so critical to our financial plan. The
more we understand the timing of when we will use our assets, the more
efficiently we can manage our tax liability and our investment risk. This is
the core of a financial plan that actually works for us.
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