Comparing Retirements Project
BA/DSGN 411
General Instructions
For this assignment you’ll read several articles and use these as a source of information (as well as other matter you might already know) to create two plans for retirement. Type your responses into the boxes below and upload this document to Canvas when you’re done.
Part I: Information Gathering
Read through the six short articles linked:
- Why Retirement is a Flawed Concept – https://hbr.org/2016/04/why-retirement-is-a-flawed-concept
- The Basics of FIRE – https://twocents.lifehacker.com/the-basics-of-fire-financial-independence-and-early-re-1839417389
- This 33 Year-Old Could Retire Tomorrow with No Debt – https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanderousseau/2020/01/14/family-three-reached-financial-independence-over-10-years/#7ac9a1394911
- Journey through the 6 Stages of Retirement – https://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/07/sixstages.asp
- The Pitfalls of Early Retirement and How to Avoid Them – https://www.thebalance.com/early-retirement-pitfalls-and-how-to-avoid-them-2388806
- 8 Things to Do During Your First 30 Days of Retirement – https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlaura/2017/05/28/8-things-to-do-during-your-first-30-days-of-retirement/#21fd40f659c7
After reading through these pieces and considering your own responses to them, write 200-300 words in the box below about what stood out to you from these articles.
Each article covers a different aspect of retirement and will help inform your own retirement comparisons.
You don’t need to address every major point in these articles! Instead draw out the ones that will influence you as you consider retirement.
Identify which points and values will guide your decision-making and experience surrounding retirement.
Article Highlights and Response:
Part II: Retirement Options
Next, based on these principles and your own goals/interests, create two different potential retirement plans for yourself in the boxes below. In one column, write about your first retirement option, and then in the second column cover the second option. In each one, you should address:
- when you will retire
- what kind of work you were doing before retirement
- what kind of work you will be doing after retirement
- what kind of goals you accomplish in retirement
- what sort of activities you will continue to do
- what kind of friendships and social life you’ll maintain
- what family connections you will foster
- what sort of lifestyle you will maintain
- what things you will buy
- where you will invest
- what kind of legacy you will leave
Feel free to add anything else you find relevant.
| Retirement Option 1:
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Retirement Option 2:
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After writing up the two retirement options, write one last paragraph comparing and contrasting them. Where do you stand now? Which retirement appeals to you most? Which one is most attainable? Which one are you going to work toward?
| Compare/Contrast: |
Part III: Retire Today
No matter when you plan to retire, or what retirement looks like to you, you are likely putting something off until much later on in life. Write about one thing you can do today, tomorrow, next week, the week after that, and so on, that you were planning to save for retirement. What can you start doing today, that you don’t have to spend your whole life waiting for? What part of retirement can start now?
