My Pa Spent His Entire Life Slogging for Retirement. Then He Discovered the Truth.

The best life lesson my father ever “showed” me

Aldric Chen

4 min read

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1 hour ago

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My obsession with retirement started in my late 30s.

Of course, the Big R financial planning started way earlier. But I knew nuts beyond saving and investing for my unforeseen future. I needed a reference point. A context. A benchmark.

And so, I took upon myself to speak to many semi-, forced-, and full-time retirees in real-time. Trust me. I learned a ton.

The Big R is a whole new world. And the realities of this foreign world… destroyed whatever I thought I knew.

Let me start with my Pa.

And let me start with money.

My Pa, the retirement advocate.

The Old Hero in my household has been harping about retirement ever since I attained an age of reason.

My Pa would speak about investing in the stock market, saving for future medical expenses, shoring up life insurance coverage, and paying off his mortgage so he can finally retire in peace and bliss.

His logic is simple.

• Pay off everything necessary,
• Earn, save, and invest enough…