Unpack Your Financial Baggage - Lou Melone

Tens of millions of people are stampeding into re­tirement on their last major financial run expecting a retirement lifestyle of independence and dignity. Unfortunately, they are following a leader off a financial cliff, due to the traditions and habits that have led to a misunderstanding of long-term planning-not to mention the prehistoric cognitive bias that is tugging at their behavior.

In this case, the leader is not a person, but an archaic set of principles and practices hauled around in their minds by generations of misinformation and a culture that works against long-term planning. These ideas are packed into a mental suitcase that many people carry with them through retirement planning.

For up to sixty years you have been packing your suitcases - un­consciously - with inaccurate and unclear financial strategies and decisions. As you visualize your next thirty years, you have finally come to a realization that hits almost everyone at this point in life: it is time to repack my financial baggage to ensure our future; otherwise, my family and the generations thereafter will never get to where they want to go.