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In many ways, the stages of our lives are like chapters in a
book. One chapter flows seamlessly into another, sometimes without us even
realizing it.
Life stages are not predictable
At every stage of life, we experience different opportunities and face different
challenges. In the past, people’s lives used to unfold chronologically, in
chapters defined by age. They went to school, left home, got married, had
children and retired at predictable times.
But, today, age has very little influence on the way our lives develop.
Statistics show that we are going to school longer, leaving home later, marrying
less, divorcing more and having fewer children. We’re also living longer and
staying active and healthy well into our 70s and 80s.
As life expectancy increases, so do our choices. The linear path we used to
follow of “school-work-retire,” is now a looping roadmap of opportunity. In
today’s world, learning has become a life-long commitment, with people of every
age returning to school to upgrade skills or pursue personal interests. It’s not
unusual for someone to retire, retrain and return to the workforce in an
entirely new career. The stages of our lives are defined much more by our
attitude than by our age.
Planning is more important
But, with these new opportunities come added responsibilities. We’re all living
longer, so it’s much more important to plan for our changing personal and
financial needs.
Going to school longer may mean that we have to
manage more student debt.
Having a baby
means juggling two careers and planning for new priorities. Aging parents and
growing children can leave us feeling squeezed
between conflicting demands. And we have to plan
for retirement almost as soon as we start
to work, to ensure that we maintain our health and financial independence
for a lifetime.
The book of life is a mystery that will always throw us a few unexpected curves.
But the more we can anticipate and plan for the future, the more we’ll enjoy
each exciting chapter along the way!
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