One of the sad realizations I’ve had post-vaccination is that my life won’t really change. Although my family has some financial security and no bosses to report to, I’m not sure we will truly be free unless our loved ones are also free.

The first thing I did after getting my second shot was try to plan a trip to Honolulu to see my parents. I haven’t seen them in 15 months and they are in their 70s. I know I will miss them when they are gone.

Yet, when I proposed the idea to visit two weeks after my second shot, my parents were hesitant. To them, it felt too soon, despite being fully vaccinated themselves.

“What about the variants?” my mother asked.

Although I was bummed, I completely understood her hesitancy. It’s hard to change our precautionary behavior after more than 15 months of being so careful. For many, the lockdowns have been traumatizing. It will take time to return to normal.

Therefore, despite having the freedom to fly there before the summer rush, I will stay here in San Francisco with my family like someone with no time off. I was originally planning to go alone for 5-8 days to catch up and reset the clock. But now a video chat will have to suffice.

Although being a millionaire sounds nice, it’s not that impressive anymore thanks to inflation. In order to be a real millionaire, you will need to have a net worth of at least $3 million, not $1 million.

If you retired today at 65 with $1 million, you may be able to spend $40,000 a year (4% withdrawal rate) for 25 years. But you might also run out of money before you die as well. In a low interest rate environment, it’s only natural to expect lower risk-adjusted returns. After all, the risk-free rate is under 2% today.

Back in the 1990s or earlier, when the risk-free rate was closer to 5%, achieving a $1 million net worth was fantastic. Almost everything was cheaper back then. Can you imagine being able to go back in time and buy real estate at those prices? Or how about being able to pay college tuition prices from the 1980s? If you had a $1 million net worth back then, you were pretty much set for life! Further, think how much your $1 million would be worth now.

Today, if you are a $1 million millionaire, you should still feel good. However, it’s not like you’re popping Crystal in the hot tub on your luxury yacht in the South of France – not that that’s what everybody wants to do of course.

Are you wondering when to take Social Security? The answer is a little more complicated than it seems. Officially, you can start your retirement benefit at any point from age 62 up until age 70. Your benefits will be higher the longer you delay taking Social Security.

But perhaps Social Security is something that none of us should rely upon in retirement. After all, the system is underfunded by about 30%. The eligibility age will likely have to be raised or benefits will likely have to be cut to make the system whole.

Mentally, I’ve never counted on Social Security being there for me. Instead, I’ve been focused on the new three-legged stool in retirement: personal pre-tax retirement accounts, personal taxable retirement accounts, and personal hustle. In other words, the three legs all consist of you supporting yourself.

It’s very hard to count on the government for retirement support when the government has a difficult time managing its own budget. Further, the government is always changing who is eligible for benefits and who isn’t. Therefore, focus on what you can control.

Now that I’m focused on retirement once again, I’ve been doing a lot of planning for what’s next. One of the key items on my pre-retirement checklist is ensuring I have the right asset allocation. As I was reviewing my various portfolios, I realized that I could have been a 401k millionaire by 40 had I stayed at my job!

Based on my recommended 401K By Age post, I firmly believe all of us will be 401k millionaires by 60 if we max out our 401k. With many employers offering company matching or profit sharing, becoming a 401k millionaire should be an inevitability for most people.

Let me share with you how I could have been a 401k millionaire and what happened to my 401k once I left my job in 2012. This will be an interesting case study for those of you who are thinking about retiring, joining a startup, or becoming an independent contractor.

We’ll also review how much money you should have by age in taxable investment accounts if you want to retire early. Because at the end of the day, it’s best not to touch your 401k before 59.5.

Going through a pre-retirement checklist to prepare for post-pandemic life is a smart move. Like packing for a long trip, it’s easy to forget something you may end up regretting not bringing without such a checklist.

Retiring from a job after years or decades of work is a scary proposition. This fear is one of the reasons why retirement researchers who feel confident about their safe withdrawal rate assumptions still won’t retire. It is much easier to pontificate about retirement when you are still gainfully employed.

One of the top 10 worst times to retire is during a pandemic. With so many things shut down, spending all your days at home doesn’t sound like a great retirement at all. There are only so many books you can read, Netflix shows to watch, and meals to have with your family before a deep sense of dissatisfaction begins to seep through your veins.

The decline in mental health is a HUGE issue that is currently being underreported. The rise of clinical depression is no joke. Please be more empathetic to everyone during this time.

People who have little-to-no money worries are getting divorced. Normally peaceful retirees have taken to social media to wage jihad against others they don’t know. When there are few release outlets, there is a tendency for people to manifest the worst version of themselves. Prolonged isolation can be dangerous.

There’s a saying that goes something like this: To feel rich, take whatever you earn and triple it. Once you get there, triple it again. In other words, due to hedonic adaptation, it’s impossible to ever permanently feel rich!

We all know that making a top 1% income means you are technically rich. But I’ve noticed on my path to financial freedom there were several times when I felt incredibly rich and money wasn’t the dominant reason. Maybe you can share some of the times you felt rich as well.

The ideal financial scenario in retirement is steady income and conservative returns. Financial loss creates stress. And given stress kills, your goal as a retiree should be to remove as much stress from your life as possible.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about being OK with no longer making a lot of money from investments. With such huge returns in the S&P 500 and the real estate market since leaving work in 2012, I kind of feel like Anthony Bourdain when he said,

“I should’ve died in my 20s. I became successful in my 40s. I became a dad in my 50s. I feel like I’ve stolen a car — a really nice car — and I keep looking in the rearview mirror for flashing lights. But there’s been nothing yet.”