Why having a bucket list really matters
“There’s no point in being the richest man in the graveyard.”
I remembered that old saying recently, when I watched this thought-provoking clip The Monopoly of Life - It all goes back in the box, which is about young boy who often played Monopoly with his favourite aunt.
The problem was that his aunt would beat him every time. Undeterred, he practised and practised until, in one game, he owned most of the properties, he was the winner, and his aunt was defeated.
He said “I did it through a total commitment to acquisition. But my aunt had one thing more to teach me. She said simply: in the end, it all goes back in the box. All that property, all that wonderful money – it all goes back in the box. Players come and players go, but sooner or later, you have to ask yourself the crucial question: what matters?”
This could be an important question for anyone who has accumulated considerable wealth – more than they need to live a comfortable retirement.
Recently I spoke to a couple who over a long and industrious working life were in just this situation. They were quite right to be satisfied with what they had accumulated. It was more than enough to keep them financially secure (not to mention warm and dry!) even if they lived to 99 or beyond.
However, just to offer them a wider view of things, I thought it would be useful to give them an alternative perspective.
Money and wellbeing
With our boy playing his aunt at Monopoly in our mind, I asked them to consider that money has value only when you turn it into wellbeing, whatever you consider that to be. Do you want to leave it languishing in a bank account, when ultimately, “it all goes back in the box”?
Why not consider how money has value only for the positive feelings of wellbeing it can give?
You may value peace of mind, you may value the happiness you would derive from helping others by contributing to charity, you may value the joy of taking a journey together to the Bahamas, or you may dust off your old guitar and spend three weeks driving across America on Route 66.
I was talking to some other clients this week, and they had a map of the world on the wall behind them. At the end of the meeting, I asked them where was the first place they'd go post-lockdown. They knew immediately. They turned round and pointed, as one. The west coast of Australia. No hesitation.
I've asked a couple of people the same question since and had a range of responses: Australia 2025 for the next Ashes Tour was one - Northumberland another.
The true potential of your life savings is to do just that: to live the life you have always desired – just as Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman took their first parachute jump and journeyed to the Taj Mahal in the movie ‘The Bucket List’ (a great film).
“We also have to face the fact that, once we move into our 70s, we may be less inclined to stray far from ‘home, sweet home’.”
I holidayed in the States one year (before lockdown!) and treated myself to a helicopter trip from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. Of course, it was a pricey treat, but the remarkable thing is, I don’t think back to the cost, I simply savour the memories of the experience – something I’ll always have.
And then last night, I saw Jade Mountain in St Lucia on the BBC2 programme Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby and by this morning I had my own cashflow up to see if it could stand an extra £30k withdrawal at retirement!
My client couple above are also fans of foreign travel. I pointed out that they could afford to take out £10,000 a year from their savings, to begin to cross a series of luxury destinations off their own personal bucket list. We calculated that, even if they did that every year for 33 years, they would still have enough – but not too much – left in the bank at the end, plus a collection of memories and experiences to give them pleasure forever.
And you can’t put a value on that.
At first, they were incredulous thinking they’d never spend that amount on a holiday! And it is a different way of thinking. But I suggested that a holiday in retirement is not limited to a week or two, as it is during your working life. If they wanted, they could go off travelling for two or three months each year.
Again, it’s turning money into emotions and memories that’s the key
Time may also be an issue worth thinking about, when you come to retire and find new ways to enjoy your wealth. We also have to face the fact that, once we move into our 70s, we may be less inclined to stray far from ‘home, sweet home’, or perhaps a decline in our health might be an obstacle to some items on our ‘bucket list’.
Of course, you may not have a bucket list, you may quite rightly be thinking of leaving your wealth to those you leave behind. This is a great alternative too – a way to transfer new possibilities to others. You can even plan this so that the money is passed on while you’re alive, which means you really can get to see the benefit of your gift as well as being able to effectively sidestep inheritance tax.
At SFP, we simply point out the alternatives. What I love is helping my clients to think deeply about what they want from life, and then watch them do it. Consider the alternative – I watch the tax man getting it all instead. Don’t let me do that!
That’s what the phrase about the graveyard refers to – once we’re all back in our own boxes, that money has only one place to go. Wouldn’t it be better to enjoy it while you can?
As Jack Nicholson said in the movie: “We’ve got to do it, before we kick the bucket!”
I’ve told you mine, so what’s on your bucket list?! See you in St Lucia?!
And finally…
If you really want to find out how to win at Monopoly, check out this video on The Mathematics of Winning Monopoly - 18 minutes very well spent!