Anybody remember the show Let’s Make a Deal? I was young when it was on, but I recall the name and the concept. The host was Monty Hall, and something called the "Monty Hall Problem" came from the show.
Imagine a stage...On that stage were three doors and the contestant got to pick one of the doors to determine if they were a winner. Behind one of the doors would be something of value such as a car. Behind the other two doors was nothing.
I bring this up because over the course of the last few weeks, I’ve had a number of clients tell me they would like to leave their jobs sooner than originally planned. In each case, we’ve talked about the different options these clients have to make in order to make this accelerated timeframe work.
In one of those calls, our client started laughing. We had spoken of three different options, and they said this reminded them of the show and the three doors. One option was to leave their current employment fully and adjust their lifestyle accordingly. The second option was to leave their current job in a couple of years, which is still much sooner than originally planned. The third option was leaving the current job but recognizing that they don't have the assets in place to fully retire the way they want to; they would take a part-time job to produce some income for a period of time.
This is a great example of the conversations I have with clients regularly. The details of the options may be different, but the theme is similar. Unlike the game show, all three doors can produce a "win". It's more a matter of weighing options and what is important to each person. Sure, our calls would be a lot shorter if it was simply a matter of every question having only a yes or no answer, like the game show. But what’s the fun in that? Choosing to retire is a big decision and there are often a number of different ways to craft it.
If you’re looking to retire, and perhaps retire sooner than you originally planned, and you’d like to discuss what’s behind your three doors of opportunities, reach out to our office. I would welcome the conversation. Contact me at 206-447-1440 or by email at [email protected].
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