Need Versus Want

I was sorting through our slides of Malawi yesterday.  And I also had a conversation with a friend about the issue of how much money you need to be able to retire.  Here is a photo of a very typical village in Malawi.  Most Malawians probably earn less than $1 a day, that is, if they have a job.  Many are very small scale farmers, growing and harvesting mostly maize, but also mangoes, tomatoes, and other vegetables.  They are a very industrious people who seem to be in constant motion, on the way to or from market, working in the fields, selling their produce and wares all along the highway and in the local markets.  What struck me was how much they seemed to smile.

So....when I listen to someone here who is contemplating how much money they will need in retirement, and who is really worried about "having enough", I wonder what they really mean.  In Malawi, having enough money means being able to feed yourself and your family day by day, it means having enough for a small mud hut or perhaps a brick one, perhaps earning enough to buy a bicycle.  Hardly anyone in the countryside owns a car.  In fact in one B&B the owner (white) told us that he was in fact the ambulence service for the small community nearby since no one owns a vehicle of any kind.

When you are thinking about your own retirement and how much money you are going to have, and especially if you would love to claim back your time for yourself, take a hard look at what you actually need and then consider what you want and how badly you want it.  I believe that many Canadians could manage on less than they think and still have a very happy life.  But more on that in another post.