MT16 | Climate-Proof Your Retirement - CrazyTok

1. MT16 | CLIMATE-PROOF YOUR RETIREMENT Unpredictable climactic events have been occurring with increasing frequency as well as intensity and it’s no longer just animals or insects or forests getting decimated. This time it’s personal. The change is literally at our doorsteps in the form of wildfires, record high temperatures, flash floods, droughts. What used to be something we thought was a hundred years away is now being measured in decades. In our lifetime. And so, weirdly and very unfortunately, it has suddenly become critical to factor in climate change when laying out your retirement plan. How should we begin? Key Points Definitions of retirement differ, but location is a central theme in all definitions Your location of choice needs to factor in climate change, self-sufficiency and potential outcomes 100 years out, to the end of your children’s lifetimes More people who can afford it will choose or at least attempt to relocate to countries with a climate-positive future, so consider that as part of your plans Finally, factor in community – how in your climate-sheltered cocoon do you interact with society, especially your near and dear ones

2. Use this simple checklist to narrow down your ideal retirement location Whether you choose to relocate to a climate-friendly retirement location or not, it is worth making sure your sufficiently protected for the future. Use the simple Retirement Location Checklist on the Resources page and figure out whether your dream retirement home is the right one for you. Full Transcript Reading the news nowadays, it is becoming obvious that unpredictable climactic events have been occurring with increasing frequency as well as intensity. And it’s no longer just animals or insects or forests getting decimated. This time it’s personal. The change is literally at our doorsteps in the form of wildfires, record high temperatures, flash floods, droughts. What used to be something we thought was a hundred years away is now being measured in decades. In our lifetime. And so, weirdly and very unfortunately, it has suddenly become critical to factor in climate change when laying out your retirement plan. Hi there. We are Amit and Neha. We’ve each spent a couple of decades earning, saving and investing our way to financial freedom. In this show, we share everything we’ve learnt on our financial journey, so you too can build wealth, stop chasing a paycheck and start chasing your dreams instead Regular listeners would know that most episodes of MoneyTok come with a free tool or template that you can use to accelerate your own financial journey. So Amit, what comes to your mind when you think of retirement? I think the earlier concept of retirement was that you work till you’re 65 and then spend the rest of your life taking it easy at home. But I think that concept is changing now. At least speaking for my wife and myself, we expect to remain occupied pursuing projects we are passionate about. This means we might base ourselves somewhere away from the noise and bustle of big cities but close enough so that we can remain economically productive and be able to travel the world conveniently. What about you? The same? For me, it would be the freedom, at any stage of my life to be able to anchor myself, and derive creative and social fulfillment. Not necessarily when I am a geriatric. Even if not a lavish one. Which includes investment savings and a fully-paid off house.

3. Well, money is not all of it. You need fitness and skills to keep you engaged and a community for social engagement. True,This used to be easy earlier. Just settle down where your friends and family are. However, the factors governing how you scope your retirement nest, or save for your safety net, the kind of skills that will be required in a few decades are all changing dramatically with climate change. So Amit, how are you thinking this through? Wow, that’s a big topic. Where do I start? OK maybe for today let’s just talk about where you want to settle down? How do you decide what’s the right location? Ahh yeah, we’ve had lots of ideas, but they’re all getting knocked out based on climate change criteria. For example, I love being near water, but beach and coastal properties are out because of rising sea levels and anything too close to a river has the risk of flooding. And my second preference, forested areas, might be prone to wildfires. Clearly finding a retirement destination is no longer a simple job. Definitely. Because most of us have to plan for decades in the future. And if you factor in your kids’ lifetimes then we’re probably looking 100 years out. So you have to start accounting for how climate change is reshaping landscapes, and changing habitable zones. For example, did you know that a whole band of area between the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn will become too hot in the next few decades. Ironically that’s also the band which currently holds the bulk of the world population. The rising temperature trend is evident, with cities that earlier did not require even fans in summers, like Seattle or Shimla, requiring ACs now. So what seems too cold now, like say northern Canada may actually become temperate in some time. Which means that, when zeroing in on an area for your future retirement heaven, we can’t focus on how good it looks now. Rather we need to extrapolate how resilient it might be to the apocalyptic climate in future, and how relevant it will be in the great human migration that climate change will trigger. Then you also have to consider the scenario of self sufficiency. Yes! And this is where I start sounding like a complete doomsdayers, like those guys with guns hiding out in bunkers. But we can already see that climate change is changing growing patterns for crops. And Covid has shown us how dependent we are on global supply chains. So it is totally plausible that in extreme climate events food supply chains would get disrupted, or there is an outright shortage of food or even water. So it is important to try and find self-sufficient patches of land where you can set up sustenance farming and water harvesting. And by this I don’t mean for you to take control of acres of land. Just enough for a family to get by, or maybe a group of families on a collective. www.crazytok.online +65 8245 0373