On June 14, 2012 CNN Money published the article by Geoff Colvin “3 ways to take control of your retirement” (The story is from the July 12, 2012 issue of Fortune).

The article covers the live expectancy, savings, investments, and life style.

“One more fact: You’ll probably live longer than you expect, a wonderful thing in every way except financially. New research from the Society of Actuaries finds that 57% of pre-retirees underestimate life expectancy from their current age, while only 28% overestimate. Your nest egg may have to last much longer than you thought.”

In this article, I first time saw the word “affluenza”.

“It’s a hard reality that many people will be living a bit less large than they had hoped in retirement, and maybe before. Don’t fight that thought. Embrace it. We’re living through the first era in history when significant numbers of people are being made unhappy by having too much rather than too little. The term is “affluenza,” now the subject of books and academic research.

Why are you planning to retire at all? It isn’t to maximize income. It’s to be happy. Millions of people are finding that having less makes them happier.”

So what should we do? Downshift!

This is definition of downshifting form wiki:

“Downshifting is a social behavior or trend in which individuals live simpler lives to escape from the rat race of obsessive materialism and to reduce the “stress, overtime, and psychological expense that may accompany it.” It emphasizes finding an improved balance between leisure and work and focusing life goals on personal fulfillment and relationship building instead of the all-consuming pursuit of economic success.”

You can read the full description at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downshifting.

The moral is that you do not have to postpone your life enjoyments till your pre-retirement or full retirement age. You must start to save smarter, invest smarter, and live smarter as early as you can, so you can afford to “live a little”, while you still able to walk.