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Cumbrian Financial Adviser Overtakes American Entrepreneur in Mission to Help People Retire Sooner

This week, Chartered Fellow FCSI financial adviser,  Richard Cakans, 48, from Cumbria, is celebrating having made one of his goals come true as he became a best-selling author, whilst accelerating his mission of helping people enjoy life without regrets. 'Retirement: It's Personal - A practical guide to aligning your money, emotions and lifestyle' stormed the Amazon charts to become a No.1 bestseller knocking one of the top-selling personal finance books in the UK for several years, Andrew Craig’s ‘How to Own the World’, off the top spot. He also celebrated being ranked as Number 2 in Financial Retirement Planning, overtaking U.S Entrepreneur known for the 4 Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss, in the book charts.

Richard's book, which is available on Amazon  tackles one of the biggest challenges he sees in his work: people putting off retirement. Despite working with highly successful clients including nuclear physicists, he’s seen that retirement brings an uncertainty and fear of the unknown - and he discovered that retirement problems are rarely just a lack of understanding around the  financials  - often uncertainty about what retirement will feel like has been a big concern.

Richard previously worked as a Financial Adviser at HSBC before going self employed with Quilter, the second biggest financial services firm in the UK who he worked under for 9 years, and now works within Throgmorton Private Capital as an Independent Financial Adviser,  helping make retirement planning clear, as well as helping executives & families build tax‑smart, sustainable wealth.

He said: “Retirement is a decision not an age. People wait for ‘permission’ to retire - when in reality they could have done it 5 years earlier. Many people could retire on paper - but still put it off for many years. For many people in their 50s and 60s, the problem isn’t a lack of pensions or spreadsheets – it’s a lack of clarity and confidence. You might have several pension pots, some savings and a rough idea of “your number”, but still find yourself asking ‘Am I really ready to retire – or should I wait?’, ‘What if I stop too early and regret it?’ or What if I leave it too late and miss my best years?”

'Retirement: It's Personal’ hasn’t just been written from Richard’s professional experience, it also comes from a deeply personal experience, connected to the death of his father.  Richard’s father only discovered travel later in life, but then became too ill to visit some of his dream destinations, and hospital visits replaced holidays as Cancer cut short his opportunities. He only fit in a handful of trips with loved ones, when he could have been travelling the world for years prior.

“He was putting it off, not making time for it, and when he did, his time was only short lived. He’d worked hard all his life and he had robbed himself of the pleasure of enjoying the fruits of his labour. This hit me really hard, and is a huge part of the inspiration for this book.

This, combined with countless clients telling him "I wish I had spoken to you sooner" as they finally enjoy retirement after realising that they can more than afford it, drove him to write a guide that would help people make confident, informed decisions about when to retire.

The book, which Richard has published through Authors & Co, covers the alignment of money, emotions and lifestyle—the three critical elements he believes must work together for a successful retirement.

Abigail Horne, Founder of Authors & Co said: “Books like Richard’s are the ones we really need to get out into the world. This book can literally change someone’s life, by helping them to build knowledge and awareness, but the power for me isn’t in the financial strategies shared, whilst hugely valuable  - what really struck me was the conversations we need to have with our family, and ourselves, about what we want our retirement to look like, so we can plan properly for it and be excited about it.” 

Richard, who has over 20 years of financial advice experience and has also been a senior mentor for other financial advisors admits he doesn't even particularly like reading and his spelling and grammar are "rubbish." But whilst writing each chapter, he found himself enjoying the process.

He added: "I actually found I was enjoying it, it felt good. Once you know you can afford to retire, you then have real power—you don't have to take any nonsense from anyone. Knowing you can afford to retire is a superpower. You can DECIDE if you want to retire, fully or not."

He said: "Stop asking 'When can I retire?' Start asking 'What do I want retirement to look like?' Spending time with your own children or grandchildren, holidays, fell walking, kayaking, golf, bingo—the list is endless. My personal pet hate is people retiring at a certain age like 55, 60 or 67. They forget they can retire at any age if everything is aligned."

He added:"Too many people treat retirement like a birthday - a specific day they have in the diary that’s coming up - and often it isn’t one they are looking forward to.  I want to get people to start to think differently - Building up to retirement is a series of decisions about time, purpose, and trade-offs—money is only one part of it. My goal is for clients to enjoy life without regrets, so they don't reach a point and say 'what if', or stay in a job they didn't enjoy because they didn't know they could afford to retire."

Here Richard shares his top 5 tips from the book:
1) Define your "Retirement Version" in one sentence (Lifestyle)

Write one sentence that starts "Retirement for me looks like..." Include where you'll live, how you'll spend a normal week, and who you'll spend it with.

Why it works: If you don't define it, you risk drifting into someone else's idea of retirement. That clarity becomes the anchor for every financial decision.

Example: "Retirement for me looks like 3 days a week outdoors, 1 day with grandkids, two short breaks a year, and no work that feels 'obliged'."

2) Do a 15-minute "fear audit" (Emotions)

List your top 3 retirement worries. For each one, complete: "What I'm afraid will happen is..." and "What I'd need to feel safe is... (a number, a plan, a safeguard)"

Why it works: It turns vague anxiety into measurable planning points. Most people aren't worried about "money"—they're worried about running out, making a mistake, or losing control.

3) Create a "Fridge-Freezer-Cupboard" cash buffer (Money)

Split your future spending into three buckets:

Fridge (0-12 months): cash for bills and planned spending
Freezer (1-3 years): low-volatility money for near-term needs
Cupboard (3+ years): growth assets for long-term inflation protection
Why it works: This links time to risk and is one of the fastest ways to reduce retirement anxiety.

4) The Lottery Question (Money with Lifestyle)

Ask yourself: If money were no object, would you still work? The fastest way to uncover what’s really holding you back isn’t a spreadsheet but to ask a simple question.

This isn't a daydream; it's a tool to clarify direction. Choose one small 'test' you can run in the next thirty days—a day off, a new routine, a hobby trial—and put a date in the diary.

5) Identify your “Minimum Retirement Income” (Money with Emotions)
 Write down the monthly figure you’d need to cover the basics and still feel OK — housing, bills, food, transport, and a little breathing space. Then add a second number: your “nice retirement” figure that includes holidays, hobbies, and treats.
 Why it works: Most retirement anxiety comes from not knowing what “enough” looks like. Two clear numbers turn a vague worry into a plan — and help you see whether you’re already closer than you think.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chocolate PR .