India, April 1 -- Though the Vedas divided our lives into four ashramas or stages of that of a student, a householder, a retiree and a renouncer, our lived reality breaks it down to three - the learning, earning and harvesting stages. The first 20-25 years of an average life are spent in learning to earn. The next 35-40 in earning and the rest - it can go up to 40 years - in harvesting from the earning years. While there are exceptions to this norm, for most people, the middle 30-40 years are the crucial years - for not just asset creation for retirement , but also meeting pre-retirement financial goals like buying a house or getting kids through college. The early retirement dream that social media influencers have sowed sometimes forget...