Retirement planning – if you shudder hearing these words, don’t.
While it’s stressful to think about this, if you take care of the basic steps starting from today, you stand a great chance to retire earlier and also enjoy your golden years.
Don’t rely on anyone to care for you, you can set yourself for retirement.
In most countries the state pension plans are almost bankrupt or not looking great anyway.
We both know that the baby-boomers generation won’t happen to soon anymore, as most of us have no kids at all or have 1-2 the most.
This means that, when we’ll grow old enough to retire, there will be fewer young people to pay taxes for our pensions.
Hence the reason why we should all consider the state pension to be amazing and wonderful, if we get any, but don’t expect anything from it anyway.
We’ll get older, there’s nothing to do about this, so, if we cannot avoid retirement, we should get financially ready for it.
Here are 6 steps to consider for your retirement planning
1. Curb your spending and get control over your money
If you routinely overspend and have absolutely no idea about where your money goes, I have bad news for you – when you retire, you’ll get into bigger troubles than now. At least today you have your salary, most likely, imagine your reckless spending with a fraction of what you earn today.
Not pretty at all, right?
Start budgeting, even if it’s a very simple system, like we already showed you on Pftoday, and see if you can start saving some money this way.
Having an emergency fund ready will also make it easier for you to further achieve your financial goals.
2. Pay off debt as much as possible
If you are drowning in debt now, it’s not looking dandy during your retirement either. Make an effort to prioritize your debts and start paying off your loans as soon as you can.
This would allow you to enter retirement without a huge stress on your shoulders.
3. Start saving for retirement
I have to be honest with you, I personally don’t like relying on any systems but my own strength and skills to earn my living.
This is the reason why we have some real estate, we invest in gold bullion and also run 2 small businesses that earn us a decent buck.
All these would work wonders during our retirement as well, provided we don’t suffer from some mental disorders to make our ‘work’ impossible.
I plan to keep my blog network in place and offer my web design services, during retirement as well (I’d die of boredom otherwise), but I also rely on the ‘regular’ pension plans like you should, too.
So, get yourself a 401(k), if applicable, an IRA or anything in between. Start investing in these retirement accounts as soon as possible and you’ll have an advantage when retirement happens.
4. Get the most of your 401(k)
If you have a job and your employer is providing you with a 401(k) plan, use it to the fullest.
Try to save for retirement as much as the plan allows for, since your employer will most likely match your contribution. This means that, if you don’t invest in it, you are leaving money on the table.
5. Create a retirement plan
Don’t just aimlessly save some money here and there. Have a plan. Nowadays it’s easy to create the perfect retirement plan and see how you are doing.
Statistics show that the Americans who are doing retirement calculations and planning stand better chances to save more money for their nest egg.
Keep an eye on your retirement savings, monitoring them every once in a while. Adjust your retirement plan accordingly to get the best bang for your buck.
6. Consider working during retirement
Hold on, I’m not saying you should slave for someone till the grave, but there are so many small jobs you can take and earn a buck, while also feeling useful once again.
I’ve known many ladies who, after retiring, started small jobs as nannies or maids, cooked homemade preserves or cookies and earned quite an income.
A small biz or a part-time job can do wonders for your self-esteem and also your bank account.
These are just few ideas for your retirement planning. The biggest takeaway is that you should be ready with a plan and also willing to change/improvise, if needed.
Do you need to delay retirement? Take on a reverse mortgage? Move into the country side (like we plan to do) and rent your city apartments?
Just look at the big picture and get ready to make the most appropriate steps for your deserved happy retirement.
