It’s never too early nor too late to start thinking about retirement and planning for one. It takes careful planning for your money to last a lifetime. Here are simple action steps you can take today to start preparing for your golden years head:
1. Assess your current situation. When you start planning for anything, you should take stock in your current financial situation. Think about both your current income and expenses today and ask yourself if it’s going to be the same in retirement?
2. Define your ideal retirement. Before you focus on savings, the first thing to ask yourself is how do I want to retire? For many, this includes traveling abroad and spending everyday at the beach. While others enjoy just simple days on their porch every morning. No matter how complex or how simple you plan on living out your retirement, it will come with expenses.
3. Crunch the numbers. Now you have a clearer picture of how you want to spend your retirement, you’ll want to estimate how much it’d take to support it. Compare all known sources of income (current and expected such as Social Security benefits, home equity, and investment portfolios) with your projected expenses. Any shortfall will have to come from your personal savings.
4. Get a health checkup. As you get older, your health may become more of a concern to you and it may become one of your largest expenses in retirement. If you’re still currently working, you employer may be paying the majority of your health insurance premiums. But what happens when they no longer do? It’s important to understand what Medicare or Medicaid can offer you all the while considering a long-term care policy.
Funding your dream retirement lifestyle requires careful planning. And thinking about these aspects will help you get a better understanding what you’ll need, how you’ll live, and more importantly, how you’ll plan for it. Not sure where you start? Give us a call at (228) 209-0442 or set up a free consultation and we’ll help you get on the right track for retirement.
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