Anna Maria Richards
Do you want to live in comfort and financial security during your retirement? That’s an easy question to answer yes to. A more difficult question is if you’ve made a detailed plan to provide for all your essential needs when the time comes to stop working and enjoying your sunset years? Unfortunately, even though everyone wants a happy and abundant future, not all make a detailed enough list to carry out the mission. It takes work, at least several hours of number crunching, discussions with a spouse, deciding whether to move or stay put after retiring, and more. In fact, there are four parts to the puzzle, and it all begins with ending the procrastination. Here are more details about how to get the job done and stop delaying your long-term lifestyle planning.
Begin Now, No Matter Your Age
Step one is to just get started. Sit down and create a file called retirement finances and lifestyle. Too often, those in their twenties and thirties assume that this kind or planning is only for the middle-aged. The truth is that the sooner you start building a solid strategy, the easier it is. The main reason for that is compound interest. Putting aside a modest sum every month when you’re 25, for example, can yield amazing returns 40 years later, when you’re ready to slow down and enjoy life to its fullest.
Get Cash for a Life Insurance Policy
Some working adults never give a thought to cashing out an unneeded life insurance policy, even though this clever move is often one of the easiest ways to sock away a sizeable chunk of cash for a rainy day or any other reason. The process is called a life settlement, and it’s surprisingly simple. To begin, you can check out the eligibility requirements to find out if your policy can be sold. Then, use a life settlement calculator to arrive at an estimate of the amount you could be looking forward to if you choose to sell.
Decide Where to Live
Don’t wait until you’re 60 to decide where you want to spend the second half of your life. Nowadays, it’s common for retirees to purchase condos or houses in places like Mexico, South America, the Philippines, and other locales. But the expatriate lifestyle only works if you think far ahead, do your research, and speak with others who have made the move. If living overseas after you stop working sounds like a good idea, try to choose a destination country by the time you’re 50 years old. Be sure that that location can support your hobbies as well. Retirement is your time to fall back in love with hobbies you previously had no time for, so to make grand plans of moving and buying a home only to find out those hobbies cannot happen in that location would be tragic. Think outside the box too. If you like to garden, your retirement home does not have to have a large yard to accommodate that. There are unusual ways to garden at home that you can employ to create the life you want and feel like you do not have to make a ton of personal sacrifices.
Calculate Your Financial Needs and Have a Backup Plan
Get out the calculator, or work with a financial planner, to make a budget for your life after age 65. Though there is a good amount of guesswork involved, professional planners can get you pretty close to a workable, realistic monthly budget for post-retirement living. Always have a backup plan, and try to work out financial scenarios for early retirement, working until you’re 70, or other alternatives that could arise. When it comes to making long-term plans about your money and lifestyle, it’s always wise to have a Plan B, Plan C, and maybe even a Plan D.
