Are you ready for your retirement years? We often push off retirement preparation because we assume we have time. Unfortunately, time becomes our enemy when we postpone financial planning.
For some, life is like a spontaneous vacation, never planning, always moving from one place, job or relationship to the next. We all know people who live in the moment and never seem to worry about consequences. While living in the moment can be exciting, it may not be as much fun when the bill comes due, when retirement is staring you in the face and you haven’t planned for it.
What about you? Are you a planner or a spontaneous, live-in-the-moment kind of person? Maybe you are a combination? Have you taken the time to really evaluate your life; where you have been and where you want to go? Do you like what you see, or do you avoid looking?
Wherever you are in life, make sure to ask yourself these questions early and often.
DO IT NOW, THANK YOURSELF LATER
Do you know what it would take to have $1 million in your retirement plan at age 65, assuming your dollars compound tax deferred and your annual average returns are 10 percent? At age 25, you would only need to start saving $157 per month to reach your goal. At age 40, the number increases to $747 per month, and if you delay beginning until the age of 50, the number jumps to $2,393 per month.
Should you experience major markets losses along the way, all these numbers change. What about taxes due on your retirement dollars and inflation? Have you considered them in your calculations?
Moreover, have you ever thought about what your 40-, 60-, 80- or 100-year-old self might have to say if you could talk with her? Would she thank you for taking take care of your mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing? Perhaps she would admonish you to take better care of yourself in one or all of these areas so she doesn’t have to suffer in what should be her golden years?
What would your older self say about her financial situation? Have you made proper provisions for her? Will she have money set aside for retirement? Will she have to worry about outliving her savings? Will she be able to afford to continue to live on her own? Will she have the money to pay someone to do things she no longer can do herself? Will she have any savings? Will her standard of living be diminished because her only source of income is Social Security?
What if she were to tell you that she would die prematurely, leaving her husband or family to care for her children and pay off her debts? What if she told you her premature death and the loss of her income caused her family to lose their home or standard of living? What would you do differently?
THE TIME IS NOW
Honestly, I’m sure there are things my older self would encourage me to change; especially regarding my physical health. I cannot change my past, but I can learn from it and change my future.
What about you? What are those things you know you should change yet continue to avoid by telling yourself that you ‘will get to it’ eventually? My husband reminds me frequently that there are two pains in life: the pain of discipline, or the pain of regret; we get to choose.
Now is the time to choose to begin making changes. Today is the day to begin to live your best life as you plan for a wonderful future.
