You’ve managed to own your first car, and you now have a house to call your own. On top of that, you’ve paid down your debt and put a little away each month.
You’re hitting all of the major financial milestones, but what about retirement?
Does the thought of having a retirement account fill you with anxiety? Putting something away in savings is one thing, but thinking about your retirement age and considering mutual funds is quite another.
The good news about saving for retirement is that it’s never too late or too early to start! Regardless of what age you’re at, we have some retirement advice that can help get you started.
Visualize Your Retirement
When you think about your retirement years, what images come to mind? Some people may think of themselves as living close to grandchildren and being caregivers. Others see themselves in some tropical location enjoying their golden years with other adults.
Regardless of what comes to mind, think about what you need to do to bring that vision to life. Remember, retirement is more than just saving up enough assets to live on. Retirement can mean putting up your home for sale, using sites like Raremetalblog.com to sell precious metals, and relocating.
Plans can change over time, but get a basic vision of your future together now. That way, when you start building your plan, you’ll have the most important things taken into account.
Consider Work Benefits
When was the last time you took a look at your benefits? A lot of workplaces do what they can to set their employees up for retirement. Now is the perfect time to think about what assets you have at your disposal.
Companies used to offer their employees pensions, but now it’s much more common to offer things like a 401k. Look into the kind of account your work offers, and see if they offer other helpful assets like equity or stock options that can help you in retirement.
Do you not have any retirement benefits from work? Check to see if they offer employee discounts or rates with certain local banks so you can open your own retirement account.
Think About Your Baseline
How much money do you think you’ll need to get by in retirement? It’s easy for people to underestimate just how much it’ll take. Most experts recommend that you save around 70%-90% of what you’d be earning annually to live comfortably in retirement.
In truth, the easiest way to start saving is to put away whatever you can. However, if you’re serious about saving for retirement, come up with a figure to aim for.
Go Beyond Your Retirement Account
Opening up a retirement account and putting away money is important, but they aren’t the only things that matter when you’re seriously thinking about what your retirement will look like.
Have you talked to your children about your plans for retirement? Do you need to start bringing in some extra income, so you make your retirement dreams come true? Keep reading our blog for more life planning and financial tips!