Retirement: Prevention is better than cure

It is easy to postpone thinking about the future, but retirement planning is essential for everyone. A retirement plan provides older adults (and everyone else) with a road map of how much money they will need to retire, and where that money will come from.

As retirement approaches, planning expands to encompass a range of other considerations, such as deciding when to retire, where to live, and what kind of lifestyle we want to have. When retirement becomes a reality, the focus moves to carry out the plan. Avoiding common mistakes is important to enjoy a more solid retirement and able to meet our needs.

The older we become, the more important we become to understand the difference between planning and preparation. Too many things can happen that change our lives without taking into account our best plans. Often they happen unexpectedly, which forces, in emergency situations, to make urgent decisions.

What are some of the ways to prepare for this stage?

Explore housing options in advance. Find out what services and facilities have assisted living, what home care and residencies are available in your place of residence and if they have waiting lists. Investigate the financial side of these options. Find out about the cost of hiring help at home, assisted living facilities and care centers available for seniors.

Define your retirement You probably have an idea of ​​how you would like to spend retirement. This is where you write your objectives, listing the most important objectives first. Try to limit the list to your five main objectives. Your list should rule out unnecessary expenses. Make sure all your financial needs are met while you brainstorm. The more descriptive you are, the more tangible your retirement will be. This will help you stay focused on a realistic set of objectives, which will make each one more achievable.

Take an inventory of your assets. You know how much you take home each month, how much you have in the bank and how much you have in your savings plan (if you do not have it you should consider one). But what about those other non-traditional assets that could help fund your retirement? Many hobbies and skills can be converted into real income in your retirement years.

Decide how much you want (or need) to work. This is the classic cost-benefit equation: unless you have a stable economic life, you will have to stretch the limited money and give up some retirement dreams or remain active (to some extent) to help pay for those dreams.

Consider accelerating your mortgage payments so that the loan ends before you retire. To stop potential credit card debt, try to pay in cash for important purchases. By limiting a new debt and reducing existing debt, you can minimize the amount of retirement income that will be spent on interest payments.

Estimate retirement expenses. Some expenses, such as health care, may be higher in the future, while others, such as travel or clothing expenses, may decrease. What you spend will depend on how you live during retirement. If you expect to travel a lot, for example, your projected costs could be even higher than they are now, while you are still working.

Consider the future medical costs. If you retire at age 65 or older, you may want to consider getting good health insurance to help pay for your non-routine health expenses, which are likely to increase as you get older. To help, consider also long-term care insurance, which can help with expenses, such as home health aides. If you hire him now his premiums will be lower than if you wait a few years.

Finally, do not underestimate the importance of economically planning for retirement. Because the bottom line is that you can not plan all the things that can happen as you get older, but you can prepare yourself to deal with them. When your planned retirement date is a decade away, it may seem somewhat distant, but it is important to plan carefully and set realistic goals so that time is on your side.