Many Americans are retiring now. With people living longer lives, one of the biggest concerns that those retiring have is being sure they are going to be okay financially for an indeterminate time. Here are a few ways to ensure that you will have a happy worry free retirement.
Cost of Living Planning
Retirement usually leads to a reduction in income, which can make things a little hard for some people. This is why one of the smartest steps you can take is to figure out how to reduce your cost of living. You can consider moving to a smaller home or moving to a town, city, or even state with a more reasonable cost of living. The key is to match your income (from all sources including retirement plans, Social Security, and investments) to your expenses. It is even OK to draw down your assets to a certain extent. The problem of course is determining how much draw down is acceptable. If you knew for sure that you would live exactly 10 years more you could easily withdraw one-tenth of your assets every year and be just fine. But live doesn’t come with a guaranteed expiration date so planning is more difficult.
Side-Hustle
Retirement does not need to signify that you will never work again. Some people who are retiring take on additional jobs, except this time it is around their schedule and usually involves something they love. Consider finding enough cash to start a simple business, or maybe work a social media-based job to make a few extra bucks a week.
Smart Investing
Many retirees are hoping to never have to work again, and that is okay, too, but you still have to figure out a way to get additional cash flowing in. One of the most effective ways to do that is to invest wisely. The financial advisors at Trajan Wealth recommend getting “an independent registered investment advisory (RIA) firm who is committed to putting clients first”, who can help you figure out the best way to free up your cash and invest it. A residual stream of income should definitely help relieve you of your cash flow problems and give you more freedom. You might also consider investing in a guaranteed lifetime annuity which will provide you a guaranteed stream of income no matter how long you live.
Eliminate Debt
Debt is perhaps the most crippling issue to deal with, especially if you are retired. You do not want to get stuck with a home mortgage, car note, or credit card debts when you are working let alone when you retire. All of these expenses usually come with interest that can multiply how much you have to pay.
You cannot afford to give away your money for free to pay off a loan. Cut any expenses that you can, and try to pay off all debts before you retire.
Hopefully, these pointers make sense to you and are easy to use. There are other things that you can do like apply for government assistance, but these tips should guide you in the right direction.
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