Retirement: Preparing For The Journey Ahead
Retirement may seem like just another step in your inevitable, but far away, financial future. While it is easy to focus our efforts on the goals we want to achieve immediately, we may also have questions hanging in the back of our head: Is it time to start saving for retirement? Have I missed my chance?
Consider these four tips to help you plan for the retirement you want, on a schedule you feel good about:
- You CAN Start Today: While you may want to wait to start saving for retirement until you are more debt-free and financially secure, the savings we make today, however small, will grow in our favor. And don’t forget, compound interest will reward you! For example, $40 saved a month, for twelve months, left to grow at 4 percent for one year, compounded monthly, will become $532. Try an online compound interest calculator to see what compounding for thirty or more years, can do!
- Tailor Your Plan: Every individual’s vision for their retirement is different. Your planning will vary based on the type of lifestyle you want for your retired self. Some people want to do significant traveling, while others are more interested in retiring to a cost-effective city like Savannah, Georgia, or Daytona Beach, Florida. These retirement funds do not necessarily all need to look the same!
- Plan Backwards: Once you have a sense of where and how you want to live in your retirement, consider how long it will take you to save an amount you can live on annually, for at least thirty years, within twenty years’ time. Don’t forget to take inflation into consideration. Now calculate how long it may take you over 30 years. Remember, the sooner you start saving, the longer you’ll have to work toward your ideal life at retirement age.
- Make Room to Plan: If you don’t feel like setting aside money for retirement is something you can afford, but wish you could begin, consider pursuing a second career, to improve your earning and saving power.
To learn about more ways to prepare for retirement, visit the Syncis blog at https://www.syncis.com/blog/.