How to Budget for Retirement

Retirement means different things to different people. Perhaps it means spending more time with family, reducing the hours you work or not working at all. Once you’ve determined what you want your retirement to be, it’s important to know how to get there financially.

First step is to define your retirement. Focus on the ideas of what you want to do like volunteering one day a week or traveling to the lake twice a month. Jot down your top five goals.

Then take a look at your assets. Consider how much money you bring home each month, how much you have in the bank and how much you have in your 401K or retirement plan.

Once that is complete, take a look at your health and commit to regular check-ups and preventative exams. Staying healthy will help you calculate how much you will need in retirement as theoretically the healthier you are, the longer you will likely live.

Now’s the time to create a retirement budget. You can do this by calculating how much money is coming in, how much it will cost to reach your goals and how much debt you have. If you aren’t sure, track your income and expenses over the next few months to get a good idea of how much money is flowing through your budget.

Think about when you start receiving social security. The longer you wait to start collecting, the bigger the benefit for you and your family. You can wait to collect social security until age 70.

All this will help you determine when you can retire full-time or when you’ll be able to take on part-time work or when you’ll be able to sit back and relax.

If you are thinking about retirement and need help determining your plan, Advanced Insurance Concepts can help, so call Jim Rooney for all your retirement needs.