How Much Do You REALLY Need to Retire?
Many retirement plans fail because of inaccurate expense planning.
If you are approaching retirement and unsure if you have enough, don’t worry, we break down how to find your retirement number.
- Identify the retirement expenses that catch us off guard such as home repairs, a new car, healthcare, and inflation.
- How to calculate your true monthly retirement expenses.
- Subtract expenses that drop off in retirement (savings contributions, work-related costs)
- Add new ones (travel, healthcare, leisure)
- Include the big expenses that come once every few years to annual budgets
- Once we arrive at a realistic monthly retirement expense target, we review the post retirement income projections to figure out what needs adjustment.
- We identify what retirement plan adjustments you can make if your number doesn’t quite work yet.
If you’re thinking of retiring early, do a 3 month dry run, live exactly as you think you would in retirement to see if the actual expenses match the plan.
What to do if you’ve already retired, and your Retirement Income and Expense Numbers Don’t Line Up?
- Spend less, to contribute more now to your investments so that you have more later in retirement. How to find retirement expenses where you can save the most.
- Start with the recurring expenses that are impacted by inflation. Saving 30% on your grocery, home, or personal care bills adds up quickly.
- Next is the “$10” bucket. Where do you spend an extra $10 daily that doesn’t need to be spent or could be cut in half?
- Next, the monthly subscriptions. We’ve found hundreds of dollars per month in subscriptions that people don’t even remember signing up for.
- Next is Credit card debt. Paying off a $10,000 credit card balance saves $3,600 per year in interest expenses.
- Next is the big and obvious ones like dining out and vacations. Remember this isn’t about stopping, it’s about hitting the pause button for a few years to increase your savings so the return you earn on the savings can help you fully enjoy the years ahead.
- Another option is to work a little longer or pick up part time work. Enough to add to your savings so that in the years to come the nest egg is bigger.
Our most fulfilling moments are those real client stories with people who retired years earlier than expected and others who we helped navigate how to rethink their spending habits.
Let us know if you’d like more information on any of the topics covered today.
- How to build a retirement budget
- Retirement income strategies
- Healthcare costs in retirement
- Long-term care planning
- Social Security and tax planning considerations
- How to know if you can retire now
Whether you’re 10 years out or just around the corner from retirement, we are here to help you take the guesswork out of retirement income and expense planning, building a plan that actually fits your life. https://calendly.com/d/cvcv-myb-53g/nova-wealth-intro-call
